Skip to main content

Webinar: The business case for next generation IT architecture

Last week we recorded and broadcast another Grid Computing Now! webinar. This featured Steve Wallage of The 451 Group and Shahid Mohammed of Marsh talking about the business case for Grid. Steve presented a distillation of the 451 Group's findings from talking to Grid users across a wide range of sectors. Shahid then gave us the benefit of his experience applying Grid in an e-commerce business. Both are good presenters and I recommend their talks.

You can see the webinar at http://brighttalk.com/comm/gridcomputingnow/3b03d97eee-2473-632-2319. This uses Flash and so should be compatible with most browsers.

Viewers submitted a good range of questions. A couple of people asked about the type of businesses - small, medium or large; finance, pharma or other - that can benefit from Grid. Shahid's talk demonstrated that reasonably small firms in a general commercial sector can benefit. Another question focussed on security. Both Steve and Shahid explained that Grid can be deployed within the enterprise, which can greatly reduce concerns about security.

We didn't discuss the definition of Grid - there are people who would maintain that an infrastructure deployed entirely within one organisation "isn't really Grid". As always at Grid Computing Now!, we are less interested in what the technology should be called than in what it can do for UK businesses. It is clear from these talks that the combination of virtualisation, dynamic resource allocation and service-oriented deployment can achieve significant business gains - and that is what matters most.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Webinar: Powering your business with Cloud Computing

On October 14th, I will be hosting a Grid Computing Now! web seminar on the topic of Cloud Computing. We have lined up two very interesting speakers who are using Cloud now to make businesses work. Ross Cooney had a good technological solution to sell but couldn't make it economic until Cloud Computing allowed him to pay for his computation only when he needed it. He will discuss the instant benefits and long term impact of cloud computing to the development, competitiveness and scalability of your application. Alan Williamson created the BlueDragon Java CFML runtime engine that powers MySpace.com. He advises several businesses and will give an overview of the different types of services available and how to avoid being locked-in to a single supplier. You can register for this event here .

Technology Strategy Board: Information Day, 22nd October

I've been asked to publicise the following event. The Technology Strategy Board has arranged an Information Day for Wednesday 22nd October to outline the various R & D Competitions being planned over the next 9 months. This Information Day will provide delegates with an opportunity to find out about the activities of the Technology Strategy Board and gain an understanding of the application process for Collaborative R&D Competitions as well as find out about other Technology Strategy Board activities. The event, being held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Central Birmingham, will open at 09:30 for a 10:00 start and will close at approximately 16:30; a full agenda will be available shortly. To register for this event please click on the following link and complete the on-line registration form For more information on the Technology Strategy Board please visit their web site

Business Model Canvas

A Business Model Canvas is a tool for mapping the core functions and capabilities of an organisation.  Compared to the Core Diagrams that I described in an earlier post , the business model canvas attempts to present more aspects of the business, starting with the value proposition – a statement of what the organisation offers to its users (in the business world, to its customers).  It shows the activities and resources, as Core Diagrams do, but also shows user relationships & channels, and also benefits and costs.  I’m not aware of any universities that have used this tool but you can find examples from elsewhere on the web. We are considering business model canvases as a tool for mapping the strategic capabilities of units at the University of Edinburgh.  Phil Taylor, our EA contractor, sketched an outline of what a business model canvas might begin to look like for HR: This is only intended to be suggestive: the real canvas would need to result from in-depth discussions abo