In mid April, the Communications Technology Consultants Association (CTCA) put most of this country’s telecom companies on the hot seat. They invited executives from TELUS, Bell Canada, Rogers Communications, MTS Allstream and Cogeco Data Services to sit on a panel at their annual conference in Kitchener, Ontario. I was honoured to be the TELUS representative.

The subject of our discussion was cloud computing and everything it makes possible – from applications like messaging, collaboration and videoconferencing to true “work anywhere, anytime” capabilities. And the biggest question was the one that came first. Roberta Fox, President and Senior Partner of Fox Group Consulting, told us that her clients still want reassurances that we’re serious about the cloud. Before they put “their hearts and souls into it”, she told us, they want to know that the telecom companies are going to stick with it for the next 8 to 10 years.

Another consultant agreed with her, worrying that as cloud services cut into our legacy products and services, we may start cutting back on the cloud. In other words, are we just dipping our toes in to test the waters, or are we really committed.

I told the panel that as far as TELUS is concerned, we've moved beyond legacy services to offer robust innovative cloud services that leverage our IP networks. My peers agreed. There was a consensus that if we don't offer cloud services, we'll lose clients to others who will – and the cloud is the best way to offer new solutions in place of our legacy services.

One of my peers pointed out that you can't offer the cloud unless you have a network. To me, you need both a reliable network and IT infrastructure for the client to really leverage the cloud. The great news is service providers have extensive knowledge and expertise in offering reliable network based services. In fact, here at TELUS we've been demonstrating an ability to offer cloud-like services for over 100 years. When you think about it, the voice services we all grew up with use a cloud-like structure, with the main applications residing on the network and the clients – the phone sets – accessing them. Then there are services like managed hosting, where we take over the management and monitoring of a client’s servers and they can access their data and applications from anywhere.

As I see it, the real challenge is to make sure that the networks we build for cloud services are as secure, reliable, efficient and scalable as possible. A client has to know that when they connect to the network, it will work, in just the same way you expect dial tone when you pick up the phone. That means end-to-end reliability, from layer 1 right to the application.

Sure, it’s easy to say, but it’s not that easy to do. If your service provider doesn’t get the fundamentals right, nothing will be right. It’s critical to ensure the network continues to offer unmatched reliability and uptime. But you’re probably more interested in the kind of services the cloud makes possible.

At TELUS, we think the big ones are:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), where we provide  computing infrastructure over the network, and manage the computing in our data centres – for example:
  • Managed hosting, where we monitor and manage the client’s servers and/or applications in our data centre
    
• Software as a Service (SaaS), where the application resides on the network, rather than on individual computers or tablets – for example:
  • Collaboration, with services like video conferencing, file sharing and more, making it possible for people to work together no matter where they are
    
• Platform as a Service (PaaS), where we provide the networks, server and storage and our clients use our tools and libraries to create their own applications and deploy them
  

Put all these together, and you’re going to be able to do just about anything on the cloud, even in remote areas.

Interestingly, we’ve found that as we open up our network to the developer community, they’re taking advantage of the opportunity to innovate. We’re seeing all kinds of new applications and we’re noticing how consumer-type services are being adopted and adapted for business use. For example, business social media is breaking down silos between us and our clients and suppliers, and between our clients and their stakeholders.

We also believe that we need to use cloud based collaboration tools like enterprise social media ourselves. Using the cloud in this way demonstrates the value to our clients and allows us to attract the quality workforce we need as they expect to have access to these tools.

So no, this cloud isn’t blowing away, it’s here to stay.  All I can say is the forecast looks terrific.

Lloyd Switzer

SVP-Network Transformation

TELUS

TELUS Talks Business correspondent Etan Vlessing recently attended a TELUS presentation, in association with Autonomy, an HP company called "Data Protection in a mobile world". This blog summarizes why Cloud-based backup technology is important for mobile data protection.

No blue-sky thinking here: Cloud-based backup technology allows users to store and retrieve data via the Internet from anywhere in the world, anytime.

It turns out even a data storage guru can face a blank computer screen just before a big keynote speech.  Stephen Spellicy, director of enterprise data protection at Autonomy, a division of HP, on Wednesday recalled last year waking up in a San Francisco hotel room and powering up his laptop computer, only to discover his entire hard drive had been wiped as he slept.

“I had no access”, he remembered, “Hours before he was to make a key trade show presentation”.

IT had pushed down a new security patch across the network, which placed encryption software on the hardrive, Spellicy said of the IT mishap back at corporate headquarters.  So did Spellicy panic? And was he able to recover his presentation in time for his conference address?  It turns out organizations are today crawling with mobile employees dealing with the very same challenges of data storage, loss and recovery.  And that threatens IT departments scrambling to secure and protect company information and apps on employee-owned mobile devices and tablets that access corporate networks from remote locations.  Organizations routinely used cumbersome and manually intensive external USB backup drives and rewritable CD/DVDs to backup data and protect against viruses, power failures and accidental deletions.  But what about data protection at the edge, with on-the-go employees like Spellicy in his San Francisco hotel room?  Today’s on-the-go employees are armed with laptops, smart phones and tablets, and may need to recover and access corporate information from remote locations due to any number of disaster scenarios.

“Our IT departments are struggling with how to manage information as it grows in the wilds”, Spellicy told a panel on data protection in a mobile world in Toronto.  “After all, no organization has a walled garden in today’s fast-changing mobile world”.

“Information is spreading out to the edge, and we’re losing control of information, and we have to bring that control back in”, Spellicy added.

CLOUD-BASED BACKUP

Recall our data storage guru and his lost presentation in San Francisco.  Too busy to make sense of the data loss, Spellicy recalled rushing down to the hotel lobby and purchasing a Netbook with a Windows operating system.

“I fired it up and launched a recovery page, and pulled down my required information, as well as my web email, and restored the information I needed for the trade show”, Spellicy explained.

That was fast, not surprising for a techno geek like Spellicy.  But remote access to his corporate data, and online recovery, was made possible by the use of Autonomy’s cloud-based connected technology. In effect, Spellicy was able to remain connected to his corporate network and to instantly and easily recover lost data.

“I needed to be able to recover the information I was working with, which was critical to doing my job at the tradeshow”, he recalled.  Here cloud-based data protection is migrating from traditional desktop servers to the edge of a corporate network, whether that’s mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad, Android smartphones and other browser-enabled mobile devices increasingly in use by mobile employees.  Autonomy’s Connected Backup technology allows mobile devices to find and view protected documents and other corporate data, and securely use that information anytime and anywhere.  Connected Backup means on-the-go workers never have to feel disconnected.

Even as Spellicy’s main laptop computer proved useless at the San Francisco conference, he could still use the Netbook and an SSL VPN as a web browser to securely access his corporate network, and use the backup app to identify and retrieve corporate files.  All that’s needed is a backup subscription service, a secure password and a secure Internet connection. Here the MyRoam technology allowed Spellicy to use any web browser to access files, even in a hotel lobby while using a kiosk computer.

“Go to the computer, fire up Internet Explorer, put in a simple URL to the Connected Backup app, put your username password in and you can literally bring down the content that you’re looking for”, Spellicy explained.  He adds “The Connected Backup technology is purpose-built for tablets. At the same time, the MyRoam feature enables smartphone access to files by tapping into a device’s web browser, if required”.

DATA ARCHIVING

Fast and flexible cloud-based storage and access to business information has more uses than recovering from a hard disk crash. Spellicy pointed to Autonomy’s Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL) search engine platform, which enables effective records management and archiving for organizations. Why would an organization need IDOL to gather up corporate information, process, store and serve it up on command?  The ability to identify, sort through and retrieve stored information becomes crucial, for example, to complete internal investigations, or outside litigation and regulatory requests.

“When a lawyer gets an email asking for information to be supplied to a court case, data needs to be recovered to remain compliant”, Spellicy explained.  Here the Connected Backup app has a range of options to browse and search protected data using keywords and concept queries. The result is critical corporate information, ­ whether stored contracts, documents or agreements, ­ becomes more easily identified and accessed.  Spellicy insisted Autonomy’s IDOL search and discovery tools may well prove invaluable when top execs and in-house counsel are looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack to meet a litigation or regulatory request.

“We can make sense of the information that we’re storing. And we can leverage that in a litigation request, he said of the IDOL search engine platform.  In effect, IDOL enables a look into the haystack to intuitively spot and retrieve the needle. IDOL learns over time what information is and how it’s being used in the infrastructure”, Spellicy said.

IT DEPARTMENTS

Of course, if corporate IT departments do not encourage mobile employees to back-up and store data in the clouds, then retrieval and access of protected corporate data from remote locations would not be nearly as easy.

“A good IT policy will have devices, typically corporate-owned devices, backed up regularly”, Spellicy insisted. Leveraging the clouds is also about making IT departments more agile and responsive, and very much about the bottom line as virtualization reduces storage costs and risks. That’s help at hand for IT departments increasingly asked to control and protect ever-bigger volumes of corporate data with fewer resources. For one thing, Spellicy argued roughly 85% of data generated by corporate organizations today is unstructured data, or the stuff employees create everyday and which is not stored in the data center.

Cloud-based data protection technologies can allow IT departments to reduce the risks and costs of storing this growing unstructured data burden.

“We need to be able to deal with this growing data load with limited time in the day, limited time to backup data, and with limited bandwidth in remote locations with which to access and use the information”, Spellicy argued.

By Etan Vlessing

The Connected Backup solution from Autonomy, an HP company, is the world's leading data protection solution and the service supporting TELUS' Desktop Backup.  www.telus.com/desktopbackup

One of the key success factors in moving to the Cloud is developing a robust business case.  The business case provides the rationale, benefits, and costs, as well as the expected results for investments by organizations.

This is the first in a three-part series on the importance of a business case, budgets; operating vs. capital, and expected results of a successful business case.    Today’s blog will cover the need for business case, followed by a deeper dive into how you allocate your budget of operating (OPEX) vs. capital (CAPEX) and finally, how to determine if you are meeting your business case objectives.

Cloud is another form of outsourcing. The discussion of the ROI should follow a similar thought process as outsourcing, contracting out or for that matter many other IT decisions. This starts with the business case. The business case has established itself as the primary tool in sourcing decisions.

The IT business case typically has seven components: Background, current state and options; financial review; risk management; strategic fit; execution plan; and ongoing management. In addition, there are four major steps in developing a business case: scope identification; data collection; market pricing; and contracting.

Not all business cases need each of the steps. At the very least, though, a financial review commonly referred to as a cost/benefit analysis should be done. The cost/benefit analysis is a comparison of the options a company has to support its IT requirements. The benefits of Cloud-based infrastructure (or Infrastructure as a Service, IaaS) need to be clearly identified and quantified to the extent possible. In addition, one-time costs for activities such as transition need to be included. Last, the financial implications of risk need to be woven into the business case. While the risk (which revolves around security and privacy that is frequently associated with Cloud) should be identified and their probability and priority to the organization needs to be assessed, the financial review focuses on the cost of reducing or eliminating such risk. For Infrastructure as a Service, IaaS (which are virtualized servers, storage and networking hardware delivered as a service) examples include the cost for data replication, mirrored sites and any cost differences for in-Canada solutions that address potential risk and concern.

Regardless of whether a full business case or cost/benefit analysis is done, the exercise really starts with a discussion between the business and IT. The business case is heavily dependent on communication between management, IT leaders and sourcing decision makers. These discussions should focus on a common understanding of the company's future direction and what will be required from IT to meet the corporate goals. These conversations will help form the scope of infrastructure services being considered for the Cloud.

Cloud is one option. And within IaaS there are various choices between Public and Private models. While Public IaaS offers many benefits, such as potential cost savings and the ability to scale, it does provide somewhat limited options on how infrastructure resources can be configured. Public IaaS is a one-to-many model and customization comes at a price. Public IaaS also has to be managed, whether by the service provider or internally. These costs have to be addressed in the ROI calculation. Cloud also introduces the discussion of operating (Opex) vs. capital (Capex).  My next blog will discuss this in more detail.

In the meantime, is your company thinking about moving to the Cloud but you don’t know where to start?  Do you think a business case would be the first step or have you done one already?

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This is the first in a 3 part series about the Business Case for Cloud by Mark Schrutt.  Director, Services & Enterprise Applications.  IDC Canada

A question about elasticity in the cloud was recently brought up in the Cloud Computing LinkedIn Group that got us thinking about tips and tricks about implementing your own cloud solution and we want to share them with you!

The following question was asked:

“I want to know how elasticity works in Cloud if implementing a private cloud. How does one implement the features of resource allocation and streamline it the same way Amazon AWS does? I mean automating the way resource allocation works in a private cloud setup.”

This is a great question and it highlights the fact that there is a lot of confusion in this area and it almost always stems around definitions – there just isn’t enough clear, consistent information out there to help people understand what can be complicated concepts.

I’d like to answer this question by expanding a bit on some of the key words floating around.

A private cloud solution means using your own equipment, either on your premises or hosted with a provider, which means your total computing capacity is limited to that of the equipment. If you are going to take this direction, it is also important to note that you’re paying for all of this equipment –often in full or on a monthly lease. 

From a compute capacity perspective a private cloud does not provide elasticity. Quite the opposite: with a private cloud, you are working with fixed capacity that you’re paying for, regardless of whether it is being fully utilized or not.

But this doesn’t mean your hands are tied.

From an application perspective, you can still create elasticity by installing software to allow either a) multiple instances of virtual machines to run or b) sub-dividing the operating system so that applications are assigned small, independent slices (typically called processes), and an orchestration software to increase or decrease the compute capacity allocated to the application.

Here’s an example to bring this to life for you.

Let’s say you are running a classic scale-out three-tier application – web servers to handle the session, application tier where the functional logic really resides, and a database tier. In a situation like this, you can start with just three virtual machines (VMs) – one for web, one for application, one for database – all running on your own private cloud.

But if the web application becomes popular, and you have more users than a single web server VM can handle, then through the orchestration software, you will need to fire up a second instance of the web server and balance the traffic.

To the application, this looks like elasticity, even though you have no total capacity elasticity. It is the orchestration software that plays the role of allocating the resources by creating new instances of VMs.

While orchestration software is necessary; writing it on your own is not easy. What typically happens is that you will need to call the hypervisor APIs directly to orchestrate the instantiation of the VM and inject the OS into the VM shell. The easier way is to template the process so you start with the OS and then instantiate the VM. You then have to ensure networking connections before you can actually use it. This also implies you also need to build some sort of total capacity monitoring tool so you don't wildly allocate the resources as well.

This is a just very simple high level overview of orchestration. If you have more complicated equipment such as non-local disks (SAN or NAS) or actual switches, you may have to extend the orchestration software to work with those as well.

If you have any further questions or ideas about implementing this kind of cloud solution, please share them with us and comment below!

In some ways, cloud storage is safer than local storage. In other ways, it’s less safe.

Let's first cover what cloud computing is, its many benefits and its potential drawbacks.

Cloud computing refers to accessing, sharing or collaborating on files that are stored on the Internet (“the cloud”), instead of, or in addition to, your personal computer at home or at the office.

There are many advantages to cloud computing over local storage:

• You can access your photos or documents from virtually any Internet-connected computer, tablet or smartphone.

• Because these files are stored offsite -- available via a password-protected website in cyberspace -- they’re also protected from computer theft and local damage such as fire, flood, power surge or a nasty virus.

• With cloud computing, people can work together on projects in real-time, even though they’re in different geographic locations.

• Cloud computing can also reduce congestion in someone’s inbox. Rather than trying to email a number of photos or videos to family members or friends, you can simply store them in the cloud and send a link.

But cloud computing has a few shortcomings too:

• These services are online-only, so if you don’t have an Internet connection (or if it goes down), you could be without your data. Cloud computing requires a lot of faith in the fact that you’ll have an "always on" connection, anywhere and anytime -- even at 30,000 feet.

• Your information is still stored on computer servers -- just not yours -- so there’s always a risk of data theft, viruses or glitches. Plus, your computer or device might have links directly to your cloud service. For example, services such as Dropbox show up as just another folder that appears to be stored locally. Anyone who has your computer or device can simply click on the Dropbox folder or icon and access everything you’ve stored on Dropbox’s servers if you haven’t password-protected that folder.

• If you have password-protected access to your cloud service -- like you must in Google Docs, for example -- that doesn’t mean your data isn’t hackable. If a hacker gets inside your account, he could change your password and make it very difficult for you to get back in. It’s unlikely, but possible. Plus, how well do you trust the company you’re giving your data to? Do you know where your data is being physically stored? Has the company had any recent security breaches?

In short, cloud computing is safer in some ways and less safe in others. Do your homework before trusting your data to the cloud, and use common sense. Don’t trust the cloud with your only copy of priceless photos, and don’t store copies of highly confidential documents there, either. But for redundant copies of other files, enjoy what the cloud has to offer.

Let's say this politely: stuff happens.

While natural or manmade disasters aren't too common, even a relatively minor disruption in your organization could grind your business to a halt if you don't have a contingency plan in place.

Fortunately, cloud solutions make it easier than ever before to have a disaster recovery (DR) plan to minimize your downtime should something happen.

"Small firms are very much aware of the need to back up regularly, but it's kind of like flossing -- everyone knows they should do it but very few do so regularly," says Raymond Boggs, VP of SMB Research at IDC.

"Cloud-based storage and disaster recovery solutions are particularly well suited to smaller firms which lack budget and extensive IT resources." adds Boggs. "Backing up a server -- onsite -- still leaves a firm vulnerable to all kinds of disasters that have been in the news, from floods to tornadoes." "Online storage providers offer higher levels of protection than that found in a typical small or even mid-sized firm."

Boggs says the challenge is for a small business owner or IT manager to surrender direct control of "precious" data, in order to make it more secure.

"Many understand in their minds the cloud offers both solid value and exceptional security, but in their heart of hearts, they are often reluctant to give up personal possession of essential information."

Employ a "party cloud(y)" solution

One of the first real value propositions of the cloud is disaster recovery, says John D'Esposito, founder and CTO of Techout.com, an Internet performance engineering company. "But the cloud offers a lot more than just data back-up."

"If you can seamlessly fall onto another [offsite] server, with data and applications, then you've successfully set up your DR framework," adds D'Esposito.

"I call this concept 'party cloudy' because there's a lot of value for SMBs who can't afford a more ambitious enterprise-grade disaster plan, but can still benefit from accessing data, serving up applications and seamless proximity routing from one hot data center to another."

D'Esposito says there are many companies providing secure services to empower small companies. "If you're not leveraging the cloud then you're not as nimble and effective as your competition – during a disaster or otherwise."

"Without any cloud solutions, small companies who try to raise money from VCs will no doubt have trouble," believes Esposito.

Is the cloud overrated?

"I'm not sure that adding the cloud to the mix really changes the fundamentals of disaster recovery planning," says Leslie Fiering, research vice president at Gartner. "At the end of the day, it is important to know that in the event of outages, or even large disasters, critical data is stored somewhere that is safe and readily accessible in time of need."

And what about a "cloud-based disaster"?

"We're seeing a growing number of instances where the cloud providers have outages and customer data is not available for some period of time," adds Fiering."That said, the cloud offers relatively inexpensive and simple back-up options -- many smaller businesses that might not otherwise have discipline for regular backups and offsite storage may find cloud solutions a real game changer."

However, in situations where outages of any kind are not acceptable, Fiering says cloud backup alone may not be sufficient.

Thousands of downloadable programs and online services exist on the web -- if you know where to look, that is.

From free anti-virus to no-cost alternatives for storing important files, there's no shortage of quality programs. There might be a catch, however: some of these apps may be advertising-supported and don't offer extensive tech support, if any. In some cases, you might also see a "nag screen" to upgrade to a pro version of the software.

But for Canadian entrepreneurs or small businesses looking to save some cash, these are often minor inconveniences.

And so the following is a look at five recommended freebies.

To serve and protect

A small handful of anti-virus programs are available to download and use – for free -- but one of the highest-rated is Avast! Free Antivirus, which has received an average user score of 4.5 stars out of 5 at CNET.com. This program protects your computer in real time from viruses and spyware, the latter of which can be Trojan horse files buried in another download and secretly spying on your web surfing activity. Spyware can also slow down your PC, cause inappropriate pop-up windows or even add a toolbar to your web browser without your permission. Time is money, as they say, so your business likely can't afford to slow down over an infected computer. Avast! isn't just for web protection, but also filters your emails, instant messaging programs, and more. A simple-to-use interface also makes it a great pick for computer users on a tight budget.

What's up, Docs?

While Microsoft Office is the granddaddy of office productivity software, you could spend up to $669 for the suite of programs ("Professional Edition"). Instead, the completely free OpenOffice.org from Oracle includes a number of powerful applications that include word processing, spreadsheets, presentation creation, databases and graphics. OpenOffice.org is also available in multiple languages and runs on many operating systems, plus the suite supports a wide range of file types created by other programs (yes, you can even import your Microsoft Office files such as .doc, .xls, .ppt, and others). Because this is "open-source software," you can install it on as many computers as you like and make copies for your employees, friends and family.

To the cloud!

It's important to back up important files to protect them from theft, fire, flood, nasty viruses and power surges. Instead of buying an external hard drive or USB thumbdrive, however, you can take advantage of free online storage with services such as Microsoft's Windows Live SkyDrive. Consider it a password-protected virtual drive that resides on the web, with up to 25 gigabytes (GB) of free storage offered per account (you can have multiple accounts). Not only is Windows Live SkyDrive easy to use, but you can also access your files from any Internet-connected computer in the world, and, if you like, even section off part of your storage folders for colleagues or clients to access with a different password -- ideal for sharing large files.

Customer care

Customer Relationship Management software could run you a pretty penny, but a small business might first consider a free alternative to see if it suits their needs. FreeCRM.com, for example, is a web-based solution for managing customer data and sales force automation – including common tasks ranging from contact/lead tracking, sales forecasting and pipeline management, group calendaring, support ticket and customer service, call automation, integrated email campaigns, and more. This software is free to use for up to 50 users, while the "pro" (paid) version adds advanced features such as support automation, XML web services, synchronization tools, technical support, unlimited data storage and no advertisements.

Picture perfect

Chances are your business deals with photos on a daily basis, whether it's product pictures, website design, editing for social media initiatives or newsletters and brochures. So, how do you organize, edit and share these assets? One of the most intuitive and powerful – and free -- photo management programs is Google's Picasa. The 12-megabyte download is a breeze to use, offers many editing tools (including exceptional one-click red-eye fix) and has a clever "tagging" feature that scans all the photos in your collection, identifies the ones with faces, and groups photos with similar faces together; then you can add name tags to dozens of photos at once by clicking "Add a name" below a photo and typing in the person's name. Picasa currently works on Windows, Macintosh and even Linux operating systems. More advanced users in search of free photo editing software might consider GIMP, also available for Windows, Mac, Linux and other operating systems.