Executive Summary 5: Hybrid IT & The Cloud

Challenge

Several of our competitors are enjoying large profits from there recently launched application hosting or cloud businesses. These business units offer huge benefits for our customers who might not have a skilled IT department or the resources to hire them. There is growth in this market as well as opportunity for immediate market share. 

Solution

We expand our data centers to match anticipated demand from our existing and new clients who would prefer that we host the application for them. This allows them to access our services strictly over the web from any location. No longer do they have to worry about server expenditures and administration. We will provide managed web services and support contracts based on how much infrastructure and services they require. 

Advantages

• New business growth
• Easier implementations; cut back consultants

Challenges

• Coordination with customer
• Customer still wants control but doesn’t want to pay for support and maintenance
• Legal issues

Conclusion
This is still a high growth area that will continue to play a key role in changing the face of IT departments. We must take action as we can no longer afford to lose this business to our competitors.

Executive Summary 4: The Internet of Thermostats

Challenge

The home automation industry is changing. Home owners and facility operators now have the ability to control their environment wirelessly with a tablet or smart phone. All types of products and devices are now interconnected and ‘smarter’ than before. Significant investment and rapid action are needed to capitalize on the opportunities in this space. 

Solution I propose that our Temperature Control/Thermostat Division develop a new wireless thermostat which can be controlled by all common mobile device platforms, such as iOS and Android. In addition, this device will be a ‘smart’ device which gathers data through sensors while analyzing user patterns and behaviors in order to automatically adjust temperatures more accurately. The system will also offer remote management for additional flexibility.

Advantages

• Be a leader in home automation technology
• Reduce energy consumption
• Potential software licensing revenue

Challenges

• Rapid R&D turnaround

Conclusion

This initiative is important for the future of the company. Between the growth in software application development and the Internet of Things over the next 10 years, this product launch will position us for continued success in this competitive landscape.

Executive Summary 3: Big Data

Big Data Challenge

Big data is one of the largest current trends in information systems. It is a very complex, technical industry, which must be entered into with expertise and reason. While there can be huge gains in this area, there are also opportunities to waste significant time and money.

Solution
We will heavily invest in the compute infrastructure, but will utilize an open source big data platform know as Hadoop. The strategy will be to partner with nearby academic research institutions which currently employ several Hadoop experts. These experts will serve as a labor pool to support the big data initiative. If proven successful, we will roll out additional implementations.

Advantages

• Association with world renowned universities 
• Lower cost, low risk market entry
• Gather customer transaction data
• Analyze spending and lifestyle habits

Challenges

• Managing resources
• Proving business value

Conclusion
The desire to capture and analyze massive amounts of data then profit from it has come to the mainstream. This report offers numerous ways for the organization to enter into the market quickly and reap large gains.

Executive Summary 2: UX Strategy

The User Experience Challenge
Information technology has completely invaded the business environment and is driving day to day operations as well as shaping long term strategies of corporations. End users of technology have become more technologically sophisticated and their expectations have increased dramatically. Unfortunately, many technology projects have failed and will continue to fail due to this trend. How can we better serve these demanding customers and deliver applications that meet their requirements?

Solution
The answer is to centralize the business on user experience (UX). This involves engaging heavily with our customers in order to hear their stories, elicit the necessary requirements, then deliver a useful solution that meets and exceeds those requirements. These engagements bring forth important issues early in the project phase, which will lead to projects being completed on time, within scope, and under budget. Shifting the business towards intense customer engagement will not happen overnight; however, this will be a step in the right direction.

Advantages

• Improve company culture and morale when used on internal projects
• More satisfied customers = Increased customer retention 
• Increased customer acquisition (more referrals due to satisfied existing customers)
• More useful software applications
• Capture more in-depth customer data

Challenges

• Training existing resources
• Change management
• Culture change

Conclusion
Since January 2012, the software engineering team has successfully piloted an intense user experience strategy on select clients. The results are promising, and we are confident this will lead our enterprise into uncharted territories of profitability and customer satisfaction. 

Executive Summary 1: BYOD

The BYOD Challenge
Mobile devices, such as cell phones and tablets, are dominating network access on college campuses around the world. Due to the rapid proliferation of mobile computing and bring your own device trends (BYOD), network maintenance and administration has become increasingly complex. Legacy IT systems and infrastructure cannot continue to support the current and future demands of the growing mobile sector. Immediate action must be taken to improve the infrastructure to support these demands.

Solution
A substantial yet recoverable investment in the following IT systems will solve this problem. 

• Design and implementation of a comprehensive multi-operator distributed antennae system (DAS) for robust in-building cellular and data service for mobile devices
• Campus-wide enhancements in equipment and cabling to improve the existing campus wireless network 

Advantages

• Enhance student learning and college experience
• Provide opportunities for innovative uses of educational technology 
• Revenue generating  
• Recover initial outlay within 2 years
• Improving institutional communications and life safety

Challenges

• Mildly disruptive installation process
• Information security
• Adherence to campus architectural standards

Conclusion
This project is critical to the future growth of the college in becoming a leader and innovator in pedagogical methods and educational technology. 

K1: The power of AWS

WOW! I'm really pumped about getting exposure to Amazon Web Services. I'm fascinated (again) by the bevy of resources that are just a few clicks away from anyone with an internet connection. I will definitely use Amazon Web Services for current and future endeavors. The interface is a bit overwhelming at first mainly due to the massive amount of options, but once you get started it clears up and becomes easier to navigate. I'm also impressed by the useful and extensive documentation provided by Amazon, which really helped me get started.

I enjoy the level of monitoring available through the Amazon infrastructure, and can see the value in having such useful metrics at one's fingertips. The AWS Elastic Beanstalk is also another extremely powerful feature of the AWS toolkit for Eclipse. I look forward to developing and deploying web applications via this framework.

J: Reflections

The MIT program continues to excite me. If you are interested in exploring established as well as emerging web technologies this is the program for you. Not only does the program provide the technical perspectives, it also delivers on overall big picture business thinking as it relates to technology. The hands-on and collaborative nature of the program so far is a huge plus as well.

The main things I have learned recently are in the data management/statistical realm. We've had the opportunity to test and play with interesting software packages such as RStudio. Its intriguing to discover how different organizations are using these technologies as part of their corporate strategy. One really interesting thing is the continued rise of open source software into the enterprise space. I would have never imagined that Fortune 500 companies would be using open source applications to run their statistical and data analysis operations. This is really exciting for entrepreneurial minded individuals and will lead to numerous opportunities in the future. Its even more exciting that I will be in a position to capitalize on some of these opportunities perhaps....thanks to the UGA Masters of Internet Technology program at Gwinnett. Looking forward to next semester and beyond.

Go Dawgs, Beat Bama!

Davis

F1: League Management System

I enjoyed the blended learning style of last week's class. The mixture of lecture, class discussion, and team activity helped me consume the material, digest it, and then apply it to a real world situation via the group activity. 

Speaking of the class activity, our efforts focused on crafting the strategy and architecture for launching a web-based league management application. This application would initially be aimed at providing logistical, scheduling, scoring, advertising, and statistical services for community, recreational, and school sport leagues. Based on the experience of our teammates, there is market opportunity for this type of application, particularly in the Northeast Metro Atlanta region. 

Here are the items we discussed in terms of the application and business model architecture.

Network /systems infrastructure: 

• To lower startup costs, use powerful web services to host and deliver our application.
• Linux VMs at Amazon Web Services
• Restful web services
• Use of standard Put, get, post, delete statements 
• C++ offers great performance
• Justification: scalability, performance, integration, 

Data mgmt 

• MySQL
• Standards: XML, Json, https
• Justification: almost free

Business Logic

• Listed here are the services and broad business requirements that this app would satisfy.
• Notifications, Directions/Maps, Schedules, 
• RSS
• Push

Client side (HW-SW)

• Mobiles & tablets
• Develop standard compliant app for all platforms with an emphasis on mobiles and tablets
• iOS, Android, BB, Windows

Development tools

• Source code control 
• Assembla
• C++: great performance
• Standards: XML, Json
• MySQL Workbench
• XCode

In short, I think this is an exciting app with great potential. There are many segments that could be served and costs could be kept low due to the many cost effective internet technologies at our fingertips.  Kudos to Travis for his creativity and technical vision.

Davis

E1: Archimate

The Archimate can be brutal! No really, I enjoyed learning about the different enterprise architecture frameworks as well as how to apply them to my business model canvas. I am thankful that we are exploring such useful tools in this program. The entrepreneurial spirit of this program so far has been refreshing and inspiring. Looking forward to more practical applications of MIS strategy, data modeling, Java, XML, etc.

SLIDE OF THE WEEK

52% of all capital investment is IT related....I love this slide on multiple levels. For the sake of blog brevity, I'll stick with just two reasons.

1) Strategic Implications: Not only will IT projects continue to stream through the pipelines, they will become increasingly more tied to core business strategies. The CIO role will continue to gain more and more power, and so will managers and directors who possess a sharp mix of IT and business skills.

2) Job Outlook: No rocket science here. I'm thrilled with this reality because it bodes well for future employment opportunities. Fast forward 15 years and I'm confident that the ROI of this graduate program will be favorable!  Great choice fellow UGA MITs!

Later,

Davis

D2: FutureNet

Let me start by saying wow.....these are fascinating videos. Its interesting to hear the different perspectives from these authoritative figures on the future of the internet. It still blows my mind that:

• A) the internet is only 30 years old
• B) how powerful TCP/IP has proven to be

Similarities
Kelly's and Berner-Lee's visions share more similarities than Cerf's. First, Kelly's and Berner-Lee's ideas are more abstract and almost sound like science fiction at times. The next similarity is that both visionaries emphasize the concept of linked data. It interesting to think about the potential positive impacts of connecting data across machines, countries, and continents. Exhibit A = telemedicine.

Differences
Berner-Lee's style was more technical, and Kelly's was more artistic. Vint Cerf's presentation is more academic but very practical. Cerf's presentation also focused more on the network aspects of the Futurenet rather than the data aspects.

Soapbox
To be honest, the linked data conversation makes me paranoid. I'd rather not share my private, personal data with other individuals....and certainly not with billions of people over the internet. Kelly's "one machine" concept scares me too as it reminds me of the movie, Eagle Eye, a good film about a super computer that turns evil, tracks people's every move, and creates absolute chaos. Finally, the interplanetary network project and development of new protocols are very exciting. I'm very interested to see development in this area.

Thanks,

Davis

D1: Internet History and Infrastructure

The course content continues to be intriguing and challenging. I enjoyed class last Thursday especially the Q&A scavenger hunt and the interactive discussion of the answers.

Cliche of the week: (paraphrasing) "You don't know where you're going, unless you know where you've been."

While some cliches drive me crazy, this one always rings true to me. In my opinion, for an individual to truly be a thought leader or expert on a subject, they must have a comprehensive 360 degree understanding of the issue or topic at hand. For instance, would you hire a pianist to play jazz standards at your wedding who has only studied and performed contemporary pop music over the last four years? There is very low probability that this person would be a great jazz artist without having studied and listened to hours of the jazz greats such as, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Hunter, Charles Mingus, etc (I could go on for hours....).

Anyway, the same is true for internet technology expertise, which emphasizes the significance of our class from last Thursday. How can I expect to be an innovator in information systems and internet technology without knowing the history of our internet infrastructure? I look forward to exploring the resources that Dr. Piercy has shared with us in order to continue understanding "where we've been."

One final thought of caution: while knowing where you've been is paramount to understanding an issue, it can also stifle innovation and productivity. One must not be complacent with the mindset, "we do it this way because that's how we've always done it." As UGA MIT students we must challenge ourselves to constantly reexamine why things are the way they are and what, if any, are the areas for improvement.

adios,

D

Lessons from Corporate Strategy and Entrepreneurship

Have to say I'm thoroughly enjoying all of the content of the course, and, quite frankly, its been inspiring in ways.

I have a B.B.A. in information systems so this has been a nice refresher on corporate strategy and management theory/practice. However, the UGA MIT version has a different angle that introduces several ideas that we never discussed on the undergraduate level. Nevertheless, I've always been fascinated to study these topics, and then apply them to the real world by seeing how different corporations implement them well or butcher them.

The entrepreneurship presentation last week by Chris Hanks from the Terry College was inspiring and hilarious! Over the weekend my mind has been racing on different venture ideas. As a former entrepreneur, I've experienced the good and bad of running a business, but I certainly haven't considered it lately. Its good to learn about organizations at UGA, which can support these ventures. I have no doubt that I will tap into these resources at some point in the near future.

The most critical thing for me over the past week is how the course content is reinforcing the importance of having a sound business strategy that fleshes out the internal issues of a venture (business model canvas) as well as the many external challenges (SWOT, 5 Forces, PEST, etc).


Adios,

Davis

Business Model Canvas #2: Infomediary company. This is a model for www.9to5ghz.com, which will be a website that provides trusted, useful information and data on all things related to wireless networking.

Business Model Canvas #1 (in class)

This is a canvas for an Telecomm/IT Services and Solutions company.

Podcast response: What is a router?

Blog post 2: response to How Stuff Works podcast, What it is a router?

This was an interesting, informative, and useful podcast. It served as a helpful refresher on how critical routers are for home, private, and public networks and obviously the internet. (after all "there would be no internet without routers" as the podcast candidly indicated). I also enjoyed their perspective on network address translation. With the emergence of IPv6, maybe one day all public and private IP addresses will be unique.

One common misconception on routers that I've experienced is that any device with any RJ-45
or ethernet port (that isn't obviously a desktop PC or laptop) gets lumped into the server or router category. While these two devices are both critical pieces of information technology infrastructure, they are vastly different from each other as well as from network switches, wireless access points, or cable modems.

This leads me to wonder about the following chicken and egg type question.....

• what is more critical for internet infrastructure--servers or routers?

I welcome your feedback and perspectives. By the way, I won't be surprised if the system admins vote for servers and the network guys/gals vote for routers. :)

 Discuss.

Let us blog.

Hello MIST 7500 colleagues and random readers, if any.  GO DAWGS!

Welcome to my first crack at blogging. I apologize in advance for subjecting you all to the inner caverns of my technical and literary musings. This should be an interesting experience. I'll be perfectly honest that I've also never followed any bloggers, and most of my exposure to blogging (albeit very minimal) has been my negative reaction to a few annoying sports and/or political bloggers. That said, I come in peace with an open mind and will do my best to keep it interesting yet academic (excuse the oxymoron).

No really, I'm excited about this blogging exercise in that I'll have the opportunity to:

• discuss and reflect on on how different internet and information technologies affect how companies/educational institutions/governments do business
• provide a platform that exposes the 'good, bad, and the ugly' of specific technology implementations and project management methods based on personal/professional experiences 
• oh yeah, this meets my course requirements as well.

One other quirk of this blog is to reflect on the following question throughout the semester as I think it is particularly interesting for IT professionals (IT in its broadest sense...including internet technology, software development, project management, networking, internet technology, audio/visual, datacom, and the list goes on).

What is better?....depth in one or two technical areas or breadth in many areas?...Thoughts?

Stay classy,

Davis