Technology Forecast

Summer 2009


    Technology Forecast Summer 2009
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This issue of the Technology Forecast covers the emerging trends associated with cloud computing. The first article describes Bechtel's journey and introduces the Evergreen IT concept—the idea that the goal isn't cloud computing but a new approach to the provisioning and management of IT that avoids the creation of legacy complexities and cost.

The second article takes the Evergreen IT concept down into the details of the technology that can support such an approach. We examine two broad technology domains, virtualization and data center automation, and explain their key roles in delivering Evergreen IT.

The third article describes the way forward from the CIO's perspective . Although there will be no single path, we suggest five broad stages of transformation most companies must accomplish to reach the goal of Evergreen IT.

As always, our articles are supported by in-depth interviews with leading executives and thought leaders defining the future of IT. Geir Ramleth of Bechtel shares his vision and experience of transforming the Bechtel IT organization from its legacy roots and toward the vision of Evergreen IT. Erich Clementi and Irving Wladawsky-Berger of IBM emphasize how standardization and mass customization principles will reduce complexity and industrialize the IT function. Simon Crosby of Citrix describes how virtualization creates the separation between the layers of the IT stack necessary for Evergreen IT. Kirill Sheynkman of Elastra explains how intelligent software he is building will model and automate data center operations. Russ Daniels of EDS, an HP company , shares his insights about how IT needs to move from a build-to-order culture to a configure-to-order culture. Doug Hauger of Microsoft notes how cloud computing represents a technology and business model shift.


Contents

Features

  • The real promise of cloud computing
    Evergreen IT delivers flexibility and lower cost. Finally, enterprises can shake off the burdens of their legacy systems.
  • Enabling Evergreen IT
    Technologies to create separation in the IT vertical stack and to automate IT operations form the basis for pursuing Evergreen IT.
  • A CIO’s road map to adopting Evergreen IT
    There’s no shortcut to make your data center and IT infrastructure legacy free and agile, but you can map a sensible route to that goal.

Interviews

  • Evergreening IT at Bechtel
    Geir Ramleth of Bechtel describes how cloud computing principles transformed IT at Bechtel.
  • Using virtualization to break vertical integration in IT silos
    Simon Crosby of Citrix explains how virtualization creates separation in the IT vertical stack.
  • Modeling to automate data center operations
    Kirill Sheynkman of Elastra describes the benefits of modeling IT environments in the data center.
  • Standardization and mass customization of IT
    Erich Clementi and Irving Wladawsky-Berger of IBM discuss how cloud computing represents a new business and computing model.
  • From build-to-order IT to configure-to-order IT
    Russ Daniels of EDS, an HP company, discusses how cloud computing is creating opportunity in industry ecosystem interactions.
  • Abstracting IT closer to business value
    Doug Hauger of Microsoft explains how cloud computing abstracts IT resources for developers.