If the AWS re:Invent user conference taught us anything, it’s that hybrid IT (a mix of cloud and on-premises resources) is the model of the future. Extending to every corner of the IT kingdom, if you aren’t in the process of moving some of your infrastructure to the cloud, then you’re already there and finding the perfect balance. Either way, you should appreciate these gems we collected during a week in Las Vegas with some of the premier cloud visionaries:
1.Voice: the next frontier.
It’s easy to match AWS with their industry-leading Alexa innovation. But what comes behind Alexa is a breadth of opportunity in what voice technology means for IT in the near future — which will be industry-changing. Dictation is not a new concept, but coupled with the power of deep learning, the digital transformation options are limitless. Think UIs that have an integral voice component. The rapid growth of voice technologies would only become second behind visual innovations, which are currently exploding in devices such as the iPhone X. But with innovation comes consequence: security is more difficult to manage and enforce. When you have devices that must have an active listening component to engage and complete the required task as well as an unprecedented access to email, application and contact information, it’s the IT Wild West out there.
2.Machines, machines, machines.
If you were skeptical that machine learning was going to become “a thing,” then hopefully AWS re:Invent changed your mind. Machine learning will continue to take a more significant role not only in IT, but in businesses across the globe. While the applications for machine learning algorithms are vast, companies have only scratched the surface — still needing domain experience, data science expertise, and knowledge of the emerging tools out there. But AWS is changing that by simplifying and commoditizing the technologies most companies need, allowing them to integrate these services into their AWS-based cloud deployments.
3.Secure your cloud. Oh, and everything else, too.
It’s a day in time where data hacks and security breaches are becoming everyday headlines. No one wants to become the next model of bad behavior and find their job on the chopping block. The result is to secure everything and then secure it twice — if not three times through. Apply a least-privilege model, encryption, role-based access control, and a general understanding of the rapidly changing security best practices as BYOD and cloud adoption continues to scale.
4.Real time is the best time.
Long ago are the days where technology front-runners can wait to release software and code updates in weeks or even months. Progressive DevOps initiatives have propelled feedback loops to become shorter than ever before while elastic cloud infrastructure allows an extensible amount of applications. One of the notable achievements of AWS (and Zenoss) customer Expedia is the ability to deploy over 2,000 code updates per day. Zenoss also realizes the power of real-time IT infrastructure modeling. It’s no longer cost effective to not maintain real-time availability updates. The current cost per minute for a server outage is approximately $7,900. Not to mention the unmeasurable loss of customer loyalty from a bad user experience.
5.Never underestimate the power of pizza.
Company culture and internal dynamics are critical parts to cloud adoption and success. But we should look no further than our friends at AWS for a simple frame of reference for structuring teams that function in today’s modern IT environment: pizza. If your team is larger than what a single pizza could feed, then it’s time to separate into multiple teams or scale back. And then pass the cheese.
AWS is unarguably one of the hottest innovators in the IT market today. Zenoss is proud to be an AWS partner with our very own SaaS offering, Zenoss as a Service, which is hosted on the AWS cloud. As you continue to create your road map for cloud deployment, let’s partner together to ensure that your infrastructure is scalable and ensures uninterrupted availability for your customers. We’ll buy the pizza.
Learn more about Zenoss and AWS.
