Oracle's affair with ExaLove

If anyone is following the press around Oracle, it is hard to miss Oracle’s infatuation with Exa. It started with ExaData, the database machine that was so fast it supposedly improved the collective productivity of the human race by 300%. (Of course, these claims are still waiting to be independently validated by IBM).

The Exadata release was followed by “Exalogic”. It is now customary to expect at least 5 mentions of Exalogic in even the simplest of conversations that anyone would have with an Oracle representative. I have a sense that Oracle employees greet each other with “Exalogic, Exalogic, Exalogic” in the corridors at work. (Imagine bowing 3 times while saying those words).

I had the opportunity to evaluate Exalogic (at close range) recently and I think I am starting to understand the reason behind this excitement. It is not Exadata or Exalogic alone that has got the Oracle Universe a-buzz, it is the possibilities that Exa brings to the IT and business landscape.

Exalogic is a sister offering to Exadata, and is an “application” machine. It is ENGINEERED from hardware on up to provide an application platform that is built like a tank, and computes at the speed of thought. This makes it an extremely attractive platform for organizations looking to build a cloud environment.

I anticipate that post-Exalogic, Oracle will start coming up with a whole host of pre-built appliances that are specialized for a niche area (think data warehouse appliance, BI appliance, sector-specific appliance) while continuing to provide an as-you-want platform in Exalogic.

I can see where the infatuation for “Exa” comes from, and look forward to seeing the vision materialize.

Manufacturing Clouds - 3D Printing

A recent article in the technology section of the economist discussed advances in 3D printing. This technology allows users to literally print out objects of everyday use. This “additive” approach to manufacturing as opposed to the traditional approach which is “subtractive” in nature, allows for much more economy in terms of use of raw material. It is also highly custom as each print run can be unique.  The cost for each item is limited to the raw material (titanium powder, synthetic plastic, etc…) required for that build. An entire production line does not need to be designed (or modified) for each item that is built.

When I read this article, it sounded eerily familiar. Traditional IT approaches require a long lead time in terms of design, development, change management and deployment to bring a new application to life. The ultimate purpose of the application is to provide business functionality. If it were possible to build  low cost prototypes, or even better, build and retire functionality it would be equivalent to the “additive manufacturing” phenomenon in manufacturing.

Of course, in IT we have the cloud based approach to pay-per-use infrastructure (IaaS). We have pay-per-use functionality in terms of hosted applications (SaaS). We also have pay-per-use platforms for hosting complex applications (PaaS). In this context manufacturing appears to have found its own “Cloud” and the advantages stemming from this change will be nothing short of world changing.

NOTE: All credit for the opinion piece on 3D Manufacturing are given to The Economist.

There is no “Cloud” in Cloud Computing

Last year Larry Ellison (Oracle CEO) had an outburst about the entire buzz regarding “the cloud”. He was amused with the cloud being seen as a new technology that was going to change the world of IT as we see it. One year later, his comments that Cloud is not a new technology, simply a new business model for delivering more of the same continue to hold true. This 3 minute video is worth watching from the 2:15 mark onwards.

In my discussions with business (not IT) leaders, the cloud continues to be seen as a new technology that eliminates in-house IT. The fact that cloud computing is a new model of delivery, NOT a new technology is overlooked. Although, cloud has many advantages the fundamental fact that it is a new way of doing more of the same needs to be repeatedly communicated. Cloud is a business enabler, not a business changing proposition. New revenue channels will need to be based on innovative ideas, simply moving to the cloud is not going to bring new business.

Resurgence of Enterprise Architecture

The current IT landscape has several new emerging trends and technologies. Many of these have progressed beyond the hype-cycle and have moved into implementation mode. In the near-term the following technologies are playing out within the business/technology realm. A detailed map of these emerging technology areas and corresponding technology clusters is provided in Capgemini’s TechnoVision.

All of these technologies provide valuable solutions to current business issues. However, these benefits are multiplied when they are used in conjunction with each other. For example: Using a SaaS based approach for managing Sales is good (Think SalesForce.com). However, if the Sales functions were integrated with the back-end Financial systems in real-time using a SOA based approach; it would provide for much deeper insight in terms of forecasting and budgeting.

The expertise in stitching together new technologies meaningfully has always been a challenge. Enterprise Architects (EA) have been responsible for serving as the bridge between IT and business. Translating business strategy into applications and IT functions that meet those goals. With this new array of emerging technology, and the high-level of overlap between different technology areas, the role of the EA has become even more vital to an organization. The Enterprise Architect role has now extended from not only being the business-IT bridge, but also being the thought leader for an organization. The EA is now responsible for evaluating technology trends and incorporating the right mix of emerging technologies to meet strategic goals. The “mixing” part of an EA’s responsibility is something that has fundamentally changed. 

SOA Composite for the New Year

For those of us who think in terms of "components", the SOA composite below sums up good wishes for the new year. Wishing you a fabulous 2011.

History repeats itself... internet to cloud

When the internet moved beyond the hotmail phenomenon and become a serious contender in enterprise computing; there was the usual media hype about end of IT departments and the imminent move to internet based services. After almost two decades of enterprise grade internet applications, IT departments continue to run certain sets of applications while some applications have moved to the internet.

The value of in-house IT to maintain and run vital business processes was apparent with core applications being maintained in-house. These core applications moved from a client-server to an internet delivery model, but the "network computer" (although a great concept) never really took off. At the same time, internet based functionality provided a completely new level of access to applications, and created entirely new models of business and gave rise to yet unseen businesses (Ex: Webex)

Ultimately the internet was embraced by the enterprise where an appropriate blend of "intranet" and "internet" functions continue to co-exist.

In the cloud arena, similar hype is currently being played out. The end of enterprise IT is trumpeted by popular channels, with an "Everything-as-a-Service" model being proposed as the end-game. These propositions are similar to what the internet went through, and if history holds true, we will eventually end up with a hybrid mix of private and public cloud models of delivery.

The public cloud clearly has value as long as it not used as simply a cost-cutting mechanism. The private cloud would host the enterprise jewels, which would be too precious to host in a public space.

Fusion Middleware design patterns

With the recent release of Oracle FMW 11g, the perception of the product has moved from being a "good" integration platform to being a robust application development platform. A recent book that caught my attention was Oracle FMW Patterns by Harish Gaur / Markus Zirn.

The book is based on 10 use cases and provides interesting guidelines on FMW patterns. Will provide more feedback once I have had a chance to read it cover-to-cover.