Treff LaPlante

Many of us have spent years explaining to customers why our various versions of Platform as a Service (PaaS) are their best alternative for customization and deployment of business software applications.  Logically, there is little reason not to choose a PaaS as the core architecture for your businesses software.  However while there has been adoption, it hasn't occurred at the pace which it probably should given the magnitude of the value proposition.  This of course is the quandary called "the adoption cycle" that receives a lot of attention from authors and analysts alike. Basically, the adoption cycle distinguishes early adopters, middle adopters and late adopters, and put's them all on a bell curve.  In technology, it is widely thought that there is a very large gap between the early adopters and the middle adopters, and for a company to actually overcome that g... (more)

The People Cloud Computing Forgot

I’m a big fan of Dana Gardner (Dana Gardner's BriefingsDirect on Ulitzer), and he recently took a stab at discussing how organizational roles and their importance are likely to change with the growing adoption of cloud computing.  Specifically, Dana focuses on the role of the Enterprise Architect, and he correctly assesses their increased prominence in tomorrow’s organizations. While that represents an important incremental change, I see a much more transformative change on the horizon for organizations embracing cloud computing technologies.  Before I tell you what this more ra... (more)

WorkXpress Named Up and Coming Cloud Computing Company by BTC Logic

WorkXpress was named an Up-and-Coming Cloud Computing Vendor by BTC Logic. The Up-and-Comers segment is drawn from a database of smaller, innovative firms that offer novel approaches to specific Cloud problems that BTC believes warrant wider attention. BTC sees Up-and-Comers as potentially being interesting to IT executives who already have a broad view of the Cloud. The Cloud Computing Ranking Report by BTC is a service to BTC clients, and is intended to sort through the crowded Cloud marketplace. The report provides insight for companies looking to develop an effective Cloud str... (more)

Disruptive Nature of Cloud Computing and PaaS

Too often, discussions about "cloud computing" are met with skepticism and inside jokes that it is more about marketing than it is about delivering real value.  In his excellent analysis of why Cloud Computing is disruptive, Ric Telford over at IBM disagree's.  He talks about a number of key factors that create a disruptive technology, which he defines as the ability to rapidly displace existing technologies.  He mentions things like ease of use, empowerment and efficiency.  He alludes to dramatic productivity gains and cost reductions, and he uses real examples. I am particular... (more)

Cloud Computing Adoption - Part 2 of 5

Historically, when we take something complex and make it simple, we open up all sorts of opportunities for value. Think about the changes that happened once the Web made it simpler to buy goods and services. Consider how mobile phones and text messaging have empowered us to communicate faster and more frequently. And consider what the word processor, e-mail and spreadsheets have done for individual productivity. Cloud computing is a lot like each of these three revolutions in that it greatly reduces the complexity of otherwise technically challenging issues. In so doing, it empo... (more)