BIG DATA

Just like Cloud Computing, Social Media and BYOD. Big Data has fast emerged as one of the most popular IT terms of today. But does the expression (used to describe the explosion in the growth of data and its availability and usage) have any significance or is it just big hype? While critical data and information are getting generated at a mind-boggling pace in enterprises, it still cannot be dubbed as Big Data – massive volumes that are growing beyond the performance capacity of traditional database management systems and data warehouse. Some sectors not only generate humungous amounts of data but also need to run this data through analytics for continuous growth and performance. It is no longer a subject of debate that Big Data enables enterprises to become more productive. It helps corporate become smarter by exploiting data in a hitherto unavailable manner thereby presenting newer growth opportunities. At the same time, however, technology leaders in most sectors need to carefully evaluate whether their businesses actually demand Big Data solutions or not. They should cautiously assess vendors pushing Big Data solutions.

First Big Data solutions are expensive. Secondly, it impacts the traditional approaches to Enterprise Architecture (EA).While Big Data (both from a management and implementation perspective) could be a challenge. It is also an opportunity for technology leaders. Big Data demands new business models. Some define Big Data in terms of being larger than a certain number of terabytes. As technology advances overtime, the size of the datasets that qualify as Big Data will also increase. Also, the definition can vary by sector, depending on what kinds of software tools are commonly available and what size of datasets is common to particular industry.

Staffing could be one of the biggest challenges for big data deployments. For a large scale deployment, enterprises would need to invest into training the staff on Big Data technologies. Moreover, cultural mind mindsets need to change to allow use of open source technologies as many Big Data tools are open source.Big Data can turn into opportunity if handled well. The data can be segregated under three buckets:

Customer Centric – Required for customer services.

Business Data – Required for analytics, trend analysis and business forecast etc.

Legal Data – Managed for regulatory requirements.

Adoption of Big Data analytics will lead to faster rollout of many customer-facing services and by applying analytics one can really change the game in the market. Analytics plays a major role in making the business enlightened on the power of information that can be carved out of the Big Data mart.In the last 6-7 years, advancement in Big Data technologies has considerably improved analytics on extremely large datasets. Enterprises need to think how data in their company is getting created and how it is being stored. Storage tiering is required to get optimal level of performance before adopting Big Data analytics. The success rate of a Big Data deployment does not depend on the scale of deployment rather it is more to do with the alignment of IT and business. Value of Big Data deployment can be measured in terms of accuracy of analysis of data. IT can also be measured in terms of business efficiency improvement and insights that it offers.

ENTERPRISE MOBILITY MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

These days, most organizations are a mobile enterprise, whether their IT departments want them to be or not.

As end users rely more on tablets, smartphones and even their personal laptops, IT needs to keep up with the latest mobile computing definitions and trends. Devices, operating systems and apps evolve quickly, so IT pros in a mobile enterprise must stay on top of the latest software and strategies for managing, securing and taking advantage of new technologies.
Enterprise mobility

With enterprise mobility, end users aren't chained to their desks and PCs anymore. More employees do work outside the office with smartphones and tablets, sharing and accessing data via cloud services. Enterprise mobility can improve employee productivity but also create security risks

Mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is software that lets devices run apps, connect to cellular and wireless networks, and perform other tasks. Popular mobile OSes include Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Research In Motion's BlackBerry OS and Microsoft's Windows Phone.
Mobile browser

Smartphones and tablets have much smaller screens than desktops and laptops, so they run Web browsers that render websites for optimal viewing. Mobile browsers also utilize lightweight software to address mobile devices' memory and bandwidth limitations. Most browsers display the mobile versions of sites by default but can display regular HTML sites if mobile versions aren't available.

Mobile device fragmentation

When there are different versions of the same mobile operating system in current use, that's known as mobile device fragmentation. Android provides the best example of a fragmented operating system: Wireless carriers control the timing of OS updates to different devices, so there are often delays (deliberate or otherwise) in delivery. Some devices in a mobile enterprise may be on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, while others may still run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and there's nothing IT can do to standardize.

Mobile device management

Mobile device management (MDM) software lets IT deliver apps, data and configuration settings to smartphones and tablets. A mobile enterprise typically deploys MDM for security reasons; most commonly, MDM lets IT see what users are doing on their mobile devices, blacklist and whitelist apps and remotely wipe devices in case of loss or theft.

BYOD policy

A bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy governs how employees may use their personal smartphones, tablets and computers at work -- and the extent to which corporate IT will support these devices. BYOD policies vary widely between organizations, because no two companies will have the same use cases, IT resources and security concerns. A BYOD policy will typically state who can do what with particular apps on certain devices.

Device-agnostic

Apps and websites that work with most operating systems and device types are device-agnostic, but the term also applies to any hardware or software that is compatible across different systems without special adaptations. App development has begun to lean toward device agnosticism to help IT departments avoid unmanageable support demands. When apps work across a broad range of devices, they're better for users and for IT.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

There is no business today, without an ERP application. Many companies now are shifting their focus on ERP, including Small and Medium Enterprises. An ERP software solution seeks to streamline and integrate operations, processes and information flows in an enterprise, to synergize the resources of an organization namely men, material, money and machine. In other words, ERP systems integrate all data and processes of an organization into a unified system. A typical ERP will use multiple components of computer software and hardware to achieve the integration. A key ingredient of most ERP systems is the use of a unified database to store data for the various system modules.

Most organizations across the world have realized that in a rapidly changing business environment, it is impossible to create and maintain a custom designed software package which will cater to all their requirements and also be up-to-date. Realizing these requirements of organizations, companies have designed and developed ERP software, which offer an integrated software solution to all the functional processes in an organization.

Although, in the initial stage ERP originated in the manufacturing environment, now ERP software solutions typically cover all basic business process/functions of any organization, regardless of the organization's business or charter. A typical ERP module include: Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Financials, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resources, Warehouse Management and Decision Support System. These solutions are often incorrectly quoted as back office solutions indicating that customers and the general public are not directly involved. This is contrasted with front office systems like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems that directly deal with customers, or ebusiness systems such as eCommerce, eGovernment, eTelecom, and eFinance, or Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) systems. In reality, ERP modules are cross-functional and enterprise wide software solutions. All functional departments that are involved in operations or production can be integrated in one system using it. In addition to manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and Information Technology, it also includes; accounting, human resources, marketing, and strategic management.

There are many different flavours of ERP that serve businesses' varying procedure types. An ERP solution has numerous benefits depending on the type of business that it serves; these are business solutions and industry solutions. The industry solutions are designed for people who are working in specific industries, like finance, communications, education, healthcare to name a few.

Importance of ERP software for businesses:

ERP software business solutions are designed for companies that work in a wide variety of areas. IT combines a large number of different elements into a single unit. Three of the most important ERP tools available today are manufacturing, human resources, and finance.The finance tools allow companies to successfully maintain their financial information like that of the assets, accounts, budgets and cash. ERP can also assist a company in managing internal as well as external factors affecting it. A company that uses ERP financial products can save a great deal of money over the long term, the reason being, the productivity of the organization will be improved. Enterprise Resource Planning is instrumental in getting rid of time consuming activities as paper management. A company is able to study their processes, earnings, and performance by merging their operational information with their financial information. Once this information is connected together, a company can become more competitive and productive. Synergy is an important part of ERP solutions. The concept of combining multiple processes into a single whole will allow the company to become successful in the long term.

In addition to finance and business processes, it is also important to look at materials maintenance. Enterprise Resource Planning will allow a company to successfully automate the process of buying materials and maintaining them. There are modules that track the supplies that are purchased and can also make calculations about how these materials should be distributed. It also becomes possible for a company to predict the demand of the market based on history, economic statistics, and data from their employees. They can even decide when a product should be produced, and they can do this based on the raw material that is available. 

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

Today’s IT systems require a disciplined and controlled approach to system management. The ITIL framework provides a great guide for organisations seeking to streamline processes, improve service delivery and enforce controls. However, a rigid one-size-fits-all strategy to ITIL is not the right answer for all.

The IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL) is the most widely accepted approach to IT service management in the world. ITIL is a best practice framework that has been drawn from both the public and private sectors internationally. It describes how IT resources should be organised to deliver business value, documenting the processes, functions and roles of IT Service Management (ITSM).

ITIL is a set of books that provide a practical, no-nonsense framework for identifying, planning, delivering, and supporting IT services to the business. The framework is based on proven best practices developed by IT experts around the world and has evolved over the past two decades. ITIL is the most widely adopted approach for IT service management.

ITIL is a public framework that describes IT service management best practice.  It “provides a framework for the governance of IT, the ‘service wrap,’ and focuses on the continual measurement and improvement of the quality of IT service delivered, from both a business and a customer perspective”.

ITIL was first developed in the 1980s by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), a branch of the British Government. It has become a de facto global standard, with thousands of organizations worldwide adopting it as the framework for establishing IT processes .ITIL comprises of five chapter namely  first Service Strategy, provides an overall strategy for IT services and IT service management. The remaining chapters are Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation, and Continual Service Improvement.

It’s important to note that the ITIL tell you what to do but not how to do it.

BRING YOUR DEVICE (BYOD)

A bring your own device (BYOD) is nothing but allowing employees to bring their own device to access enterprise network.A bring your own device (BYOD) strategy for enterprises can be a winner for both users and administrators. But switching to BYOD requires more than throwing open the barn doors and letting employees buy whatever device they want. IT still needs to manage and secure the data on mobile devices, whether they are owned by an enterprise or user.

In more traditional mobility deployments, the enterprise itself was responsible for all facets of the mobile device, including purchasing, its associated voice and data plans, as well as managing the device assets. The IT department would track what device was assigned to each user and would be the clearinghouse for any device replacement or upgrades. Essentially, IT treated mobile devices in the same way that it did other IT assets like laptops or printers.Consumers, however, are embracing smartphones and tablet devices as ways to stay personally connected. This has led to a two-device dilemma, with many enterprise users carrying both a personal and work device with them. The bring your own device movement is partially a solution for this dilemma, enabling users to carry a single device for both business and personal use.

Bring your own device (BYOD) programs, especially when they include desktop virtualization, have gained steam in organizations looking to centralize desktop management and make hardware management easier. Allowing end users to employ their own personal devices can also make them more productive, saving companies time and money. But if an organization implements BYOD poorly, it can lose control over its infrastructure and, even more importantly, its data.

It’s important to take some time and plan out a BYOD initiative by following these guidelines:

Determine the need for a BYOD program

Some organizations jump on the BYOD bandwagon too quickly, not realizing how it can affect their existing IT infrastructure. Examine how users work on their corporate PCs to gauge whether they will be able to continue this type of productivity on their personal devices. In some cases, users will be a lot more productive given the chance to use their own equipment. Other times, a BYOD initiative just won’t make sense, either because of employees’ work styles, the corporate culture or other reasons.

Consider desktop virtualization

Desktop virtualization can deliver corporate desktop images to personal endpoints, ensuring that there won’t be a drastic change for users when a BYOD program takes effect. At the same time, users can still have very powerful, personalized computing experiences because they are in charge of managing their devices. The added benefit is that IT administrators can manage desktop images directly from one interface and worry less about endpoint hardware.

Don’t forget application delivery

Even though they’ll be using their own devices, employees will still need access to corporate applications. Application delivery is an important subset of desktop management, especially when it comes to BYOD. It means not only controlling how applications get to end users, but also how to monitor and manage application settings all from a centralized location. Virtualization is one way to handle application delivery in your BYOD program.

Plan for BYOD security

Even with a BYOD program in place, IT admins still have to control and manage access to the corporate infrastructure and data. Another benefit of using desktop or application virtualization is that data and applications live in the data center. This way, a lost device doesn’t spell disaster, because the device doesn’t actually contain any sensitive corporate information. As they do with standard, corporate-owned devices, administrators will still need to create comprehensive security groups and strict policies, plus perform general security monitoring.

Get end users’ support

Keep in mind that some of your users might not be up for BYOD. Some people may take issue with the blurring of the line between their personal and work lives, for example. Educating end users and assuring them that their IT department can help them have a better work experience with their personal devices should be on the BYOD checklist. By gradually testing the program, organizations can gain employees’ support and make them much more enthusiastic about using their own devices for work.

Develop BYOD policies

Implementing a BYOD program doesn’t mean users will be able to use any device they want. For BYOD to be successful, admins must decide in advance which devices they will support for various workloads. For example, you can deliver a full desktop to an Android phone, but it probably isn’t practical because of the small screen (and other factors). But delivering that same desktop to an iPad might work for some users. Figure out what the needs of your users are, then pick a device (or devices) to fit those needs. IT also needs to develop, implement and enforce a BYOD policy that governs user access to corporate infrastructure and data on their device.

BYOD still requires mobile device management

Shifting users to a BYOD strategy does not absolve IT from responsibility for mobile device management. It doesn’t matter who is paying for the mobile device, IT will still have to manage that device as a corporate asset. Companies will need tools to support mobile devices, including tools for mobile device management (MDM), mobile security and mobile application management.

IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT(IAM)

Identity and Access Management (IAM) comprises of people, processes and products to manage identities and access to resources of an enterprise. The ultimate goal of IAM Framework is to provide the right people with the right access at the right time.

IAM components can be classified into 4 major categories: authentication, authorization, user management and central user repository (Enterprise Directory)

Authentication

This area is comprised of authentication management and session management.  Authentication is the module through which a user provides sufficient credentials to gain initial access to an application system or a particular resource.  Once a user is authenticated, a session is created and referred during the interaction between the user and the application system until the user logs off or the session is terminated by other means (e.g. timeout).  The authentication module usually comes with a password service module when the userid / password authentication method is used.  By centrally maintaining the session of a user, the authentication module provides Single Sign-On service so that the user needs not logon again when accesses another application or system governed under the same IAM Framework.

Authorization

Authorization is the module that determines whether a user is permitted to access a particular resource.  Authorization is performed by checking the resource access request, typically in the form of an URL in web-based application, against authorization policies that are stored in an IAM policy store.  Authorization is the core module that implements role-based access control.  Moreover, the authorization model could provide complex access controls based on data or information or policies including user attributes, user roles / groups, actions taken, access channels, time, resources requested, external data and business rules.

User Management

This area is comprised of user management, password management, role/group management and user/group provisioning.  User management module defines the set of administrative functions such as identity creation, propagation, and maintenance of user identity and privileges. One of its components is user life cycle management that enables an enterprise to manage the lifespan of a user account, from the initial stage of provisioning to the final stage of de-provisioning.

Central user repository (Enterprise Directory)

Central User Repository stores and delivers identity information to other services, and provides service to verify credentials submitted from clients.  The Central User Repository presents an aggregate or logical view of identities of an enterprise.  Directory services adopting LDAPv3 standards have become the dominant technology for Central User Repository.

Oracle, Microsoft and IBM are pioneers in IAM technology.

VIRTUALIZATION

1. What is virtualization?

In computing, virtualization (or virtualisation) is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as a hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or network resources.

2. How virtualization works?

Virtualization needs a special software that runs as a virtualization layer (called a hypervisor) between the hardware and the operating system.

3. Why virtualize?

There are many reasons for adopting virtualization. A popular one is better resource utilization. It is not uncommon to see servers running at 10 percent or less of their capacity, at different points in the day. By letting several virtual servers share a single set of hardware, a much higher average utilization rate is achieved, and hardware and support costs are lowered. Virtualization also makes it easier to provision and reallocate servers. Instead of having to manually set up a server, the virtualization software can set up a server using a pre-existing template and shift server images from one physical server to another to balance workloads or improve efficiency. It can also automatically set up a new virtual server on a different machine when there is a hardware malfunction. Each application is isolated from the others, which provides greater security.

4. What are the different types of virtualisation?

1. Hardware virtualisation

2. Desktop virtualisation

3. Software virtualisation

4. Storage virtualisation

5. Network virtualisation

5. What are big challenges to virtualization technology?

Backup and restoration of Virtual Machines (VMs), software licensing are big challenges to virtualization technology.

6. Who are the pioneers in the field of virtualization?

 VMware (EMC) is by far the largest vendor of virtualization technology for x86 platforms.

IBM is also into foray with their IBM Virtualization Engine Platform.

Microsoft is also playing a major role in virtualization technology with Windows Server.