Maneuver Warfare in IT: A Cheerleading Pundit

My views on “Classification of Cloud Computing Stakeholders”

By G C Network | July 12, 2008

In “Cloudy Times”, Markus Klems is having a good discussion on how cloud computing stakeholders classify the various infrastructure options. I then thought that it would be good for me…

The Implemetation of Network-Centric Warfare

By G C Network | July 12, 2008

The Implemetation of Network-Centric Warfare “Warfare is about human behavior in a context of organized violence directed toward political ends. So, network-centric warfare (NCW) is about human behavior within a…

Personal Views on DISA, HP and RACE

By G C Network | July 11, 2008

DISA and HP are clearly on the path towards cloud computing. At it’s core, net-centric operations requires the effective delivery of information to forward forces and the translation of that…

DISA selects HP for RACE

By G C Network | July 10, 2008

Byte and Switch reported today that the Department of Defense (DoD) has confirmed that HP will help the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) deploy a major cloud computing infrastructure. Grid…

Speakers for First SOA-R Event Announced

By G C Network | July 10, 2008

Scheduled speakers and topics for the first SOA-R Cloud Computing Education event are: Steve Armentrout, Parabon, President & CEO Grid to Cloud Computing Greg Boss, IBM, Lead Cloud Solution Architect…

Cloud Computing Offerings – A Taxonomy

By G C Network | July 9, 2008

From “The various level of cloud computing” by Ross Cooney Applications in the cloud: Software as a Service (SaaS). Examples include gmail, yahoo mail, Hotmail, the various search engines, wikipedia,…

Cloud Computing Guides (updated 8/10/08)

By G C Network | July 9, 2008

InfoWorld Special Report on Cloud Computing InformationWeek Guide to Cloud Computing InfoWorld Cloud Computing Strategy Guide Cloud Computing Product Guide A Brief History of Cloud Computing Business Week CEO Guide…

Microsoft announcing Cloud Computing offering

By G C Network | July 8, 2008

According to Information Week, Microsoft plans to make three important business software offerings — Exchange, Office Communications, and SharePoint — available in SaaS versions for business this year, but it’s…

Intel new CIO to examine Cloud Computing

By G C Network | July 7, 2008

In a ComputerworldUK article, incoming Intel CIO Diane Bryant says that she will network with fellow information chiefs, examine cloud computing and advocate using the chip giant’s internal operations as…

Cloud Computing for National Security

By G C Network | July 3, 2008

As the national security community considers cloud computing as an IT infrastructure option, it is surely looking at the value of the cloud in an information sharing world. Implementation of…

The Twitter conversation between Christofer Hoff and I went like this:
Christofer – I haven’t formally blogged a resp. (yet) to @Kevin_Jackson on his ‘maneuver warfare in IT’ Not just a cultural shift but a huge tech. one
Kevin – @Beaker I’m looking forward to your comments.
Christofer –  @Kevin_Jackson I want them to be constructive, so I’ll do my best. I’m having trouble with the reality distortion field vs. unicorns 😉
Kevin – @Beaker LOL
I strongly recommend that you read his response titled “Cloud Computing Security: (Orchestral) Maneuvers In the Dark?”. It begins:
“I enjoyed Kevin’s piece but struggled with how I might respond: cheerleader or pundit.  I tried for a bit of both.”
The challenges he had with my article, include:
  • Mixing tenses in some key spots seemed to imply that out of the box today, Cloud Computing can deliver on the promises Kevin is describing now.  Given the audience, this can lead to unachievable expectations
  • The disconnect between the public, private and military sectors with an over-reliance on military analogies as a model representing an ideal state of security operations and strategy can be startling
  • Unrealistic portrayals of where we are with the maturity of Cloud/virtualization mobility, portability, interoperability and security capabilities
His last couple of paragraphs, however, really brings it home:
“It’s absolutely a cultural issue, but we must strive to be realistic about where we are with Cloud and security technology and capabilities as aligned.  As someone who’s spent the last 15 years in IT/Security, I can say that this is NOT the “…dawning of a new day in IT security,” rather it’s still dark out and will be for quite some time.  There is indeed opportunity to utilize Cloud and virtualization to react better, faster and more efficiently, but let’s not pretend we’re treating the problem when what we’re doing is making the symptoms less noticeable.
I am absolutely bullish on Cloud, but not Cloud Security as it stands, at least not until we make headway toward fundamentally fixing the foundational problems we have that allow the problems to occur in the first place.”
Please read his post and comment.  This is a GOOD conversation !!

Follow me at https://Twitter.com/Kevin_Jackson

G C Network