Delphi or NGT for Researching the "Cloud"

The "Cloud" is a term all to regularly used today. In all since and purposes, the term "Cloud" has become a house hold name. This poses a single complication with researching cloud computing, what in the world is it?

Some would say that the Cloud is something that Microsoft, Amazon, and Google do. Others would say it is the strategic use of virtualization technologies. And to add to the confusion, others would say that the Cloud is no more than grid computing, re-branded.

With what has been discussed so far, it is clear that using the Delphi model would demonstrate a greater consensus as to what Cloud Computing is, and how it should be researched.

The reason the Delphi model would prove to be a better choice, at the moment that is, is because of the anonymity associated with Delphi. With the "Cloud" still being defined, anonymity is greatly needed so that respondents are answering without influence.

CampusTechnology.com presents to its users and clients a clear definition as what the cloud is, they define the cloud as a utility, much like that of electricity (Ramaswami, Schaffhauser, 2011). I personally agree with them on the standpoint of consumption, but it also highlights the big question, as to what is it really.

Tim

References

Ramaswami, R. Schaffhauser D. (October 10, 2011). What is the Cloud?. Retrieved from http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/10/31/what-is-the-cloud.aspx

Broadband

Broadband speeds are ever increasing.  Per DSLReport.com, in 2011 the average broadband speed in the USA was 5.8 Mbps, ans is up 9% from the previous year. 

I can remember when ISDN (2 dial up lines) that supported up to 128kps was considered high-speed.

The improvements in broadband speeds, brings into realization the strategic importance of Cloud and distributed computing.  With the continued improvements in broadband speeds, I believe that we will see much more focus on the cloud in the near future.

Tim

Choose or not to Choose

http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose.html

Sheena Lyengar discussed the research on the idea to when an individual is presented with "to many" choices, they (The Individuals) simple choose not to choose, even if by not choosing goes against their best interests.

The bottom line is that by cutting/reducing consumer choice actually resulted in increased sales and profits.

How does this align with EIS.  Well, in eCommerce, let's use CDW for instance, when you search for a product, say RAM, you get 7,800 returns on things dealing RAM.  So by using Lyengar's idea of "Cutting" but let's put a twist on that, by letting the consumer reduce the options/choices, should then result in CDW improving profits and sales.

The second piece of advice that Lyengar provided, is that consumers must wholly be able to comprehend risk.  What this means, risk is usually presented to consumers on long boring legal jargon, that even the best lawyers in the world would have problems understanding.  She recommends presenting risks in an easily and immediately understandable method.

Going back to the RAM example, the search for RAM on CDW's website returned 7,800 options.  Ok, they must have a lot RAM, or equipment that has RAM.  But let's say that you need Buffered RAM for a server.  So using Lyengar points here, if CDW placed a picture next to, or even over the image of the RAM that indicated that it was or was not designed for servers, than at that point the consumer would be able to immediately understand the risk.

So in conclusion, to choose or not to choose comes down to 2 primary points: (1) reduce the number of choices, and (2) Ensure that risk is understood immediately.

Tim

Horizon Report 2011

Upon review of the Horizon Report 2011, the report discussed 6 new emerging technologies. At first glance, it appears that these emerging technologies are in there infancy and not "consumer" ready for production use. However, after taking a deeper look at these emerging technologies, it is clear that they are not new, nor emerging, but in turn are common technologies used today. The uniqueness of these technologies is the strategic use of existing technologies to emerge into the market place, new and what appears to be a better way of using these technologies.

Tim