The 10 Most Admired Companies in Cloud Computing October2017

Reciting the Hymn of Cloud Migration

Editorial

Cloudmigrationisthetalkofthetownandhasbecomeanew formofgoldrushforenterpriseswithaccesstothe increasinglymoreeconomical,secureandadaptableCloud infrastructure.WhileCloudtechnologyhasbecomeanormto numerousorganizational'infrastructure,with70percentofcompanies alreadyhavingatleastoneapplicationonthecloud,but95%ofall enterpriseapplicationsstillawaittheirmigrationtotheCloud.

WiththeemergenceofadvancedCloudenablingsoftware applications,evolvednewchallengestoovercome;like,delivering themasascalable,efficientSaaShasbeenthemostarduoustaskdue toadearthofanautomated,user-friendlysingleplatform,and secondlytoefficientlyandeffectivelyCloudifyandSaaSifysoftware applications.

Weallknowmigrationembroilsinitialmovementoftheolddata followedbytheincrementaltugofthedatafromthevarioussources. Butthereisathoroughdescriptionneedtobeinplacethatplotsthe sourcedataelementstothetargetdataelements.Practicalevidences conveythatoftenitisdesirabletorunthemodeleddatamigration projectinparallelwiththelegacysystemsothatitiseasiertotestand determinethesuccessofthemigration.Thus,themigrationand extractionneedstobesetupinarepeatedmannersothatincasethere aresomeconcernswiththemigration,itcanbere-processed.

So,toeradicatethistherehasbeenalotofsupportfromdata warehousesinthecloud.Movingdatawarehousestothecloudis yieldingrealbusinessbenefits,sincemanyvendorsareexpandingthe breadthanddepthofservicesforwarehousingandanalysisofthe data.However,migrationisnotexemptedofchallenges.Makesure youthinkthroughallthedifferentaspectsofdatawarehouse migrationandthencomeupwithaninfallibleplantoaddressthose challenges.

Sagar Bhattacharjee

The Most10

Admired Companies in

Cloud Computing for 2017

CloudComputingistheNewNorm

nthiseraofrapidtechnologicaladvancement,cloudcomputingindustryisalsochangingitsface.Thecloud

Icomputingindustryisshiftingawayitsfocuson“infrastructure,”andisinsteadincreasinglyapproachingtowards “applications.”

Today,thecloudisnolongertheonlything,that’sforjustdevelopersandSMBs,butmoreofastandardsolutionfor thewholeEnterpriseworld.Frombankingandfinancetomanufacturing,everyindustryhasstartedmigratingtothe cloud.Andnow,theseindustriesareslowlymovingtowardsbuildingplanstooperatetheirservicesandproductsinthe cloud.Buttherearesomekeyplayersinthisindustrywhicharehelpingenterprisestomaketheirinceptionjourneyto thewholenewworldofcloudswiftandhasslefree.

Tohighlighttheoutstandingachievementsofthesecompaniestowardsrevolutionisingthecloudcomputingindustry, wehavecomeupwiththeissueof“The10MostAdmiredCompaniesinCloudComputing.”

OnthecoverwehaveCloudFX,whichisaworld-classorganizationandhasareputationintheartofsimplifyingthe processoftechnologyandbusinesstransformationthroughtheirunrivaledadvisoryandexecutionservices.

Wehavealsolisted Artha Infotama,whichisoneofthefastestgrowingITcompanieswithendtoendsolution providingcapabilities.ItisalsoaMicrosoftGoldCompetencyPartner(ERPMicrosoftDynamics&VolumeLicensing) and1-TierCloudSolutionProvider(CSP1-Tier). Avanxo forprovidingaperfectallyforlargecompaniesthatneedto transformtheirbusinessandimprovetheirprocesseswiththeimplementationofCloudComputingsolutions. Cato Networks forprovidinglatestSoftware-definedWAN,inthecloud. Coupa forbeingtheultimatecloudplatformfor ® ®businessspendthatisSAPICCcertifiedinSAPS/4HANA integrationandSAPNetWeaver integration. Deepraj Software Services forbeinganemergingsoftwaredevelopmentcompanywhichisthrivingduetoitshighquality technologicalproductsandsuperiorsoftwareservices. M-Power Solutions forbeingtheleadingOracleCloudPartner inAsiaPacific. Natterbox Ltd. forenablingorganisationstodeliverclass-leadingservicelevelstotheircustomers throughefficientandeffectiveintegrationofvoiceintotheirdigitalcustomercommunications. Neverfail forenabling itsclientstotransformtheirbusinesswithsecurecloudsolutions,guaranteeduptime,andarobustpartner/software ecosystem.

Wehaveadded A Tainted Shelter of Virtual and Cloud Networks, How Will Cloud Computing Be By 2020 and Migrating the Data Warehouses into the Cloud. Thesearesomeofthescholarlyarticleswrittenbyourin-house writers.

So,doflipthroughtheamazingfoliosofourmagazinetodiscerntheincrediblecontributionsoftheseCloud Computingcompanies.

Damian

Thepurposeofcloudautomationistoeasethe complexitythatcomeswithcloudcomputing adaptationandhelpbusinessesleverage themselves.Thetechnologyrelatesitselfwiththe deploymentofthedifferentdynamicresourcesandmodules inacloudcomputingorvirtualizedenvironment.CloudFX isonesuchindustryleader,maniacallyfocusedonensuring thattheirclientsandpartnersarecapableoftransitioning seamlesslyintoacommercialworldgroundedinthe DigitizationoftechnologythroughtheemergenceofCloud andIoTtechnologies,ultimatelyunderpinnedby automation.

AfterCloudFX’sinception,their purposewassimple,bring ingenuity,innovationand pragmatismtothemostdisruptive generationalperiodoftechnological changetheworldhasever experiencedthroughvendor agnostictechnologyplatformsand solutions.Aftermanyyearsof dedicatedR&D,CloudFXhas outstandinglydevelopedoneofthe world'sleadingDigital,Cloudand IoTplatforms.Tosupportthe pervasivenessofthisplatform,they builtoutandenabledoneofthe mostinnovativeeco-systemsof partnerswhousetheirtechnologies tohelpcustomersaligntoand benefitfromthisgenerationalshiftintechnology.

technology is used, provisioned, governed and managed.

The reality is, the generic OEM vendor’s have the sales reach and marketing budgets to propagate this image that they are leaders in this space, but the reality is, specialist small companies will define the industry’s direction for the next 5-8 years and I felt like I was in a position to contribute to that definition and potentially lead that change with like minded employees, partners and customers.

EmbracetheAgileCulturewithCloudFX’sUnique ProductandServices

Damianhasspentovertwodecadesinunderstanding, definingandultimatelyleading howcompaniesdeliverand efficientlyusetechnologyto achievetheirgoalsacrossthe world.Theseexperienceshave helpedDamiantodevelopa feelingofresponsibilitytogive back.

We Help our Clients Leverage Cloud Technology

TheTrailblazerofCloudFX DamianCrotty,FounderandGroupCEOofCloudFX isahighlyexperiencedtechnologyexecutiveand entrepreneur.Hehasadiverse,globalbackgroundand proventrackrecordinleadinghighgrowth,matureand start-uptechnologybusinesses.

Withavisiontoredefinethewaycloudtechnologyis acceptedandused,Damiansays: At the core of my being is this concept of “thinking arete” which in Greek means “excellence of any kind” or as it applies to my reflections and ambitions with CloudFX “in the pursuit of excellence.”

The generational shift in technology was going to have a profound impact on the way companies consume technology, who they consume technology from, how that

Toworkonhisresponsibility, Damianstarteddevelopingthe mostadvanced,innovative, customerfocusedtechnology platformandenablementservices toalignwiththerealityofwhat enterprisesneedtodoinorderto successfullynavigatethis generationaltechnological transition.AtCloudFX,theyhavesuccessfullybuilt exceptionalplatforms,intellectualproperty,partnerswho havetheirowninnatecapabilitiesandservicesthatare ultimatelyalignedaroundonebasicgoalandthat’sto deliverchangethat’smeasurable,valuable,meaningfuland sustainable.

LeavingNoStoneUnturned

Willingnesstoworkhard,learn,beflexible,change directionwhenneededandremainbothcuriousandopento thechangingdynamicsoftheindustryandcustomer preferencesisallthatcontributestoCloudFX’sinnovation agenda.

Damianbelieves,ITisanunusualindustry,anditdoesn’t suithispersonality Accordingtohim,ITiselusiveand unaccountableinmanyareaswithpoorstrategicand

‘‘

financialdecisionmaking.So,remaininginspired,engaged andstickingtotheprinciplesinthefaceofirrational circumstancesarethekeyattributestoevolveintoaglobal leaderinthisspace.

I truly feel for all of the leaders who have grand visions only to see them not realized due to the company’s ability to survive (cash, debt, execution, people churn etc.) but I take none of this personally, it’s sports for me and my guys rise to every challenge so I draw my inspiration from my people, my partners and my customers, combined that with a deep passion for the industry, a commitment to deliver transformative change for our partners and a “zero quit”

mentality, I love the change and challenge.–asserts Damian.

IndustryInsights,fromDamian'sPointofView AccordingtoDamian, it’s the most exciting time in the industry’s history on one hand, and yet on the other, people are making technology based decision’s that will determine the ultimate success or failure of their business. Let’s track the last 15 years, 50% of the Fortune 500 have been eliminated due to digital disruption and these companies had unlimited resources to navigate this transition so it’s a massive challenge and most CEO’s and Board’s are not equipped to navigate this due to high strategic and financial

It’s more than “technology” that sets us apart, it’s the modus operandi of our strategy, people, processes and partners that makes us truly unique

acumen but low technological acumen. The reality is, IT is the corporate function most negatively impacted and yet IT is making the calls on how the “business” should drive that change ? The irony of this is never lost on us. IT is notorious for poor decision making, poor project implementation, poor business case goal attainment and delivering initiatives on time. In the past, the business could still operate effectively, but today, that's not the case. If businesses get this transition wrong, they will fail.

TransformingChallengesintoOpportunities

CloudFXisattainingnewheightseveryday,andfor themopportunitiesaremassive,sotheyaresolely focusingonpickingthespacesandsegmentsthatthey candefine,leadandexecutebetterthananyoneelse.

Lookingtowardsabrightfuture,Damianbelievesthat theywillsee$1.4TRNofmarketvaluecreatedin5-8 years.Thisistrulyunprecedentedintermsofthesizeofthe opportunityandhowquicklyit’stakingplace. Beingsmall,agileandfortheircaseprivateanddevoid ofbureaucracyisamassiveadvantage.

Damian’sAdvicetotheNewEntrantsintheIndustry

I read a quote recently that said something to the effect of “You will fail a thousand times, you will lose all your money, you will be ridiculed, you’ll be dismissed, you’ll have people who don’t know you say terrible things about you, you’ll go grey, lose sleep and lose relationships that matter and if you survive all of that over a long term, i.e. 10 years, you’ll be successful”. I am entering my 9th year at CloudFX at the end of 2017 and I’ve experienced all of these things so my advice is this; you need to be so resilient, so assured of your purpose, so enthusiastic and so committed that nothing can or will stop you. It’s an incredible opportunity to help people – employees, customers, partners and I love giving back and seeing people realise their goals, but it’s a hard journey, particularly when I’ve remained committed to staying Private other than Intel Capital and Cisco’s investments, but today, 75% of the company is owned privately. We’ve had a lot of money chasing us but it would compromise our agnostic purity and I won’t compromise my principles for money, so my advice is plan well, execute perfectly, hire exceptionally and I wish you the very best of luck, you’re a warrior and need to be prepared to act and operate like one.

‘‘

Our Goal is to Make IT Transformation Easy ‘‘

HelpingClientstoOutshinetheirCompetitors

AtCloudFX,theyhelptheirglobalcustomersandpartners maximizetheirshareofthe$1.4TRNDigitalservices marketthroughtheirplatformandsolutionoriented technologieswhichcreatedigitalsavvy,agileand innovativebusinessmodels.TheyenableEnterprisesand GovernmentstomassivelyincreasetheeffectivenessofIT whilstreducingthecostofbusinessandtechnologydriven servicesconsumption,andtheydothisacrosseveryservice typeandeveryvendor.CloudFXistrulyuniquein integration,automation,management,analyticsandbilling ofthesebusinessservicesirrespectiveofwhethertheyare onthemonetizationsideortheconsumptionand transformationsideofthiseconomicequation.

GearedUpfortheFuture Easy. Incredible. Why? We have developed the world’s best platform technology, and now it’s in 5th generation. I have an incredible group of people to work with that inspire me daily. I love our partners and care about their business as much as I do by my own. These are the biggest SI’s and MSP’s in the world and they chose us, we are blessed (and so are they). The world is truly at our feet, but because we are so determined, humbled, driven and customer focused, all I care about is the change we bring to the industry, and that’s change done the right way –saysDamian.

ArthaInfotama

CatoNetworks catonetworks.com

Deepraj

Coupa coupa.com

JuanDavidGarzon PracticeDirectorSFDC

ArthaInfotamaisoneofthefastestgrowingITcompanieswithend toendsolutionprovidingcapabilities.ItisalsoaMicrosoftGold CompetencyPartner(ERPMicrosoftDynamics&Volume Licensing)and1-TierCloudSolutionProvider(CSP1-Tier).

Avanxoistheperfectallyforlargecompaniesthatneedto transformtheirbusinessandimprovetheirprocesseswiththe implementationofCloudComputingsolutions

ShlomoKramer CEO

Crotty CEO&Founder

StephenHendry CEO RobBernshteyn CEO

CatoNetworksprovideslatestSoftware-definedWAN,inthe cloud,protectedbyatightlyintegratedsetofsecurityservices.

CloudFXisaworld-classorganizationandhasareputationin theartofsimplifyingtheprocessoftechnologyandbusiness transformationthroughtheirunrivaledadvisoryandexecution services.

CoupaisthecloudplatformforbusinessspendthatisSAPICC certifiedinSAPS/4HANA®integrationandSAPNetWeaver® integration.

DeeprajSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltdisanemergingsoftware

GauravSolanki CEO

MikeTheriault

President&CEO, SteveTheriault

Marketing

MarkSimpson Director

NeilHammerton CEO

companywhichisthrivingduetoitshighquality technologicalproductsandsuperiorsoftwareservices.

ITSavvy’shasmorethan1,000,000productsandavendor neutralphilosophy,itsbusiness-to-businessresellerbusiness offersmorethana1,000namebrandcomputerproducts.

M-PowerSolutionsistheleadingOracleCloudPartnerinAsia Pacific. Theyspecialiseindeliveringplanning,budgeting,

bigdata,andfinancialreportingsolutionsinthecloud.

Natterboxenablesorganisationstodeliverclass-leadingservice

throughefficientandeffectiveintegration

intotheirdigitalcustomercommunications.

Brian

cloud

andarobustpartner/softwareecosystem.

CloudFX cloudfx.com

Stephen Hendry CEO

Demonstratingone’sprovenexpertiseindelivering qualitysolutionsinoneormorespecializedareas ofbusinessisaMicrosoftGoldCompetency Partner’sforte,andaleadingITcompanywhichis outshiningothersbyreapingmaximumbenefitsforbeinga MicrosoftGoldPartnerisArthaInfotama.Famously knownasARTHAIT,ArthaInfotamaisoneofthefastest growingITcompanieswithendtoendsolutionproviding capabilities.

AsMicrosoftGoldCompetencyPartner(ERPMicrosoft Dynamics,VolumeLicensing)and1-TierCloudSolution Provider(CSP1-Tier),ArthaInfotamaisalsoMicrosoft DynamicsPresident’sClubin2009,2010,2012,2016, AwardfromMicrosoftaspartoftop-performingpartners

Establishedin2002,ArthaisheadquarteredinJakarta (Indonesia),andhasitsbrancheslocatedinSurabaya (Indonesia)andalsohassomeofitssubsidiariesinKuala Lumpur,MalaysiaunderthenameofARTHAITMalaysia SdnBhd.

TheTaleofArthaInfotama

TheinceptiondaysofArthawasnotatalleasy,theyfaced numerousdifficulties,butneverlettheirmoraldown.Inthe firstyeartheywereabletograbonly2newcustomers,and nowtheyproudlyownaclanof700+customerswith

Artha Infotama:

DeliveringBusiness SolutionsTailoredto YourNeeds

Microsoftproducts,andincludedmorethan400customers ofMicrosoftDynamicsGPwithtotaldeployed4300+users

Ifyouarelookingforasinglegatetoopenanddeliverthe solutionsmeetingyourneeds,thenArthaInfotamaisthe onlyanswer.Artha’sworldwidesolutionscovermulti industrydomainswithout-of-the-boxproducts&services, suchas:

Ÿ

ERPMicrosoftDynamics(DynamicsGP,Dynamics 365).

Ÿ VerticalIndustrySolutions(PlantationManagement System,OilMill,PropertyManagement,Retail,Textile, Educationetc.).

Ÿ

CloudSolutions(DynamicsGP,Dynamics365, Office365,Azure,IaaS).

Ÿ PortalManagement&Mobility(Vendor,Customer& HumanCapitalPortalManagement).

Ÿ BusinessProcessManagement-LowCodeWorkflow Automation.

Ÿ Auditor&TaxConsulting.

Ÿ Implementation&MaintenanceSupport.

MeettheTorchBearerofArthaInfotama StephenHendry,CEOofArthaInfotama,isavisionary leaderandanentrepreneurofadifferentkind.Right decisionmakingcapabilityishisforteandheisamasterin theartofhelpingclientsmanagetheirday-to-day operationsandhelpthemmakequickandrightdecisions.

In 2001 Microsoft began to enter the Enterprise Resource Planning business by acquiring Great Plains Software and at that time we saw that this is the right time to hit the

market, because of the reputation of Microsoft which was already at the peak level in the global market. And in 2002 we established PT Artha Infotama to start our journey in ERP business by becoming a Microsoft Business Solution Partner for Great Plains product and now with the name Microsoft Dynamics GP – asserts Stephen.

TakingClientSatisfactiontoaNewLevel.

AtArthaInfotama,theytreattheirclientsastheirpartners,theynot onlyprovidethemwithsystemsolutions,theyalsohelptheirclients intechnologydevelopment.Tohelpclients’focusintheirbusiness, theyprovidesupportbyprovidingoperationalsolutionsthrough technologyenablementwithgoodinfrastructure,whichcanbe adjustedinnotimewhileassistingthemtofocusonthegrowth paradigm.

Intheeraofglobalizationanddigitaltransformation,entrepreneurs areincreasinglygettingdependentonintegratedsystems,Online& mobilityproceduresmeettheirinternalandexternalchallenges.At ArthaInfotamatheybelieveintelligence,collaborationand transformationisthekeyvalueforeverycompanytohelpbusinesses andexpandtheirgrowth.ThisiswhereArthaInfotama(ARTHAIT) comesinwithsinglegateendtoendsolution,bydifferentiating solutionsandfocusingforsomeindustries,thusoutshining their competitors.

ServicesonwhichYoucanRelyUpon Plantation Management System: MicrosoftDynamicsGPfor PlantationManagementSystemisanactivitybasedcostingsolution whichhandlestheoverallplantationoperationsfromtheacquisition ofland,landimprovements,planting,maintenance,workshop, harvesting,payrolltoreplanting,OilMill,weighbridge.Underthis platform,alltheactivitiesarecontrolledthroughthesystem,resulting inhighefficiencyandproductivity.Withthisbusinessintelligence analysisclientscancontrolandmakedecisionsfaster.

Property Management System: MicrosoftDynamicsGPProperty ManagementSystemisanintegrated,endtoendsolutionforproperty developmentcompaniestomanagetheirunlimitedgroupproperty (Mall,OfficeBuilding,Residence&otherstrataunits)withsimple, efficientandproductivesolutions.

ThePropertyManagementSystemcoversvariousareassuchas: TenantManagement,Agreement,FittingOut,Rental,ServiceCharge (Electricity,Water,ManagementFee,RentalFee,Parking)&billing. ItalsocoversOwnership&TenantRentalManagementProfit Sharing,Consignment,PreventiveMaintenance&CaseRequest.

Payroll Management: MicrosoftDynamicsGPforPayroll Managementprovidesflexibleandunlimitedperspectivesfor companieswithunlimitedPaycode,LocalizedTaxRuleincludingTax reporting,Insurance,employeeloan,medicalclaim,Employee Selfserve,Leaverequest, integratedwithattendancemachine,digital payslip&banktransfer Thesolutionissuitableforeverysize company,letitbeasmallscalecompany,medium,enterpriseand groupcompany.

ASingle Gate EndtoEnd Solution Provider Specialist

ARTHAFor Retail : FlexibilityPointOfSales Online&OfflineSystemforelectronicretail, minimart,supermarket,fashion,consumer good,withmultipromotion,sale&multi paymentmethod.

ARTHAFor E-MOBILE : FlexibleMobile solutionssupportAndroid/IOSwithenterprise functionsuchasE-Order,E-Procurement,EPreventiveTask,E-KPI,E-Travel,E-Leave Requestetc.

FuturePerspectives

Asthecompanymovesforward,product transformation,solutionsandtechnologywill runcontinuously;thus,wewillhelpourclients throughthesystemtogetcloserwiththeir employees,customersandvendorssothatour clientscangetmoreefficiency,more productivityandcangrowwellandbestablein future.

Gaining

Gaurav Solanki CEO

InformationTechnologyanditsassociatedsolutionsare fasterbecomingtheepicenterofallbusiness operations.Withahighlycompetitivebusiness environment,thereisaconstantandnever-endingstruggle thateveryentrepreneurisfacinginrecenttimes.Thosewho adaptandimbibethenewtechnologicaladvancementsinto theirbusinessoperationswillsurvive,thrive&ultimately assisttheirorganizationtoachieveboundlessfinancial success.DeeprajSoftwareServicePvt.Ltd(DSS)isone suchreputedfirmwhichdevelopsvariouscuttingedge technologicalsolutionsforbetteroperationalefficiencyand profitability.

MumbaibasedDSSfirmwasestablishedtoprovidevarious softwareservicestoSMEsandLargeEnterprisesinthe Indianregion.Sincethen,thecompanyduetoitsvast experienceinprovidingsoftwaredevelopmentandsoftware tradingtothegovernment,SMEsandLargeEnterprisesin AsianandMiddleEastRegionshasevolvedandstarted flourishing.DeeprajSoftwareServicesoperates3brands, viz. EmailFRY.com forprovidingEnterpriseEmail productsandrelatedservices, EnzymeLogic forproviding softwaredevelopmenttoEnergy&ResourcesandEcommercesectorsand Appgorithm forprovidingMobile Appsolutions.DSS,enrichedwithcoretechnical knowledgeandmilliondollarideas,isalsoinvolvedin

researchanddevelopmentofhardwareandsoftware productsforconsumersandbusinesses.

LeadinglightofDSS

Mr.GauravSolankialongwithhisbrotherVarunSolanki, foundedthecompanyintheyear2007. Gaurav,theCEOat DSS,hasabachelor'sdegreeinElectronicsand TelecommunicationfromMumbaiUniversity.Hehas workedwithmanyFortune50softwarecompanies.Gaurav hasavastsoftwareexperienceofover15yearsoutof whichheinvested3yearsintheUSAwhileworkingfora reputedfirm.HethenreturnedtoIndiawithavisiontoease thecomplexityinprovidingcustomerfriendlysoftware servicestovariousindustriesinIndiaandcontributetothe growthofthecountry.Gauravhasbeenacomputer enthusiastrightfromhischildhoodandhaswonmany prestigiousawardsinthesamefield.Reading,travelling andideatingonfuturisticconceptsaresomeofhiskeen interestsapartfromsoftwaretechnologies.DSSfirmhas gainedimmenselyduetohisproficiencyandexpertisein varioussoftwaretechnologiesandmanagementvalues.

NotableproductsofDSS

EmailFRY.com,EnzymeLogicandAppgorithmarethe flagshipproductsofDSS.EmailFRY.comoffersmultiple levelsofemailproductsforallsize&typesofbusinesses. Forsomecompanies,emailsystemsareverycriticaland theyinvestheavilyinarobustsystem,whereasforsome companiesinthesameindustry,adifferentmodeof

‘ ‘

communicationisimportant.ExpertsatEmailFRY.comunderstand therequirementofclientandofferthemostsuitablesolutionwithin theirbudget.Themostnotableanddifferentiatingfactorin EmailFRY.comistherangeofservicesrelatedtoemailsystems.The rangeisunparalleledacrosstheindustryandisveryeasyforany customertounderstandit.

EnzymeLogicofferssoftwareexpertiseintheEnergy&Resources industryaswellasE-commerceindustry.Gauravisaadeptconsultant intheseindustriesandhasprovidedmanycoreindustryapplications toIndianandInternationalenterprises.Someofthesoftware platformsdevelopedandimplementedbyDSShostveryhighvalue transactionsvalue,onadailybasis.DSSdeliversafull360degree solutionorsimplyasoftwareapplicationtothecustomer.

Appgorithmwasfoundedbasedontheneedofthehour.DSScouldn’t findaprovidersuitableenoughtodevelopmobileappsataprice suitablefortheIndianmarketalongwithqualitysoftware.Therefore DSSbuilttheirownteam.ThequalityofdesignDSSoffersisoftop classandtheirappalsohostsveryhighvaluetransactionsonadaily basis.Currently,DSSisdevelopingappsforbothiOS,Androidand hybridenvironments,forenterprisesaswellasentrepreneurswith newinnovativeideas.

AttributethatmakesDSSaDistinguishedfirm

ThemostdifferentiatingvirtueforDSSisthesenseofpartnership. DSStrulyworksasasoftwarepartnerforitsclients,likeanextended armoftheircompany.DSSsincerelybelievesthatwhenacustomer grows,DSSgrowswhichiswhytheydeliveryA-1quality.The companythrivestostickitoutwiththeirclientsthroughthickand thin.Withafirmbelievesthattopqualityproductalwayshelpsin winningclientstrustandnewbusinesses,thecompanyisgrowing leapsandbounds.Duetotheirtopqualityproductandhighlysatisfied clients,DSShasmanagedtogrowmanifoldsimplybasedon references.Qualityofservicesistheonlyreasonthateven EmailFRY.com,whichisservingahighlycompetitivemarket,has managedtogrowmanifold.

Challengesandopportunitiesinrecenttimes

Atpresent,thefirstchallengeanon-ITindustryfacesisofsoftware overloadwhichisaffectingtheoverallproductivityofabusiness operation.DSSoffersdashboardsolutionswithwhichacompanycan focusontheircorebusinessandkeepaneyeonotherthingswith smartdashboards.

Theotherchallengeisthatthereisverylittletimeandhighvolumes ofinformation.Machinelearninghasthepotentialtoprocesshigh

Cost effective& highquality products drivebusiness growth ‘ ‘

volumesofinformationinverylesstime.DSS iscapableofimplementingmachinelearningfor variouscoreindustriesaswellasfor e-commerceplatforms.

FutureGoals

DSS,bullishontheirR&Dwing,arelooking forwardtotheirfuturisticideascomingtolife. DSSisextremelyhappywiththecurrentwave oftechnologyadoptioninIndia&intendsto contributemoreinthefurtheradvancements. DSShasbegunfocusingonnewregionsacross theworldandinthenearfuture,DSSwillfind newopportunitiestoestablishitselfinmultiple globalregions.

How Will Cloud Computing Be By 2020?

Thefuturehasagreatpromisewhenitcomestothecloud.Nodoubt,cloudcomputinghas takenoffintherecentyearswithbusinessapplicationsandnewinnovations.But knowingwherewillbethecloudcomputingbytheendofthedecadecanbelittle difficultforthosewhodon'tknowwhatcloudcomputingis.

So,whatiscloudcomputingandhowwillithelpmybusiness?Cloudcomputingisakindof computerharddrivewithadifferenceofstoringandaccessingdataovertheinternet.Whenthe dataisstoredontheharddrive,itiscalledlocalstorageandcomputing.

Howwillcloudcomputingevolve?Andhowwillitaffectthefuture?Arethequestions organizationsaimstofindout.Herearesomepredictionsforthecompaniesthatlookcloud computingasacost-effectiveinalong-term.

ApplicationAvailabilityOnTheCloudWillBeMore

It’sestimatedthatbytheendof2020,morethanaquarterofallapplicationswillbeavailableonthecloud.Morethan58 percentofcompaniesspendabout10percentoftheirannualbudgetsonthecloud,whileabout56percentofcompanies thinkcloudtobeastrategicdifferentiator Asresearcherspredicted,therewillbeabout8.2billionactivemobiledevices by2020withmoreandmoreapplicationstofollow Applicationswillbemadeavailableonthecloudtobuildanddeploy applicationsthatwouldleadtobettertechnologyandfasterresponsetime.

MigrationToPrivateCloudsWithMoreEducation

Companiesarestartingtoknowthedifferencesbetweenpublic,private,andhybridcloudcomputing.Companiesopting tostaywiththesharedcloudswillhavetheriskof slowerperformanceandmoresecuritythreats,whichwouldresultin migrationtoprivatecloudsinthefuture.

MoreHybridCloudComputing

Someindustryleaderspredictthatabout50percentofcompanieswillhavehybridcloudsby2017.Hybridcloud computingwouldprovideacombinationofstrengthslikeon-premisesolutionsandmanagementconvenience.

IncreasedCloudDevelopment

An85percentofthenewapplicationsarebeingbuiltwiththecloudinmind,whichexpectstoseemoreandmore resourcesgoingtowardsclouddevelopment.Companiescanexpectanincreaseinthethirdparty,commercialand enterprisedevelopersandAPIexchanges.

EndOfTraditionalInfrastructure

Duetotheevolvingfeaturesofthecloud,softwarecanbeexpectedtoalmostcompletelystayawayfromhardware,since manycompaniesarestartingtosearchmanyapplicationsavailableonlinebyeliminatingtheneedtokeepbuyingnew servers.Companiescanexpectsoftwareapplicationstogetmorecomplexandlargerforscalability Theemphasiswillbe mostlyonmodularsoftwaresinceapplicationstendtogetlarger Themodularsoftwarewillrequireanovelapproachto thetechnologybysayinggoodbyetothetraditionalinfrastructure.

obecompetitive,organizationsarelookingtousetechnologytodriveinnovationintotheirproductsand

Tservices,andsimultaneouslydeliverefficiencies. TheCloudpromisestobeanenablerforbusiness transformation-providingtheagilityfororganisationstorapidlylearnandadaptwithlessriskoffailure, andatlowercost.Costisaconsiderationbutmorethanthat,itprovidesanopportunitytoreducewasteand improveefficiencies.

MattWright,CTO,RubiconRed,says“Digitaltransformationpresentsasignificantopportunityforourcustomers intermsofdrivinginnovationandacceleratingtimetobusinessvalue.Asorganizationsadoptnewtechnologies andmovetoblendedsolutionscomprisingSaaS,privatecloudandon-premiseapps,integrationplaysacritical role.”

RubiconRed,agloballyrecognizedandawardedthoughtleaderinOraclemiddleware,recommendsaphased approachtohelporganizationsmodernizetheirITenvironments,migratingfromlargelyon-premisesystems,to hybridcloudenvironments. Throughaphasedapproach,OracleMiddlewarecustomerscangetthecombinedthe benefitsofCloudplusDevOpstoupgradetheirenvironments,adoptcloud,streamlinedevelopmentprocesses,and concurrentlyminimizeriskandcost.

Mattsays,“WecanhelpcustomersmigratefromOracleSOA11gtoSOA12c,establishacloudplatformto seamlesslyrunOracleSOA12contheCloud,optimizetheirintegrations,anddrivefurtherinnovationthroughnew integrations,SaaSextensions,newprocessesormobilechannels.”

TheBestRecipe:Cloud+DevOps

MovingOracleMiddlewaredevelopmenttothecloud(liftandshift)isanaturalfirststep,andwhencoupledwitha DevOpsstrategymeansorganizationscanstreamlinetheirdevelopmentprocesses.“Organizationsthatfully embracethecloudforDevandTestareexperiencingmorethan30percenttimesavingsuponmaturingtheir DevOpscapabilities,”saysMatt.

About the Author

Juliana Button is a passionate tech marketer, Manager - Marketing & Events at Rubicon Red.

Prior to this, she was Director Product Management, Oracle Corporation, Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Cloud Platform, working at Oracle Headquarters in Redwood Shores and in Australia.

WhenitcomestorunningOracleMiddlewareintheCloud,customershaveacoupleofoptions.OracleCloud PlatformasaService(PaaS)providesthebreadthanddepthoffunctionalitytorapidlybuildanddeployrich applicationsandextendOracleCloudSaaSappsandintegratewithexistingbusiness-criticalITsystems.SOA CloudServiceandIntegrationCloudServicearetheidealapproachforOraclemiddlewarecustomerstomigrate theirintegrationstothecloud.Alternatively,customerscouldselectanInfrastructureasaServiceproviderand installtheOracleSOASuite.

Tounlockthecommercialandspeedtomarketbenefitsofdevelopinginthecloud,theprocessoftakingcode developedandtestedinthecloudanddeployingitintoproductionneedstobefrictionless.Thekeypre-requisitesto achievingthisarehavingastandardizedandautomatedprocessforbuildinganddeployingcodeacrossall environments.

ThisiswhereRubiconRedMyST,theend-to-endDevOpssolutionforOracleMiddleware,comesintoit’sownfor provisioning,configurationandreleaseautomationacrosscloudandon-premise,irrespectiveofyourcloud provider.“MySTallowsyoutoeasilyconfigureanOracleSOACloudServicetoreplicateyourproduction environmentorprovisionandconfigureaMiddlewareasaServiceontopofanexistingIaaSprovider–aswellas fullyautomatethebuildoutofyouron-premiseproductionenvironments,”assuresMatt. Further,“MySTallows clientstoestablishasingleintegratedprocessforautomatingthepromotionoftheOracleMiddlewareplatform configurationsandapplicationdeploymentthrougheachandeveryphaseofthesoftwaredeliverylifecycle-from developmentandtestingtoproduction,bothinthecloudandon-premise.”

“Combiningcloud-baseddevelopmentwithDevOpsistheperfectcombination–reducingdevelopmenttime,whilst concurrentlyminimizingriskandcost,”saysMatt. HegoesontoshareagreatexampleofCloudplusDevOpsat anAustralianOilandGascompany.“UsingMyST,theycanprovisionanewDev/Testenvironmentonthecloudin lessthan60minutes,whereaspreviouslyitwouldtake4-8weekstoprovisionanewenvironment,manually. And, usingtheMySTreleaseautomationcapabilities,they’veslashedreleasetimefrom4-8hoursto~15minutes.”

Juliana Buon Manager - Markeng & Events Rubicon Red

Leveragingthecloudprovidesfasterprojectstartuptimeandimprovesdeveloperproductivity,givingthemtheagility andefficiencytorapidlydeliveronnewprojects.

AccelerateSpeedtoValuethroughOracleCloudKickStart

Mattemphasizesthatthepotentialforbusinessinnovationthroughcloudisunprecedentedandrecommendsthatwhile aphasedapproachisbesttomigrateexistingsystemsandbeddownhybridcloudinfrastructure,organizationsmust,in parallel,begintoevaluateandprototypesolutionsthatwilldrivethenextwaveofinnovation.“WithOracleCloud, continuallyevolvingcloudservicesopenthedoortonewbusinessopportunitieswithdisruptivecloudinnovations usingsocialandmobileservices,bigdata,contentcollaboration,andtheInternetofThings.”

ThroughtheirOracleCloudKickStartprogram,RubiconRedprovidesarapidon-ramptoOracleCloud.“Usingour uniqueblendofOracleexpertise,bestpracticesandagiledevelopmentmethodologies,ourCloudKickStartgivesyou everythingyouneedtoqualify,quantifyandproveyourtransformationuse-casewithOracleCloudinjusttwo-weeks–itisthebestwaytoquicklygetthegreenlightonyournextbusinesstransformationproject,”concludesMatt.

A2013SurveybyEvansDataCloudDevelopmentSurvey,foundthatcloudplatformsreduceoveralldevelopmenttime byanaverageof11.6percent,38percentcitedsavingsinthe11to20percentrange,whilst10%hadexperiencedmore thanmorethan30percentintimesavings.

Mike Theriault President & CEO

savvy:

You'vegotthevision. Let'smakeithappen

Ifyoustillthinkorganizationsaretransitioningtothe cloud,ITsavvythinksyou’vegotitallwrong.Most organizationshavealreadyembracedthecloud,either intotalorinpart.Today,itisthecloudproviderswhoarein transition,oratleasttheyshouldbe.Tobecompetitive, cloudprovidersneedtooffertheirclientsmoreoptions, bettersupportandimprovedcontrol.Unfortunately,astheir usershavediscovered,thebigcloudprovidersarereally goodatofferingcomputingandstoragespace,buttheymay neglecttodeliveronthecustomization,serviceandsupport behindthesolutionsthatcloudusersrequire.Somefurther fallshortinthepost-salesrelationshipthatusersdesireand oftendemand.ForITsavvy,thatpresentsatremendous opportunity.“Whenothersdroptheball,ITsavvyexcels,” saysMikeTheriault,PresidentandCEOofITsavvy.

Theriaultco-foundedITsavvywithChrisKurpeikis,the company’sExecutiveVicePresident.Headquarteredin Addison,Illinois,ITsavvyhasofficesindowntown Chicago,NewYork,NewJersey,Florida,Iowa,Indiana, OhioandCalifornia.ITsavvymanagescloudinfrastructure technologyinTier3datacentersinIllinoisandNewJersey,

andhasaccessto1,000,000plusITproductsin46 distributioncentersaroundtheUS.ITsavvy’ssuccess comesfromauniqueabilitytocombineanelitelevelof knowledgewithstate-of-the-artdeliveryofITproductsand AdvancedSolutionsthatincludeCloudSolutions,Security Solutions,ManagedServices,EngineeredSolutionsand UnifiedCommunications.“Wekeepaneartothegroundto recognizesubtlechangesbeforetheybecomeindustry trends.Ithelpsusstayaheadofthepack,”Theriaultsays.

Clientsdemandserviceandselection

WhenITsavvyinitiatedtheirCloudSolutionspractice,they immediatelyunderstoodwhatthemarketwanted:selection, securityandservice.“Clientswantcustomizablesolutions. Theywanttheopportunitytoselectthecloudsolutionthat isbestsuitedfortheiroperationandtheirbusiness objectives,”saysTheriault.Tomeetthefullspectrumof needs,ITsavvyoffersnotonlycompletecloudsolutions throughAmazon,MicrosoftandGooglebutalso customizablepublic,privateandhybridcloudsalongwith colocationandamanagedcloudsolutionwithinITsavvy’s owndatacenters.

ITsavvythentakescloudtothenextlevelwithUS-based 24x7x365technicalsupport,whichishighlyuniqueinthe industry.Andwhilesomecloudprovidersarelimitedtoa

singletechnologyexpertise,ITsavvyisknowledgeableacrossthe entiredatacenterstackwithcertifiedon-staffexpertiseindesign, architecture,datamigration,storage,backupanddisasterrecoveryas wellasmanagednetworkandsecurity.Allclientsreceiveadedicated ClientExecutivetheycancontactwithasinglecall.“Thebigcloud providerscan’tdothat,”saysTheriault.

ITsavvyaddsexpertproblem-solving

Forsomecloudengagements,ittakesspecializedknowledgeto identifytheidealsolution.“Wehadaclientwith30worldwide locations,allrunningseparatebackupprocesses,andanumberof themwerefailing.Theclientwantedtoconsolidateeverythingintoa newinfrastructure,butitwouldtakemonths,”Theriaultexplains.“We haveaverycreativeengineeronourstaffwithadvancedbackupand disasterrecoveryexpertise.Withinaweekhehaddeployedacloud backupsolutiontoautomateandremotelymanagetheclient’s backupswhiletheonsiteinfrastructurewasbeingbuilt.Itwasa solutiontheyhadn'tthoughtof,butitwasexactlywhattheyneeded.”

Intheend,however,mostcloudclientsjustwanttoknowtheirdata willbetherewhentheyneedit.Thatseemssimple,butit’sactually quitecomplicated.ITsavvyhelpsclientsunderstandwhatdatathey wanttomigrate,whatapplicationsthey’llbeutilizing,howlegacy andcloudsystemswillintegrate,howfasttheyneeddatarestored, whethertheyhavecompliancerequirementsandahostofother factors.“Iconsidergovernanceofdatatobethepiecethatismissing withmostcloudproviders,butit’soneofourstrengths,”Theriault says.“Weunderstandhowprocessesintegrateandhowdataflowsin andoutoftheoperation.Tryingtodothatonyourownisextremely difficult,particularlyinacustomizedorhybridenvironment.”

Thefutureofcloudishybrid

Feworganizationshavecommittedtheirentireinfrastructuretothe cloud,somostenvironmentsbecomeahybridofmanytechnologies. Hybridcloudmayleveragepublicandprivateclouds,enablingthe migrationofdataandworkloadsbetweencloudandonsite environmentswhenneeded.“Idon’tthinkthereisanymoredebate.

Thehybridcloudmodelwillbetheapproachofchoicebymost organizations.Wearewell-positionedtosupportthisstrategy,”

Theriaultsays.ITsavvycandesignandarchitectcomplexcloud environments,thenmonitorandmanagethemutilizingthesupportof ITsavvy’sin-houseNetworkOperationsCenter(NOC)with24x7x365 eventremediation.ClientscanaddITsavvy’seliteexpertisein securityeventremediation,aswell.It’sallpartoftheholistic approachthatITsavvytakeswitheachclient.

‘

TheIT operationof your dreamsis withinreach, withITsavvy Cloud Solutions

ForTheriault,themantraoftoday’scloud solutionsshouldbeflexibility.“Webuild scalabilityandcost-efficiencyintoourcloud solutions.Whoknowswhatthefuturewill bring?Wewantourclientstobeabletotake advantageofemergingopportunitiesandstill getthemostoutoftheirITinvestments.”For moreinformationgotoITsavvy.com/Cloud

A Tainted Shelter of Virtual Cloud Networks

Imagineascenariowhereyouaremovingfromone riverbanktotheothersideofitonaboat,and suddenlyyourealizethatthereisaholeonthebelow surfaceoftheboat.Asthewaterstartspouringin,yourfirst instinctistoremovethewaterfromthesurfaceoftheboat, ratherthangostraightaheadtoblockthehole.

Well,thathasalwaysbeenthestoryofITsecurityteam. Ratherthanfindingtherealissues,theylackthecomplete visibility,andmorethanoftentheyendupgettingconfused whilefiguringoutwhichpointstoprotectintheentire infrastructure.Withconstantvitalthreats,andthesafetykits alongwithanumberofresourcesattheirdisposal,alltheIT securityteamsendupbyfunctioninginaregular reactionarymode,whileastrategic,preemptivesecurity suitetakesabackseat.

Withthatinmind,avirtualnetwork,thathasbeengaining widepopularity,furthercomplicatevisibilityissues,adding tomoreworries.Virtualnetworkingdefinesthetechnology, whichisfacilitatedbythegovernanceofoneormore

distantlypositionedcomputersorserversoverthewide network.Thisallowseasydatastorageandretrieval,along withoperating,andrunningofsoftwareandperipherals withthehelpofawebbrowser,similartothecaseinwhich remotehardwarewereatthesamelocation.Generally,such virtualsystemsareswirledupatrequiredinstances,andfor eachsecurityteamandidentifiers,theseareallocated,they maynotbeinsynchronizationalongwithnarrowregistered safetyguidelines.Thismayresultinmanynetworksecurity teamshavingnonesortofprovisiontoexecutiveconsoles andpartialintuitionfortheoverallunderstandingofshifting networkarchitecturesaffectontheirattacksurface.

Thisproblemcanbedealtwithall-inclusivenetwork modelingmethodscoveringentirevirtualnetworks,soas networksecurityengineersmightgetthemuchrequired visibilitytocombinesecurityandcompliancefunction amidstitsfusionhardwareandvirtualsystems.

VerifyingAccess

Thecomplexityiscertainlythebigtestfortheprocedure

makingandaccessauthenticationintothehybrid environments.Thecombinationofhardware,virtual networksandcloudcomputingwiththedifferentsafety groupsandidentifiers,alongsideconventionalACLs (Accesscontrollist),createsmanualassessmentand diagnosisnearlyimpossible.Thoughbycircumcisingthis dataandminglinghybridnetworkprocedures,system accesscanbediagnosedfromstarttoendandconsidered implementinginsidethemodel.

Microsegmentation:Entersthenewfangled Phenomenon

Traditionally,datacentershavebeensecuredbyborder securitytechnologies,diagnosingnorth-southtraffic-traffic inandoutofthedatacenter.Conventionally,manyofthe datacenterarchitectsbelievethatentireeasttowest transport,whichismovingintothedatacenter,happens onlyinreliableandsecuredzones.Withthelatestofdata breaches,majorly,haveexposedthefactthatthisperception holdsnovalueatthisperiodoftime.Entersthemicro segmentation,whichisasecuritytechnologythatenablesto

breakdownthedatacenterintoanalyticalpartsand succeedsthesesegmentswithalargenumberofITsecurity policies.Further,microsegmentationisusedfor segmentingeast-westdatatransportinthedatacenterinto smallchunks,anddeliversintosecuredsectors.Evenso, withthelackofsecurityvisibilitytounderstand implementationofmicrosegmentation,itbecomes impossibletovalidateprocedurewhichisfollowedacross theentirenetwork.

Bymixinganddemonstratingnorthtosouthandeastto westprocedures,ITsecuritygroupscanimproveendwise accessvisibilityalloveritshybridnetwork.TheStandarddrivenvisibilityalsooffersanadditionalcredibleviewof functionalprocedureatthehostside,insteadof authenticatingaccessindividuallyat“chokepoints”andat thegatewaystothevirtualsystems.

FindingLiabilitiesfromtheVirtualSystems

Oneofthemajoradditionalbenefitsofcastingvirtualand cloudsystemsiswithoutascanvulnerabilitydetection system.Securityanalysisdirectedatthecastingofvirtual andcloudnetworkscanfindoutliabilitieswiththehelpof productconfigurationanditsdescription.Thiscan pointedlyreducedependenceonactiveorthirdpartyscans, asthisincreasescomplexity;itbecomesdifficulttofunction onvirtualandcloudnetworks.TheIntegratingliabilities intelligenceprovidesalargerportraitintheunderstanding ofthesenetworksinfluenceoverallrisk.

Inthedepthof“SecurityVisualization”

WiththefusionofhybridITsystemsinsingleprototype andstandardizingitsdata,organizationscanremovethe obstacleswhichareconventionallypresentamidphysical, virtualandcloudsystemsforbroad,restructuredsecurity management.

Thisdatacanbefurtherrefinedintoanunpretentious portraitoftheorganization’sdistinctiveattacksurface.With thehelpofvisualizations’methodrelatedtosurfaceattack, allowsfrom“in-the-trenches”securityexpertstopanel memberstoswiftlygrasptherelationshipofitsITsetupand wheretheirmostvitalsecuritythreatsexits.This,visibility ofasoftwaresystemwhichistheadditionofthevarious pointswhereanunauthorizedattackerallowsanintuitive andprofoundlylogicaltooltoformulatequick,well-versed resultsconcerningtheeventresponse,actionsandsafety assets.Thisoffersamutuallanguageandreferencetoend counteringtoindicationsandbeginningtohandlecore reasonsofsecurityconcerns,generatingapre-emptive, roundedsecurityagenda.

Chalk Talk

Technology and Network Convergence: Forging a Path to Smart Grid, Smart Cities and Internet of Things

nNorthAmerica,utilitieshaveinstallednearly70

Imillionsmartmetersoverthelastdecade.This technologyinvestmenthasdeliveredtangiblevalueto bothutilitiesandconsumers.Bututilitieshaveyettorealize thefullpotentialofthisplatformandthevalueofthedata thesesystemsgenerate. Thisisprimarilyduetocommon challengesthatutilitiesaswellastechnologyproviders havestruggledwith:

Ÿ Smartmetersareviewedmainlyasacashregistersand instrumentsofcustomerbillingratherthanas sophisticatedsensorsthatprovidearichsourceofdata andinsighttoimprovegridoperations.

Ÿ

Forthemostpart,smartmeteringsystemshavebeen deployedintechnology“silos,”meaningtheyrunon purpose-built,largelyproprietarynetworksthatwere designedformeterreadingratherthanonastandardsbased,multi-applicationIP-platform.

Ÿ Thesesystemshavecreatedarelativetsunamiofnew data–morefrequentanddetailedusagedata,eventdata frompoweroutagesandvoltageanomaliesandmeter tamperalerts–datathatutilitiesarestrugglingtomanage andcreatenewbusinessvaluefrom.

Ÿ Morethansmartmeters,theterm“smartgrid”implies griddevices,assetsanddatainteractinginrealtimeand withlesshumaninterventiontorespondtochanging gridconditions.Thisdegreeofinteroperabilityand automationhasbeenelusiveorcost-prohibitivethusfar forthelow-voltagelevelofthenetwork.

Mostofthesechallengesaretechnology-centered,while someareculturalandorganizational,buttheupsideisthat thesechallengesarebeingsolved.Informationtechnology andoperationaltechnologyareconvergingrapidlyinthe utilityandenergyspacetocreateanewstrategicand operationalreality Thiscomesnonetoosooninlightof significantbusinesschallengesutilitiesworldwideare facingaswellastheeconomicandenvironmental challengesweallface.

LedbycompaniessuchasCiscoandItron,agrowing ecosystemofsmartgridtechnologyprovidershave

collaboratedtoevolvenetworkarchitecturesothatutility fieldareanetworkslookandbehavemuchmorelike enterpriseITnetworks.Solutionprovidersarealso introducingmoredistributedintelligencetogridoperations thatenablegridassetsanddevicesthatarecurrently “siloed”toworkinconcertwithoneanother.Inaddition, theavailablevaluestreamofthisnetworkinfrastructure investmentisbroadeningbyconnectingtoemerging marketsandapplicationssuchassmartcitiesandthe InternetofThings(IoT).

TheheavyliftingreallybeganfouryearsagowhenItron andCiscoannouncedanagreementtoworktogethertorearchitectItron’swidely-deployedOpenWaysmartgrid networktoIPv6architecturefromCisco.Thisjoint developmenteffort,undertakenbytheindustryleadersin utilityautomationandnetworking,wasawatershedeffort intheindustry.Thesmartmeteringnetworkbecamea multi-applicationsmartgridandsmartcitynetwork, broadeningsignificantlyitsusefulnessandvalue. A growingecosystemofleadingsmartgridtechnology providerscannowbuildtoacommonreferencearchitecture throughtheConnectedGridCiscoDeveloperNetworkto accelerateadoptionandsparkinnovation.

Butstandards-based,multi-applicationnetworkarchitecture byitselfwasnotenoughtoaddressallthosechallenges. Itronbelievesthatforthesmartgridtodeliveronits promisedvalue,dataanalysisandactionmusttakeplace whereitmakesmostsense–increasinglyattheedgeofthe networkratherthanintheutilitybackoffice.That’sthe wholeideabehindITRONRIVA™,anewdistributed intelligenceandadvancedcommunicationplatformthe companylaunchedthisfall.

Distributingintelligenceacrossthenetworkallowsusto economicallysolveutilityproblemsthatcouldn’tbe feasiblysolvedbefore,greatlyincreasingthevalueand timelinessofsmartgridanalyticapplicationsaswellasthe utilizationofnetworkcapacity.Specifically,these developmenteffortsyieldanewandcommonsetof technologyattributesformeters,gridsensorsandother typesofintelligentdevices,whethertheycomefromItron

Ÿ orthird-partypartnerswhoembedthetechnologyor buildtothestandard.

Ÿ Locationalawareness:Forthefirsttime,smartmeters andgriddevicesknowwheretheyareinrelationto othergridassets(feeders,phases,substations, transformers,distributedgeneration,othermeters,etc.). This“self-awareness”opensupanentirelynew approachtosmartgridusecasesandapplications.

Ÿ “Multilingual”devices:Aunifiedsoftwareplatform supportsmultiplecommunication/applicationprotocols, allowingasinglemeterorgriddevicetosimultaneously speakthelanguageofdistributionautomation,load control,andsmartmetering.Thisenableshighly localizedcommunicationandactionamongdiverse devices,assetsandgridcontrolsystemstorespondto changingconditionsattheedgeofthenetwork.

Ÿ Edgeprocessingpower:ThankstoMoore’sLaw,Itron isembeddingthecomputingequivalentofarecent generationsmartphoneinhigh-volumemetersandgrid devicestoenableadvancedcommunications,data processingandanalysisintheedgedevice.

Theabilityforedgedevicestoknowexactlywherethey

Jeff Carkhuff VP, Itron

Led by companies such as Cisco and Itron, a growing ecosystem of smart grid technology providers have collaborated to evolve network architecture so that utility eld area networks look and behave much more like enterprise

networks

‘‘ ‘‘

Ÿ

are,processandanalyzedataindependentlyand communicatewithothertypesofdevicescreatesmany newpossibilitiesforimprovingtheaccuracy,resolution andtimelinessofanalyticapplications.Aclear opportunityexiststodelivernewbusinessvalueinareas suchaslocalizeddemandresponse/loadcontrol,asset monitoringandmanagement,outagedetectionand response,renewablesintegrationanddiversion detection.Thisapproachallowsutilitiestoput intelligencewhereitmakesthemostsense,whether that'sintheedgedevice,thefieldareanetworkitselfor attheenterpriselevel,meaninganalyticsnolongermust alwaystakeplaceinthebackofficewhere“tomorrow” or“nextweek”isnolongergoodenough.

Perhapsmostinterestingly,theItronRivadistributed intelligenceplatformhasenabledItrontorevolutionizegrid communications.Knownasadaptivecommunications technology,thiscapabilityincorporatesmultiple communicationsmedia–RFMesh,Wi-FiandPowerLine Carrier–onthesamechipset,workinginconcerttosolve keynetworkperformanceandconnectivitychallenges. RunningontheOpenWaysmartgridnetwork,adaptive communicationstechnologyalwaysutilizesthefastestand mostreliablecommunicationpathforeverymessageand everylinkbasedonlocation,networkoperatingconditions andthenatureoftheapplicationordata. Thisistrue whethercommunicatingwithanofficeapplicationor anotherdeviceonthegrid.

Thismakesdeploymentofnetworkinfrastructureeasier, fasterandlesscostlywhileofferingasingle communicationssolutionforbothdenseanddifficulturban environmentsaswellaslower-densityareas.Adaptive communicationstechnologyflattensthecostcurveduring thelatterstagesofnetworkdeploymentwhenthe“hard-toreach”devicesandareasmustbeaddressed.Inotherwords, itprovidesanetworkthatcontinuouslyself-optimizesbased ongeography,topology,operatingconditionsandbusiness requirements.

Together,thesedevelopmentsmeanthatmanyutilities throughouttheworldareinagoodpositiontoleverage theserecentandsignificantadvancementsinnetwork architecture,edgeintelligenceandanalyticsasthey implementtheirgridmodernizationstrategiesandconnect tobroaderopportunitiessuchassmartcitiesandIoT

Thereisabsolutelynodoubtthattheconvergenceof informationtechnologyandoperationaltechnologyinthe globalutilityindustrywillcontinueandaccelerate,andthat technologyadvancementwillcontinuetooutpacetheasset lifecycleparadigmutilitieshavesolongoperatedwithin. Nevertheless,thresholdsarereachedthatwarrantashiftin thinkingabouthowtoapproachandsolveproblems.For

tomorrow’sgrid,thattimeisnow timelinessofanalyticapplications.Aclearopportunity existstodelivernewbusinessvalueinareassuchas localizeddemandresponse/loadcontrol,assetmonitoring andmanagement,outagedetectionandresponse, renewablesintegrationanddiversiondetection.This approachallowsutilitiestoputintelligencewhereitmakes themostsense,whetherthat’sintheedgedevice,thefield areanetworkitselforattheenterpriselevel,meaning analyticsnolongermustalwaystakeplaceintheback officewhere“tomorrow”or“nextweek”isnolongergood enough.

Perhapsmostinterestingly,theItronRivadistributed intelligenceplatformhasenabledItrontorevolutionizegrid communications.Knownasadaptivecommunications technology,thiscapabilityincorporatesmultiple communicationsmedia–RFMesh,Wi-FiandPowerLine Carrier–onthesamechipset,workinginconcerttosolve keynetworkperformanceandconnectivitychallenges. RunningontheOpenWaysmartgridnetwork,adaptive communicationstechnologyalwaysutilizesthefastestand mostreliablecommunicationpathforeverymessageand everylinkbasedonlocation,networkoperatingconditions andthenatureoftheapplicationordata. Thisistrue whethercommunicatingwithanofficeapplicationor anotherdeviceonthegrid.

Thismakesdeploymentofnetworkinfrastructureeasier, fasterandlesscostlywhileofferingasingle communicationssolutionforbothdenseanddifficulturban environmentsaswellaslower-densityareas.Adaptive communicationstechnologyflattensthecostcurveduring thelatterstagesofnetworkdeploymentwhenthe“hard-toreach”devicesandareasmustbeaddressed.Inotherwords, itprovidesanetworkthatcontinuouslyself-optimizesbased ongeography,topology,operatingconditionsandbusiness requirements.

Together,thesedevelopmentsmeanthatmanyutilities throughouttheworldareinagoodpositiontoleverage theserecentandsignificantadvancementsinnetwork architecture,edgeintelligenceandanalyticsasthey implementtheirgridmodernizationstrategiesandconnect tobroaderopportunitiessuchassmartcitiesandIoT.

Thereisabsolutelynodoubtthattheconvergenceof informationtechnologyandoperationaltechnologyinthe globalutilityindustrywillcontinueandaccelerate,andthat technologyadvancementwillcontinuetooutpacetheasset lifecycleparadigmutilitieshavesolongoperatedwithin. Nevertheless,thresholdsarereachedthatwarrantashiftin thinkingabouthowtoapproachandsolveproblems.For tomorrow’sgrid,thattimeisnow

Thecloudhasnowbecomeawell-established deploymentoptionforbusinessapplications.It providesanexceptionalgroundforgroundingthe businessintelligencesystems,asitprovidesbusiness agility,scalability,andlowersthetotalcostofownership.

So,itisalittleuncharacteristicthatalthoughmost applicationshavemigratedtothecloud,datawarehousesthefundamentalofanybusinessintelligencestructures-are stillmostlyonproposition.

Ofcourse,that'snotentirelysurprisinggiventhat businesseshaveinvestedheavilyinanon-premisedata warehousetechnology,withstrongconcernsabout protectingsensitivedata.Beingseamless,migrationofthe datawarehousetothecloudmustensurethatadditional cloudsecuritymeasuresareaddressed.

Stepsrequiredtobesupervisedwhilemigrationofthe DataWarehouses

Characterizethecurrentdatawarehousealongmultiple dimensions

Detailedanalysisshouldbecarriedouttocoverthe sensitivedataaspectsverycarefully.Itshouldbetaken underconsiderationonwhatoptionsareprovidedbythe cloudvendor,andwhataretheorganizationalneedsforthe confidentiality Thoroughanalysisoftheregulatory standardsmustbecarriedout.

Therecouldbemultiplebusinessusersandbusinessunits whoareusingthedata.Wecanalsoeaseoutthemigration processbyprioritizingandbreakingdownthewholedata warehouseintosignificantbusinessprocesssubjectareas.

Selecttherightcloudvendorforyourwarehouse

Therearenumerouscloudprovidersoutthereinthemarket. Amazon,GoogleCloud,MicrosoftAzurearesomeofthe marketleadersinamongcloudsolutionprovider’sindustry. Basedontheoutcomeoftheclassificationoftheexisting warehouse,wemustcreateamatrixofthefunctionalities requiredvs.existingfeaturesinrespectivecloudprovider’s environmentandthenmakethefinalchoice.Ofcourse,the monetaryexpensesalsoplayavitalroleinmakingthis decision.

Identifytechnologychoicesdependingontheresiliency ofconceptprojects

Choosingtheappropriatedatabasetechnologyforhosting thewarehouseisthemostimportanttechnologydecisionto bemade.Youarerequiredtoidentifythequeries symbolizingthetypicalworkloadbasedonperformance tests.Thefactorsneededtobeconsideredwhilemakingthis decisionare:

Datatypesneededbytheapplication

Databasetechnologiesavailablefromthecloudprovider

Databasefeaturesrequired

Ÿ

Migrating the Data Warehouses into the Cloud Cloud

Real-timedataprocessingneeds

Ÿ Numberofconcurrentusers

Ÿ Performanceneedsetc.

Thecomputeandthestoragenecessitieswilldecidethe infrastructureneededforhostingthedatawarehouse.

Preparingasurefiremigrationplan

Preparingawellthoughtoutprojectplaniscertainlycrucial forasuccessfulmigration.Youmustprimarilyinvolve businessusersintheentiredecisionmakingandproject plan.Theyshouldbefullyawareofthemigrationstrategy andinfacttheymustcontributeintestingthenewsystem.

Infrastructurereadiness

Mostdatawarehouseprojectsonthecloudarerequiredto setupaVPC.AVPChousestheentireproduction warehousesetup.Itisveryimportanttocreate correspondingenvironmentsfordevelopment,UATandQA toensuresmoothoperationsofthesystems.Setupaccess controlandsecurityoneachoftheenvironments.Alsolay outthecompletearchitecturebeforehand.

Completethemigration

Migrationembroilsinitialmovementoftheolddata followedbytheincrementaltugofthedatafromthevarious sources.Athoroughdescriptionneedstobeinplacethat plotsthesourcedataelementstothetargetdataelements.It

isdesirabletorunthemodeleddatamigrationprojectin parallelwiththelegacysystemsothatitiseasiertotestand determinethesuccessofthemigration.Themigrationand extractionneedstobesetupinarepeatedmannersothatin casetherearesomeconcernswiththemigration,itcanbe re-processed.

Testthesuccessofmigration

Intheprimarystageofthedatamigration,wetypicallytest andcompareoneorseveralsamplequeriesanddatasets.In addition,wewouldliketocommendcomparisonofrow countsofobjects,minandmaxvaluesaswellassample datarowassessments.Outliningthesuccesscriteriaforthe migrationandtestingisofgreatestimportancetoensure longtermsuccessoftheclouddatawarehouse.Youalso needtoreassurethatincrementaldataloadsworkcorrectly throughout.

Conclusion

Nowadays,therehasbeenalotofsupportfordata warehousesinthecloud.Movingdatawarehousestothe cloudisyieldingrealbusinessbenefits,sincemanyvendors areexpandingthebreadthanddepthofservicesfor warehousingandanalysisofthedata.However,migration isnotexemptedofchallenges.Makesureyouthinkthrough allthedifferentaspectsofdatawarehousemigrationand thencomeupwithaninfallibleplantoaddressthose challenges.

Mark Simpson Director & Owner

M-Power Solutions:

HelpingOrganisations UnlockthePowerof BusinessData

transformationhappeningacrosstheworld.AtM-Power Solutions,theyhelpcustomersirrespectiveoftheirsize movetomodern,lowcost,functionallyrichandhighly scalable,Cloudsolutionstotransformtheirbusiness.

ThePurposebehindM-PowerSolutions’Inception

Eventoday,on-premisesEnterprisePerformance Management(EPM)solutionsremainthedominant use-caseinthecorporateenvironment.Finance departmentshavebeenspendingmillionsofdollars implementingEPMsystemstoevaluateperformanceand achieveultimateenterprisegoals;andinnumerouscases, theseEPMsuitesareintegratedwithon-premisesERP systemsaswell.Butstilltherearemanyquestionswhich areunsolved,suchas:Aretheselegacysystems,agileand flexibleenoughtomeettoday’sbrisklyevolvingneeds?Do theyenabledistributedworkgroupsandallowforrapid configurationadjustmentsinresponsetochangingtax codes,regulations,andbusinessconditions?Toprovide answerstoalltheseeverlaggingdilemmaticquestions,MPowerSolutionscameintobeing.

TheM-Powerteamcombinesdecadesofindustry,product andimplementationexperiencewiththedriveand enthusiasmofaCloud-basedstart-up,todeliverreal, transformationaloutcomesfortheircustomers.Asthe winnerofthe Oracle Cloud EPM & BI Partner for Asia Pacific forthelast3yearsandthe Global Oracle Cloud Business Analytics Partner of the Year for 2017,theyare recognisedforbeingattheforefrontofthedigitalfinance

Foundedin2003,M-PowerSolutionswascreatedwithan aimtohelpclientsmakebetter,moreprofitabledecisionsby improvingaccesstotheirbiggestasset,information.MPowerismorethanjustatraditionalITconsultancyfirm becausetheybelieveinworkingasatruebusinesspartner.

M-PowerSolutionshelporganisationsdrive transformationalefficiencieswithmodern,digitalfinance solutionswhichunderpinsprocess,procedure,and organisationalchange.Theirexperienceacrossvarious industrieshashelpedthemtodefineandcreatetemplate basedsolutions,thatarequickandeasytodeployhelping theirclientstoremovemanual,spreadsheetbasedfinance processeswithnewconnecteddigitalapplications,thus helpinginexecutingchangeswiftlyandsuccessfully.

M-PoweristhenumberoneOracleCloudPartnerinAsia PacificandoneoftheleadingOracleCloudimplementation innovatorsglobally TheyfocusontheOracleEnterprise PerformanceManagement(EPM)andBusinessIntelligence (BI)CloudplatformsdeliveringCloudapplicationsinthis areafornearly40customerswhichmakesthemthelargest andmostexperiencedproviderinAsiaPacific.

MeettheTorchBearerofM-PowerSolutions

MarkSimpson,DirectorandOwneratM-PowerSolutionsisa knowledgeableentrepreneurwithademonstratedhistoryofworking intheinformationtechnologyandservicesindustry

“We get to know you and your business so that we can work effectively together to achieve business led outcomes using the latest and greatest Cloud technology and industry leading implementation approaches. We share the responsibility for the project outcome, when we start a project we are in it together till the end: your success is our success” –assertsMark.

UnderstandingCloudTransformation

Cloudsolutionsaredrivingthedigitaltransformationagendamore quicklythananyonewouldhaveimaginedlessthan3yearsago. Today,organisationsaredeliveringsolutionsintheCloudthat wouldn’thavebeenpossibleinsimilar,traditional,onpremise applications. Moderndigitalapplicationsgivethepowertothe business,shorteningthetimetovalueforendusers,reducingthetime scalesandcostsforprojectimplementationsbyprovidingamore powerful,scalablesoftwareplatform.

Internally,businessandITteamswillneedtoworktogethertoassess theirrequirementstoensurethattheypurchaseaCloudsolutionthat willsupporttheircurrentandfuture.AtM-PowerSolutionstheyoften speaktocustomerswhohavepurchasedotherCloudEPMandBI solutionsandarenowmovingtoOracleCloudsolutionsbecausewhat wasperceivedasalowercostoptiondidnotdeliverthefunctionality, scalabilityorperformancethattheyneeded.

Lookingforwardtoabrightfuturethecompanybelieves,integration ofCloudserviceswillalsobeakeychallengeforinternalITteams. ThehybridworldofonpremiseandCloudsolutionsthatis developingwillneedtobeconsideredcarefullybyITdepartments ensuringthattheservicestheybringinareopenandabletobe integratedintotheircurrentenvironment.

Clients’SatisfactionequalstoM-PowerSoutions’Success

M-Powerprovidespre-builtXcelerateTemplatesfortheOracleEPM &BICloudwhichenablestheircustomerstodeliverquicker,cheaper, bettersolutionswithlessrisk,andthat'saperfectcombination!

M-PowerSolutionsistheGlobalOracleBusinessAnalyticsCloud PartneroftheYearfor2017.So,workingwiththemmeansyouare workingwiththebestinthebusiness!

“In our view we are at the start of the digital finance transformation process. Many companies have started the journey but the majority are yet to start. We have a fantastic opportunity to help organisations large and small on this journey which is exciting and a great opportunity for us is to continue the amazing growth of our business over the last few years.”saysMark.