Cloud 9 Computing

The Benefits of the Cloud - Private vs. Public

2010-02-18T15:29:20Z

The perceived differences between a public and private cloud appear to be directly related to control, cost, security, service level and service priority. So, in context, the following questions need to be asked:

Who (internal or cloud provider) controls the services and their underlying dependencies?
Where the data resides (on premise or in cloud) in terms of security, privacy and business continuity (backup and disaster recovery)?
How can corporate security enforce compliance and auditability?
Are there service levels delivery "guarantees" to match corporate service level agreements?
What is the elasticity (cost of on demand capacity) for peak and rapid growth demands?
What is the level of priority of service when service issues are encountered?

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Private Cloud
Control
Concern
Advantage Cost
Lowest (No Load Cost/Elastic)
Peak Loaded
Data Control
Concern
Advantage Data Security
Concern Compliant Access Security
Concern Compliant Service Level
Concern Controlled Service Priority
Concern Controlled

Cloud computing is a viable option for both private sector and government sector enterprise
operations. The decision of using public or private cloud services is three-fold:

cloud-based desktop
cloud-based applications
both

Until recently, cloud referred to cloud-based applications, that is, the user used their PC-based browser or PC-based client outside the cloud to access applications in the cloud. This model placed the focus on the cloud control aspects of the applications e.g., access security, data security, accessibility, privacy, service levels, etc.

More recently, virtual desktops can be provided in the cloud introducing some additional options not currently available with the traditional cloud. The best public cloud application candidates are those applications whose service level, security, privacy and auditability requirements fit with what the cloud can guarantee. . The best candidate applications are discrete and can benefit from capital savings and elasticity. For example, an individual desktop has a far less stringent set of compliance considerations than an application server. Just think of the number of times you reboot your PC in contrast to the number of times an application server is rebooted.

The decision to use a public cloud for the virtual desktop is actually much simpler assuming the access control meets the enterprise requirements. This is because the service levels may in fact be improved over that achievable on individual desktops and the costs can be significantly reduced. Using a public cloud can also eliminate or significantly reduce capital expenditures required to move to a virtual desktop in the enterprise as there are no prerequisite purchases and you can pay as you go. The decision to use the public cloud for both the applications and virtual desktops can be made separately.

What Lies Ahead for Cloud Computing

In 2010 and beyond, cloud vendors will provide enhancements that enable enterprises to ensure service levels with real-time service level deviation detection and correction. Public cloud computing provides an easy, low-cost entry to a private cloud assuming that the public service provides the ability to move to the private cloud when it makes sense. Key considerations that need to be examined before using a public cloud with the intention to move to a private cloud later are the dependency on proprietary public cloud infrastructure APIs and public cloud management controls that need to be embedded in the applications or virtual desktops. Typically, the greater the number of proprietary controls, the more work involved in moving your application in the cloud into your private cloud, unless, of course, those APIs and controls can run with software available to the enterprise and can easily fit into the enterprises infrastructure.

Google Phones, iPhones and Cloud Phones: Where is the (Operator's) Beef?

2010-02-05T15:25:14Z

Traditional smartphones - such as BlackBerry's - or "bypass phones" such as Google's Nexus One and Apple's iPhone, leverage the intelligence on the device, which is owned/controlled by the respective vendor Smartphones tightly integrate the user experience with services Google, Apple and others vendors own and funnel/control revenue streams away from the operators and carriers.
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Google follows the same model but allows users to switch between different operator networks via the 20-year-old GSM model. Content and application services are tightly integrated with the device application environment and, just like Apple, these devices do not operate without having been "registered" both with the operator's network AND with Google/Apple - thus disintermediating both the network as well as the customer relationship between the operator and their subscriber base.

In all cases, all value-added revenues bypass the operator who is left with price-based only competition on commodity pipes.

Cloud phones are virtual personal phones hosted in the network that are simply accessed via a personal ID from any device. The intelligence is not on the handset, but in the network. The device accesses everything required for the user's digital life - it does not house it.

The digital experience is exponentially improved. The speed at which one can browse, download and upload is extraordinary. No more waiting and watching a globe spin - now it is simply "click and go." There are no plug-ins, application or compatibility issues. Whatever form-factor device, content, or application needed to access, everything is faster, simpler and more secure.

Any combination of applications can be delivered as a service to any form-factor device. And applications are not constrained by any proprietary development environment or device features. They are developed and run on massively powerful servers, delivering an unparalleled experience not achievable with traditional computing phones, or smart/netbook devices.

With cloud phones, the intelligence is in the network, and devices are dis-intermediated. The subscriber is recognized and identified as such by the operator, irrespective of the device he/she is using. The operator becomes the broker between value-added service vendors and its subscriber base, and removes device and application/content legacies.

Cloud phones do not prevent subscribers from using Google or Apple value-added services, but rather they enable them to access them from any device. This is mostly due to the network intelligence delivered by the operator and, more importantly, with much cheaper devices, a better user experience, and with a price/performance value that smartphone - Nexus One, iPhone, et al -cannot match.

Cloud phone services are always hosted in the network on computing infrastructure that can take advantage of open and widely available application development environments. Since all the intelligence is in the network and the cloud phones can universally access any service -- independent of on any application or device legacy -- service development and deployment is far simpler/faster than traditional smartphones. This offers operators the ability to compete on a leveled playing field without breaking any "net-neutrality" rules, and allows access to any service provisioned and delivered by anyone.

In conclusion, cloud phones deliver the next-generation user experience, allowing subscribers to have access to their digital life from any device, anywhere. All through an intelligent network that returns the operator to a competitive position, decommoditizing the pipes and leveling the playing field with "bypass" players.

Second-Generation SIMtone "SNAP" Universal Cloud Terminals to Debut at the Consumer Electronics Show

2010-01-05T19:42:42Z

This week in Las Vegas, we will introduce our second-generation SIMtone "SNAP" Universal Cloud Terminals, setting a new price and performance standard compared to traditional smartbooks, netbooks, laptops or desktop computers. The new devices are the first to break the $100 price barrier and deliver fast, powerful "on-demand" access to applications and media/communication services hosted on Windows, Linux or Media Virtual PCs.

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Priced at $99, the SNAP Two desktop/set-top terminal delivers plug-and-play access to any hosted cloud service, including virtual PCs, Web applications and media/communication services with less than four watts of energy consumption.

The SNAPbook Two is a new wireless netbook priced at $149, including a 7-inch TFT LCD true color 800 x 480 display, weighs less than two pounds and requires only five watts of energy consumption.

Both the SNAP Two desktop/set-top terminal and the SNAPbook Two Wireless netbook terminal will be available from SIMtone carriers starting in Q1, 2

010, and are the first ultra-low-cost, cloud-enabled solutions featuring plug-and-play wireless and wireline connectivity with zero-configuration and maintenance.

Smartphone's Dirty Secret

2009-11-23T21:55:38Z

I vividly remember when Steve Jobs rocked the Macworld 2007 audience by announcing that the Apple iPhone would feature a "real Web browser, the first fully usable HTML browser on a phone" (go to 2:10-2:25 segment in video).

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Come on, Steve. Who cares about the browser? We need plug-ins! Can you play Facebook videos on the iPhone? The dirty secret of the iPhone and many other smartphones out there is that they do not have and never will have fully usable browsers. No matter how much CPU power and RAM you cram into a slim device, those browser, plug-in and extension developers have multi-core desktop power guzzlers in mind when they add new features to their software. And capabilities of smartphones will always be behind those of desktop and laptop machines. Right?

Wrong! There is, indeed, a way to make smartphones shine and be every bit as capable as desktops and laptops. This can be accomplished by making the smartphone dumb, as in a dumb client. Moving the processing power into the cloud will enable the Web browser on the smartphone to be "fully usable," as Steve says.

"Dumb" smartphones (what an oxymoron) with all the "smarts" in the network will solve another problem that people have with browsers on phones: they are always out of sync with other Web browsers on their netbooks, laptops, desktops, etc., Think about, are all your Web browsers exactly the same on the different devices you use? It's time that we stop emailing ourselves interesting links to be viewed at home and trying to remember passwords we saved on our work computers. One person - one browser, regardless of the device being used at work, home or the road!

The browser must run on a server in the cloud, utilizing the graphical display and audio of the device.

And think of the wonders it will make to conserve bandwidth in the networks clogged by smartphone-based browsers. Instead of pulling across the wireless network the huge JPEGs and streaming MPEGs designed to look good on your 32" widescreen monitor, the hosted browser does this over the backbone to the data center, where the image and data will be scaled to the size of the client at hand.

SIMtone is ready to make this happen. It's time wireless carriers realize that this is the next big opportunity to free themselves from the tyranny of smartphone vendors, unclog their networks and deliver what every user wants: fully usable HTML browsers that don't suck on phones.

Outage + Outrage = Telecom Opportunity

2009-11-09T15:43:51Z

The recent service disruption that impacted T-Mobile Sidekick customers highlights how fragile cloud applications and services can be if they are not managed correctly. Although the service disruption, which impacted a user's ability to access personal information stored on Sidekick devices, such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists and photos has been somewhat resolved, it begs the question: "Who is best suited to deliver cloud services, enterprise IT organizations or telecom operators?"

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In my view, telecom operators are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the cloud and offer a broad range of services. Why? Because quality of service, reliability and scalability are in their DNA. They build, operate and maintain high-availability infrastructures to support tens of millions of business and consumer users; infrastructures that support voice, data and video services as well as the crucial 911 service.

To achieve and maintain these highly scalable, telecom-grade services that are down less than five minutes per year, telecom operators understand the necessity for redundancy and backups, standard methods and procedures, compliance and performance testing. After all, they have been doing this for over a hundred years, and continue to get better at it.

While this situation involves T-Mobile, a telecom operator, it is important to note that the outage was not telecom-related. It had something to do with a storage and backup glitch at Microsoft's Danger subsidiary, which develops the Sidekick.

As a provider of a cloud computing technology platform, SIMtone recognizes the value telecom operators provide within the cloud value-chain. Our mission is to equip telecom operators with a carrier-grade platform they can rely upon to deliver any range of cloud services and applications with the high level of reliability their subscribers expect from any network provisioned service.

Offering a telecom-centric model, the SIMtone Universal Computing platform allows telecom operators to deliver any cloud service to very low cost mobile devices, with the utmost in reliability, pervasive usability and availability. The SIMtone, like a dial-tone, is always-on and ready to provide simple, safe and pervasive access to any cloud services from any device.

Outsourcing or Cloud Computing?

2009-09-08T11:51:33Z

Charles Babcock's recent InformationWeek article on IBM offering desktop virtualization really brings to light the industry's confusion between outsourcing and cloud computing.

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It seems to me that cloud computing is much more than taking an organization's desktops and plunking them into an outsourced location and connecting users with a big private pipe between their office's LAN-connected thin or thick clients. Cloud computing means that a user can access the services they need from anywhere via the Internet, without complex infrastructures and support overheads, training and upfront costs.

So let's explore the typical "virtual desktop" business proposition. You build your own desktop server infrastructure or lease it from an "outsource cloud" provider, replace existing PCs with new thin client computers, add a private secure network infrastructure and then continue to manage and support the virtual desktops and the thin clients from your location? It is small wonder this hasn't taken off, and it is not the desktop server capital cost, whether outsourced or not. Perhaps we're missing the compelling reasons for doing this.

A lot of organizations have been studying the cost elements and capital expenditure impact of virtualizing their desktops. What they discovered is that there are a number of reasons why one would virtualize the desktop. The main reasons are reducing maintenance and support costs as well as hardware and energy costs. This leads to the realization that the support costs are a function of the applications that the user utilizes, the users' device complexity, the network infrastructure (VPN, accelerators and firewall management and the mandatory fail-over and disaster recovery) and response time.

To reduce costs and take advantage of desktop virtualization, I need not worry so much about hosting or outsourcing the virtual desktop server, but rather figure out how to eliminate all those new elements these "virtualized desktop servers" require to make those desktops usable. Are we missing something? You bet! The user! It's all about user productivity and mobility. In short, the focus on cost reductions is not buying or leasing a new server, network capacity, or managing new edge devices and forgetting that the whole reason for the PCs was to make end-users as productive as possible. It is enabling employees to service customers effectively, innovate, compete and grow better, faster and cheaper. What this means is the only viable virtual desktop solution is one that provides better capabilities than the user had with their physical desktop and enable them to work better on the road and from home, without requiring any support wherever they work.

Virtual desktop cloud computing means authorized access from anywhere mobility, equal to better than PC accessible multi-media, security of access and data safety using familiar interfaces, and a liquid-computing-like server that intelligently "floats" the end-user desktop to save resources and power, guaranteeing its availability and readiness when the user needs it. If these dimensions are in not the equation, you aren't looking at cloud computing -- you are looking at a virtual server strangely populated with windows images, sitting in a company lab, and you are not going to save CAPEX or OPEX costs, irrespective of any hosting or outsourcing alternative.

No Multimedia - No Users

2009-09-04T11:31:12Z

A few days ago, Charles Babcock of InformationWeek wrote an article about IBM's recent announcement of a new public desktop service cloud, which will deliver virtualized desktops to thousands of end-users per customer site at a time. IBM notes that it will virtualize the desktops via the products of either VMware or Citrix Systems to match a customer's current environment.

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Further reading the article, I was shocked to see that "virtual desktops will not be able to run full motion video or multimedia."

How 90's is that?! The article suggests that the primary target market is enterprise IT. Perhaps the assumption is that the information workers do not need multimedia?

Frankly, I do not believe that these types of users are willing to part with their multimedia-capable desktops for jerky-video, out-of-sync-sound RDP or ICA terminals.

There is plenty of research that suggests that the new generation of workers do not know the difference between work and leisure in their digital life. The same way a global business requires work to be always accessible (we at SIMtone are very good examples of this with our 2:00 AM conference calls with distant clients). Multimedia features of Facebook and YouTube have to be as accessible at work as at home to compensate for these night "shifts." And besides, how do you participate in a Webinar on a non-multimedia Thin Client?

It's time for cloud service providers to wake up and realize that to succeed in virtual computing, services have to integrate more of a consumer flavor. They need to be attractive to millions of people (not just thousands of workers) in order to be successful in the enterprise. With SIMtone, every cloud desktop or application service (including video and multimedia) is accessible with a single user ID, from everywhere and with any device.

BBC Business Daily Interview: The Risks of Cloud Computing

2009-08-06T19:41:16Z

Recently, I participated in a BBC Broadcast about cloud computing and the risks associated. Steve Evans along with BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones led the discussion to help define what exactly cloud computing means and how it can be a cost effective alternative for many businesses.

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During the discussion, Stephen Evans raised a very important question around the security of cloud computing, "What do you make of the criticism that with the cloud, you hand your details to big companies far away?"

The cloud computing business model is similar to that of a bank where customers entrust their money and personal data to the institution to hold and manage, yet their money and info can be accessed and used through any ATM using a plastic card and PIN (personal identification number). The same model holds true with cloud computing--while your data may be held by an organization it can be accessed anywhere via easy-to-use devices, aka zero clients. Agreeing with Dr. Jonathan Zittrain, who is also interviewed, the cloud offers a simple, secure and cost-effective approach to computing for businesses and consumers alike.

The question that needs to be answered, however, is what's in the client? Dr. Zittrain in his NY Times article "Lost in the Cloud" raises a concern about a browser as the universal client for cloud access. I agree. If the cloud is reduced to a bunch of Web sites controlled by GooYahSoftFaceSpace, we've all lost. If instead we all have our own personal computers, including the browser running in the cloud under our full ownership and control, then we win big time.

Listen in to the entire broadcast here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p003v0mn

Welcome to the Party

2009-07-28T13:10:03Z

HOB RD VPN Administration GuideHOB RD VPN Administration Guide

In Miguel Helft's recent NY Times article, "Google's Chrome OS: Reaching for the Cloud," he discusses the industry's shift towards cloud computing--citing Google's most recent announcement that it is creating a web-based, PC operating system, that will work off the cloud.

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Helft makes the argument that "Any device, anywhere -- from a desktop PC to a mobile phone -- could give users instant access to all their files and programs so long as it had a Web browser. At the same time, new kinds of devices would be possible, from portable computers that are even lighter than today's thinnest PCs, to, say, a Web-connected screen in a hotel room that would give guests full access to their digital lives."

However, as more and more applications migrate to the Web, imagine how much more of a users' state the browsers will have to hold. Currently, we cannot effectively use the Web and its applications without an extensive database of bookmarks, saved passwords, browsing history, cookies, field autocompletes, plugins, extensions, etc. What good is a browser in an Internet café without all of this personal state? What good are five different browser-equipped devices that I own if each one has its own version of my personal state and all of them are out of sync?

What we really need is not a bunch of devices with browsers, but rather low-cost, easy-to-use stateless devices of all shapes, all of which can connect to cloud-based browsers. A browser belongs to a person, not to a device, and therefore its place is in the cloud -- not on a personal gadget.

With SIMtone, cloud services such as virtual desktops, DaaS/SaaS, PC remote access or Web services are simple and very inexpensive to host and manage, and become usable without a computer, on-demand and on-the-fly, simply and safely, by everyone, everywhere.

As Helft also notes, "Whether Chrome OS succeeds may not matter. Much of the computer world is inexorably moving toward 'cloud computing,' in a shift that could greatly simplify the way we access and process digital information."

While the SIMtone vision differs a bit, we do believe that cloud computing is about expanding the accessibility for users--simply--to all digital information, media and applications.

The Overlooked Piece to the Cloud Computing Puzzle

2009-06-30T17:34:50Z

I just came across an interesting BusinessWeek article, "How Cloud Computing Will Change Business," that describes how businesses are becoming acutely aware of economical benefits of cloud computing and are keenly interested in leveraging the current consumer and social network experience.

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According to the article, in 1990, during a keynote speech, Bill Gates predicted that information would be at people's fingertips. Achieving this vision required the following: powerful computers, more powerful networks, and easy access to a broad range of information. Well, in 2009, these three requirements have been met, but the bar has also raised. In 2009, we are at another milestone facilitated by the convergence of broadband, applications available over the Internet, the ability to virtualize PCs server-side, ubiquitous edge device access to information. Today, millions of computer literate consumers use these technology building blocks for even more, innovative and real-time communications and information capture, distribution and access across all aspects of their lives.

Obviously, the challenge of leveraging these new technologies for businesses is different than for consumers and not for the faint of heart. If a business embraces the wrong technology, it can be in a rut for several years until they "upgrade." According to Capgemini, the business cycle for IT decisions is 10 years. Therefore, it would take 10 years to correct such mistakes, creating an unrecoverable exposure that few are ready to embrace. As a result, most businesses follow rather than lead when it comes to leveraging new technologies. They must carefully identify their needs and make feature, function and skill trade-offs and become comfortable with the controls.

Probably the biggest heartburn is where company information resides. Currently, most business users have a desktop, laptop or both (I'm ignoring handheld devices). The information needed by the user is on their desktop, laptop, company repository or distributed among end-user devices and data center servers. This translates to the need for timely backups and data synchronization as well as the potential loss of information if the device is lost or stolen.

It seems that the Star Trek writers figured out a solution to this problem several decades ago. Their crew used walkie-talkie-like devices that evolved from talking between the crew to communicating with the ship's computer. They skipped the "personal computer" in favor of a small edge device that served as voice communicator, environmental sensor, GPS, camera, projector, etc. In short, they carried or wore a "terminal." The information model was pretty rudimentary and comprised of a simple communications device and a connection to the Starship Enterprise's computer (the data center). Each crew member had the power of the Starship Enterprise's computing and information at their fingertips.

Given the bandwidth and features currently available for edge devices, the biggest challenge is associated with the edge device in terms of cost (includes software and support) and the information it contains. We already see the convergence of edge device functionality. The hump that we need to get over is the "terminal" versus the "PC edge device" transition. Virtualization of PCs in data centers enable businesses to centralize their users' PCs, protect the data, backup the data and provide the capacity they need. The data centers can be outsourced or virtualized in a cloud, providing all sorts of flexibilities that should not affect the business users' access to the information they need to provide superior service and close deals. This leaves the edge device functionality as the focus.

The difference between "terminal" and PC is all about where information is and the cost to manipulate it:

A "terminal" is a relatively dumb device that provides interaction and is able to accept multiple sources of input and accept multiple forms of presentation and communicate with the relevant services in the cloud e.g., a browser or virtual desktop. The terminal is a low-cost, stateless device with over-the-wire or over-the-air firmware updates and requires no configuration, no support or maintenance.
The PC is a device that has an operating system that hosts multiple applications and includes clients for client-server applications and is a repository for local data.

Sometimes, the term thin-client is used to refer to a PC-like device and sometimes it refers to a real "terminal." If it is anything more than an input/output device, it is a PC.

From my perspective, any business looking to leverage the potential agility and efficiencies of cloud computing should seriously look at a terminal-based edge device access model. Using a terminal approach provides a low-cost framework to quickly and easily deploy significant application functionality (even yet to be invented new functionality). The functionality can be added quickly because it is provided on the server-side or within the cloud without having to make any changes to the edge device. Additionally, a terminal avoids the typical PC-based edge device support, maintenance resource and costs. Using the terminal approach, enabling applications is significantly more responsive to the marketplace since it can immediately leverage the huge inventory of legacy applications and information without having to build new front-ends.

In summary, the edge device technology directions are becoming clearer because of the following drivers:

Broadband access - wireline and wireless - is increasingly pervasive
Smart handheld devices are becoming more powerful to support the functions
Laptops are shrinking to smaller packages (e.g., netbooks)

Desktop computers are shrinking to PC-based clients
Terminal devices that provide rich presentation and accept inputs and transmit outputs to computing in the cloud are emerging

Hot Discussions at FiRe 2009

2009-05-29T17:59:34Z

Horoscopes and fortunetellers notwithstanding, it is always fascinating to hear people predict the future. Particularly when those making the predictions are world-famous scientists, business executives and investors.

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SIMtone had a chance to contribute to the Future In Review (FiRe 2009) that was held last week in the picturesque Hotel Del Coronado. We were selected among several hundred applicants as one of 12 Fire Starters - companies that will change the world in the opinion of the Strategic News Services panel of experts.

Experts and senior executives from Adobe, Amazon, Cisco, Intuit, Microsoft, Qualcomm and SIMtone debated the future of computing. Opinions varied about the rate and pace of change, but one thing was abundantly clear: the days of the personal computing as we know it are numbered, and the change is brought about by the combination of virtualization, broadband connectivity and the new breed of software platforms that make "the cloud" universally available to every person on the planet.

SIMtone and Microsoft discussed our respective positions which were aired by BBC

on the second day of the conference.

Cloud services are changing all aspects of computing. Why endure the cost and pain of "fat client" ownership when you can get a personal virtual machine from your broadband provider with all the carrier-class reliability and support?

We believe this trend will continue and the SIMtone platform allows telecom providers to embrace the cloud and deliver a broad range of cloud services that makes computing simpler and safer, everywhere.

PS - If you ever visit San Diego in May remember to bring a sweater and a jacket. It was cold. And I know cold. I was born in Moscow and live in Ottawa.

SIMtone Supports Green Computing with Sponsorship of America's Cup Team

2009-05-15T16:10:08Z

We have just announced our involvement in the 33rd America's Cup Race by sponsoring the Green Comm Challenge, also known as Circolo di Vela Gargnano (CVG) -- a team that recently submitted its challenge for entry.

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We are participating as a technical partner and offering our SIMtone Universal Computing platform which will allow the Green Comm Challenge team to access data, applications and information services in the cloud, on-demand and on-the-fly, on water and land.

We are delighted to support the first America's Cup boat driven by world-changing innovation and a scientific mission that is completely aligned with our vision. By eliminating complexity in the organization, SIMtone will make Green Comm 'go faster' and enable the entire team to work together simply and safely from anywhere. With SIMtone, the only carbon involved with the Green Comm Challenge will be in the hull!

It's the Network, Stupid!

2009-04-09T11:25:59Z

The Birth of the Universal Computing Platform

The Yankee Group is predicting a four trillion dollar market for the "Anywhere IT" computing paradigm. What is this new paradigm? Specifically, "The Anywhere Network" will automatically make the following decisions for users:

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Which network to connect to
How to connect to the network
How to connect to the services and applications on the network
How to deliver the information to the user, anywhere on any device

Those charged with managing information technology networks and delivering IT services - today's vital nervous system of the global economy - should be reminded that "It's the network!" The future is not about smarter or more powerful devices. It's about smarter networks. Networks that will allow any application to run anywhere and be usable from any connected device, on-demand and on-the-fly.

With greater intelligence and a smarter architecture, the new network paradigm will provide enormous efficiencies and convenience. In part, its beauty will be its "Back to the Future" feel with simple devices that are cheap, easy to use, secure and highly reliable. As with the plain old telephone, the complexity in this model will reside in the network and be managed by professionals so workers and consumers can enjoy greater convenience and productivity. It will be a world where anyone can get their "stuff" - be it music or movies or medical records or email - securely and properly formatted on any digital device.

The "Anywhere IT" vision is needed, however, not only because of the new benefits it can provide, but also because the present paradigm is hopelessly insecure and inefficient. No amount of resources invested in the current Web-based, client/server network architecture will ever take the global economy where it needs to go. As the old Yankee once told the bewildered New York tourist seeking directions to Kennebunkport, Maine, "You can't get there from here."

Why is the present architecture so expensive and yet so hopelessly flawed?

First, in a Web-based model, remote devices connect directly to enterprises. Addresses on the Internet facilitate connections, but these signs are visible to friend and foe alike. Every Web site or static Internet protocol (IP) address becomes a potential target for hacking, spoofing and denial-of-service attacks.

Enterprises spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually trying to police the gateways between the Web and their router network. The present model is so weak that an enterprise has to open a connection before it can decide whether to reject it. These are deep and inherent flaws in the current paradigm.

Second, although it may be a futile gesture, each of these innumerable IP addresses must be heavily defended not only at the edge of the network but also on every connected PC and server. Yet any organization (especially large enterprises) has never had, and never will have, 100 percent compliance with all of the patches, upgrades, installations and configurations required to defeat recognized threats - much less those of a knowledgeable attacker.

To ensure compliance, employees and contractors dispersed at too many places would have to implement too many complex information technology policies and procedures flawlessly. One critical advantage of the new model will be to lighten the burden that current technologies impose on professionals and consumers alike.

Third, the current architecture is teeming with open input-output devices that make networks, even government-classified, air-gapped networks vulnerable to thousands and even hundreds of thousands of insiders. For example, every intelligence agency and military department has been badly and repeatedly burned by U.S. citizens acting as agents of foreign powers, resulting in roughly 100 espionage convictions over the past 25 years. Most of these agents operated for years before they were detected, and almost all were volunteers.

Fourth, too many devices exist in too many places with too much data. Last year an estimated 1.7 million laptops were stolen, including some with vast quantities of sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth. And every time remote users connect to enterprise networks there is the potential to upload malicious code, either wittingly or unwittingly.

The myriad of problems stemming from the present model requires not only new capabilities but also a new network architecture.

Fortunately, the bandwidth limitations that forced the commercial adoption of the PC/Web model in the 1980s and 1990s are steadily disappearing. Local storage, processing and manipulation were imperative in the days of dial-up access, but that era is rapidly receding if not entirely gone. Although the United States still lags most developed countries in mobile broadband, fixed broadband access already is available to more than 60 percent of U.S. homes and more than 85 percent of U.S. businesses.

This growing capacity offers more than a way to move files faster, and an entirely new, completely stateless and dataless, network architecture is now possible. SIMtone has developed and delivered a stateless and massively scalable intelligent network platform, where pixels move instead of data, where firewalls can be closed to inbound traffic, where data, services and business intelligence never reside on devices yet is readily accessible by any user, via any device, on any connection, anywhere.

We've listed below the differences between legacy networks and stateless and dataless networks. Please take a look and let us know your thoughts.

Comparison: Web/Client-Server Networks vs. Stateless Networks

SECURITY
	Before	After
Data Storage	Local media can be seized, stolen or lost.	Forward positions can function without resident data - loss of equipment does not equal loss of data.
Configuration Control	Employees upload and download code at will often introducing software incompatibilities and malicious code.	The enterprise retains complete configuration control. No processing on the network or on the client prevents any possible manipulation from the outside.
Network Security	Web-based portals subject to hacking and DOS attacks. Hundreds of millions spent on insecure gateways.	All connections originate from behind a firewall with inbound ports closed. No IP address on the web to hack or attack. No data ever transverses the network or resides on any switch, ever.
Insider Threat	Massive opportunities for employees to download information or upload code that compromises critical networks.	Authorized employees enjoy easy access but cannot upload or download without explicit permission.
Chain of Custody	Organizations cannot share evidence without compromising the chain of custody.	Individuals can remotely access information without ever having control of the information.
Internet Access and Gateways	Organizations provide static IP addresses for employees seeking to gain remote access. Employees need to maintain access configuration and validation tools often limited to specific PCs and locations only.	All connections originate from behind a dynamically managed firewall - the organization can remain invisible on the web, and the employee can connect from any location, via any network and using any device.
Laptop Theft	Laptop theft and loss a severe problem - 1.7 million laptops in the US reported stolen in 2004.	Laptops may still be lost or stolen, but they no longer contain sensitive information. Also, small inexpensive "non-personal devices" can be substituted for laptops.
Continuity of Operations	Unique, expensive solutions required.	Easy to instantly and dynamically provide and grant expanded secure access to remote users in times of crisis or emergency.

INTEROPERABILITY

Before

After

Information Sharing

Difficult to achieve secure interoperability.

Distribution of ID tokens permits secure information sharing regardless of hardware or software back-ends - without compromising control of information.

MOBILITY
	Before	After
	Carry one, dedicated, specifically configured, Expensive, fully managed, state-full and data-full PCs	Use any zero-configuration, stateless, Inexpensive, lightweight, devices via any network.

COST AND EASE OF ADMINISTRATION
	Before	After
Employee Unique Devices	Each employee tied to a single PC that must follow them from office to office, job to job.	Any employee can use any device at any location.
Maintenance	Heavy, difficult to maintain PCs with moving parts.	Inexpensive stateless hardware, only screen, NIC and keyboard required.
Device Costs	Expensive managed PCs.	Unmanaged PCs or inexpensive stateless devices.
Bandwidth Conservation	Pipes choke on fat files.	Predictive, optimized, QoS controlled bandwidth utilization.
Cost and Ease of Inserting New Functionality	Each individual desktop PC must be upgraded, insertion costs high.	Only application servers need to be maintained and upgraded. Insertion costs low.
Weight and Power Reductions	Heavy, fragile, energy consuming PCs.	No hard drives, fat memory, ultra-fast chips or moving parts, just a screen, NIC and keyboard, leading to substantial reductions in weight, size, and power requirements.

Cloud Computing -- Delivered by Your Local Telecom Company?

2009-04-07T12:27:17Z

As pointed out by Gartner analyst Daryl Plummer, the clock is ticking for telecom providers to jump on the cloud computing bandwagon. Cloud computing is quickly evolving and offers telecom operators a unique opportunity to deliver all types of new services bundled with broadband connectivity -- everything from netbooks and virtualized desktops to private cloud services.

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According to a recent report, Verizon is planning to sell netbooks to consumers later this year for $99 bundled with a two-year service agreement. AT&T currently sells Acer netbooks for $99, as well. While the carriers have not yet announced plans to deliver virtual desktop services as a value-add, this is certainly the next step in the cloud computing evolution.

Telecom operators have a unique opportunity to disrupt the PC business and become a major distribution channel for operating systems, applications and services. This is bound to happen, as the OEM channel rethinks its business model - with software dwarfing the cost of the hardware it runs on. Why would 5 billion people pay $300 for an operating system and productivity suite, when the hardware it runs on is under $250? On the other hand, the same operating system and productivity suite delivered for a few dollars a month as a bundled service (with broadband connectivity) provides customers with added value.

If telecom operators do not move quickly, there is another option brewing. Big cloud providers, with huge data centers, expertise in delivering services on a massive scale and ownership of lots of dark fiber and swaths of wireless spectrum, will displace both the traditional telecom operators and providers of PC software out of the market.

Telecom operators have at least two things going for them. First, they have the geographic footprint that benefits the delivery of virtual computing services by providing low-latency connectivity necessary for a high-quality user experience. Secondly, they have experience in marketing, selling and taking care of large customer bases. If they can sell a voicemail service for over $5/month to millions of subscribers, when an answering machine costs $25, they can certainly sell Virtual PCs at $25/month loaded with software and other goodies. They just need to decide whether they want to take advantage of this unique opportunity or let others eat their lunch.

With several trials in place throughout North America, Europe and Asia, SIMtone is equipping a number of telecom operators to offer carrier-class cloud services to enterprise, small business and consumer markets - all which are infinitely scalable and highly reliable.

Let me know how you feel about telecom providers offering cloud service bundles.

Back to the Future

2009-03-31T11:38:57Z

George Crump's recent blog post for InformationWeek notes, "Data is always at risk. No matter if it's in the cloud, on your servers and especially on your user's laptops."

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That statement struck me that not much has changed over the last 30 years other than the intentional or unintentional amount of risk that a company takes when providing access to information outside of the data center. For example, consider the implications and potential exposure of a lost employee laptop.

While the freedom of working from home and on the road is increasing in popularity -- so, too, has the sophistication by the "bad guys" to gain access and compromise your data or even infer from your usage. By infer, I mean the potential usefulness of knowing who is accessing what data, applications, sites, and even how often the data is being accessed. The ever-increasing dilemma is access authorization, tracking, and protection versus business needs of the organization.

Years ago, this wasn't as big an issue. Your work was on the mainframe and access was from a dumb terminal or a terminal emulator. The inherent benefits were manifold and understated. For example, no files or even records left the data center -- only pixels and keystrokes moved between the terminal and the pipes could be encrypted. Dial-in solutions were usually coupled with "call-back" logic to make sure that the requested connector was where they said they were. The biggest hassle was the administration required to open a call-in port to restrict the access to the authorized callers. Backup and recovery was managed inside the data center and the only security risk was exposing your monitor screen to prying eyes or someone's camera.

Over the past 30 years, we went through various iterations of distributed intelligence for remote and mobile users including schlepping your piece of the data center around in your PC bag or having it sit in your office at home on your company-issued PC. We have learned about hardware and software VPNs and wish we could afford the communication accelerators to let us remotely have the same experience as we had at the office. In the last year or two, employees' use of computers and personally driven sophistication has led to BYOPC (Bring Your Own PC). This shift can reduce the cost of access devices, but puts even more stress on the already fraying fiber of security associated with viruses and exploits that were designed to steal information and login credentials or corrupt the data being exchanged.

Suddenly, we are back to looking for a terminal solution and I don't mean thin client. I am referring to a zero state and zero touch terminal. Zero state meaning that if lost or hacked, there is no information, no files and no connection information -- not even the address to get to the data center. By zero touch, I mean that it dials up to the authentication and connection service and is maintained over-the-wire or over-the-air by the connection service. The user is always using the latest terminal. This zero state, zero touch terminal could be embedded through a piece of software that runs on your PC or provided through a browser.

Sound familiar? Well, it needs encrypted data, certificate authentication, "call-back" and no administration on the data center firewall and we would be back to where we were BEFORE we opened up all the holes. A much less expensive device that can be owned by the company or the user and that has a very clean wall between business use and personal use. This sounds reasonable, especially to an old timer like me, but it is only possible assuming that appropriate infrastructure is in place. The solution needs a secure, public connection service as well as a controller at the data center that does the call-back, establishes a secure, high-speed session between the terminal and your data center service (.e.g., your desktop in the data center or locally connected to the data center).

So, "Data is always at risk. No matter if it's in the cloud, on your servers and especially on your user's laptops" can be altered to "data is always at risk. No matter if it's in the cloud or on your servers." Using a viable zero state, zero touch terminal and the supportive infrastructure eliminates the "especially on your user's laptops" and lets you focus on the security and preservation of the data on your servers in the data center or in the cloud.