Intervju: Alison MekKalum, menadžer za razvoj HP Cloud poslovnih rešenja u Evropi

Bojan Dančuo

Intervju: Alison MekKalum, menadžer za razvoj HP Cloud poslovnih rešenja u Evropi

HP je tokom svoje konferencije o konvergentnoj infrastrukturi koje je održano krajem aprila u prostorijama Hyat-a, imao organizovano i vrlo dobro predavanje o Cloud rešenjima i načinu njihove implementacije, koje je držala Alison MekKalum, menadžer razvoja Cloud poslovnih rešenja za Evropu. Imali smo prilike da popričamo sa njom posle predavanja i postavimo joj neka pitanja

Benchmark: Koje kompanije su vam ciljna grupa? Male, velike, veoma velike?

Mi već posedujemo Cloud servise za enterprise klijente, kao i za obične potrošače, ali što se poslovne strane tiče, tu uglavnom ciljamo na velike kompanije i operatere komunikacionih usluga. Manje kompanije će onda kupiti Cloud servise od operatera i drugih partnera.

Benchmark: To znači da vi zapravo primarno tražite partnere koji će onda direktno pružati usluge manjim kompanijama?

Da, upravo tako.

Benchmark: Šta mislite da je vaša prednost u odnosu na druge kompanije koje pružaju Cloud servise? Na primer u odnosu na Google, kojeg ste pomenuli tokom vaše prezentacije.

Mi verujemo da je kompanijama potreban miks internih i eksternih usluga, pa se HP neće obavezno takmičiti direktno sa kompanijama kao što je Google. Mi se trudimo da pružimo velikim klijentima Cloud infrastrukturu, kao i da pomognemo operaterima komunikacionih usluga da samostalno razviju svoje Cloud servise.

Manji poslovni sistemi često više cene lokalne servise, a operateri bolje razumeju svoje tržište od nas. Lokalni operateri su potencijalno mnogo više specijalizovani u odnosu na veoma opšte usluge koje nudi Google. To je ključna razlika, nešto u čemu korisnici usluga mogu da vide korist za sebe. Veliki sistemi takođe neće prosto prihvatiti u potpunosti neke servise u Google stilu, već će želeti miks usluga koji njima najviše odgovara.

Benchmark: Da li nailazite na otpor od strane postojećih zaposlenih u IT-u neke kompanije, kada im predložite da pređu na Cloud servise?

Da, svakako. Postoje dva razloga za to. Ako su vrlo konzervativni, mogu videti Cloud servise kao direktnu pretnju za svoj posao, jer poslovni sistemi mogu da se obrate eksternom izvoru i dobiju od njega te usluge bez ikakve potrebe za lokalnim IT osobljem.

Benchmark: Vi biste iz njihovog ugla zapravo bili neko ko im bukvalno uzima hleb iz usta?

Upravo tako. Zato uvek govorimo IT menadžerima da moraju da razmišljaju o Cloud-u, zato što će ih u suprotnom jednostavno zaobići i može da se dogodi da ostanu bez posla ili završe kao zaposleni u Google-u. Drugi razlog je tehničke prirode i ima veze sa time što kompanije često koriste specijalizovane aplikacije usko prilagođene za njihovu delatnost, pa se postavlja pitanje da li Cloud servis zapravo može da im pruži rešenje koje će funkcionisati kako treba za njihov poslovni sistem.

Dakle to su ta dva glavna razloga koji dovode do otpora kod IT-a: “Da li ću ostati bez posla?” i “Da li će moja kompanija na neki način trpeti zbog prelaska na Cloud rešenje? Da li Cloud servis može da nam pruži ekvivalent aplikacijama koje trenutno koristimo u kompaniji?”.

Jedna stvar je sigurna, a to je da izbor Cloud rešenja za sobom neizbežno povlači bitne promene koje su često neizbežne da bi došlo do uspešnog usvajanja novog rešenja. Kompanija zato mora da odluči da li je spremna da sprovede neophodne promene da bi bila u stanju da koristi Cloud, a pri tome mora detaljno da proračuna poslovne prednosti i uštede koje će joj Cloud doneti i proceni da li su dobici vredni cene tehničkih i organizacionih promena koje moraju da se sprovedu. Vrlo je bitno da svaka odluka za prelazak na Cloud rešenje uključi donosioce poslovnih odluka, kao i da odgovori na pitanje: “da li ću dobiti polje poslovne rezultate ili uštedeti novac ako budem koristio Cloud?”

Benchmark: Videli smo da vi pružate mnogo mešovitih rešenja, gde nisu sve stvari unutar Cloud-a, nego samo neki od servisa. Pretpostavljamo da postoje slučajevi gde kompanije ne žele da urade outsource nekih stvari, prvenstveno zato što se brinu za bezbednost podataka.

Tačno. Postoji miks servisa, nešto što HP zove “Hybrid delivery”, koji možete dobiti pod uslovom da pokrivate sve stvari vezane sa sigurnost podataka, pristupa i upravljanja identitetima. Što je kritičnija neka aplikacija za vaš posao, to više morate da razmišljate o sigurnosti, pridržavanju raznih regulativa itd. Ako ste recimo farmaceutska kompanija, morate biti svesni svih regulativa, bankarstvo je takođe jedna od oblasti gde su pravila vrlo stroga.

Ne znam kakva je trenutno situacija u Sbiji, ali u nekim zemljama postoje regulative za kompanije koje se bave finansijama, koje podrazumevaju da zbog bezbednosti od gubitka podataka morate držati rezervne kopije baza podataka van svoje države.

Benchmark: Da, baš o tome slušamo sve više u poslednje vreme. Pogotovo su aktuelni sistemi za čuvanje rezervnih kopija podataka na drugim lokacijama (offsite backup), koji su postali vrlo popularni posle zemljotresa i tsunamija u Japanu.

Upravo tako.

Benchmark: Da li nailazite na probleme kada vršite implementaciju vaših rešenja u zemljama istočne Evrope, gde komunikaciona infrastruktura nije toliko kvalitetna?

Iskreno, nisam naišla na situaciju gde bi to moglo biti prepreka. Mislim da je jasno da su operateri za komunikacione usluge na jako dobroj poziciji da rešavaju probleme tog tipa. Ono na šta smo tipično nailazili na takvim mestima jesu kompanije koje investiraju u svoja privatna Cloud rešenja, koja onda drže unutar svojih firewall-ova, pa se ne susreću mnogo sa takvim problemom.

Svakako, ako infrastruktura nije dovoljno razvijena, onda propusna moć može predstavljati problem. Nisam još uvek videla da je bilo ko odustao od rešenja zbog slabe propusne moće, ali ovo je svakako dobro pitanje i loša komunikaciona infrastruktura može predstavljati problem u nekim zemljama.

Benchmark: Kod prethodnog pitanja samo prvenstveno mislili na mobilne uređaje i pristup Cloud-u sa njih, ali ako su vam glavni partneri operateri, onda je verovatno u njihovom interesu da bilo kakve probleme tog tipa reše što pre.

Upravo tako. To bi za njih sigurno predstavljalo neki vid prepreke, ali operateri će sigurno znati koju propusnu moć mogu da isporuče u okviru svoje infrastrukture, pa su privatna Cloud rešenja alternativa u slučaju da procene da to nije dovoljno.

Benchmark: Da li je neka kompanija koja je implementirala Cloud odustala od njega i vratila se na standardno rešenje?

Ne znam ni za jedan primer takvog slučaja. Ne kažem da se nikada nije dogodilo, ali ja još uvek nisam videla tako nešto. Postoji veliki broj projekata koji nisu implementirani do kraja, ali u tim slučajevima problemi nisu tehnološke, već organizacione prirode. Danas kompanije uglavnom uvode rešenja polako, korak po korak.

Neke kompanije uvode privatne Cloud-ove, ali što se tiče uspeha u implementaciji rešenja, definitivno je problem u organizaciji ono što može sprečiti kompaniju da izvede uspešnu tranziciju na Cloud. Mora da postoji jaka inicijativa na poslovnom nivou da bi se projekat uspešno priveo kraju, a i sama implementacija je jednostavnija i lakša za manje kompanije, dok velike mogu imati mnogo veće probleme.

U Srbiji vi imate veliki broj manjih poslovnih sistema, koje bi mogli vrlo brzo da se prilagode i usvoje Cloud rešenja, a tu su onda i operateri da im pomognu u fazi implementacije.

Benchmark: Koji su vam planovi za budućnost? Da li imate na vidiku neke krupnije promene ili ćete se primarno orijentisati na optimizaciju postojećih Cloud rešenja?

Ono što će se desiti u budućnosti je da će spisak servisa koje mi lično nudimo nastaviti da raste, pogotovo što se tiče velikih, enterprise sistema. Kada se uzmu u obzir te nove usluge, očigledno pitanje koje isplivava na površinu je: “Dobro, ja sam operater komunikacionih usluga, da li se to HP sada direktno takmiči sa mnom?”. Mi verujemo da postoji prostor za veliki broj pružalaca Cloud usluga. Danas, mi imamo veliki broj partnera koji servisiraju razna tržišta i korisnike sa kojima mi često ni ne stupamo direktno u kontakt.

Slika tržišta Cloud servisa će u budućnosti verovatno ostati vrlo slična danjašnjoj, sa mešavinom direktnih servisa koje mi pružamo i partnera koji pružaju svoj portfolio servisa na širem tržištu.

Benchmark: Hvala vam puno na vašem vremenu.

Interview: Alison McCallum, Cloud computing business development manager, HP

During the HP Convergent Infrastructure conference at the Hyat hotel in Belgrade, there was a very good lecture about Cloud solutions and their implementations by HP, held by Alison McCallum, Cloud computing business development manager for HP in Europe. After the lecture, we had an opportunity to ask her a few questions about HP and its Cloud business model.

Benchmark: Which companies are you targeting? Small ones, bigger ones, extra large ones?

We already have cloud services for enterprises and consumers but on the business side we are mainly targeting large companies and service providers. Smaller companies will buy cloud services from service providers and other partners.

Benchmark: So you are looking for partners to provide services for smaller companies?

Yes, that's right.

Benchmark: What do you think is your advantage compared to the other companies that provide Cloud services? For example compared to Google that you mentioned in your presentation.

We believe that companies will need a mixture of internal and external services, so HP is not necessarily going to compete with the likes of Google. We are looking to provide large enterprises with a Cloud infrastructure, and also assist the service providers to develop Cloud services themselves.

Often what small businesses value are local services, and the service providers will have a better understanding of the market. The local service providers are potentially more specialized, as opposed to the very broad offering by Google. That's the difference, that's where customers can benefit. Enterprises are not just going to go entirely to a Google-like service; they will want a mix of services.

Benchmark: Do you encounter any resistance from existing IT personnel when you suggest Cloud services to them?

Yes, definitely. There are two reasons for it. If they are very conservative, it can be a threat to them, because businesses can get out and get those services without them. It could mean loss of control and even redundancies if not well planned not to mention the security and data protection issues.

Benchmark: They feel like you are taking their bread from them?

Exactly. Which is why we say to IT managers that they need to be thinking about Cloud, because otherwise it is going to pass them by, and they could be be out of a job, or maybe working for Google. Another technical concern is that the company can be using applications which are customized and industry specific, so they are questioning if the Cloud service can really provide them with the solution that works for their business.

So that's two main things: “Am I going to lose my job?”, and “Is my company going to suffer? Can the Cloud service provide the application that I am using today?”.

One thing is sure in choosing Cloud based services some significant changes may be required to ensure a successful adoption. The company must decide if it is ready to make those changes in order to use the Cloud, weighing the business benefits and potential savings versus the technical and organizational changes they have to make. Importantly any decision to go for Cloud must include the business decision makers, and answer the question: “am I going to get better business results or save money if I use the Cloud?”. It's got to be planned and calculated.

Benchmark: We have seen that you provide many mixed solutions, so that not all the things are in the Cloud, but just some services. There are cases where companies don't want to outsource some things, because of security concerns.

Correct. You can have a mixture of services, what HP terms “Hybrid delivery” as long as you can cover all of the security, access and identity management concerns. The more critical the application is for your business, the more you have to think about the security aspect, regulatory compliance etc. If you are a pharmaceutical company you have to be aware of all the regulations, also, banking is another thing.

I don't know about the situation in Serbia, but in some countries financial regulations are talking about having to keep the backup database centers outside the country.

Benchmark: Yes, we are hearing more and more about offsite backups, especially in light of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Exactly.

Benchmark: Do you encounter a lot of problems when implementing your solutions in eastern European countries where the communication infrastructure is not so good?

I've not come across the situation where it would be an issue, honestly. It's clear, I think, that service providers are very well positioned to deal with that. What I've seen elsewhere is that, typically, companies are investing in their private Clouds, keeping it inside their firewalls, so they are not encountering those issues so much.

But for sure, if that infrastructure is not well developed, then your bandwidth can be a problem. I have not yet seen anybody that said they won't do it because of low bandwidth, but it is a good question because it is possibly an issue in some countries.

Benchmark: We were thinking mainly about mobile devices and such, but if your main partners are the service providers, as you said, then it is in their interest to service that?

Exactly. That would be a constraint for them for sure, but the service providers will know what kind of bandwidth they are providing in any given country and then the internal private Clouds would be the alternative.

Benchmark: Did any company fall back from the Cloud solution after implementing it?

I don't have any example of that. I'm not saying no, but I have not yet seen such a thing. There are quite a number of projects that did not work, but in those cases the main problem is not technological, but organizational.

Today the companies are taking it step by step. Some companies are implementing private clouds, but it's definitely the organization that can stop the company from making a successful transition. There has to be a strong business drive to complete the project, and also it is more difficult for big companies, and easier for small companies.

In Serbia you have a lot of small businesses, so they will be the quickest to adopt the Cloud, and that's why service providers should be there to help them with it.

Benchmark: What are your plans for the future? Do you have some bigger changes in sight, or are you just optimizing the existing solutions?

What's going to happen is that, in terms of the services we offer ourselves, they will continue to expand in particular for large enterprises. Considering new services, the obvious question raised here is: “Ok, so I'm a service provider, is HP competing with me?”.

Actually, we believe there is room for many providers. Today, we have channel partners that serve a lot of markets and customers that we don't necessarily address directly. So, the landscape will stay quite similar to today, with a mixture of direct services, and partners providing the services on the market.

Benchmark: Thank you very much for your time.