Walter Pinson

It was once said back in the early ‘90s that “Client/server computing is a little like teenage sex – everyone talks about it, few actually do it, and even fewer do it right.  Nevertheless, many people believe client/server computing is the next major step in the evolution of corporate information systems.” Can the same be said about cloud computing, today? It is evident that cloud computing is the next major step in computing, in general.  But is it the next major step in the evolution of corporate information systems?  Everyone is certainly talking about it; but who is actually doing it? According to Pew Research, anyone with a Gmail or YouTube account is participating in the cloud computing revolution.  Perhaps I need to change my perspective about cloud computing in order to agree with them.  The Pew report focuses on end-user adoption of cloud-based services, o... (more)

IT Investment vs IT Expense

If you are responsible for IT expenditures at any level within an organization, there are certain questions that you may ask yourself. Does the money that we spend on IT really make a difference? Does the technology that we purchase produce some material benefit or strategic advantage over a period of time? Do the IT projects that we fund support our company’s strategic business objectives? If the answer to any of these questions is "NO" or "I DON’T KNOW", then there is a high probability that IT represents more of an expense in your organization rather than an investment. An org... (more)

The Importance of Abstraction in Cloud Computing

Windows Azure at Cloud Expo My colleague, Peter Palmieri, just penned a blog post about Microsoft’s recent announcement that the Azure platform will offer extensive and familiar relational database features via SQL Data Services (SDS). In his post, Leveraging Skills, Peter discusses the fact that .NET developers will be able to leverage their existing SQL Server database skills when developing against the Azure platform. In doing so, he has touched upon what I think is Microsoft’s most strategic advantage in the realm of cloud computing. Microsoft has a ready-made ecosystem and d... (more)

Architectural Fidelity with Globally Distributed Software Development Teams

Software businesses that engage in offshore outsourcing face a number of risks.  Of particular importance to the software architect, is the risk associated with the architectural fidelity of the company’s software products.  Small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and ISVs face greater levels of difficulty than do their large enterprise counterparts when it comes to managing offshore outsourcing.  To deal with this issue, I have developed a context model that can be used to help the small company find the right resource mix; enabling it to maintain an appropriate level of manag... (more)

Experian snubs FTC. Who will win this fight?…

The FACT Act requires that the FTC improve the accuracy of consumer records and make improvements in the use of, and consumer access to credit information.  It says as much in the first paragraph. The FTC has devised a methodology that requires experts and consumers to work together to audit CRAs for accuracy and completeness.  It has also devised a program around this methodology and a plan to roll it out nationwide. This is in stark conflict with the Valentine’s Day gift that we will all receive from Experian on 2/14/2009.  Experian says that it is no longer going to make credi... (more)