Buh Bye 2009

If your year was like mine, then you are glad to see it in the rear view mirror. As for 2010, are we there yet? Well I guess I have a few hours...

I am not going to pick scabs and do a year in review. The past is just that. What I will throw out there are my wishes and hopes for 2010, as it relates to technology that I care about.

I hope that the noise about the cloud fades and that companies realize the cloud is a lot like the point of the Wizard of Oz - we had *it* all along, we just didn't know it.

I hope that companies start broadly consuming technology again as innovations come to market or proliferate themselves. Back ups, DR, the stuff that always seems not important until you need it.

I hope that more companies embrace containerized data centers in 2010. You can't beat them for so many reasons and anyone who says differently isn't drinking their own champagne - especially if that champagne is made with the grapes of efficiency, density, optimzed computing, or anything green.

I hope that the vision of transparency in Government data continues to proliferate so we get a sense, a real sense, of how messed up things are and more importantly, the fire in the belly to make deliberate changes in technology and process to regain a sense of what is right in the world.

Predictions:

There will be at least two high profile data breaches the first 6 months in the US, that will have global implications. Those that want to harm us in the US aren't taking 2010 off.

Cloud computing will get more secure, but will not be adopted en masse by private companies. They will continue to want a private cloud, which in its purest form is just a new billing and accounting system for underutilized IT stuff.

The data center inventory of space and power will continue to see increasing supply and demand laws put pressure on prices, lack of available inventory, and those with inventory will reap the rewards for the next 24-36 months.

There will be a major shift in where new data center inventory will be deployed. It will shift to inexpensive power markets, as deployments get denser and cost per Kw, and metered power in data centers becomes one of the top 2 decision points for where to put gear.

To my friends - I predict that 2010 will usher in stronger friendships, better opportunities, and reaffirm what I already know - that those I call 'friend' are clearly the best on the planet, and I am honored and humbled to know you.

Let's roll....

Verari Systems - The next Phoenix?

I got a bunch of calls yesterday about Verari Systems announcement that they were out of business. Long story short - they are and they will be back.

The story is that the lead investor turned down the latest term sheet and in so doing sealed the fate of the company going into what amounts to chapter 11 (technically it is an ABC). So instead of protecting the investment, they blinked first and got a goose egg instead.

From the conversations I had it sounds like the company was not managed well and as a result, they tanked. What is also apparent is that there is still a backlog of business, still solid technology in place, as well as a plan to focus on higher margin business and refocus efforts with a slimmed down team ready to execute without the albatross of former bad decisions to get in the way.

This is one company who I believe will rise from the ashes.

R.I.P Verari Systems...

The site is still up, but that's about it. Verari Systems is headed into liquidation early in 2010. If you need a container play, submit a bid. I think jumping into the server/storage game may not have been such a hot idea for them, but whoever picks them up for their container technology will get a screaming deal.

I thought a niche was a small market...

Containerized data centers remain niche players according to IBM...

I got the heads up on this article from my Google Alerts and it was a head scratcher. IBM, who makes containers, was saying that containerized data centers are still a niche play. Steve Sams, VP of site and facilities for IBM, said containerized data centers are not for everyone and won't be for a long time.

"Most major companies conclude that data center containers are not for them, and I think they're right," he said. "I never think it's going to be a huge market."

Is IBM trying to sell these, or is this a ploy a la Sun Microsystems to sell more servers in a bigger box?

He goes on to say - "But Sams said that in general, he doesn't think containers are "the best way to build 320 square feet of data center."

"Ninety-nine percent of our customers are never going to install thousands of servers at a time," he said.

Someone in marketing at IBM may be to differ. I know I do.

Why would an organization NOT want to spend less money on delivering its IT resources? I can't name one company I have spoken to in the past 18 months that says 'We don't care what it costs, we'll do things the most expensive and inefficient way possible.'

The biggest issue I see with container adoption is that there are few places to plug and play. Microsoft and Google and Amazon are single tenant operations with custom built facilities to support their compute and storage infrastructure. Ninety nine percent of companies who buy IT gear don't have their budgets and their expertise to do this on their own.

Couple the budget issue with the fact that traditional data center operators do not have capital to build on spec, and when the container manufacturers are touting that customers can have 4000 square feet of data center deployable - including servers, OS, and racks - in 8 weeks, data center operators can't build out their infrstaructure fast enough to give container buyers a place to land them.

So a company must then navigate facilities issues, zoning and permitting, siting, redundancy, in short - it's a new data center project for their data center in a box.

I personally believe that when there is a vendor agnostic place to plug them in, it will increase data center container sales. Who in their right mind wouldn't want a PUE of les than 1.3, breathtaking capacity ordered, installed, tested, and delivered in 8 weeks, a quickly depreciable asset, and one that can be leased 100% with tech refreshes built in?

IBM must have quite a list if only 1% of their cutomers thinks that greener, more efficient, highly dense, and fiscally responsible solution is a way to go.