What we can learn about disasters from the earthquake in Haiti

When I saw the news break last night, I was with a colleague and we were discussing the DR plans - or lack thereof - of Katrina, and wondering if there were any lessons learned that would apply to Haiti in the areas of IT and communications.

We tried to put ourselves on the ground and thought - what is most important immediately after a disaster happens and we determined that communication - Telephone and Internet were vital, but also very vulnerable in a natural disaster.

So after the earthquake happens, and it begins to be reported we envisioned that calls to emergency personnel couldn't go through, nor could calls from family members in the US and around the world for that matter. The cell towers would be laying in the ground, and the wireline systems severed to a large degree. Satellite phones would be the main form of communication - and in an impoverished nation in chaos - hard to come by.

So we began to discuss how communications could be deplyed quickly after a disater - be it hurricane, IED, earthquake, or act of terrorism and the conversation dovetailed into discussions we had been having with State and Federal Emergency Management organizations about this very thing. Let me share what has been discussed and shed some light on the communcations portion.

I will use Haiti as the example since it is releveant and unfolding now. The high level question was - how do we quickly set up a communications network to handle communcation with the outside world from inside a disater zone?

Our answer was that utilizing shipping containers to house satellite and wireless communication network gear made infinite sense. They can be stored and deployed from in any government locale - County, State, or Federal facility - so that you have a system that can be driven or flown to an area in a matter of minutes and operational in a few hours. It is a portable telco CO.

So in the case of Haiti, a fully operational communcations system - telephone and internet - would be housed in a container. Servers, switches, even satellite dishes to establish a connection via satellite to the world. There would be 4 of these systems/boxes deployed around the Island - in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. If a particular group/agency wanted their own unit they could choose to have their own as well, configured however they wanted it configured, but there needs to be a set that is for restoration of basic service for the disaster relief efforts. Even if one was at the Presidential Palace and was crushed or inaccesible, there are still 3 others that could be brought in quickly to establish a link with the rest of the world and stem the chaos and frustration following the event. The other thing we discussed was to have a backup of key systems on other tectonic plates and regions so that you can at least have access to a web site and a form of broadcast for status updates, etc. In this case hosting a site in Miami or Dallas or Rio would be ideal as well.

I will be attending several meetings of Emergency Management Personnel all over the US this year as it is important to bring pertinent solutions to a forum and raise awareness of what can be done proactively. We are so willing and able to throw money at a disaster after it happens when for 1/3 of the cost it could be addressed and more importantly give citizens and governments assurance that those responsible for response have actually done their jobs by thinking through what may happen before it happens, vs. after it happens.

I hope the politicians will read this entry because for 1/10 of what the spend to get re-elected they could virtually guarantee reelection by being proactive about deploying solutions that help their constituents when they need it most.

My thoughts and prayers are with the survivors, the familes, the emergency reponse personnel being deployed - there is much grief ahead and my heart is with you.

Why Cisco needs to buy Verari, and why Dell IBM, Rackable, and HP will fight for it

I have been covering the Verari story for the past several weeks, talking with folks close to the situation every other day. I keep coming back to Why Cisco Needs to buy Verari:

1. Protect IP
2. Support the brand
3. Have a container play in the market
4. Maintain a level of credibility in a market they said they were entering - servers

The other reason they should make an offer is because they have a financial backer who will do the deal with them and pony up 50-60% of the cash.

So why would Cisco want to protect the IP? The technology is solid, Verari has customers, and if they don't Cisco must now go after another hardware manufacturer to secure solid (and deployed) server technology to make good on its announcement that it was going after HP's server business to get market share inside the data center.

There is also being in a position to address what a data center is since the move is clearly going towards modularity and container deployments in very key areas. If Cisco doesn't have a story, their competitors craft deals so Cisco can't play. Ouch.

Support the brand - Verari, when it comes out of the ashes, will be recapitalized with Carlyle, Citibank, Sierra Ventures and others out of the picture. In other words the company has a running head start in that it has customers, a pipeline, a brand, production, the whole nine yards supporting the brand. Cisco believed in it enough to do an OEM deal, now they get to put a Verari server in a pillow case for a data center technology beat down of the competition.

Have a container play in the market. For people who follow this blog and colleagues in the data center industry know I have been a strong proponent of containerized data centers for about two years - since before there was a lot of buzz about them anyway. Having a container play is absolutely crucial - why? Because companies who offer high performance computing, serve civilian and defense agencies, are in the oil and gas business, and cloud computing companies are all looking at and/or purchasing them. There was a question on Linked In a few weeks ago - 'why havent we heard about all these container deployments?' and there are a couple of answers both of which point back to 'we could tell you but then we'd have to kill you'. People don't want their strategic advantage broadcast to the world. Nor does the military. So containers are crucial - not for companies who need a couple of cabinets, but for companies who need hundreds of cabinets - containers are cheaper and more secure hands down.

Maintain a level of credibility - this one is crucial. I cannot and do not see companies today making large announcements that create seismic events in certain markets, pull back after a few months and say - Ha! Just kidding!. Cisco could buy Sun's server business and let Oracle ravage the software side, and that's about it. There are slim pickens for proven server technology out there where ther companies don't already have a relationship with IBM, Dell, and HP - Cisco's partners and in many circles now - the enemy.

Cisco solves a lot of problems for short money with this deal. On the flip side Cisco's competitors can create a lot of problems for Cisco for short money - real and in the press - by buying Verari. They keep Cisco out of the Server Hardware Club for a few more months, which is a lifetime in this business. and with the tech refreshes that need to happen in the next 12-24 months, a misstep or delay means a few hundred million are at stake.

This one will be fun to watch...

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.

The HP-3Com deal and what it reinforces...

The HP and 3Com deal reinforces something Scott McNealy said 10 years ago - 'The Network is the Computer' although with today's hype cycles I would replace 'computer' with 'cloud'.

I am working on a series that will be at least two parts, maybe three, on the single most overlooked piece of the cloud - and it's not Security.

Long story short the HP/3Com deal is about the network. Say what you will, HP is moving into the network hardware business and Cisco is moving into the computer hardware business.

My question is does Cisco buy Blade Network Technologies or Verari first?

Time will tell...