How to best leverage the cloud for video…?

I've been giving a lot of thought recently to cloud services and their use for the consumer, particularly to deliver media experiences.  There's a significant disconnect in the way we're using different kinds of service, particular when music or books is compared to video.

Music has been incredibly easy to manage.  I have a clear option for purchasing music, MP3, which works on any device that I want.  I then have options for streaming it as well, such as Pandora, Spotify, and streaming for options when I want to stream music.     I can convert any music I have into MP3 too, meaning that I have a standard format to move music to.    The streaming services seem to work on just about any device I have too.

Books have proven pretty easy as well, particularly embracing Amazon.   Kindle, iPad, iPhone, they all seem to work -- Amazon has positioned itself well as a platform for this media.   Regardless of device, I've got a way to put Kindle content on it.

Video has proven to be much more difficult.

I divide video into two categories -- owned versus streamed.

Let's start with the devices I have.     Because broadcast TV will always be part of the mix, i have TiVo boxes all throughout my house.   TiVo recorded content moves nicely between TiVo devices, but is a pain to move anywhere else.    I have a single Apple TV in my main system, and I have a Roku too.   I also now have Xbox 360 devices on all the TVs in the house too.

Like music, there is something to "owning" video, certain movies, that I like to have.   Ideally, I want to find a system or format that displays on everything.   I have a pile of DVDs -- I'm not against converting them to some standard format too.  Of course, this isn't the way to handle HD content, which I want to get in some HD enabled format I can watch on TVs and portable devices.    However, what format plays on everything?  And how?

For streamed, I don't want to "rent" content.   Frankly, I don't want to think about having to pay a dollar or two every time I watch a show, but instead want to just pay for a service, and have content available when I want it.

I've always embraced TiVo devices for my TV use.   However, Amazon's streaming content and Apple content don't work here.

Hulu isn't bad, but it's TV only.    Doesn't help on the movie front.

Having a mismatch of services doesn't really help.

Anyone got an idea here?

Redecorating the basement

Ok, totally personal blog post today.

I've got it in my head to redo our basement.   For those that have been over, yes, the bar.   Now, before you think I'm pulling out the bar, I'm not.  I love the bar layout, and won't change that.  It's the rest of the room.

We never use the fireplace, or the couch downstairs.   Besides the very obvious "put in an HD TV so it's better"… what layout should we go with?  What would make that room more useable?

 

Hey, look, I have a blog...

I'm considering gearing this blog back up again.  So I'm throwing a post up with a virtual smirk to see if anyone's listening.

I suspect you aren't.  And I'm ok with that. ;)

Dave

Cloud buzz: is it cheaper or wiser?

I did a piece for an industry website which focused on opportunities for companies like mine.    I'm reusing that content, but thinking about what it means for our customers.

In that article, I discussed some content that my HTG colleague, Reed Wilson from Palmetto Technology, recently sent over.  He saw a marketing pitch a cloud software provider in the healthcare space.   The pitch boiled down to essentially "You were never trained to use Facebook or Gmail and you’ll never need to be trained on our software.  That’s the beauty of Cloud Computing."

Reed intelligently continues with some analysis.  He notes that it sets a very unrealistic expectation for the buyer.    Comparing practice management software to Gmail or Facebook is unrealistic.   Does the cloud application handle complex workflows and work processes?

It does, Reed continues, sell.  And some customers are buying the pitch, even if it doesn't always result in what they think it is.  The perception is that cloud computing is automatically cheaper than going with an on-premise one .   When we compare the on-premise with cloud solutions, they are often very similar.

The true promise of cloud computing is not “simplicity” or “cheap”, but in a wiser way to spend IT dollars, giving higher reliability and lower administration costs.  That doesn’t necessarily result in “simple” or cheap”.   This is critically important to examine when looking at a cloud solution.

This discussion expanded when Mike Ritsema with i3 Business Solutions chimed in.    He brought some facts to bear.

"IBM made 84% of their profit last year from services and software.  They’ve acquired over 100 companies in these areas over the last 10 years.  7% of their profit came from hardware.  They love the complication of integrating disparate technology."

Mike's list of ways companies integrate into the cloud was dead on:

•EDI

•Payroll

•Web browsing

•Buying

•RFP / RFI

•Collaboration

•Blogs, Social Networking

•E-mail

Mike outlined a recent customer solution, showing where he brought value to a small business.   "I just finished a small business a deal:  QuickBooks, Fishbowl Distribution Software, EZ Connector integration software, ASP DOT NET eCommerce, Authorize .NET Credit Card Processing, Cloud email, IBM Server, Cisco Firewall, implementation services, and Redundant internet access."   His company's value, and the area they see growth, opportunity, and the ability to make money in helping customers, is bolting and holding "this stuff together" for the next decade.

Mike continues, however, noting "It’s as complicated or more complicated than an on premise solution."  This means it's not necessarily "cheaper" but it does add significant capabilities to his customer, something they couldn't have before.

We see cloud computing as incredibly powerful -- but we also see more and more confusion in the market place.  Cloud computing is a new paradigm, a new way to deliver some solutions.   It offers high availability where it couldn't be delivered before.   It doesn't always mean "cheap", however.

Little to say, but financials on the mind

I've had little to say.

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me, as post WPC i had work to do, and then a week in the UK for HTG11 and a few more days in Chicago for HTG5.    Now that those are done, I'm in those few moments before I dig in again.

I'm doing a financial analysis piece that one of my HTG5 colleagues shared with me this week.  It's an interesting model -- looking at your rate of change over time to understand how the business grows and shrinks as the business ebbs and flows.   I've done the first round by putting the numbers together and seeing the trends.  I want to lay on our history and the information about the economy to see how much was "me" and how much was "outside me".

So I'm off to do that.   Financials on the mind....

Speaking at WPC - and it's

So I'm speaking at WPC.  And some of the meat is stuff I'll be able to talk about at 3:31pm on Wednesday, July 14.

Here's my session:

SMB04 The Meaning of Cloud Computing for My Small or Midsize Business

[full description]

Wednesday, July 14 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM WCC-143AB

Session Type: Breakout Session

Track: Core Infrastructure, Small and Midsize Business Partner

Speaker(s): Marco Di Giacomo

Cloud-based infrastructure solutions can now be delivered at an affordable price that... brings enterprise-class functionality, reliability, and security within the reach of virtually every small and midsized business. Are you ready to build and deploy Windows-based infrastructure and help your customers reduce the cost and complexity of new productivity-enhancing Cloud Computing services? Join this session to learn about how to shift from hands-on tactical hardware and software upgrades, day-to-day maintenance and troubleshooting, and instead focus your limited resources toward leveraging Microsoft infrastructure solutions to deliver new strategic business outcomes that can grow the topline and better control the bottom line.

More

Cloud-based infrastructure solutions can now be delivered at an affordable price that brings enterprise-class functionality, reliability, and security within the reach of virtually every small and midsized business. Are you ready to build and deploy Windows-based infrastructure and help your customers reduce the cost and complexity of new productivity-enhancing Cloud Computing services? Join this session to learn about how to shift from hands-on tactical hardware and software upgrades, day-to-day maintenance and troubleshooting, and instead focus your limited resources toward leveraging Microsoft infrastructure solutions to deliver new strategic business outcomes that can grow the topline and better control the bottom line.



I think you should go.

Help Out Eric Ligman!

Review my performance – Your input counts! - Microsoft SMB Community Blog - By Eric Ligman - Site Home - MSDN Blogs:

I'm reposting this from Eric Ligman, so you can help him out -- he's asking for a few minutes of your time, so if you're in the Microsoft community, help him out.  From his blog post:

"For any of you that have been following me over the years, you know that I have been very open about my goal in my role to help increase the satisfaction of Microsoft partners around the world in working with Microsoft through things like: helping provide information of value and interest, providing correct answers to questions (even when it is not the popular answer), helping address concerns and opportunities, directing you to relevant and important information, providing avenues for input into and out of Microsoft, connection opportunities with Microsoft, and much, much more.  (In fact, I have this openly stated on my overview page about me)  This year has been no exception.

Now is your opportunity to provide your input and feedback into how I am doing.  Here at Microsoft, as many of you know, our fiscal year runs July 1 – June 30, which means we are approaching the end of our year here in a few weeks.  Like every other company, we do annual performance reviews internally where people’s performances are evaluated to determine how well they are performing.  Since I focus so much of my time to helping organizations outside of Microsoft, like our Microsoft partners around the world, I am providing you with an opportunity to have your voice heard in evaluating how I am doing.  "