Windows Azure with David Chappell at Bay.NET

David Chappell, Distingished Speaker spoke (1/28) @ Bay.NET User Group. Foot Hills Technical College, Los Altos, CA.

* Backgrounder
* Azure Services Platform by David Chappell
* Future Direction
* Impact
* Steps to move Apps into AZURE...

Window Azure with David Chappell at Bay.NET

View more presentations from Clive Boulton. (tags: azure windows)

Backgrounder

AZURE is Microsoft's platform entry into Cloud Computing. The name means encompasses; Windows Azure vs Azure (the whole platform) vs Azure Platform Services. More http://www.microsoft.com/azure/default.mspx , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_Services_Platform

Azure Services Platform by David Chappell

David PPT slides covered Overview, Architecture, Characteristics

Architecture

* VM's are Win 2008 64-bit
* Web Apps supported, any which can invoke IIS7
* Data Access is RESTful (ADO.NET apps not supported)
* Azure service model has an config file - (yay, config)
* SQL Server not supported, all data storage is Tables.
* Tables are supported like schema free. Allowing horizontal sharding over multiple data servers ("MSFT must have hired an architect from Google, or Grid company)

Future Direction

Currently Azure does not host SQL server instances. The current data structure is tables accessed via RESTful services. David Chappell polled the audience of about 100, what they needed (I know many are CTO, Architects or Lead Developers working on business apps). Perhaps predictably out of familiarity, people wanted SQL services (this was not a Google audience). David mentioned he is in Redmond next week meeting the head of Azure, after touring Europe, Brussels, Amsterdam and meeting with big banks and groups like Bay.NET and not to be surprised if Microsoft switches to supporting SQL server, just like Amazon EC2 does (its paid option over the standard SimpleDB). Azure does have access to on premise SQL server data via a service bus....

Impact

* "Some data will never go in the cloud, which goes where is the issue" - David Chappell.
* Data written to Azure storage is saved to 3 physically different data stores.
* Financial data vs CRM - Compliance / Trust. On premise Accounting (Compliance) vs Saas (Trust).
* Apparently Sarbanes Oxley does not allow Financial Data off premise, yet CRM data is allowed off premise, SalesForce.com - David Chappell. (I plan to research Sarbanes, true or not)
* Cloud Computing is heaven for start-ups, 2 guys can lever the Cloud Platform and look like 200.
* 250 guys can look like 2500. No VC funding needed, just a credit card an go
* Integration to other web sites services, like Sales Force.CRM or Google maps is potentially far easier in the Cloud, but may be more expensive depending on how data is metered.

Steps to move Apps into AZURE…

The big conceptual change for developers / CTOs / founders / etc where do you want store the data, at customer premises, like most Client Server Apps. In data center like your ATM account is hosted by a bank, hosted under the lock and key of our your IT team, or hosted in Microsoft data centers around the world. What data goes where, financial on premise, CRM data in Azure, HR data on premise. All of a sudden more questions, without obvious answers.

Final thoughts, many codecamps required before moving forward.

Debate: Salesforce vs SAP

The Churchill Club hosted a debate between Marc Benioff and Hasso Plattner co-founders of respective companies.


My takeway, contrasts

SAP - high margins, low growth
SF - high growth, low margins

SAP - customisation, change within
SF - configuration, build on top

SAP - slow innovation delivery
SF - fast innovation delivery

SAP - distribution by installation
SF - distribution by browser

SAP - sweet spot, thousands of users
SF - sweet spot, small biz

SAP - IT complexity
SF - IT simplicity

SAP - high pct business functionality coverage
SF - low pct business functionality coverage

SAP - certain privicy
SF - trust privicy

Bottom line, choices

After thought...
SAP - Sales person, BMW and Swiss watch
SF - Sales person, Camry and Swatch watch

Glen Murphy who is Google Chrome's designer and an engineer on its front-end team gave a talk at the BayCHI monthly meeting

Backgrounder
Glenn started out stating what we already heard via the press, that Google had no plan to author a Browser or any other desktop ambitions that complete with Microsoft. However (and you may find this hard to believe), Google is the most secretive software company I know in Silicon Valley. The Google culture is absolute secrecy about products and road maps. Even when employees leave Google, they are bound to confidentiality. I have close friends; they cannot even tell their girl friend any of their work. Consequently Glen passed little anecdotal data (only slip ups).

Designing Google Chrome

Design
* Content not Chrome
* OS > Browser > Web App > Content
* Removal of unnecessary features (home button:)
* From the outset, design team shared a common thinking, tabs on top navigation. (Flow down navigation, natural for HCI)

Tab Isolation
* Tabs led naturally to process isolation, which met the main motivation goal for investment; increased speed and reliability for feature rich browser based apps.
* The very first working version had one tab. Striking resemblance to the released Chrome
* Tabs drag and drop, even drag between Chrome instances
* Tabs angels, 1600 generated in Photoshop. Color Blue felt right, angled tabs felt right. (Attention to detail = iteration until just right)

Omni Box
* Search & location bar combination
* Multi word query Cheese.com – URL / Cheese.js – NAV (works like a charm)
* Single work query is the challenge - PIE (British pie or BI pie?)
* Omibox solution - attempt to navigate & search in the background (parallel very fast, versus 5-6 seconds for sequential)

Development process
* Team size (could not say), very large team at Google
* All developers have design experience, all designers have development experience
* Tight loop iterations (back and forth) white board and talk-talk specific meetings with the team, allows subtle edges incorporated into Chrome most efficiently.
* Mock ups as written specs, no one read the specs. No wire frames. Meet and make design objectives clear, get consensus, and full formed simplest working example, test it.
* Chrome Target platform design goal Windows XP (not Vista or MAC). Notice this in the

Slip ups
* Development ethos, work faster than any other company.
* No ETA for Mac. Said Googlers found the XP blue revolting on the MAC. Tester refused to continue unless they can change XP blue.
* Acknowledged the entire Firefox team was present (I saw 6-8 guys tops)
* Reduce Back button navigation by 85pct (remove default back button). Reduce Reload by 50pct (make Reload button less obvious). Reduce Open Book mark (make book marking less obvious). Hence the design of Chrome thumbs nails.
* Look up at your browser, do you see Content or tool bars? (showed a ridiculous browser tool bar, half a page of menu layered plug-ins, slide 55 in presentation)

Takeaway
During my Windows career orchestrating ERP, product marketing always came running with the latest Microsoft Office looks and navigation. They wanted the same Office design in ERP. Now I see product mgmt caught up the same, satisfying customer expectations in Web ERP created by transliterations in web search engines. Where Google has broken the mold with Microsoft is to rethink carefully the user experience for navigation and the technical experience for speed and reliability. Combing the two experiences into Chrome (a brand new product). I feel we do the same on Web ERP and other products where profitable. Producing the best design by thinking and making, by reducing, by getting mad when it's just not right. This is the luxury of creating from brand new. Later on, when customers are familiar using apps, making design changes (even if needed) becomes more difficult (people don’t like change). Making incremental changes (can work).

Possible steps for ERP
* Omibox navigation.
* Removing features from ERP. I know by experience, harder to do than taking a bullet in the head (have to start from scratch).
* Creating new products requires centralized teams, distributed is too much process overhead like specs without sparks and getting mad.

Rethinking boundaries

Conversation Léo Apotheker and Andrew McAfee

Global trade at light speed, Industrial speed inside company
* Fragmented architecture, Fragmented company
* Define everything up front, Try hard not to define

Execute ERP, See what happens Web 2.0
* Cloud computing, On-premise computing
* Google Gmail, Microsoft Office

Working in networks, Working standalone
* Communities, Isolation
* Closed source, Open source

Windows, Linux
* Buy now, Buy never
* Software, Services

new business, SaaS adoption

Financial Times: "Desktop computing becomes a wave of the past, the main engine of the technology world is misfiring" 

Observation 

• Fortunes are shifting from PC to Mobile devices. 
  
• Small biz competes on speed and hugging the customer
• SMB's grow on cash flow profit, and keeping operating costs lowest  
  

Result 

• Easy access to secure back office information becomes critical
• Customer  hugs, at speed of business requires SaaS 
• A colleagues presentation summarizes adoption patterns, notice young accountants adopt 

Software as a Service (SaaS) Adoption

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: saas exact software)

Thinking SaaS-DNA, natural law of evolution, young adopt and thrive, others....!  

20 years in ERP, more door slamming

1988 I joined a UK company expanding in the USA. We were at war with mainframe and mini computer vendors and entrenched programmer administrators. Our 8086 PC fileserver often sat on top of the existing system, with lots of space to spare! 

The applications broadened from point solutions into multi-module systems often named MRP systems. MRP evolved into ERP (where standalone accounting seamlessly joined operations and logistics), CRM came with the Internet. Y2K passed and the dot-com bubble burst. Innovation switched to consolidation, apparently customers were satisfied, like they were when they had mainframe and mini-computers.  

But the cravings for productivity hadn't stopped.  New mutant systems emerged in the Web 2.0 consumer Internet space. The iPhone liberated people from there office and PC. 

This 2.0 wave of innovation started gradually infusing itself into businesses, just like the PC "crept" into business via spreadsheet applications, eventually replacing the mini's.  I remember a pissed of IT administrator slamming a door in my face. We'd just replaced his IBM system 36. Soon, more door-slamming!