LUCRUM Radio – Episode 14, Scott Provancher
November 17, 2008
The strength of the arts community is something that makes Cincinnati a great place to live. The city has a breadth of artistic offerings that is on par with some of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. A major reason for the strong presence of the arts in the city is the Fine Arts Fund – an organization founded in the 1920′s to support and foster the growth of the arts in the community.
Scott Provancher is the current Vice President and Campaign Director for the Fine Arts Fund. In this episode of LUCRUM Radio, Scott and I discuss the important role that the Fine Arts Fund plays in keeping the Cincinnati arts community vibrant. Scott discusses the history of the organization, the role of the arts in the community, how technology is redefining his role and that of his organization, and why he loves to live, work, and play in Cincinnati.
Thanks to Scott for taking the time to speak with me and to share his thoughts with the world.
[display_podcast]
My Definition of Architecture
September 17, 2008
What is an architecture? Well, let’s dissect that and see what we come up with. For starters, it is needed before we solve business problems, before we design and build systems and applications and before we put ‘things’ into production. If you build and deploy applications without an architecture, prepare for a long entrenched battle that threads through the realms of data, information, technology, and infrastructure. Saying that, I realize that most organizations do not have a formal architecture, but rather have general principles, standards and practices. This is one reason that IT is so challenging. Meeting agile business needs requires a dependable foundation of decisions.
An architecture is something that is addressed at the enterprise level. It is something that exists across the organization that enables an infrastructure (be it data, information, technology or infrastructure) to work together. So, in simple terms, an architecture is an enterprise wide agreed upon set of standards or direction. This implies that there is an overarching group that has responsibility across business and technical domains. And in turn this is enabled and actualized because someone, somewhere both understood and was able to sell the value of having a solid foundation.
Drilling down a bit further, the ‘agreed upon set of standards or direction’ really boils down to be a set of decisions. These decisions are made at all architectural levels; data, infrastructure, technology and information (to name a few important ones). These standards are in fact agreed upon rules of engagement that must exist. Further, these rules are derived only after a decomposition of systems (existing and non-existing) into its individual units. This decomposition is complete when each design orientation is at its most granular level. This is different for the different architectures.
The idea of an architecture is to break systems down to the specialist levels, so that these specialists can address the system (application) within their specific domain. Meaning, developers can receive requirements and think them through in the context of their specific architecture. And data folks can work from a common set of dependable rules of engagement that when followed across the enterprise provides them with a solid foundation on which to build, knowing that integration points, naming standards, metadata nomenclatures, taxonomies, etc. are there to rely on. The application folks can depend upon the architecture for proper building techniques, technology strategy, supporting documentation and so on. The information folks rely on the horizontal assurance that the right levels of metadata is in place and they anticipate the use of data to be consistent and so on.
So, an architecture is really a set of decisions that must be made across the enterprise, hopefully before the release of chaos (in the form of applications and system) at the most granular of forms so that it helps to manage this chaos from the bottom up as opposed to the top down. Managing from the bottom up is done via principles and standards, methodologies and best practices, governance and stewardship. Managing top down is just that, a downward spiral that is manifested by political infighting, protectionism, stagnation and a complete stoppage of the value chain (IT no longer can meet scope, costs, and schedules).
Happy architecting!
~ Scott Felten
This Ain’t No Party, This Ain’t No Disco, This Ain’t No Fooling Around
August 28, 2008
This morning I attended the Cincinnati AMA’s Digital Marketing Summit – entitled “Is Your Marketing Disco or Digital?” The event focused on innovative ways to utilize “New Media” to improve your business – specifically as it pertains to Marketing.
There were a wide range of speakers present, and overall I was very pleased with my decision to attend the event. Here are some of the highlights from my day:
- Met Pete Blackshaw – This guy is a Rock Star in the world of modern marketing, yet he was as polite and friendly, if not more so, than anyone else I met at the event. More later on Pete.
- Made some new friends with interesting people like Brandon Ferris from zoneCG.
- Saw old friends like Alan See from Seapine, and John Atkinson from PimpMyNews.com
- Learned about some interesting web 2.0 tools and ways to use them from Izea’s founder, Ted Murphy.
- Watched a presentation by RIM on the marketing of Blackberry – past, present, and future.
- Heard about some exciting new projects that Cincinnati Bell is developing.
- Attended sessions led by John Atkinson from PimpMyNews and Chris Heile from hyperQUAKE
- Closed the session with an outstanding keynote from Pete Blackshaw – which was outstanding.
My favorite part of the event was without a doubt Pete’s presentation entitled Consumers, Credibility, and Cincinnati. His speech hit on many of the topics that he wrote about in his book, Satisfied Customers Tell 3 Friends, Angry Ones Tell 3,000 . If you haven’t picked up the book yet, it is a must read. We have actually given it to several of our Clients as a gift. It’s really that good. Anyway…
In his presentation, Pete outlined 6 Drivers of Brand Credibility:
- Trust
- Authenticity
- Transparency
- Affirmation
- Listening
- Responsiveness
He then went on to explain the implications of these factors in the digital world in which we live and do business. Bottom line – Do right by people or suffer the consequences. The consumer is in charge, and you need to make sure that you are in touch with what is happening in the consumer marketplace relative to you, your brands, your products, and your reputation. Word of Mouth is on steroids in the digital age, and negative word of mouth can be a company killer.
At the end of his presentation, Pete shifted gears and brought it back to Cincinnati. He spoke of an idea he has formulated regarding the creation of an advertising museum in Cincinnati. This would serve to re-establish Cincinnati as a central hub for advertising in the digital age by showcasing the immense heritage of the craft in the city, creating a connected community of current marketing professionals, and developing something uniquely aligned with the city and its business heritage. I personally think the idea is great, and I hope that I can find some way to be a part of making it happen.
Overall the event was fun. It could have been improved with some signage outside of Great American Ballpark to indicate where to go to get in. (I walked around that stadium twice this morning at 6:45 looking for the entrance to the Crossley Room.) I was also slightly disappointed when they asked me to stop filming the event on my Flip cam 1/2 way through the 2nd speaker of the day. I was informed that “there were arrangements made and I was not permitted to film at the event.” I found it an odd policy for a summit focused on web 2.0, but complied none the less. I managed to capture some great interview footage of people stating why they had come to the event – sort of a man on the street thing – that will sadly never make it to the web. It is a shame because it would have been great to highlight my takes on the event, which I did enjoy. I would have gladly posted the video on YouTube and other sites, providing free publicity to any and all included. Alas, I know that some just are not ready for that yet. In the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal.
Thanks to all of the speakers, all the cool people I met, and the Cincinnati AMA for putting it all together.
Now I must get to work on implementing some of the great ideas I picked up today.
Is Your Marketing “Disco” or Digital? | AMA Cincinnati Chapter
LUCRUM Radio: Episode 6 – Rob Franks
August 7, 2008
Rob Franks is the Corporate Director of Strategic Pricing for the Cintas Corporation, located in Mason, Ohio. Cintas is one of Cincinnati’s largest employers, and one of the nation’s leaders in providing business services such as Uniform Rental, Floor Mats, Shop Towels, First Aid & Safety Service, Document Storage and Destruction, and on and on.
I have a special love for Cintas, as the company provided me with my first “Real Job.” As a young management trainee, I spent time driving the uniform trucks, replacing the floor mats, wandering the halls of the corporate offices, flying around the country training service reps to use handheld computers, and selling first aid products and services. Needless to say, I learned a lot about business at Cintas.
The company runs a tight ship, and is known for delivering high quality service at a premium price. It was a great place to learn the art of selling because we were never the cheapest game in town. Sure it might be easier to sell if you are really cheap, but that is not really sales. That is peddling a commodity. Thus I learned early on that it is foolish to try to compete on price alone. Long term growth relies on understanding the customer and delivering value. In short, making the customer realize that you get what you pay for, and if you paid for Cintas you truly got more for your money. This has served me well in the years since.
So when Rob agreed to talk to me about marketing, pricing, technology and business strategy, I was exhuberant. This interview took me down memory lane, and then off into the future. Rob is a pioneer in marketing, especially when it pertains to price. Rob has a firm grip on the relationship between pricing and value – and why they a vital part of the marketing mix of a firm.
Now in an era of uber connected consumers, the need for a company to have a clearly articulated pricing strategy that is in line with it’s value proposition is greater than ever. The transparency created by the internet makes it easier for consumers to compare products and services and assess relative value. Therefore companies have to be very careful when it comes to price.
Listen along as Rob describes his ideas about pricing and learn why little differences in price make a big impact on profit.
Thanks Rob for agreeing to do this podcast and for enlightening me with your words.
[display_podcast]
LUCRUM Radio: Episode 6 – Rob Franks
Thoughts on Bill Gates Leaving Microsoft
July 31, 2008
To be frank, I have not heard much positing or negative thought regarding Bill Gates leaving Microsoft as full time CEO. Me personally, I am happy that he has chosen to step down. Not because Microsoft is facing challenging times in our industry. But, because his new full time role at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will bring good to our world.
No matter what you think about Bill, he made a lot of positive contributions to the computing industry that people tend to overlook. For one, Microsoft standardized the OS. Without that, the industry would be a lot smaller. Software, hardware, and services would be disparate and usefulness and acceptance poor. He had a knack for getting software into the limelight and his success did not go unnoticed.
Success like Bill achieved can provoke envy and jealousy. I say, let the man be, he deserves it. He conquered the computing world and now its time to conquer a world that doesn’t have code and compliers. It has hunger, homelessness, and disease; it’s our world.
I have no doubt that the world will be better for Bill stepping down at Microsoft and stepping up at his foundation. But in the meantime, at least he knew the meaning of having fun at work!
Enjoy!
LUCRUM Radio – Episode 4: Craig Jolley Part 1
July 24, 2008
Episode 4 of LUCRUM Radio is the first in a 2 part interview of Criag Jolley, Internet Marketing Manager for National City Mortgage. Craig has an extensive history in using the web as a way to advance the interests of businesses. Listen as we talk about how the web has evolved, the future of the internet, and telecommuting & the virtual office, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and more. Thanks to Craig for taking the time to talk with me.
[display_podcast]
LUCRUM RADIO: Episode 1, Doug Ross
June 12, 2008
Lucrum Radio is our new podcasting series. It will feature interviews and discussions with thought leaders in business and technology, providing a forum for sharing knowledge with the world.
Episode 1 of LUCRUM Radio got us off to a great start. It features an interview with Doug Ross, CTO of Western Southern Insurance. In the podcast, moderated by fellow LUCRUM employee Andy Erickson, Doug and I discuss topics such as collaboration technology, crowd-sourcing, organizational dynamics, the integration of IT and Marketing, and the role technology can play in differentiating an organization from the competition.
Give the podcast a listen, and let us know what you think…
Special Thanks to Doug Ross for his willingness to participate in the project, and for doing such an amazing job of delivering insightful, innovative thinking.
[display_podcast]
Some SharePoint competitors in the Enterprise 2.0 space…
May 19, 2008
There’s been a lot of buzz over the past couple of months around companies who are pitching their products against SharePoint. Just the fact that companies are targeting SharePoint tells you that it is the product to beat. For instance, have you read about the offerings from Google and IBM?
Here’a a link to a ZDNet article saying Google takes on Microsoft SharePoint with Google Sites. And here’s another one asking: Is Google Sites going to be a SharePoint killer?
Both articles conclude that for all the hype surrounding Google Sites and Google Apps, apparently they still have a long way to go to catch up to SharePoint. Also, given that Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is available for free with Windows Server 2003, users do not need to pay any licensing fees to use the basic collaboration platform available with SharePoint. And by the way, did you know that Office Live Small Business (which provides everything you need to take your small business online, including a free website, free email, free online business applications, etc.) and Office Live Workspaces (an online place to save, access, and share documents and files), are built on SharePoint products?
IBM recently announced how they’d like to “liberate” your apps from SharePoint. Also look at another article around the same topic. IBM acknowledges the “viral adoption of SharePoint” in the enterprise, almost like Lotus Notes back in the 90s. And it’s interesting to note that the man behind the success of Lotus Notes, Ray Ozzie, isn’t with IBM or Lotus, but is the Chief Software Architect at Microsoft! Hmmm… And I know of at least 2 major corporations with a huge presence in Cincinnati, OH, that have decided to move away from Lotus Notes to SharePoint! I guess we have to wait and see if Quickr is able to stem this flow…
Evans Data Corporation’s recently surveyed over 400 developers for its May 2008 report on “Web 2.0 Developer Programs – 2008 Rankings”. Some folks might be surprised to hear that Google came in at second place. So who came in first? Apparently, “the strength of Microsoft’s Windows Live offerings for Tools and SDKs and Web Services allow them to finish first overall”.
So it seems that SharePoint is not something an organization would want to ignore or take lightly – plus, serious web 2.0 developers need to more closely look at Microsoft’s offering in this area.
Oracle supports Microsoft
May 16, 2008
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in conversations around the topic of “Oracle vs. Microsoft”. I’ve heard both sides of the story ranging from “SQL Server for mission critical operations…are you crazy!” to “Oracle costs me my first born child…year after year!”. While these discussions are often entertaining, the line delineating the two database giants is blurring by each subsequent release.
In my years consulting for LÛCRUM, I have worked for numerous clients that have had installations of both Oracle and Microsoft running in their environments. With recent statistics estimating that Oracle controls >50% of the database market and Microsoft controlling >50% of the server operating system market, are you surprised? SQL Server only runs on Microsoft. Oracle offers more operating system versatility. While you’ll see UNIX and Linux installations, Oracle’s ability to run on Microsoft remains strong and they are improving their functionality with respect to Microsoft development. Where might an Oracle database deployed on a Microsoft server make most sense? In the small and mid-sized business market (SMB). In the SMB market, Oracle has competitively priced versions such as Oracle Database Standard Edition and Standard Edition One.
So what advantages does running Oracle on Microsoft have to offer? First, Oracle has tight integration with Active Directory and Windows Security Framework. Items such as single sign-on and security via database role and Active Directory group fall into this category. Next, Oracle offers 32-bit and 64-bit versions. In the 32-bit version, Oracle is able to utilize up to 3GB (out of a 4GB O.S. maximum) of system memory for database use. Finally, Oracle has also been working on enhancing its ability to integrate with the Windows development suite, specifically Visual Studio 2008. Oracle supports .NET in 3 ways. The Oracle Data Provider for .NET leverages ADO.NET API and allows .NET applications to access Oracle data. These APIs should be familiar to most Microsoft developers. In addition, through an add-in (free for that matter), developers can work with Oracle services via Visual Studio 2005 (and 2008 as previously mentioned). Through the development suite, developers have access to various wizards to perform various database tasks (i.e. DDL), a procedure editor (for PL/SQL procedures, packages, and functions), a Debugger for runtime error interaction, and integrated help for items such as Oracle error reference, SQL, and PL/SQL user manuals. Lastly, Oracle has integrated .NET extensions directly inside the database. This allows developers to created stored procedures and functions using C# or VB.NET within Visual Studio. This code can then be deployed to the database and referenced wherever a stored procedure or function is permitted.
Oracle has shown it is advantageous to offer solutions that fit neatly into an operating system that controls the majority of the server market, even if that vendor also happens to be a major competitor in the database market. Offer a product that is extensible and easy to use with development GUIs is sure to give you a seat at the table when it comes to choosing a solution for your organization. That is precisely why Oracle supports Microsoft (most of the time <grin>).
Dave
What is a Architect?
May 14, 2008
I attended the first meeting of the new Cincinnati Architect users group (CinArc) to find out the answer to this question. I have been struggling with this question for a long time. Since this was the first meeting, there was a lot of discussion about what the group should and should not be. Attendees did not want a place to just sit and listen to speakers. They wanted a place to openly discuss the issues, challenges and technologies that come with the role of Architect. Yes, I said ‘role’ not ‘title’. More on that later. The format of the meetings is still not totally decided, but the format of a ‘fish bowl’ style of discussion group worked very well for last nights open discussion on this topic. It also kept the conversation on track and under control with 20+ people there.
What is a Architect? Is it the guy that wonders the halls with a chip on his shoulder and thinks he has all the answers … Yes. It is the guy who sit quietly in the corner cube and know how everything works … Yes. It is the guy that everyone looks to for technical leadership … Yes. Is it the guy who works with the business team and the development team to deliver a solution to a business need … Yes. I listened to a lot of opinions on what people considered a architect to be. Here are some of the qualities of an architect that come out in the meeting:
- Knows the value of business and how to work with them to provide solutions
- Bridges the gap between business and IT
- See the ‘Big Picture’ and keeps everything on course
- Advocates change ( In technology and business)
- Mentors
- Designs repeatable solutions
- Defines processes
- Creates conceptual solutions to prove concepts
- Codes
These qualities can be boiled down into 5 compentencies of an architect
- Technology
- Leadership
- Consulting
- Organizational Politics
- Business Stragegy
Many companies use roles as titles to help define an individuals value to the company. I think this is where the definition of an architect gets confusing. It can be defined differently based on the company you are working for. A architect at small company A might only be considered a technical lead at large company B. People can be quick to say that they are an ‘Architect’ because the title adds value to them within the company. It can also mean a higher pay scale and more respect, who doesn’t want that. This is partially how I defined an architect, but after last nights meeting I have a different view. Architect is a role that is played on a project. I might be a architect today on a project, a business analyst tomorrow and a coder the next day. Do I have the qualities and competencies of an architect? Yes (depending on who you ask). Should I have the title? No. I move from project to project in my consulting career and may serve as architect on a project or I might just be joining the team to help out with coding an application that has fallen behind schedule. I could even move to the database and being doing tables and stored procedures. The point to my rambling is that we should not define ‘What is a Architect’ just based on technology, but define what are the qualities, skills and competencies of the individual that plays the roles of architect on a project.
Architect vs. Designer/Technical Lead
This can be a tough distinction to make depending on the size of the company you work for. Smaller companies and projects will blur the line between the two just because there are not enough people to clearly define separate roles. I think the distinction between the two is made by the qualities of an architect listed above. An architect can do the technical lead role, but brings more to the table along the lines of business knowledge and the ability to understand what the business wants, work with them to find a solution and understand the costs and ROI involved in the solution.
Types of Architect
This can also be tough distinction depending on the company or project. The meeting produced the following list of types:
- Enterprise
- Strategy
- Sees and understands the ‘Big Picture’ for a company
- Oversees all applications and infrastructure
- Works with business leaders (CFO,CTO,CIO)
- Solution
- Oversees multiple applications and integration
- Develops solutions to meet business needs
- Infrastructure
- Servers and sever software such as Exchange
- Capacity planning
———————————————–
- Data
- Database and data
- Business
- Works with business to improve process and workflow
- Application
- Technical lead
- Coding standards
- Application specific detai
The separation between the top and bottom three is because the bottom three could all be considered part of the top three depending on the size of the company or project.
These are just my thought on what was discussed in the meeting. Maybe they helped you answer some questions. Maybe they raised more questions. What is a Architect? It will vary depending on who is defining it. To me an architect is a person who can wear many hats and work with business to clarify the ‘Big Picture’ and create solutions that meet needs and provide value to the business. Don’t worry about achieving a title, worry about being good at your job whatever hat your wearing that day.
Thanks to Mike Levy, Leon Gersing and Joe Wirtley for an excellent meeting. Joe will be presenting ‘Pragmatic Software Architecture and the Role of the Architect’ at the May 21st Cincinnati Programmers Guild meeting if you are interested. Check out their website for more info. http://cincypg.org/.
Also checkout the Cincinnati .NET users group site for more information on the CinArc group and the new CinArc forum. http://cinnug.org/. Hope to see you at the next meeting.
- Jeff