Lohrmann on Infrastructure

 This is not your grandfather's winter games. Every Olympic city makes major investments in technology, security and infrastructure in the 21st Century, and the Vancouver Winter Games are no exception.  The Olympic Cauldron will be lit on February 12, 2010. And yet, the hard work began immediately after Canada was selected to host the 2010 Winter Olympics back in 2004.

Want some examples?

1)      Technology companies are certainly talking about their unique role in these Games.  Green technology is a central element. Check out this Canadian website on technology related to the Olympics.

2)      Stopping terrorism is essential. One article back in 2005 estimated that the security budget would be about $177 million with a 50-50 split between the federal and provincial governments, but USA Today called actual security spending to be closer to $1 billion. More than 1000 security cameras are in place for the Winter Olympics.

3)      Infrastructure development has been important. There are plenty of stories online about the people behind the scenes who make the Olympic Games happen. There are also stories about the technology being used. If you look hard enough, you'll find just about every big IT company is involved in some way. One example is Sun, but AT&T and others are right there as well.

4)      The economic development aspects and wider role of the Olympics can be seen in YouTube videos like this one.

5)      The role of the city mayors and Vancouver Government overall has been a huge part of this story.

Bottom line, this is big business. Just like the involvement of the South African Government in preparing for the 2010 World Cup in June, the Vancouver Olympic Games required an incredible investment in everything that we do in government technology every day. The difference is the scale, and the number of people watching.

So when you watch that beautiful opening or closing ceremony, when the US Hockey Team is skating to victory or those international downhill skiers fly past your TV screen, remember the technology and security infrastructure that made it all possible.   

Let the games begin...

Now that Oracle's acquisition of Sun has been approved by the European Commission, what's next? That is, what does this merger mean for government technology leaders around the country?

Some readers may be thinking that this is old news, but this major deal has been on hold since April 2009 due to competition concerns.  The merger now looks certain to go through in the next few months or sooner.  

This is a very important announcement for the technology industry since:

"Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison said in September that the delay was breeding customer uncertainty, causing Sun to lose $100 million a month as companies held off purchases. The panel had threatened to block the deal due to fears that Oracle might be able to eliminate MySQL as a competitor."

Going back to the analysis of the announcement last year, Oracle was deemed to be getting a bargain for $7.4 Billion. Experts reported that Oracle, "Ends up acquiring MySQL, the upstart database that has been viewed as Oracle's Achilles' heel." Now we know that Oracle will not only keep MySQL, but they will boost investment in MySQL's open-source licensing platform.

Om Malik, from gigaom.com, wrote this on the merger after to speaking to "inside" sources:

• "The deal could mean trouble for Sybase, which has a lot of customers on Solaris.
• It could prove challenging for non-database users of Solaris, for it's not clear how Oracle will treat Solaris.
• It's good news for Java, as two major corporate giants will be supporting it and will be forced to play nice with each other.
• Oracle will keep MySQL going mostly because it can act as a funnel for further business opportunities."

 Mr. Malik goes on to quote Miko Matsumura, VP and deputy CTO at Software AG, who had a contrarian take on the merger. He predicts it will be a disaster, with thousands of layoffs.

The Linux Journal posed an open-ended question to readers about the acquisition, and here's what they said about what's next back in April 2009.

Fast-forward back to today, and ask the same question. What are we likely to see as the 2010 progresses? Check out this internal Sun memo from their CEO that was obtained by CNET.com. The theme:  Beat IBM, which comes from the first letter from the first seven paragraphs.

Meanwhile, Oracle announced their plans for Sun last month, and here's a bit of what zdnet.com  reported:

"Ellison also gave some insight to his Sun strategy. In a nutshell, he's staying out of the high-volume, low margin game that IBM and HP play. Simply put, Ellison is taking Sun upmarket with hardware-software devices like the Exadata database machine. Exadata has been a hit, said Oracle executives, who noted that orders have tripled sequentially and the biggest problem right now is manufacturing enough systems.

The future of Sun will rest with high-value systems, said Ellison, who added the computer industry is focused on selling components instead of complete packages."

No doubt, these are interesting times. I can't help but think back to my earliest memories of Sun. I remember buying and playing with a Sun Sparcstation 1 when I was at NSA in the late 1980s.  Over the next decade, we configured hundreds of Sun boxes.

Now, as the Sun CEO stated to his employees:  "Sun is a brand, Oracle is your company."

I've never worked at Sun, but along with thousands of employees, I'll have a hard time getting used to that distinction.

What are your thoughts on this merger?

The world-wide media was full of stories this week regarding the Google situation in China. Articles ranged from the Global Implications of Google's Stand to a new perspective on Global Net Intrigue. There is no denying that this is a potential Internet game-changer in many ways that go way beyond just security and hacking challenges we all face over the next decade.

 But I"d like to point out a few related issues that may not be immediately evident. For example, what implications might this announcement have for cloud computing and/or Offshore Outsourcing?

I found it very interesting that Google immediately defended cloud computing after the attacks. This defense seemed almost too quick. Check out this quote:

 "(Google Chief Legal Officer David) Drummond said the attack on Google's corporate infrastructure resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google, though he declined to specify what the hackers stole. 
  

However, he also said the accounts of dozens of Gmail users in the U.S., Europe and China who are advocates of human rights in China were routinely accessed by third parties. Drummond stressed that these accounts were compromised through phishing scams or malware, not through holes in Google's computing infrastructure. This is a key point.

Google's hosts data from search, Gmail and other collaboration programs that comprise Google Apps for millions of consumers on thousands of servers in data centers all over the world as part of a cloud computing model. When a Google user triggers a request from his or her computer, it speeds to these servers, looking for a response."

 The article goes on to quote Drummand as he defended the Google security controls as well as cloud computing as a whole. And yet, it seems to me that his answers may be too narrow. A wider question remains around the laws, practices and policies of global governments.

 That is, what if a law in another country changes or conflict with a cloud company's policies and procedures. Or, what if laws are not enforced or followed? Might a major investment be lost? What legal recourse will a company or local or state government have if a nation state decides to not play by their own rules?

It seems to me that this China situation has huge implications for cloud computing globally and locally for states. Put in another way, how does the legal framework of a country impact cloud computing?

 I heard a lecture once by a defense expert who said something to the effect that intentions can change overnight, but capabilities take many years to deploy. He was speaking about aircraft carriers and tanks, but I think that same quote applies to cloud infrastructure overseas - as we have just witnessed in China.

What are your thoughts on this topic? 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski has asked congressional leaders for more time to deliver the much anticipated National Broadband Plan, now due Feb. 17. According to Government Computer News (GCN), Genachowski said that,"this extension will not affect the FCC's budget for the National Broadband Plan, which was mandated as part of the National Recovery Act, and asked that it be accepted March 17."

 This entire process, which was kicked off last April, has taken much longer than orginally anticipated. The plan is an important driver for the nation's economic recovery. State and local governments have been very engaged in this broadband planning process, and many state planners are waiting eagerly for the final plan which will provide more guidance. Here's another excerpt from the GCN article:

"The goals are to ensure access to broadband capability for all Americans, provide a detailed strategy for affordability and adoption of broadband and to maximize utilization of broadband and craft a strategy for using broadband to achieve national purposes. Under the plan, grants will be provided by the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration." 

 The commission invited broad public participation in developing the plan, and this summer launched a blog called Blogband, to chronicle development of the plan and invite comment. It also launched a Twitter channel to report progress on the National Broadband Plan." 

 State and local governments have been eagerly waiting to find out who will receive grants in their state. State-specific plans will depend upon national decisions.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that they are examining cloud computing's privacy and security implications for consumers. The FTC wants its findings to be considered as the FCC formulates the National Broadband Plan.

Information Week ran a story on this topic, and here is an interesting quote:

"[T]he ability of cloud computing services to collect and centrally store increasing amounts of consumer data, combined with the ease with which such centrally stored data may be shared with others, create a risk that larger amounts of data may be used by entities in ways not originally intended or understood by consumers," wrote FTC attorney David C. Vladeck in a letter to FCC Secretary Marlene H. Dortch. 

One interesting note: the timing of the upcoming FTC roundtable discussions on the implications of cloud security and privacy, the last of which is scheduled for March 17, does not work with the February release schedule for the National Broadband Plan. So what does this mean?

 I agree with Thomas Claburn of Information Week that, "The letter appears to be a reminder to the FCC, as it comes up with a broadband framework for the U.S., to save a place at the table for the FTC."

What are your thoughts on the National Broadband Plan and/or your views on how the plan relates to cloud computing?    

What's around the corner for 2010? What new invention will be the next iPhone, iPod or blackberry? Are there any hot tech topics that CTOs need to be considering for their infrastructure budgets? Just as important for technology professionals, what Christmas presents might be showing up at a government office near you?

Over the holidays I was reading about upcoming innovations and technology predictions for the new year and beyond. Along the way, I came across a new term called "vooks."

 I thought to myself: What's a vook? So I googled it and typed, "articles on vooks."  Google came back with: "Did you mean: articles on books?" My Microsoft Word program didn't do much better - putting a red line under the word and offering suggestions like "look, took and cook."

My daughter thought vooks might be creatures from outerspace or aliens in the movie Avatar - which she reminded me that we need to see soon.

But a vook is a hybrid between a video and a book. Scrolling down further from my Google search, you will come across these somewhat recent articles:

Curling Up with Hybrid Books, Videos Included (excerpt from New York Times)

"... In the age of the iPhone, Kindle and YouTube, the notion of the book is becoming increasingly elastic as publishers mash together text, video and Web features in a scramble to keep readers interested in an archaic form of entertainment."

Vook Publishes Sherlock Holmes Classics and Offers Hundreds of Thousands of Copies to Schools and Libraries in the United States and United Kingdom (excerpt from www.earthtimes.org )

"The Sherlock Holmes Experience vook is a revolutionary new way to read the exploits of Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary character, Sherlock Holmes. The vook enhances these timeless stories with videos that delve into the history and legend surrounding Holmes. The videos annotate the text, giving readers a better picture of the times and the ability to pick out details and historical facts that help readers further immerse themselves in the mysteries. Additionally, key terms are hyperlinked throughout the vook to let readers explore sites on the Web related to the plot without having to lose their place in the story. The vook will be available as an application on the iPhone and the browser-based Vook Reader."

What is a Vook and will it change how you read? (Excerpt from Entertainment Weekly)

"Is this the first hole in the dam for our traditional definition of what books are? Can a single medium continue to exist alone in this increasingly multimedia world, or will reading inevitably end up looking less like Gutenberg and more like Google?"

Where does a vook come from? Well, from vook.com, of course. Vook is also a company started in 2008.  (No, I have no financial interest or any other relationship with them.) Their front pages announces: "Make a new you in 2010." 

OK, so why is a government CTO writing about vooks in an infrastructure blog? Great question. A few things (and trends) to consider:

1) One complaint that I hear from our customers is that we are not thinking about their apps, the future, what's next, and building infrastructure to support it. We're too worried (and busy) solving current issues and not looking at strategic directions for government.    

2) Here's another great example of the new media world we live in where video, the Internet, text and just about everything end users do with technology, are merging together. Yes, we've seen similar things before with mashups - but vooks, or some variation thereof, may become a new killer app for select customers.

3) Think about future training opportunities at work and possibilities for K-12 and higher education.

4) More directly, this technology has major implications for network connectivity for governments, Internet access speeds, and more. I know many state and local governments that block all video, and that strategy will only work for so long.

5) As an author, I'm interested in books, new forms of writing, interpersonal communication and this cool, trendy topic. 

Bottom line - Watch out, the vooks are coming!     

One more thing - when I told my wife Priscilla about this new term "vook" she sighed. "Where have all the book lovers gone?"   She's not the only one asking that question.

 As we approach a new decade in 2010, my mind instinctively goes back in time and scans the past decade.

 My thoughts easily jump back to ten years ago as we prepared for Y2K and the new millennium. I recall the fear and excitement as we watched the local, national and international news on New Year's Eve to see if computer programs would crash and send the world into chaos. Our government technology teams spent over three years preparing for that night, and I remember the relief when all went well.

 Events seemed to seesaw back and forth over the past ten years. After Y2K came the contested Presidential election of 2000 - with "hanging chads" and plenty of resulting technological challenges.

 Next came 9/11/01. Who can forget where they were on 911? I was in the Romney building in downtown Lansing, Michigan. Our team was building the first Michigan.gov portal, which would bring together state websites in new ways and provide one face of government to citizens. I was shocked as I watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center on live TV.

But these events are more than just sad memories or interesting History Channel topics. These true stories helped to shape who we are in government today. After September 11^th, government priorities changed. The Department of Homeland Security was established in Washington DC. I went back to focusing on computer security at work.     

Meanwhile the Internet was taking off. Everyone was going online as never before. Families installed wireless networks in homes, MySpace and then Facebook became huge, and Google became a verb. Check out these fascinating statistics from CNET on average web usage growth over the past fifteen years.  

Along with the good came the bad. The increase in cyber crime and identity theft started attracting attention. The growth in malware became exponential.  

In my opinion, the growth of Internet use is the most important technology story of the decade.  Yes, there are many sub-trends, such as the Apple iPod, blackberries, and more. But the Internet is changing so many aspects of society. Taking a peek into the future, I suspect virtual worlds and avatars are going to continue that trend into the next decade.

I could go on and on regarding events this decade. The historic election of Barack Obama, our "great recession" and the many events of 2009 will certainly be remembered decades from now.  New pushes towards infrastructure projects such as rural broadband, health IT and cloud computing are certainly changing government now and will shape our future.     

But my point in this blog is to encourage you to look back as you look forward.  Aristotle said, "If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development."

So I encourage you to take a few minutes and visit the "Wayback Machine" online. This Internet archive will take you back to what various websites looked like on different days. Scroll down and look at the coverage of various significant events.   

 This has been a remarkable first decade of the 21^st century.  What new technology has made the biggest impact to government in your opinion?  

Wireless Local Area Networks (LANs) have been around for years, but how can state and local governments manage wireless networks efficiently and effectively from an enterprise perspective? Assuming continued technology changes with budget challenges, what governance strategies can help balance security requirements while ensuring adoption and ease of use?  

Rhea Linn, who is our wireless LAN project manager for the Michigan Department of Information Technology's Office of Telecommunication, wrote an excellent article on this topic for State Tech Magazine. The article is offered as a best practice for wireless security and safeguarding wireless LANs.

Here is a brief excerpt:

"Our improved solution has helped us to achieve the following:

·         Improved wireless security that matches or exceeds our wired standards;

·         Enterprise standards and service capability;

·         WAN/wireless integration that allows us to provide a WLAN for wide area customers;

·         Integrated wireline and wireless policies and practices that provide a seamless logon experience; and

·         Affordable, cost-effective service.

So far, 16 state offices throughout Michigan have WLAN services -- 13 in the Lansing Metropolitan Area Network, where the largest number of state employees are concentrated. We also have wide area WLAN implementation in three counties, and APs are installed and awaiting a security decision in five other counties."

Rhea goes on to describe such topics as the specific technology we used, the guest access process for visitors, the policies required and governance involved. You can read more details about this project by downloading this PDF from the National Association of State CIO's (NASCIOs) award web site.   

A few observations:

1)      Getting the right balance for any infrastructure project between security and ease of use is usually difficult, and wireless networks are not an exception. Speaking from personal experience, there are almost always different perspectives from the networking staff and the security staff - even if they are in the same organization. The battles can get difficult and even nasty at times.

Back in 2004 when I was Michigan's CISO, I was even in the "no wireless" in government camp. I quoted many experts from the National Security Agency (NSA) and other three letter agencies who said that wireless networks were simply not able to be protected. My boss at the time was Teri Takai, now California's CIO. She challenged us to deploy "secure wireless" following private sector advice from companies like Dow Chemical or the Big Three automakers.   

Teri was right. With fast food restaurants and millions of other now offering free wireless access, governments needed to offer workable solutions to our clients and visitors.

I give Rhea and the others who worked on this wireless LAN project credit, because they stuck with it and had the perseverance to get the project working and widely deployed. I have spoken with many people from governments around the country that gave up on secure wireless projects out of frustration.

2)      Effective governance and a good billing model are essential. I like Rhea's list of lessons learned. She is so right on each of her points regarding policy, processes and technology. We tested, and tested, and tested. We modified our approach several times. Wireless LAN service offerings require constant tweaking.

3)      Finally, you need the right staff to get the job done. Proper execution of a good plan should not be assumed. Many things can set a technology team off track. I am thankful for Rhea, the others in MDIT Telecom who worked on this important effort, other infrastructure staff who helped and our Office of Enterprise Security (OES) staff. While the battles got bruising at times, the proof is in the pudding, and the end product works well.  

What are your thoughts or questions on implementing wireless LANs in governments?

A funny thing happened on my way to work yesterday. Actually, the situation was pretty frustrating, and there were a few lessons learned regarding interactive conference calls. Here's what happened:

 I was in the car listening in to our normal 7:30 AM "Day Start" call which goes over enterprise-wide status. (To get a sense of what I'm talking about, you can watch this quick video on our technology service management center in Michigan.)   

All was going well as I pulled into my underground parking spot at about 7:40 AM.  On this morning, we were scheduled to have a issue resolution follow-up discussion regarding one customer with a subset of people.

The roll call began: "Dan Lohrmann." 

I said, "Here." There was a long pause. "Dan, are you there?"

I checked my blackberry again. (No, I was not driving at this point.) My phone was not on mute. I said again: "This is Dan, I am here!"

 Continuing down the list, "Lynn... Mike.... John.... Judy..." No one responded.

Until, Sue said, "I am here." She continued, "I know that many people were planning to be on this call, I'm not sure what happened. We probably need to reschedule...."

Then came Jack, "I'm here to." A seven minute conversation ensued with several people discussing the importance of the issue at hand, the fact that this was a time-sensitive topic, the scheduling of the meeting, the reality that it was Friday and some were off, the early hour of the call, the level of commitment applied to this issue, and a host of other related topics. 

Meanwhile, I started talking very loudly into my phone. I felt like a "Who" in Horton Hears a Who. (Yes, I saw the movie with my kids.) 

As I walked across the Lansing Capitol grounds into the building, I was practically shouting. "We are here, we are here, we are here!" I felt frustrated and momentarily helpless.  (I later found out that about ten others on the call felt the same way.)

What was strange about this teleconference was that some people could be heard but others could not. We have had situations where all the phones were muted, but never just a few - unless the end user had their phone muted.

 Yes, we did find out what happened. Here the explanation:

"AT&T stated that the call monitor may have un-muted the calls, but logged off too quick for the calls to un-mute.  The call monitor has control of the call, so people could not un-mute themselves at that point by hitting * 6 or any other command.  He did find an option for the host to use if this happens again.  From the day-start conference call line, the host can hit *7 and choose option 1 to un-mute everyone.

 In the future, the Service Management center staff will have the call monitor stay on the website and make sure everyone is un-muted before logging off the website.  We will also document the capability for the day-start host to use *7 and option 1 to un-mute callers."

In other words, there was a combination of operator error and technology training concerns. We have learned in the past that sometimes a seemingly simple function like unmuting phones can cause serious problems and misunderstandings amongst virtual attendees. 

So what did I learn?

1) Teleconference operator training is important. All of those one-off 800 conference line functions that are available and seem unimportant are probably in there for a reason. You will likely use them some day, so you may want to double check the manual.

2) A few months back, we had a different problem, and in that case we added a step in our roll call process. The host confirms that attendees are heard by saying: "Thank you Dan" after the person says "I'm here."

3) Be careful what you say on a conference line about those who may appear to not have shown up. Perhaps they are listening and trying to get through. 

4) I need to laugh at myself more in work situations sometimes. The events actually became pretty funny - when I took a step back and thought about what was actually happening. 

Yes, we got things fixed and rescheduled the call for Monday. But if they can't hear me next time, I won't start shouting at my blackberry.  Hopefully, I'll just smile. 

 Any funny teleconference stories to share?

 Are deeper budget cuts coming for struggling state and local governments? After a year filled with tough news regarding furlough days and more belt tightening, technology executives across the nation are pondering that question. Even as good news was announced yesterday regarding the unemployment rate falling to 10% in November, the holiday season remains focused on plans for 2010.

Stateline.org ran an article entitled: After furloughs, states mull permanent cuts. Here's an excerpt:

"Moving from furloughs of state employees to more permanent downsizing, states are girding for the deepest workforce cuts yet when they hammer out their fiscal 2011 budgets next year. In preparation, many are taking stock of every position in state government to determine what effect job cuts and the possible elimination of whole departments will have on revenues, expenses and the quality of government services."

The report goes on to list state by state cuts already implemented in 2009 (fiscal year 2010).

We all know that tax revenues lag economic recovery, so how long will the budget cutting last? Some are predicting that state revenues will be down for several more years, leading to significant changes ahead for government IT departments. Cutting corners will no longer do. We need to be transforming state technology workforces.

 What is Michigan doing? One activity has been offsite scenario planning - based on various budget levels and assumptions. The February 2010 issue of Public CIO Magazine will have an article by me that describes this activity in detail.

So what are you doing in your state or local government regarding budget cuts and/or resource allocation? How are you setting technology priorities and determining core business functions and services in these tough times? I'd love to hear some stories that you can share.

 Technology directors around the nation were watching the weekend news very closely for events regarding online sales on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). No, I'm not referring to economic activity or potential impact on our nation's economy. After the troubles experienced by Walmart and others in 2008, many stores offered more doorbuster deals online.  

 The initial news was mixed, but bad for some portals. Here are a few related stories:

On Black Friday Leading Retail Web Sites Slow Way Down, Reports Keynote Systems

Staples Down on Black Friday

Yes, it's been a rough weekend for some of the leading retail web portals, and public sector infrastructure professionals, as well as other technology staff, should pay close attention. This issue absolutely impacts everyone who uses the Internet, whether in the public or private sector.

 Beyond up or down status and overall slowness for major websites, more serious issues surfaced for some. Here's a comment regarding Staples online portal (from the article above).

"AJ says:

I ordered one of the BF $399 HP laptop from their website this morning. I got through checkout, completed the transaction (the credit card was processed), got an order # showing the HP laptop, and 3.5 hours later I got an Email saying that my order was canceled because they were out of stock.

Thank you for choosing Staples. We apologize for the inconvenience but the following product you were trying to order is sold out.

832349 HP DV6-1334US LAPTOP

This was part of our Thanksgiving Holiday 2009 Early Bird Specials and is subject to the following conditions:
* While Supplies Last.
* Unable to Back Order, as this product will not be re-stocked.
* Unable to provide comparable product at special pricing." 

 This same exact problem happened to me at the Staples website on Friday morning when I was ordering a product.

Why is this so significant? Because they actually took orders during the "doorbuster" hours, and they were unable to fulfill those orders - despite taking credit cards and sending confirmation emails. Customers who called with questions faced a long wait at call center help lines.

 In "geek speak," they were taking order via batch processing without the real-time processing of those orders based upon inventory. Customers assumed that the laptop deals were being processed and shipped, only to receive disappointing emails later in the afternoon. Clearly, their infrastructure or end-to-end process couldn't handle the load.

 The lessons here are numerous. I am sure that web "experts" tested these portal sites and associated software many times prior to Black Friday, and yet they failed. These errors will cost retailers significant dollars as well as hurt customer trust.

 The closest thing to Black Friday in the public sector may be tax day on April 15. When I was the senior technology executive for the initial www.Michigan.gov launch back in 2001, we faced huge surges in web usuage on tax day.

 And now, retailors (and government networks) face Cyber Monday. I expect that "door buster" deals will continue to create problems for web portals, as long as deals are limited by time or number of available items. Public sector technology officials need to take note as they offer online services.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Any Black Friday stories to share?