elemental links

@ Forrester IT Forum: Roland Paanakker, VP Lean Business Solutions, CIO, Nike

Keynote Speech: Taking The Lean Journey At Nike, Roland Paanakker, Vice President of Lean Business Solutions and Chief Information Officer, Nike

Nike’s Lean Business Solutions group embodies the business technology (BT) transformation. Nike’s corporate focus on categories and shared operating models across all brands requires unprecedented change in business processes, information needs, and enabling solutions. These changes require both a strong BT foundation and a focus on building for the future. Roland Paanakker is responsible for IT at Nike, and as his title indicates, he’s also responsible for continuous improvement and innovation at the company. He will discuss his company’s Lean journey, how it transcends IT and business boundaries, and how his group embodies Lean Thinking in its solution delivery.

During his presentation, you’ll also hear how he builds for the future with an emphasis on three tenets of BT:

• Driving process and technology architectures from business strategies.
• Enabling end-to-end information quality in key business processes.
• Creating a simpler next-generation technology infrastructure and ensuring flexible solutions.

After a cool video from the perspective of a football player (think FIFA) on the field, training and on the town, Paanakker checked the audience for Nike product ownership (we failed on the Nike Plus), and is now telling us 8 things about Nike.

8 Things about Nike

1. We love Sports
2. We are Global
3. We are a strong portfolio of Strong Brands
4. We lead with Innovative Product & Services
5. We connect with Consumers
6. We ignite & manage the Marketplace
7. We operate with Excellence
8. We are a Growth Company

Vision for Nike’s Lean Business Solutions organizations: Solutions to Ignite Growth and Deliver Value – Always.  Amplify business connection, accelerate opportunity and enable the benefits.  Paanakker: it’s not about projects, it’s about value.

Amplify business connection: Global Process & Technology Leaders.  Creating environments for collaboration, planning and accountability.  Right-sizing solutions. 

The portfolio of work for the LBS organization: Deciding on the Right Solution for the Business Challenge.  A solution could be as small as consultative dialog, or as large as a systems implementation.  Not all solutions require technology.  Critical to prepare the business for change.  Each solution is gauged for sustainability, factoring in corporate responsibility.  Sustainability is designed in.

Accelerate Opportunity: Portfolio Managing & Strategic Alignment: Planning with an end in mind.  Prioritzation, quantification, measurement, incentives, and monitoring/feedback.

Enable the benefits:  Three practices in use, coordinated throughout Nike: Lean, program management and change management.

5 Pillars to realize vision

1. Be easy to work with
2. Align with Inc. Strategies
3. Game-changing programs
4. Deliver global and local
5. Holistic Portfolio & Funding

Building for the future, Paanakker calls out the importance of a holistic information strategy. Data quality.  Business analytics.  To make people thrive, they are a learning organization.  In the Lean practice, they apply agile solutions and continuous improvement and innovation. 

Nike’s Lean Approach: Start with mutual Trust & Respect.  LBS as a function, ensures balance between solution provisioning and opportunity creation.  Nike’s approach is built from work in manufacturing, the Toyata Way, but has been tailored for use outside of manufacturing business.

Paanakker quickly went through some detail on the Lean practice.  Points that jumped out: (a) it’s not just about removing waste (efficiency), it’s also about quality, time and line of sight to strategic goals and (b) drive business intelligence through quality data.

LBS vision has a tagline: we create opportunities beyond horizons. 

Editorial comment: You might be thinking, wow lots of marketing speak from a CIO.  Yes.  But, that’s important. If you can’t sell your success, you’ll never be able to sell your ideas.

Recent Cloud Watch: Platforms, Metrics, Green Paradox and CIOs

This week’s Cloud Watch items from Elemental Cloud Computing:

• Kathrin Winkler, EMC: The Greener Computing Option
• David Linthicum: Why CIOs should give the cloud a chance
• James Urquhart: Cloud computing’s green paradox
• Charlie Bess: Cloud Computing Adoption Metrics
• Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures: 2010 Interest Area #5 = Cloud based platforms and APIs

Cloud Watch now underway… Lawyers, Data and Money

This week, I’ve started up the Cloud Watch section of Elemental Cloud Computing.  Cloud Watch items are snippets from cloud computing industry news, business and technical publications, and thought leaders.  These snippets may be as short as a 140-character tweet, or as long as a few paragraphs.  Cloud Watch items will be posted throughout the course of the day, and may be expanded as more voices and sources cover a hot topic.  Cloud Watch items may include a short Elemental Cloud Computing perspective.

The opening cloud watch items are a mix of business and economics, and data, contracts and legal issues:

• Bessemer’s 8th of Cloud Computing and SaaS: Leverage and monetize the data asset
• Workload Metrics: Business Transactions per Kilowatt?
• Microsoft Exec: Customers Embracing "Cloud Computing" <– But whose?
• GigaOm: 10 Open Source Resources for Cloud Computing
• Lawyers, Clouds and Warrants
• McKinsey to CIOs in ‘New Normal’: Rethink Procurement…
• Irving Wladawsky-Berger: Cloud Computing is Relevant for (mostly) everyone
• Joyent is First in China: Launches Commercial Cloud Computing Platform

From Elemental Cloud Computing, there several ways to follow the cloud watch.  The Current Cloud Watch section on the homepage, the Cloud Watch tab of the Recent Posts navigation element in the sidebar, the Cloud Watch tab of the site navigation, via the Cloud Watch or Full Site feeds and email, and on Twitter. 

@ Virtualization, Cloud Computing & Green IT Summit: Federal Sustainability Success Stories / Electronics Stewardship

Federal Sustainability Success Stories / Electronics Stewardship, moderated by Cate Berard, US EPA

Panelists:

• Jeff Eagan, Program Manager, Federal Electronics Challenge, Department of Energy
• Holly Elwood, Electronics Stewardship Coordinator, Office of Environmental Policy and Assistance, EPA
• Johnny Lopez, Chief, IT Division, OUSD (P&R IM), Dept. of Defense

Holly Elwood opens, talking about EPA’s electronics product registry initiative.  From the EPEAT website:

“EPEAT is a system that helps purchasers evaluate, compare and select electronic products based on their environmental attributes. The system currently covers desktop and laptop computers, thin clients, workstations and computer monitors.

Desktops, laptops and monitors that meet 23 required environmental performance criteria may be registered in EPEAT by their manufacturers in 40 countries worldwide. Registered products are rated Gold, Silver or Bronze depending on the percentage of 28 optional criteria they meet above the baseline criteria. EPEAT operates an ongoing verification program to assure the credibility of the registry.”

Johnny Lopez from the DoD is up next.  He has integrated EPEAT into DoD’s lifecycle management of electronic assets.  Another initiative he’s charged with is power management.  By identifying “power vampires” (green lights on over night) in their office, they were able to reduce electricity consumption by 13%.  They’ve also adopted a related continuous improvement program.

Jeff Eagan of the Dept of Energy is up now.  First organization to obtain green status on electronic stewardship.  (Federal Electronics Challenge winner).  Used mixture of incentives and mandates to achieve Green IT success.  Cradle to crave program: acquisition, use to disposal.  95% of purchases are EPEAT registered, most are silver, some are gold.  93% of end user seats are engaged in power management program.  High equipment re-use, recycle rates [think he said 98%, don’t quote me].

Mentions new executive order, signed yesterday, mandating that US Federal Government agencies lead by example in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Panel Discussion

Holly Elwood speaks to EPEAT as an information source for IT acquisition, from silver and gold level specifications to contract language.  New standards in development for TV and imagining devices.

In response to question on power management challenges, Johnny Lopez mentions the human factor.  Getting people to remember to shutdown non-essential peripherals over night.  CPUs are left up during the week for systems management purposes, everything is shutdown on the weekends.  Monday morning restart is a little longer, but the payback is worth it.

Jeff Eagan echoes the human issue.  The Department of Energy has automated switching computers off at set times, turn back on for systems management.  A useful ally is the cyber security team.  A shut off machine is a safer machine.

Jeff Eagan talks about the composition of Green teams – facility operators, environmentalists and IT.  Looking forward to recycling standards for electronics equipment, standards are on the way.  Mentions still deployed older technology that continues to serve its purpose and is better for environment.  Not introducing new electronics.  [wonder about the power / efficiency trade-offs]

Holly Elwood points out the Green Electronics Council as a green steward and resource.

Jeff Eagan shares that the new executive order has new standards for data center management. 

A theme here is that everything starts with visibility.  Johnny Lopez used a Watt’s Up power meter device.  Ran tests with different combinations of on/off devices.  Realized shutdown of CPU wasn’t worth productivity loss (30 minutes) on daily startup.

Cate Berard of the EPA mentions a new software program that combines power management, systems management and security.  By coordinating these processes, the EPA can reduce energy consumption and provide better, safer, more consistent support for the people engaged in EPA’s mission.

Holly Elwood “the best way to green your product purchases is to not buy; extend the life of your existing products”.  Looking at complete lifecycle – cradle to grave – extending life is better than buying new.  [Answers my power efficiency question noted earlier].

In response to question, Holly Elwood points out the challenge of operating systems overriding machine set green standards.  Interoperability issues might prevent an operating system from knowing that the imaging system is pre-set, and should remain set, to duplex. 

This has been an interesting panel.  Lots of good resources pointed out by the panelists.  Certainly relevant beyond the government sector.  Personally, I turn off my the power strips to my office’s power vampires every night.  Good for the environment and my electric bill.  [Sustainability starts with simple steps.]

@ Virtualization, Cloud Computing & Green IT Summit: Tod Nielsen, VMWare

Energize and Save, Tod Nielsen, Chief Operating Officer, VMWare, opening keynote

Todd starts by talking about all of the government agencies VMWare works with.  The list is extensive.  One example, the CIA is virtualizing 4000 servers, saving millions in capital and energy costs.

Gartner factoid, 89% of virtualized apps run on VMWare (dated December 2008).

Early in virtualization journey, 0 – 20% virtualized, the big savings is Capex.  These projects are typically for IT owned assets, file and print, mail etc.  Next phase, is line of business applications, the concerns here shift from just capex to “speeds and feeds”, business continuity, up-time.  Often, these are less critical, tier 2 and 3 applications.  Todd shares anecdote of organization where CIO was concerned that tier 2 and 3 had better up-time than tier 1, response tiers 2 – 3 are virtualized, was driver for tier 1 virtualization as well.  So, capex, energy and up-time.

Now, Todd is talking about IT complexity, and how a reduction in IT complexity (increase IT agility) will increase business agility.  This gets us to the cloud.  “Business Infrastructure Virtualization”. 

VMWare saves energy.  Financial energy, capital and operations expense.  Human energy, shift from serving hardware to serving the business. Earth’s energy, can get up to 80% savings on data center energy costs with virtualization.

Tod has moved on to the Platform, talking about vMotion and consolidation.  Vsphere moves from hypervisor to helping build a “giant software mainframe”.  [begs the question, why not an actual mainframe, but I digress]

TechTonic shift slide up now, Cloud is in top right position: frictionless deployment, self-service environment (and more).

“Cloud computing is not a destination, but a way of doing computing”. 

Tod mentions desktop management product coming in November, solves the “PC over IP” issue.

Now, the internal cloud (private cloud).  Doesn’t see internal datacenters and clouds going away.  Does see internal extending to external via virtual private clouds.

Tod mentions VMWare’s announcement today: “VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop through the datacenter and to the cloud, today announced the opening of a new green IT datacenter in East Wenatchee, Washington.”  VMWare will share Green Data Center lessons with customers.

Tod is taking questions from the audience.  Interesting that the questions focus on virtualizing the desktop, not servers.  A little (friendly) Apple bashing.