Tomorrow’s Business Forecast: Mostly “Cloud-y” Skies

Tomorrow’s forecast for the future in business is still looking…  mostly cloudy.

In an article written by The Street’s Dana Blankenhorn, an eloquent summary of timeline events is shown, leading to today’s anywhere, anytime business.

Blankenhorn writes, “There’s a great game you can play whenever you watch a movie from the last 50 years. You can date it quite precisely once you see someone interfacing with technology. Do you hear typewriters? It’s the 1970s. Are they using a PC? It’s the 1980s. A cell phone? Probably the 1990s. A smart phone? The 2000s. The adaptation of characters to technology mirrors our own. We change while hardly being aware of it.” from “When Everyone Has a Cloud – TheStreet.com”

So we find ourselves in an era where you no longer need to buy servers and boxed software into a model of always available business software via the cloud brought to your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop.  Don’t think the ‘big box’ software heavyweights aren’t taking notice as seen in Microsoft’s deft deployment of its Office 365 subscription-based online cloud software suite.

So what does this really mean for the average end user or business professional?

Thankfully, this involves a user experience that combines convenience with conserving money usually spent on expensive hardware upgrades.

“You need fewer local resources. Storage is no longer done locally and most database processing is off-loaded as well,” Blankenhorn explains. “Big jobs are done fast. Back in the late 20th century there was a project called Seti @ Home, which offered users screen-savers behind which their CPUs analyzed data sets from radio telescopes. That was “distributed computing,” a standard feature of the cloud.”

Ah… the SETI screensaver at work!

What was a mere screensaver of the past hinted at much greater potential for the business software collaboration in the future where Blankenhorn adds, “…computing can become ubiquitous.”

Ahh, ubiquitous.  What all businesses aspire to be and enabled by today’s cloud computing technology such as the services offered by AnaTango.

However this is where AnaTango takes things a step further into the future with a term we’ve been referring to as the “adaptive cloud“.

In this future, you’ll find intelligent software that reacts and molds to your needs as seen in our core development “AMI Adaptive Management Infrastructure“.  This will no doubt make the ubiquitous seem even more…ubiquitous in the coming years as we continued to roll out and expand the platform.

AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer.  Rob’s latest hobby is working in project scheduling software user interface operation and graphics design.  He might have a few more if not for his two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Barkley and Riley taking him for walks at the park.  Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com

Cloud Computing Growth: The “MIPS” of Business and Investing

When it comes to visualizing how effective cost savings can be in a cloud-based environment its time to learn a new acronym to better understand what is ‘efficient computing’.  Get to know MIPS, that is “Million of Instruction Per Second” or more specifically the cost of those MIPS.

Courtesy Fidelity, Microsoft

In this case what’s good for business can also be great for investors says Fidelity’s Gavin Baker, manager of Fidelity’s OTC Portfolio (FOCPX)

When it comes to cloud computing its really about “going back to the future”

“The first wave of computing focused on the mainframe and minicomputer, which centralized processing power. A second stage was anchored by the PC and client-server architectures—which moved the computing power out to every desk and server closet,” Baker explains.

“Now, plentiful, high-speed bandwidth is ushering in a third era, which marks a return to centralized processing power—the cloud—with the crucial difference being that this centralized processing power is easily accessible to users on a variety of devices ranging from smartphones to PCs. A simple example is the switch from an e-mail program that you store on your computer to one you access over the Web. With cloud-based models, all the software, processing, and storage is handled remotely and the data is available anywhere in the world, at any time, and on any device with Web access.”

So where is the cost benefit and is there any drop in functionality?

“Cloud computing is a wildly different model that could take hold over the next 15 to 20 years because it offers users lower costs and more convenience.”

“Essentially, what we’re witnessing is a transformation of computing into a utility much like water or electricity. And the future is here now—you can open your laptop anywhere and access supercomputing power with just a credit card. Start-up companies aren’t buying servers, networking gear, databases, operating systems, or applications directly—they are buying these as services.”

In other words this paradigm shift is changing the playing field where you simply buy as much service as you use or need, and don’t get stuck footing the bill for services that aren’t consumed on a month-to-month basis.

With this in mind, Baker says he’s focusing in on three prime areas for future investing that show strong growth potential: cloud computing, mobility and personalized medicine.

While AnaTango currently has no plans to enter the personalized medical care industry, its good knowing we fit well within two of the three categories with our cloud computing optimized AMI Adaptive Management Infrastructure platform that allows AnaTango software to perform equally as efficiently from the desktop, laptop to smartphone and tablet devices.

What works for AnaTango is an exponentially strong business model specializing in a paradigm shift to subscription-based cloud computing, one that Fidelity’s Baker that investors should keep a keen eye on.

In the 1990s, Baker says there were two main trends a growth investor needed to get right: the replacement of mainframe architectures with client server architectures, and growth in personal computers (PCs). “Owning top companies related to the PC and client server trends was a big part of outperforming as a growth investor in the 1990s.”

He says that picking the winners might be hard, but the opportunity may be significant and could justify today’s valuations.

“I believe some of the companies in these businesses are going to be orders-of-magnitude bigger,” says Baker. “So valuations that appear elevated on a one- to two-year time horizon make more sense if you extend your time horizon and look at the bigger picture.”

Read more in Fidelity’s Investor Report here: “Three Tech Trends to Watch”

AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer.  Rob’s latest hobby is working in project scheduling software user interface operation and graphics design.  He also teaches geology courses at Cal State East Bay in Hayward should you be so inclined to want to sit in on a lecture one day.  Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com

From CIO to CFO: Making Cents of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is one of the hottest buzz words in business today.  Yet it seems when it comes to cloud computing,  many businesses talk about it but no one really does anything about it.

In an excellent guest article for Forbes Magazine, Irv Rothman discusses the need for a united front on a company’s executive team to maximize the immediate and long-term cost savings performance made possible by today’s cloud computing software.

“A successful journey to the cloud requires intense planning and alignment across all parts of the business; essentially a roadmap that helps navigate the financial and technology decisions that need to be made over the years ahead. The payoff will be worth it, but to get there, organizations need an internal champion. That champion has traditionally been the CIO. However, cloud affects so many parts of the business that a successful strategy requires the buy-in and close support of the CFO as well. Though some may see this as an unlikely pairing, the close alignment of IT and finance means that CIOs and CFOs are finding themselves in a significantly more interdependent relationship.”

You can think of today’s cloud computing as an evolutionary leap from the revolutionary moment the internet first arrived.

Businesses in the 90s-2000 relied on processor/hardware gains roughly in line with Moore’s Law coupled with enhanced flexibility via in-house wired connectivity between machines.  The internet was just starting to come online and upload/download speeds made the thought of attaching documents or PDFs files a “wait until the next day” proposition.

Today’s 2000-2010 technology has flip-flopped this dynamic.

Technology has improved to the point where smaller devices such as tablets like the iPad now pack greater processing power than yesterday’s PCs, and are connected wirelessly to networks that can now upload/download HD files in a matter of minutes (or seconds via Intel’s Light Peak or Apple’s Thunderbolt).  Today’s era of technology allows you to run powerful applications fully capable of running all aspects of your business from an iPad via an internet connection with no need for costly off-the-shelf software, servers, and hardware upgrades.

Most corporate CIOs have known about this paradigm shift for quite some time, but CFOs in the same company might not be as enlightened how this transition can equal dramatic cost-savings benefits.

Rothman keenly lists the top 5 reasons CIOs and CFOs should see eye-to-eye in cloud software implementation:

#1: CIOs can help CFOs understand the business case for cloud

“Cloud isn’t an IT priority, it’s a business priority. Since it is rooted in technology, it is up to the CIO to make this case to other members of the C-suite, including the CFO. The CIO can speak directly to business priorities dear to the CFO by demonstrating how cloud technologies help improve business processes and the overall performance of the enterprise.
The CIO can also show how employing technologies delivered as a service (via the cloud) helps the company save money by allowing an external vendor to shoulder the burden of maintenance and hosting. With a technical understanding of the data and infrastructure requirements needed, the CIO can also help the CFO understand the associated risks associated with cloud and how they will be able to address likely CFO concerns such as data governance and compliance. Together the CIO and CFO can both raise their profile with the CEO and executive board by presenting a united front, and offering their shared insights on the business benefits of cloud.”

#2: CIOs and CFOs must collaborate on a deployment plan

“Whether addressing an existing problem or offering new capabilities, cloud technologies can be disruptive. The CIO and CFO can minimize the disruption by working together on a deployment plan that reduces downtime while new systems are brought online, rapidly trains employees using the new technology, and establishes specific metrics for success. The conversation should start with reviewing and prioritizing the needs of the business, followed by a side-by-side comparison of available cloud technologies that address those needs. The CIO can offer a critical look at the gaps in the company’s existing technology landscape, coupled with a thoroughly researched recommendation of emerging technologies that can fill these holes.”

#3: CFOs must have CIO insight to fully grasp the financial implications of adopting cloud technologies

“The implementation of cloud technologies will cause a substantial shift in expenses and cost structures. The CFO will need the CIO’s insight to accurately anticipate these changes. It’s not just about long-term cost savings that come with cloud technologies. CFOs also need a clear understanding of initial costs, as well as the potential impact it may have to business efficiency and income while these technologies are introduced. The CIO will have clear insight into service level agreements (SLA) and respective costs associated with a cloud vendor, the cloud solutions they offer, and what will be needed to migrate legacy systems and train employees on the new technology. Because the CIO will be closely monitoring the company’s evolution to cloud, they will be in a position to advise the CFO on expected shifts in costs and cash flow. This will be critical for the CFO who needs to provide Wall Street with accurate forecasts on the company’s Capital and Operating expenses on a quarterly basis.”

#4: Any company can implement cloud; the difference lies in how these technologies are managed

“Once the CFO decides to fund the implementation of cloud technologies, someone has to create strategies to manage and maintain these technologies. This responsibility falls under the purview of the CIO. However, the CFO must work with the CIO to create management strategies that extract the most business value and protects the organization. The competitive advantage will come with how an organization manages change, integrates its service portfolio and leverages the information generated to better serve stakeholders.”

#5: The CIO and the CFO must present a united front to reign in “shadow IT”

“Business users are becoming more sophisticated in technology use, and cloud applications are relatively simple to install, even for moderately savvy users. Without proper oversight, splinter groups will find ways around corporate IT to take immediate advantage of cloud technologies. To help counteract this “shadow IT” activity, the CIO and CFO must work together to be proactive about embracing new technologies such as cloud, before department heads and others engage in rogue activities. With innovative technologies such as cloud, it becomes more imperative that all groups align across the business. Collaboration from the top down sets a clear example and best protects corporate interests.”

It is ironic in some ways cloud computing is meant to improve collaboration across all departments in business, yet many companies stumble at the very implementation of it.

Without fully realizing the benefits, many businesses handcuff themselves into slow-motion gains as opposed to an instant return on investment maximized the full benefits of cloud computing.

This makes it more important for businesses to align themselves with a cloud business software provider who can guide them on the implementation process with a full strategic deployment plan.  Truly successful cloud software companies have been doing this now for a while.

AnaTango has taken this concept one very large step further.

We have developed Anavation and Anavoy AMI-based software to adapt to each business it serves, to the point that no two versions of the software are alike.  When the corporate team, SDP implementation and the very software itself can align themselves into complete business efficiency, the true power of what cloud computing can be is fully realized.

Even CFOs to CIOs can appreciate how this scenario makes more than cents from day one.

Forbes Magazine “CIO, Meet the CFO: 5 Ways To Get More From Your Cloud” by Irv Rothman

AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer.  Rob is a self-described technology ‘geek’ constantly researching and testing new software and hardware designs.  On other days, his Cavalier King Charles Spaniels rule his life and take him for walks. Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com

Cloud Computing: Growth and Investment Opportunities Accelerate

While the rest of the world is mired in a slow-motion economic recovery, the prospects for cloud computing growth continue to shine.  In fact cloud computing businesses are enjoying life on a relative island of business opportunity and prosperity, revenue numbers confirmed by the latest industry research.

A new report by Gartner Research not only confirms what we’ve seen in terms of interest at AnaTango for our company’s Cloud Business Management Suite of services including Anavation and Anavoy, but shows that business is likely to remain very strong for the near future.

For 2011 into 2012, cloud computing (SaaS) companies revenues are set to climb from $12.3 billion to $14.4 billion dollars worldwide, a roughly 17%+ increase year to year.  From 2012 to 2015, Gartner forecasts an additional 53%+ growth(!) from 2012 to 2015 as cloud services adoption accelerates.

These numbers reflect what Gartner Research Director Sharon Mertz sees as a worldwide increasing familiarity with cloud computing as a complete business management model.

“After more than a decade of use, adoption of SaaS continues to grow and evolve regionally within the enterprise application markets.  Increasing familiarity with the SaaS model, continued oversight on IT budgets, the growth of platform-as-a service (PaaS) developer communities and interest in cloud computing are now driving adoption forward,” Mertz said in a statement.

Gartner defined SaaS as primarily a delivery and management approach for software such as CRM or ERP. Among the top CRM and ERP vendors are Oracle (NSDQ:ORCL), SAP (NYSE:SAP), Salesforce.com, and Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT).  Oracle and SAP have been on a recent run of merger and acquisition activity in the space as well with multiple purchases in the cloud computing space with the last year.  Even companies tied to computer hardware like Dell are getting into the mix with the recent acquisition of Silicon Valley based Wyse, known for its cloud client computing services of scalable remote device management for enterprise.

Industry experts anticipate more M&A activity in the space as larger providers like Oracle and SAP acquire ‘specialty’ companies with niche business intelligence/management software to fill in the gaps of the parent company portfolio.

Given the return rates of savings accounts, long term CDs, bonds and unpredictable nature of the the stock market, it makes more sense that angel and venture capital investors are keeping their ‘heads in the cloud(s)’ as a means of investment strategy as more businesses adapt and utilize cloud-based services.

AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer.  Rob is a self-described technology ‘geek’ constantly researching and testing new software and hardware designs.  Rob also leads the user-interface design and implementation for AnaTango’s Cloud Business Management Suite under AnaTango Cloud.  We trust Rob’s cloud observations in the natural world as well, you may not know Rob is also an AMS-certified broadcast meteorologist.  Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com

Beyond ERP: AnaTango’s New Technology Rises

Its the end of ERP as we know it and cloud-based business services companies feel just fine.  But what’s behind this new way of business sea change that has some referring to the shift as a ‘mass extinction event’ in technology?

In geology a mass extinction event is a dramatic decrease in the diversity and abundance of life.  The one you’re probably most familiar with comes from the late Cretaceous period (K-T event) when a space rock a few miles across slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula around 65 million years ago.  The resulting blast and global cooling led to the rather abrupt end to nearly 75% of life on Earth.

What you may know is there is a similarly profound mass extinction event underway involving the way businesses run themselves.

Only in this case, the Earth-changing asteroid is what you call the internet.  To get a little more specific, it really involves increasing array of today’s subscription-based cloud management platforms that are changing the business landscape at the expense of the doomed dinosaur known as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

“…Much has been discussed about SAP’s pending $3.4B acquisition of SuccessFactors, and now Oracle’s $1.9 billion deal to buy Taleo. Rightly, SAP and Oracle have been praised for trying to bolster their cloud offerings with these moves. But, in a few years, I wonder if it will really matter. Because, while SAP and Oracle are obviously trying to get with the times by offering their services via the cloud, it may be too late. Why? Because, in short, ERP – enterprise resource planning software – is on its deathbed. 

That’s right. ERP’s days are numbered. And it is because of a fundamental shift that is taking place regarding how people consume products and services driven by the massive growth of the cloud itself.” – Tien Tzuo, Zuora CEO from “The End of ERP”

As succinctly stated in this post by Tien Tzuo (who spent time previously as Salesforce.com’s CMO) the very survivability of ERP comes into question based both on today’s challenging business environment and explosive expansion of cloud-based business management tools.

Monthly Subscription vs. Buy It All & Manage It Model

Consider the rise of today’s cable, satellite dish and video streaming websites.  All of these bring the best content providers like NBC Universal, CBS, Disney ABC/ESPN, etc. have to offer and all you need for access is a simple monthly subscription fee.  Many of these providers use existing hardware to get you connected and any hardware/software upgrades are done remotely and largely free of charge.

If you were ERP, you’d believe this model makes no sense.  You would rather purchase a broadcast network for yourself and manage the costs of maintaining it, upgrading systems and managing all of its employees and related costs.  If you wanted another service, then you’d simply go out and buy another (software box off the shelf) cable network and add on all of the aforementioned costs all over again.  If no subscription based service were available and if no alternatives were out there, then this ERP buy-it-all-manage-it-all world is the only one we’d be living in.

But much like the era of the dinosaur in the days post-asteroid impact, the times have clearly changed and there’s now constantly evolving and improving lineup of subscription based cloud business management tools available for today’s SMBs.

From “The End of ERP”
“…Why does all of this signal the death of ERP? It’s because the rigid ERP systems from SAP, Oracle and others were designed specifically for the 20th century manufacturing era rather than the 21st century services-based world. Because ERP was built to track products that can be put on a pallet, versus offering services that are consumed over time, subscription businesses using this legacy technology struggle over and over again with the fundamental questions:
Who are my customers? Try asking SAP or Oracle how many active customers you have at any one time. The concept simply doesn’t exist. Orders, Accounts, and Products? Sure. Ask your ERP how much up-sell business you’ve done, or how many customers have renewed in the past year – and you’ll get a blank stare. ERP is simply not built around customer-centric transactions. In a Subscription Economy, unless you can monetize customer relationships over time, you’re dead in the water.
How can I price this service the way I want to? Subscription services run the gamut from simple monthly recurring charges, to usage based charges, to one-time charges, to “all of the above.” Unfortunately, ERP systems force companies to resort to hokey workarounds to get their pricing right, like creating different products for every month of the year.  “February Service SKU” anyone? And simple cost-plus pricing doesn’t apply to services. Instead, businesses want to do rapid A-B price testing when trying to gauge appetite for a new service or offering. Meanwhile, a single price change in an ERP system can take weeks.
Where’s the “Renew” button? Subscriptions are all about an ever-changing lifecycle as customers sign-up, upgrade, add-on, and ultimately renew their service. At their core, ERP systems only give you a “Buy” button for tracking transactions.  They’re missing the critical tools you need to process this lifecycle over time.
Why can’t I sell to everyone? Subscription Economy companies like Salesforce.com and Box have found success by selling their services to everyone from individual users up through very large enterprises. They need tools for managing things like high volume recurring payments in the B2C world, as well as tools for managing high-complexity invoices and contracts in the B2B world. And those tools need to manage customers that may come through different channels such as web self-service, mobile devices, direct or channel sales or even Facebook. Legacy enterprise technology makes you chose one or the other, when what you really need is the ability to sell B2Any.
What’s going on with my financials? Subscription businesses live or die by their ability to measure the ways that bookings, billings, cash flow, and revenue are inter-related.  Unfortunately, this data lives in different software silos.  Bookings fall into CRM, billings and cash flow live in your GL or ERP system, and revenue is too often calculated in a series of complex spreadsheets. Good luck stringing all of that together…” – Tien Tzuo, Zuora CEO from “The End of ERP”

At AnaTango we believe we have done just that.

The AnaTango solution: The Evolution Away from ERP to AMI

AnaTango’s Adaptive Management Infrastucture (AMI) is at the core of AnaTango’s Cloud Business Management Suite.  To date this includes two powerful cloud-based SaaS applications including Anavation and the cloud-based enterprise platform known as Anavoy.

Both are offered fully malleable into the hands of our business partners who can choose from library of add-on features and enhancements which all are fully embedded within the system.  Compatibility issues with old/new software products are never an issue unlike the older on-the-counter-box-top/ERP counterparts.

The CBMS doesn’t simply end with Anavation and Anavoy, rather these are the first two products in growing suite of products specifically targeted to the needs of different business environments and industries.  The CBMS goal is to match the diversity of the SMB and multinational conglomerate marketplace and thrive in its new cloud-based environment.

SMBs: Should You Adapt or Have SaaS Adapt to You?

In this new era of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) the landscape of offerings is literally changing by the day.  From business intelligence (BI) to customer resource management (CRM) there’s no shortage of companies with stock ticker acronyms out there that all say the same thing, “we can help your business outperform and achieve immediate return on investment”.

In most cases this is true, yet many of these formerly innovative companies are now taking a move from ERP’s old playbook.  They would rather you fit into their system of doing business without you having the ability to adapt, modify or optimize it for your own needs.

This is where the landscape of cloud-based businesses who do offer this level of adaptive management becomes suddenly much smaller.  Its like going from a continent the size of Asia down to islands in the Caribbean.  And this is precisely where AnaTango rises from out of the ocean.

You have the keys to the high performance car but do you really know how to drive it?

Powerful software no matter the vendor is only as good as the knowledge of that product in the hands of the people who are using it.  Many companies are content to drop a software upgrade or service into their customers’ laps and wait for the phone to ring on the customer support side later.  While some companies thrive with customer support such as Apple’s Apple Care for instance, AnaTango takes a different approach to this partnership.

Meet AnaTango Consult/Connect/Apps

Maximizing the software in ways that bring immediate results should require a method of strategy deployment (aka a Strategic Deployment Plan).  This is where goal setting, key performance indicator tracking and realizing revenue gains become reality.  AnaTango not only provides you with the firepower to achieve this, but also deploys the field generals (Six Sigma Master Black Belts and executive team with decades of software experience) to guide SMBs to reach their goals.  This also includes an overhaul of branding/marketing/networking services to leverage the benefits that social media and main stream media offer growing companies.

AnaTango also has hardware and IT experts who can adapt and enhance existing infrastructure and improve the speed/accessibility of cloud-based management.  Lastly, new to AnaTango is the forthcoming Apps division that has the ability to create topic and task specific applications for companies looking to expand into iOS and Android environments.

Any new client to AnaTango benefits directly from the monthly subscription model in ways not thought possible before.  This complete optimization of a SMB sets AnaTango apart from many of its competitors, because we feel this is the next evolution to cloud-based business management – an Adaptive Management Infrastructure (AMI).

This way your business from day one won’t be tied to an aging platform, rather one that was built to your needs and growing with your needs as new products in the CBMS come online to expand your business possibilities.

By planning for nearly every possible outcome, even the sight of an asteroid plunging through the atmosphere won’t make your business tremble.

Instead you will see it and be the first to react to it as a new opportunity.

Take that, T Rex.

AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer.  Rob is a self-described technology ‘geek’ constantly researching and testing new software and hardware designs.  Rob also leads the user-interface design and implementation for AnaTango’s Cloud Business Management Suite under AnaTango Cloud.  In his free time he likes to study and chase tornado-producing supercell thunderstorms. Seriously, he does that.  Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com

Rob’s Bold and Not-As-Bold Predictions for 2012 in Tech

Top 10 predictions for 2012.

My forecasting skills are probably more finely tuned to weather patterns and producing daily forecasts.  But as real fan and active participant in the development of some of today’s technology and software designs there does seem to be a changing of the guard heading into 2012 that should make for a very entertaining and exciting year.

Here are some of my bold and not as bold predictions for the year ahead, which I will gladly revisit at year’s end to see what happened and what clearly didn’t.

Remember, these aren’t forward looking statements and certainly nothing worthy of building your retirement portfolio around.  But…I have a funny feeling that this may be what’s on the way in 2012.

SOCIAL MEDIA “NEXT BIG THING” IS…

Pinterest. Its addicting, unique and practically absorbs you into full-time collaboration with other users with its simplistic yet effective interface.  Sharing ‘pins’ has some tremendous SEO and sales/marketing potential as well making this concept a strong one for being a revenue generator as well.

USER INTERFACES IN 3-D

We will wonder how we lived in a time when our desktops lived in a 2D environment.  Right now the only real signs of this sea change are on gaming systems: Wii, XBox Kinect and PS3.  But what happens when this technology is finally very usefully applied to business?  Lift/Pull/Push moves to access files and data will be far more intuitive and reduce ridiculously absurd levels of drop down menus and mouse-clicking common to today’s software.  3D interface design is probably my second favorite best startup business plan for 2012.

BEST STARTUP BUSINESS PLAN: CLOUD SECURITY

Becoming THE security net to protect cloud-based services = wanting to become the fastest growing startup in years.  Its a perfect storm of sorts in the cloud with a killer business plan.  With a cascade of companies adopting cloud-based management/productivity services – protecting the internet pipeline/personal data for these companies has never been more crucial.  In fact at AnaTango, its an issue we treat extremely seriously and design our systems and software infrastructure from the ground up with far higher security standards than our mainstream competitors.

Look for one or two companies to position themselves as the ‘cloud leader’ in guaranteeing bandwidth/pipeline performance will full time counter measures to prevent DNS and other attacks.  Indeed, hacking and anxiety over security may be the primary reason why more companies are resisting to fully adopt cloud computing for all their productivity/management/IT needs.

HACKTIVISM TURNS TO THE DARK SIDE

Hacktivism Turns Dangerous – more sophisticated hacking begins coordinated attacks on power grids and infrastructure systems.  As authorities have greater problems tracking down the sources, this will only embolden those who have the skill sets to perpetrate them.

CLOUD COMPUTING OUTLOOK: M&A ACCELERATION

Cloud builds momentum.  With a recipe of saving money, increasing accessibility, transparency and collaboration the drive for businesses to utilize cloud services will likely continue seeing an exponential leap forward.  However, rapid consolidation in the space seems likely as the big fish begin gobbling up the more talented and feature focused competition.

CLOUD/INTERNET BEGIN FULL ATTACK ON CABLE TV

YouTube’s move into original programming will be expensive but worth it.  Remember when people used to shake their heads when HBO, Showtime, Starz, FX hired top talent to produce movie quality programming?  In the new ‘cloud’ based always-on-demand world, YouTube stands to gain by simultaneously offering more free content vs. Apple’s iTunes and Amazon’s pay for everything model.  But Apple likely wins even with the higher monthly price because…

APPLE’S ATTACK ON CABLE TV

Apple’s TV (iVision?) debuts.  Take one look at your cable box or dish remote and then look at your iPhone w/ Siri.  Which would you rather use to quickly set/record/find programs to watch?  No contest. In fact Comcast would be wise to begin working with Logitech to match Apple to the punch with a voice activated remote control.

The only problem I have with “iVision/Apple iTV” is forcing folks to accept the predetermined monitor size that comes with it.  Here I think people could be missing something…Apple may not actually sell you the “TV” but rather the interface, like their Mac Mini or Apple TV.  It would seem to be far more marketable (and far greater profit/unit) to avoid costly OLED panels and stick simply with making the Apple TV box matched to an iPod Touch voice activated interface.  This would make Apple TV work immediately with ANY TV on the market, allowing the user to choose their favorite large screen TV or keep their existing one.

CONJECTURE: PLAUSIBLE PARTNERSHIPS & ACQUISITIONS

Microsoft buys Nokia and looks to buy ARM as well.  Samsung tries to align with HP and invests in the open platform WebOS.  Amazon considers making a run at RIMM/Blackberry to get into the cellphone/smartphone market only to be outbid by Google who buys RIMM to bolster its folder of smartphone tech in the on-going patent wars. Despite this Apple and the new iPhone 5 dominate until Google-designed Motorola mobile devices begin hitting the market.  Apple also begins a transition to using iOS across its entire product lineup including laptops and desktops, running far more efficient ARM-based chipsets and flash-based RAM drives.

APPLE: THE RISE OF JONATHAN IVE?

With Steve Jobs last big project (TV) finally released – who will lead Apple to its next “big thing?”  There is “another” as Yoda once said in The Empire Strikes Back (while of course no one can be another Steve Jobs) but the “other” I’m referring to is probably the one person at 1 Infinite Loop with that rare gift of indelible design, eloquent and museum quality “art ware” who we haven’t seen much of to date, but I think this time next year that should be about to change.

MUST HAVE GADGET OF 2012

Tie – iPhone5 and Apple iTV/iVision.

…ONE MORE THING

Long form Mayan calendar ends with hundreds of folks in attendance during the Winter Solstice at many of the ruins sites in Mexico.  Then… in an instant comes a revelation!  Nothing has changed.  On to 2013.

AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer.  Rob is a self-described technology ‘geek’ constantly researching and testing new software and hardware designs.  Rob also leads the user-interface design and implementation for AnaTango’s Cloud Business Management Suite under AnaTango Cloud.  He does not break dance, at least not in public.  Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com

No Longer In The “Minority”: Gesture Technology Comes of Age

 

If there was one of the coolest tech moments seen in movies, Minority Report certainly had it.

 

 

At the time, it seemed more Hollywood movie magic than short-term reality.  From the reactive mood lighting matched to a holographic interface that blended information, video and real-time communication, it just didn’t seem possible we’d see something like that for quite some time.

Intel’s whimsical commercial “dramatization”

 

However, those in the tech industry knew that major companies like Intel and Microsoft has b

een testing a 3D user interface for many years.  The technology however was clumsy, oversized and over-priced and therefore no one had been successful in making it commercially viable.

Meet Wii

 

Then came along Wii.  This is probably most of our first experiences with a “3D” style interface with a thoughtfully simple remote/game control that works in a virtual 3D space.  This immersive experience quickly made Nintendo rich as Wii sales exploded and the new world of Minority Report-styled gaming user interfaces was officially underway.

Kinect-ing Possibilities

 

It didn’t take long for Microsoft to catch and pass Nintendo with their “Kinect” add-on to their popular Xbox 360 gaming system.  Whereas the Wii made 3D UI seem somewhat cartoonish, Kinect certainly made if feel more real.

The explosion of mobile and tablet computing devices has made touch/swipe/zoom interfaces even more popular.  While not holographic displays, the concept is essentially the same – forget your mouse and keyboard – navigation shouldn’t require typing and hitting the ‘enter’ key.

So is it possible that the mouse and keyboard will go the way of the floppy disk, 3.5” disk, CD/DVD drives?  I wouldn’t bet against it.

Which brings us back to our ‘niche gaming systems that are now being looked at as a powerful new way of using business software.  In fact, its leading to an entirely new way of thinking when it comes to designing entire operating systems.

Kinect Opens Windows

 

So there it is, a Windows OS where you can actually ‘open’ windows or a Mac OS where zoom/pinch takes you through space and time on your desktop.

This is the next big leap forward as today’s technology not only makes this approach easily affordable and viable.  The future computer desktop will finally look like a real desktop.  Where you most important items can lie in front of others and accessing key tools is as simple as moving up/over and around other items.

The speed and efficiency (while perhaps providing an added health benefit of exercise) ought to make 3D enabled user interfaces extremely popular.

At AnaTango, I can say we’re excited by these possibilities and thinking forward to the future.  All our Cloud Business Management Suite apps work just as effectively on mobile devices and tablets as they do on your desktop.  Without tipping my hand, its safe to say we’re also focusing on business application navigation/performance in new ways we hope is just as “cool” as what’s been shown here.

I can’t wait to see future OS’es take advantage of this technology in the future provided next generation passwords aren’t break dance moves.

In that case, companies may want to begin removing breakables from their office spaces.

AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer.  Rob is a self-described technology ‘geek’ constantly researching and testing new software and hardware designs.  Rob also leads the user-interface design and implementation for AnaTango’s Cloud Business Management Suite under AnaTango Cloud.  He does not break dance, at least not in public.  Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com

“Ninja Class Mobile Workforce”

by AnaTango

IT and security administrators constantly struggle to protect “data at the edge”-data carried by mobile employees on laptops and mobile phones.  Every security policy struggles with juggling the need to provide access and capabilities to these mobile professionals while unable to physically protect data that is not confined within the walls of the their building.

With mobile workforces ever expanding, security and access are at war.  The battle rages between professionals who work from home or on the road against security concerns from their IT administrators.  While the war is never over, a new weapon may change the field of battle.  Enter the “Ninja Class Mobile Workforce.”

New hardware and software technology termed “PC on a stick”, essentially loads the entire  operating system, programs and files onto a USB storage device (stick).  Instead of providing employees with laptops, they can be given USB flash drive allowing them to plug into virtually any computer around the world and have instant, secure access to their own personal desktop and files.  Since the operating system runs directly off of the USB’s flash drive, the users files never touch the borrowed computer and the device leaves no trace it was there. Since the PC’s hard drive is not accessed; any viruses, Trojans or spyware present won’t affect the flash drive.  Even Internet browsing is private and won’t leave a trace on the PC.

Of course, all USB flash drives are not built equal.  Several companies produce high grade flash drives that provide military level hardware and software protection along with remote policy management and remote data wipe capabilities. These USB flash drives also carry enterprise management tools allowing administrators  to remotly monitor, control and manage their own security profile.

Imaging having to travel for business and instead of taking your laptop, cords, bag etc-you only need to shove your USB stick into your pocket.  This is what somc could call a ninja class mobile workforce.  The end result is a USB drive the size of a stick of gum allowing mobile professionals to have their entire desktop and corporate access from any PC worldwide, while feeling totally safe.

The global mobile (business) revolution

Some 25 years ago, while writing my own word processor program on my Apple IIe the last thing I would’ve thought to do was to plug in a phone line or ethernet connection to access the concept of a “world wide web”.

My first taste of gathering information and data over a network of archives came from scanning microfiche film reels in the library.  This was still the case even as personal computers and laptop computers began to thrive during my undergrad years at the University of Arizona. The world wide web was more a resource for higher level academics as what we refer to today as Web 1.0 was simply just getting started.

“You’ve Got Mail”

My first real taste of the internet came with Prodigy (no not the technopunk band) but Prodigy Online, followed briefly by CompuServe and then the next really big thing America Online (AOL).  (Again, I’m feeling pretty old admitting to that).  Even though the wait time from dial tone to data chirping was maddening, yet the end result was an amazing experience of instant (or wait for it…wait for it…wait for it…downloads) information available as far as your Netscape or Explorer browser could take you.

Businesses as this point were wise to establish at least a presence in this ‘information superhighway’, and those smarter still rushed out for the great www-landgrab and reserved domain names that would be bought for thousands and hundreds of thousands years later by companies desperate for gaining access to an unlimited internet audience.

Computer hardware and internet connectivity advances rapidly enhanced this experience, changing the landscape so drastically it seemed as if all my AOL sign on names had become irrelevant nearly overnight.

Web 2.0 had arrived before most of us even knew it.  A new frontier made possible with increasing broadband internet connectivity allowed software and even entire platforms to be hosted on the web.  The information superhighway was no longer very ‘super’.  It was simply now the avenue we took to access information 24/7 provided you were close enough to your home or business internet connection.

Soon after folks started to realize the importance of having internet connection via ‘wireless’ with new generations of laptops and desktops arriving with built-in internet connectivity without need for cables and cords.  Now the internet could go with you, and soon business would follow suit.

iPhonevolution.

Palm, Blackberry and Nokia came before it but the iPhone and its app-centric fully web-enabled user experience changed the world of internet access and connectivity.  The first iPhone and Android smartphones almost treated the internet experience as a novelty, while flash forward to today’s devices and you’ll find processors and chips inside that rival the power of many desktop computers.

This mobilization of technology from touch-screen phone to tablet computer is setting the stage for the next giant leap forward where the “future” reality of business may be “augmented reality” – that is using your smartphone’s HD camera to scan and report back to you business deals and opportunities down the street from your location.

Here’s a feature on the future known as “Web 3.0” as seen via the Discovery Channel network.  What will Web 3.0 be like?

These computer/HD videocamera/and video/voice communications hybrids are proving that business decisions both spur-of-the-moment and those well planned can be done literally at the touch and swipe of a finger at any place on the planet.

“[Mobile phones] are becoming the THE compute platform – giving you the power in the palm of your hand,” says ARM CEO Warren East.  The processing power and power saving features of chips like ARM’s Cortex A7 are one of the reasons why its very possible smartphones or perhaps we should call them the new PC’s “palm computers” will be the one and only connection to the internet and computing power most of us need.

“We’re starting to see people using that increased compute power with a much more sophisticated user interface with the ability to be able to connect to multiple screens, with the ability to seamlessly move from one form factor to another and take one’s digital world with us as we go,” East explains.  “It’s even turning into something that can do content creation – and that’s happening with the compute power that is in the palm of your hand.”

Having seen the next generation of Cortex chips in action, I would tend to agree.

These devices are not only providing power to business, but as we’re seeing in the advent of new social media outlets and communications platforms, our mobile devices are insuring the world will see every global revolution in near real-time and government censorship over its people will never be possible again.

This technology comes with incredible possibilities for the next generations of companies looking to thrive across all business platforms:  web-based management applications empowered by some degree by the new business frontiers in social media.

“Business for Today and Tomorrow”

I’m thankful that a company like AnaTango came around at just this moment, where a unique Cloud Business Management Suite is precisely that, one that is fully ready and capable for this new mobile reality.  I can imagine how difficult it might’ve been to try to adapt and evolve through the earliest stages of the world wide web to where technology has brought us today.

By offering the next stage of Adaptive Management Infrastructure (AMI), we are positioned to offer companies a forward-thinking alternative to some of the older Web 2.0 thinking and outdated, fragmented approach common to today’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

This is particularly exciting for me to be a part of.  It seems like a different world looking back as once being the kid who once programmed for his Apple IIe on horribly inadequate floppy disk drives.  Now we find ourselves in an era where technology can provide a business management suite of services fully integrated into the always available and unlimited data potential of the cloud.

What’s even more exciting is to think what’s next to come down the road for technology.  We’ve got some really great ideas of where we think its headed next, and look forward to sharing these with you as our CBMS suite leaps forward to its next release.  Stay tuned. – Rob Mayeda

AnaTango’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Mayeda brings nearly 17 years of broadcast news/media experience to AnaTango and is a multiple Emmy-winning meteorologist and multimedia producer.  Rob is a self-described technology ‘geek’ constantly researching and testing new software and hardware designs.  Rob also leads the user-interface design and implementation for AnaTango’s Cloud Business Management Suite under AnaTango Cloud.  Contact Rob @ rmayeda@anatango.com

How Amazon Uses its Cloud to Turbocharge the Browser

Amazon’s Kindle Fire is the web company’s first tablet. While it may run Android 2.3 on hardware not dissimilar to that of the PlayBook it has a completely different feel and feature set compared to any of RIM or Google offering.

Besides leaving its content delivery up to the cloud, the Kindle Fire also leverages Amazon’s servers in delivering a nice, fast web browsing experience. Amazon calls its browser Amazon Silk, and says that it introduces a “split browser” architecture that uses Amazon Web Services cloud (AWS).

The Silk browser software resides both on Kindle Fire and on the massive server fleet that comprises the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). With each page request, Silk dynamically determines a division of labor between the mobile hardware and Amazon EC2 (i.e. which browser sub-components run where) that takes into consideration factors like network conditions, page complexity and the location of any cached content.

Any users of the Opera Mobile browser can attest to the benefits of having a big server do the work for you. A browser like Opera Mobile or Silk will also be of great use to those with limited data plans. Instead of downloading a full-sized image that’d designed for high-resolution desktop viewing, the server will compress the image to a suitable size for your device, saving on bandwidth.

According to Amazon, a typical web page requires 80 files served from 13 different domains. Latency over wireless connections is high – on the order of 100 milliseconds round trip. Serving a web page requires hundreds of such round trips, only some of which can be done in parallel. In aggregate, this adds seconds to page load times. Amazon boasts that its EC2’s connection can score a round-trip latency of 5 milliseconds or less to most web sites.

For a mobile browser, this makes a ton of sense. Even John Carmack of id Software endorses the move. Carmack tweeted: “I always thought some kind of remote aggregator made huge sense for connection-challenged browsing – Amazon Silk seems like a Good Thing.”

It will make even more sense whenever Amazon introduces a 3G model.
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• Amazon Makes $199 Android-based Kindle Fire Tablet
• Amazon Announces Three New Ultra-cheap Kindles
• Report: “Better” Amazon Tablet Coming in January

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