A Beyond Cloud Interview with Michael Queenan, Co-Founder and Director of Nephos Technologies.
Presented by IntelligentHQ.com in partnership with Groupe INSEEC London the Beyond Cloud series of video discovery discussions provides a platform for the views of some of the top thought leaders in the UK cloud computing space in terms of the trends, issues and realities of the industry – and the industries in which cloud technology has an impact.
While cloud computing has been with us for some time now in various proprietary forms, ranging from business applications like Salesforce and business / consumer offerings such as Dropbox ranging through to webmail services like Gmail, the technology is reaching a stage of maturity where virtually every typical IT resource can be moved to the cloud. In turn, this has created a situation where companies might be using a large number of different cloud-based services for their business computing needs, each with a different contract.
This environment is characterised by a gap in the market which has emerged for brokers, such as Nephos Technologies, to aggregate and manage all these different contracts into a single, negotiated package. This approach brings with it three potential benefits for the client: a reduction in the human resources required to negotiate and manage the contracts, an expected increase in the quality and integration of each element, and a potential cost advantage.
In an environment where all the major tech players – from Microsoft and Google to Amazon and Rackspace and through to Oracle and IBM – are all offering cloud solutions, a role has emerged for consultants, advisors and third-party brokers to explain, differentiate, and demystify the wealth of cloud options available to the business.
The large numbers of players in the marketplace, coupled with the variety of technological standards such as IAAS, PAAS, and SAAS – and even the differences between the approaches taken by national Governments – has created a complicated environment in terms of regulation. This, in turn, has made it even more difficult for end-users to determine which services meet both their quality and functional requirements.
Because cloud solutions have been available for personal users for some time now, business users are starting to expect the same access-anywhere functionality to their business applications, which has added an air of inevitability to the cloud for many businesses – but of course there are alternatives and, as always, all clouds are not created equal.
The hype that has surrounded cloud computing has led many to believe that cloud is an instant panacea to the kind of issues that have dogged IT projects for decades, when in fact it merely presents a new set of issues that companies have to consider when making the switch from running their own physical computer systems to moving everything to the cloud… not to mention that the issues of the past often still exist.
The cost savings of a centralized computing model, coupled with the widespread belief that moving to the cloud will be an easy and painless process, has also led many to “jump in” without realising the full scale of the complexities involved. This presents a danger to the business trying to take advantage of the cloud and, t could lead to companies becoming disillusioned with the technology.
The message is clear: understand – and document – your requirements and expectation and, if you don’t have the knowledge in-house, seek experienced advisors or consultants or brokers to help you plan, navigate, negotiate and get the value that cloud promises.
About Michael Queenan
Michael Queenan is the Co-Founder of Nephos Technologies, one of the UK’s first Cloud Services Brokerage.
Nephos Technologies is one of the first “pure-play” Cloud solution specialists, with a detailed in depth understanding of Cloud technologies available to their customers, as well as the capability to integrate multiple Cloud services/technologies to provide end-to-end solutions. Alongside co-founder (Lee Biggenden) Michael holds various responsibilities including the development the long term strategy of the business as well as identifying new technology trends that will benefit Nephos’ customers.
Michael has been working within the Cloud space for over 5 years, with a broad knowledge of the current technology landscape both within the UK and abroad. With a passion for bringing new technologies to market he frequently visits Silicon Valley to get an understanding of the new trends and vendors coming to market. Michaels goal is to help Nephos’ customers to gain a competitive advantage with the agility required to adapt to business trends through new Cloud technologies and how Cloud can become a business solution rather than just a buzz word.
Aside from his interest in technology, Michael is an Arsenal supporter, keen golfer and loves the new craze of Crossfit.
About the Beyond Cloud series
Taking a conversational, interactive approach, we pose four broad but critical questions on the issues impacting businesses today to perspectives including Technologists, Strategists, Users, CEOs, Marketers and other Business and Thought Leaders across the sector. Each session begins with positioning our guest, by means of what the Cloud means to their role and their business – either the delivery or use of cloud – including views on the risks and the opportunities. The conversations – each unique but overlapping as a result of the various points of view on offer – then move to the outcomes and the promise of this technology and, from there, where and when regulation and standards should (or shouldn’t) come into play. We close with their views on what this cloud thing really means and where it is might take us, going forward.
The nature of our guests and the variety of discussion provides a broad set of insights which in whole or in part promises to deliver some clarity and a framework for understanding of the impact of cloud technology to all audiences. We welcome your comments and feedback.
Produced by IntelligentHQ, hosted by Groupe INSEEC London and presented by Daniel Steeves, Beyond Cloud is a “mostly pitch-free” environment: discussions will necessarily include product and company references but, hopefully, used to illustrate rather than to sell.
Daniel is a management consultant with Beyond Solutions Ltd. More a realist than a futurist, Daniel Steeves advises SMEs to transform and grow their businesses – and enable a different way of thinking – both as a Partner with James Caan’s Advisory Business as well as independently across the Digital, Social, Technology and IT sectors. Daniel is a growth-focused change agent with thirty years leading, brokering, designing and selling complex programmes. He collaborates at C-level, adding experience and perspective to fine-tune what your business says and does (and sells and delivers) with a focus on profitable, sustainable growth.
