Aug 26
Last fall I liked to say….a global move is technically just like a cross country move, only you fly to get there and it costs a lot more money.
Here’s the skinny with 20-20 hindsight:
Planning – you can plan to death, but it doesn’t change the workload
Things – you can throw away things you don’t need for months, only to realise 6 months later you should throw away 60% not 20%
Disconnecting from your possessions for 6 months, and you’ll realise you really don’t miss or need them
Prepare for a lot of incremental expense, but constantly keep an eye out for fraud
Movers will be movers-
Watch for hidden costs and additive costs, and realise the quality of service drops on the receiving end of the move
Relationships – on the ground make everything easier…make friends not whiney noises
Aug 12
Today I spoke at the Data Centre GreenTech conference in Sydney. For once an IT infrastructure conference not withering on the vine. Plus, a broad range of content that smells innovative, and an overall attitude of ‘lets do better’ versus ‘lets sell you some IT shit’!
Some amazing stats from Kenneth Brill, arguably the godfather of PUE. Brill states, in the US, data center energy consumption (as a percentage of the overall grid) has increased from 1% in 2000, to 3% today, and is projected to 10% in 2020. Brill is an amazing guy – basically defined many operating standards for data centre efficiency and tier rating/design as we know them today. He clearly recognises the need to progress beyond the PUE centric thinking he incubated 10-15 years ago…
My talk suggested a framework for ‘Sustainable Data Centre Energy Management’, with a focus on closing critical gaps in the industry’s ability to manage data centre energy effectively and in a more sustainable way (i.e. not uncontrolled growth). The basic concept is to apply storage (asset) management disciplines to energy management, with a focus on measurement, process, governance, and putting real measurement in place.
One low-hanging fruit is to advance well and beyond PUE as a measurement stick for data centre energy efficiency. Good timing, since PUE has now attained global harmony for data centre energy efficiency measurement!
We’re suggesting CPU efficiency (KW/h divided by # of CPU cores) and Green House Gas (GHG) quantification as more meaningful metrics, in addition to PUE/DCIE, which are relative but easily skewed metrics. It doesn’t have to be rocket science as the next step beyond PUE. There are a dozen other practical and measurable metrics that for some reason are lost on the industry as the ‘next generation measurements’ transport me back in time to falling asleep in 3rd year calculus to an instructor who couldn’t speak English!
It’s good to be involved in a surprisingly fresh movement around data centre efficiency. The overall attitude is constructive and people are trying out new ideas. Reminds me of why I didn’t take the job on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico back in 1996.
Aug 09
IT Partnerships blanket the planet. 
They make up our industry.
They define how we work.
And define how we transact.
Influence our productivity.
Extend our reach.
Extend our relationships.
Jul 22
Admittedly, this blog has entered near dormancy over the last 6 months. During this time, I’ve been on a ‘temporary business-visa’ in Australia establishing life with my family, lodging (and waiting) for permanent residency, and in parallel laying groundwork to extend the global reach of my employer into the APAC region. 
Writing publicly about anything of permanent nature was not advised (due to unsaid risk in a country facing unreal immigration challenges). As of becoming a permanent resident last week, I can now publicly disclose permanent ambitions and start hammering through a million mini-milestones in the course of running a regional start-up.
About a month after beginning ‘aka the honeymoon period’, I realised starting a regional extension to the company was going to be less like a regular role and more like running a startup business.
It all started with a business plan. At the time it looked outstanding on paper, including ground intel, an EBIDTA budget, go-to-market services, strategic approach, and even a pro-forma revenue model. Now, the business plan has undergone a minor-organ transplant and some cosmetic surgery, taking on a regionally adapted identity and focus. A good business plan goes through constant change. If you don’t have one, you won’t take the time to examine your path. If you have one, expect it to evolve.
Another eureka of starting a services region far from the company base, is regionalisation is incredibly important. Not only having the proper business setup, local resources, in-region footprint, but also embracing cultural norms no matter how minor and not getting too wrapped up in your own national identity (although I do think hailing from Boston is a good thing). One of the funniest examples is a business partner mildly condemning my colloquial use of ‘reach out’ in business dialogue. Apparently it implies a southern evangelical undertone, which is going to unnerve Australians who are by majority agnostic or religiously indifferent. I liked his advice so much that I proposed some snake handling after a key account meeting- I’m not sure he knew if I was kidding but it was amusing watching his eyes grow large!
The best advice: keeping activity levels high yields results. This holds true on all fronts, ranging from finding clients, driving opportunities, engaging partners, attracting talent, and maintaining a focus through the chaos. In a market that’s growing and skirted through the GFC relatively unscathed, setting up a services company in a country with 5% unemployment, compounded by a skilled labour shortage and increasingly rigid immigration scheme, there are countless challenges and opportunities at hand. So long supply, hello demand.
