The findings of a survey by document management software company, Version One (www.versionone.co.uk), has revealed that 41% of senior IT professionals admit that they “don’t know” what cloud computing is. Version One carried out the research with 60 senior IT professionals (IT directors and managers) across a range of UK public and private sector organisations. This research follows-on from a similar survey carried-out by Version One which highlights that two-thirds of UK senior finance professionals (finance directors and managers) are confused about cloud computing.
Of the remaining 59% of IT professionals who profess to know what cloud computing is, 17% of these understand cloud computing to be internet-based computing while 11% believe it is a combination of internet-based computing, software as a service (SAAS), software on demand, an outsourced or managed service and a hosted software service. The remaining respondents understand cloud computing to be a mixture of the above.
Despite cloud computing being in the media spotlight, only a minority of respondents (5%) say that they use it “a lot” and less than a quarter of those surveyed (19%) reveal that they only use cloud computing sparingly. Almost half of respondents (47%) admit that their company doesn’t use cloud computing with the remaining 29% conceding that they “don’t know” whether their organisation uses it or not.
Julian Buck, General Manager of Version One, says, “Although this is only a small survey of IT professionals, the results are nonetheless very alarming, especially as IT professionals are the very people that need to understand cloud computing so that they can explain its benefits to management.”
Buck continues, “It is clear from the survey results that there are a number of contrasting views as to what cloud computing really is, which is hardly surprising in light of the many different cloud computing definitions in the public arena. For instance, Wikipedia defines it as ‘Internet-based computing’ while Gartner refers to it ‘as a service’ using Internet technologies. IT expert, John Willis, writing in his cloud blog says that ‘virtualisation is the secret sauce of a cloud’ and provides different levels of cloud computing. With so many definitions circulating, clarity is urgently needed.”
Only 2% of respondents say that their company is “definitely” going to invest in cloud computing within the next twelve months whilst 30% state that their organisations “may” invest in this technology. 45% admit that they “don’t know” whether their organisations will be investing in it or not with the remaining 23% stating that they currently have no investment plans. For those who definitely or maybe have plans to invest in cloud computing, some of the key business drivers cited include reduction in overheads and paper, ease of use, cost savings and the ability to provide collaborative tools for teaching and learning.
Buck adds, “If organisations are going to embrace cloud computing in the future it’s essential that a single, simplified explanation is adopted by everyone. Failure to cut through the confusion could result in organisations rejecting this technology and missing out on the benefits it provides.”
Post by Tod Newcombe on Dr. Beth Noveck’s speech at the recent NASCIO conference on what the White House is doing to turn social networking tools into an outcome-oriented platform for the Obama administration.
Noveck is the deputy director for Open Government within the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House. Her efforts stem from President Barack Obama’s memo issued on the first day of his administration calling for more transparency in government. But promoting transparency is proving harder than it seems…
…”We see examples of civic participation, but it’s divorced from government itself,” she said. “We see example of how government responds to complaints…but they don’t engage people in the process, nor do they track progress.”
In other words, the marriage of social networks and government has been pretty much a one-way street so far. Lots of “noise” coming in, but very little in the way of collaborative solutions, based on citizen participation, coming out….
…She spoke forcefully about how collaborative efforts have the benefit of generating new solutions and ideas that would never be found by a single person, and that networks of problem solvers can mobilize action. Most importantly, she said “collaborative innovations drive performance.”…
…But she recognizes that government’s current approach to developing feedback mechanisms via social networks aren’t well managed in terms of converting citizen input into outcomes….
…The charge towards Gov 2.0 is in danger of falling off the tracks if done incorrectly.
Noveck believes it can be done correctly and that CIOs must play a major role in helping their government embrace social networks for outcomes. Here are my (somewhat raw) notes from her multi-point principles on creating greater transparency without all the noise:
* Ask the right questions.
* Ask the right people: make sure to create opp for the right people to participate. (examples: CityScan, Peer to Patent)
* Design process for desired end: Do you want a Wiki style or a Digg-style design for collaboration?
* Design for groups. When you engage people as individuals you get individual responses. Instead create processes that use the wisdom of the crowd. Use the community to moderate, thereby increases efficacy of democracy.
* Use the screen: Mashups that create meaningful and powerful. Make data real and show people they are part of the process.
* Roles and tasks. If we show people what the job is we want them to do, you can get people to self select (rather than toss up any idea for consideration).
* Reputation: there are tools for ranking ideas up and down. They help manage large scale influxes of information. These tools can turn feedback into something manageable.
* Make policies rather than websites. Example: Getting feedback from employees. TSA has one. State Dept has one. Have to create some kind of feedback loop, otherwise it goes to waste. Need a process to manage feedback. Obama campaign had policy networks in moderated listservs. You need to channel expertise so it can be used and useful.
* Pilot new ideas. NASA’s XPRIZE program; Get people to submit innovation that exceeds the cost for the prize. Another example is Kundra’s “Apps for democracy” project.
* Focus on Outcomes: don’t spend too much time measuring the inputs. Need to focus on what to achieve. You have to rethink transparency and collaboration to what end. What does better performance actually mean?
In closing Noveck said that it’s up to public CIOs to bring their perspective to this unfolding process. “We need common platforms,” she said. “We need CIOs to use their bully pulpit to push innovation to overcome resistance to experimentation while keeping in mind [public sector] obligations. We need to…champion the people are successful and innovative in engaging citizens.”…
An interesting post by Tim O’Brien at O’Reilly Radar highlighting that earlier this month Google introduced a feature called Rich Snippets which provides users with a convenient summary of a search result at a glance. They have been experimenting with microformats and RDFa, and are officially introducing the feature and allowing more sites to participate. While the Google announcement makes it clear that this technology is being phased in over time making no guarantee that your site’s RDFa or microformats will be parsed, Google has given us a glimpse of the future of indexing. Read this article to find out about the underlying technology and how you can prepare you own content to work with this emerging technology.
Launched on May 21st, Data.gov is an online platform for access to Federal Government Data. By helping the public find, access, and download non-sensitive Executive Branch data, Data.gov enables enterprising Americans to create new web applications that can help individuals, communities, and businesses access, sort, visualize and understand public data in new ways.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Her videos aren’t quite viral yet and she’s not tweeting, but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is embracing new media, using the Web to promote the agency and her role as the nation’s top envoy.
In less than three months, Clinton’s State Department has embarked on a digital diplomacy drive aimed at spreading the word about American foreign policy and restoring Washington’s image. Part of a broader Internet outreach by President Barack Obama’s administration, Clinton’s Web efforts already have outpaced those of her predecessors.
Since taking over at Foggy Bottom, Clinton’s team has built on e-diplomacy innovations developed during George W. Bush’s presidency:
“New media is critical in this new era of diplomacy, where smart power and expanded dialogues are essential to achieving our foreign policy goals,” said Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s longtime confidante and chief of staff.
Via Publictechnology.net According to a recent Ofcom survey Only 55 per cent of UK citizens has used a government or council website
Just half of the UK population has used the internet in the last year to access information about government or local council services or completed a government form or process online, according to Ofcom research.
Forty-two per cent of people interviewed said that they had looked for information online about a government or local council service, or used services such as paying their road tax or registering for Child Tax Credits online. Among people who have the internet at home, this rises to 55 per cent who have used these services online.
However, only 15 per cent of people from areas of multiple deprivation have used similar information or services online. Areas of multiple deprivation are defined by a range of factors including economic, social and housing issues.
The research comes as more and more services, such as central and local government services, are available online.
EASIER TO ENGAGE
The majority of people (70 per cent of the online sample, 60 per cent of the general population) say that the internet has made it easier to engage in citizen participation activities, such as contacting an MP or signing a petition. But in areas of multiple deprivation less than half of people interviewed agreed (42 per cent) and 20 per cent disagreed.
LACK OF AWARENESS
However, respondents were not always aware of what can be done online (for example, contacting your MP, getting in touch with the local council or joining a campaign). Among the online sample interviewed, 31 per cent were unaware of online citizen participation opportunities and lack of awareness increases to 72 per cent amongst those in areas of multiple deprivation.
A recurring theme throughout the research was a desire to keep traditional methods of contact. Thirty three per cent of the online user sample would rather deal with someone face to face, for example, when contacting their MP. Sixty three per cent of people living in areas of multiple deprivation expressed the same view.
TRUST AND CONFIDENCE ISSUES
Trust and confidence were also issues. Almost half (46 per cent) of those from areas of multiple deprivation said that they did not sufficiently trust the internet for civic activities and 40 per cent said that they lack confidence to participate in citizen activities online. Among the online users, one in ten (9 per cent) said that they lack confidence to participate in citizen activities online and the same proportion (9 per cent) agreed that they don’t sufficiently trust the internet for citizen activities.
MOTIVATORS FOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
Feeling strongly about an issue or cause is the most important reason for people to take part in citizen activities (whether on or offline) among both online users and multiple deprivation area populations (42 of online user sample and 43 per cent of people living in areas of multiple deprivation). Being invited to take part also plays a role with just under a third of people asked.
In a revolutionary move, Obama’s administration is set to utilise next generation web technologies to bring an unprecedented level of transparency to government. In this case it will shed light on how the roughly US $800 billion dollar economic stimulus will be spent. The recently launched recovery.gov website (powered by nothing other then Drupal) brought with it the promise that citizens would be able to view where the money was going and how it was going to be spent.
To enable the citizen masher to do their wizardry, the administration will be opening up a veritable candy store of goodies: Semantic Web, RDF, Linked Data, SPARQL, RDFa, SIOC, ATOM, RESTful APIs, JSON, Widgets, Wikis, XForms, P2P Networks. Wow. They only forgot the lions and tigers and bears oh my… This is an unbelievable stack of technology. I didn’t think the government even knew what an RSS feed was :)…
…Crowdsourcing
Soon every citizen activist will have at their disposal intelligent data on everything related to the money trail and this will be combined with the best of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 mashup tools. Imagine the possibilities… Just look at what Adrian Holovaty did with ChicagoCrime to get an idea of what can be done when data is combined in unique ways. Read original post
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Recovery and Reinvestment Act is an extraordinary response to a crisis unlike any since the Great Depression. With much at stake, the Act provides for unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability so that you will be able to know how, when, and where your tax dollars are being spent. Spearheaded by a new Recovery Board, this Act contains built-in measures to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending. This website, Recovery.gov, will be the main vehicle to provide each and every citizen with the ability to monitor the progress of the recovery.
It would be great to see the Irish Government following the example of Obama’s administration, trust and transparency really help when asking people to pull together in order to get through tough times….
Brian Cowen is the current Taoiseach of Ireland (pronounced tea-shock - this is the position of head of government)
Cowen addresses the nation in a series of new videos , addressing seven questions posed by members of the public (selected from several thousand submissions).
The videos are embedded in the government’s party website www.fiannafail.ie and are embedded YouTube videos, which of course means that they can be seen and commented upon on YouTube. The website has recently been redesigned , apparently by some consultants that worked on the Obama website, and indeed it does look very derivative of Obama’s campaign website.
This morning several commentators in the media have been critical of the move , arguing that the Taoiseach is saying nothing new in these videos and is merely using YouTube as an additional mechanism for the delivery of the party line.
And this may be true.
However what will be interesting, will be to see the comments left by the public on the videos, and the interactions between members of the public using YouTube video comments.
And it is this point that most of the media commentators are missing - Fianna Fail may be using YouTube as an additional channel, but unlike traditional TV and radio outlets, YouTube is a two way channel and members of the public are empowered to respond to Cowen using the comment facility, this is a key difference..
It would have been very progressive for Fianna Fail and the Government to include video comments on their own website or even more so to include a forum where people could discuss and debate issues, thereby Fianna Fail could harness and be aware of the collective views of the public allowing the government to interact with a large group of people on a meaningful level. This interaction would also naturally be very transparent and would therefore also increase trust in the government.
Anyway.. hopefully they will leave comments open on YouTube and we will see some debate start to develop around the government’s plans.
UPDATE - FALSE ALARM
I just tried to post a supportive comment on the Fianna Fail you tube video, praising them for allowing feedback when I discovered comments are disabled for these videos.. so apologies to the other media commentators this morning, this is not at all progressive and is just more of the same…. there will always be lamers and flamers and abusive posts, but the government HAS to open itself up to this two way communication or it will lose all trust and credibility..
AMAS consultant and Managing Director Aileen O’Toole recently launched a new incentive on the web in Ireland entitled ‘The Ideas Campaign’
From the website:
The Ideas Campaign is about asking people for ideas to stimulate economic activity. It is challenging people in Ireland to be innovative and creative and to play their part in planning this country’s economic recovery.
We’re looking for ideas to:
• Preserve and grow employment
• Stimulate activity across key areas of the economy
• Make it easier to do business in Ireland
Our campaign motto is simple - no whinging. The Ideas Campaign wants people to be positive, to think about the solutions and not the problems. We want people to draw from their own experiences to identify how Ireland can emerge from this recession and, particularly, compete on the world stage and earn export revenues.
I submitted a single idea to the website late yesterday afternoon with a simple suggestion.
Let others see and comment on the ideas being submitted to the website.
I am not sure if Aileen or her team were planning on revealing some of the ideas on the site anyway or whether my suggestion led to the publication yesterday evening of summaries of some selected submissions.
Some commentators are hailing the ideas campaign website as ‘embracing social media’ which patently it is not.
In fact the very functionality of the site highlights an apparent misunderstanding of what social media is, and it misses a fantastic opportunity to provide a really worthwhile forum for interested parties to both submit ideas and suggestions for Ireland’s economic recovery, and also through this forum, to see those same ideas challenged and debated and refined into better ideas…
…or else to see some ideas rejected , for reasons that other fellow participants with different information or experiences may highlight.
The website explains that the best ideas as selected by an unnamed Advisory Group will be forwarded to government;
We have set up a small Advisory Group and invited a number of leading figures to participate. They bring a wealth of experience from the worlds of business, academia, economics and the public sector. The members of this group will be announced soon.This group will advise on the ideas we receive and how best to structure and present them in an action plan for government.
Again, whilst I admit the participation and guidance of experts and professionals is a good thing, I think that perhaps ‘the crowd’ should also have a voice in the selection of and refinement of some of these ideas. There are some excellent examples of large amounts of useful and intelligent debate on many subjects taking place on websites such as Boards.ie and Askaboutmoney.com, both of which use ‘forum’ type software to enable this ‘many to many’ debate.
I also feel that the use by the Ideas Campaign of social media such as Facebook is a little ill-conceived, as it is necessary to become ‘ a friend’ of the entity ‘Ideas Campaign’ before you can contribute anything or communicate with anyone via Facebook, becoming a friend on Facebook means opening up all of your privacy settings and private information (normally shared with your friends) to someone (or some group of people) that you do not know.
Instead it would be more appropriate to create a Facebook ‘Page’ where anyone can join by becoming ‘a fan’ and thus post and comment to the group or else to create a Facebook Group where again, Facebook members can join the group and comment on group forums.
Twitter is also being used by the campaign semingly as a vehicle for releasing 140 character ‘press releases’ about the website, instead of offering an additional channel for debate and contributions.
Linked In is being utilised by IdeasCampaign as an ‘individual’ LinkedIn user, where again I feel it would be more useful to create a Linked In ‘group’ that individuals could join and use to connect and communicate directly instead of having to communicate through the ‘Ideas Campaign’ user.
I do not intend to be overly critical about these things, (and indeed I would be happy to assist with the campaign if my assistance was wanted) I merely hope that as there are 19 days remaining until the ideas campaign officially closes, and that as the campaign, through Aileen’s hard work and effort now has such a high profile, that Aileen and her team might decide to open up the debate a little and allow some greater transparency and participation, two things that have been missing in the public sphere in Ireland for quite some time..
