This document discusses the themes of IT innovation and cloud computing. It begins with pros and cons of cloud computing, including potential cost savings but also risks of loss of control and vendor lock-in. Case studies are then presented on the university's implementation of a hybrid cloud, a shared scientific equipment catalog, and high performance computing initiatives. The document ends with recommendations around building IT capabilities and addressing the skills gap to take advantage of innovative technologies.

1. Martin Hamilton
Head of Academic Systems,
Loughborough University
http://martinh.net
@martin_hamilton
IT is Innovation
in Technology

2. 1. A River of Clouds
2. IT is Innovation in
Technology
3. Case Studies
4. Actions Required
Themes

3. 1. A River of Clouds
2. IT is Innovation in
Technology
1. Case Studies
2. Actions Required
Themes

4. Themes
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Pop Quiz

5. A River of Clouds: Pros
– Reduce headcount, capex
– Make IT a revenue cost not
a capital cost
– Best of breed services are
run by large expert teams
– Anytime, anyplace access
across devices is a given
– Flex service capacity
according to business
needs

6. A River of Clouds: Cons
– Loss of expertise
– Ceding of control
• cf. Windows 8
– Loss of flexibility around
spending windows
– Risk of vendor lock-in
– Clarity around
SLAs, Ts&Cs?
– Fear Uncertainty and Doubt
e.g. industrial espionage

7. 1. A River of Clouds
2. IT is Innovation in
Technology
3. Case Studies
4. Actions Required
Themes

8. Wearables
Photo credit: Kysoh
IT is Innovation in Technology

9. IT is Innovation in Technology
– Lazy Conclusions:
• BYOD/CYOD and VDI the norm
• Old style PCs for power users
• Cloud services for many key
roles (Google
Apps, Salesforce.com, …)
• Business Process
Re-Engineering
– But real focus should be on
the value-add:
• IT as a partner in business
transformation

10. IT is Innovation in Technology
– Lazy Conclusions:
• BYOD/CYOD and VDI the norm
• Old style PCs for power users
• Cloud services for many key
roles (Google
Apps, Salesforce.com, …)
• Business Process
Re-Engineering
– But real focus should be on
the value-add:
• IT as a partner in business
transformation

11. 1. A River of Clouds
2. IT is Innovation in
Technology
3. Case Studies
4. Wrapping Up
Themes

12. Case Studies: i2012 Hybrid Cloud
– Multi-million pound programme to:
• Refresh campus network core and edge
• Migrate to IP telephony
• Virtualize data centre services
• Pilot Virtual Desktop (VDI)
– Delivered through Framework
Agreement, negotiated through
Competitive Dialogue
• Logialis, Cisco, NetApp, CA
– 1st UK Hybrid Cloud site with
cloudbursting and full IP mobility

13. Case Studies: i2012 Hybrid Cloud

14. Case Studies: i2012 Hybrid Cloud

15. Case Studies: i2012 Hybrid Cloud

16. Case Studies: Kit-Catalogue
– kit-catalogue.com
– Catalogue and share high value
equipment (e.g. >£25K)
– Open source software developed at
Loughborough University
• Now in use at 17 other institutions
– Subscription model for support and
cloud hosting
– Now following this approach with
other locally developed software

17. Case Studies: Kit-Catalogue

18. Case Studies: Kit-Catalogue

19. Case Studies: HPC Midlands
– hpc-midlands.ac.uk
– Centre of Excellence in High
Performance Computing
• £1m seed funding from EPSRC/BIS
– Remit is to make Supercomputing
Accessible to Industry
• Working with startups and leading firms
such as Airbus, E.ON, Rolls-
Royce, RWE npower and Tata Steel
• Flexible licensing from ISVs including
ANSYS, CD-adapco and MSC Software

20. Case Studies: HPC Midlands

21. Case Studies: HPC Midlands

22. Case Studies: JANET ESISS
– esiss.ac.uk
– Education Shared Information
Security Service
– Accredited penetration testing
– Information security consultancy
– Staff trained to CISSP, Tiger
Scheme Senior Security Tester etc
– Worked with 60+ organizations over
a 4 year period

23. Case Studies: JANET / eduroam
– eduroam.org
– Roam seamlessly between 150+
Universities and Colleges in the UK
– And 50+ countries worldwide
– Use your normal user name and
password wherever you go
• Securely tunnelled back home
– Originally for network access, multi-
protocol approach being explored
through Project Moonshot

24. Case Studies: MEGS VLE

25. 1. A River of Clouds
2. IT is Innovation in
Technology
3. Case Studies
4. Actions Required
Themes

26. Actions Required
- Awareness
- Building capability
- 100,000 IT vacancies
- 1m young unemployed
- Generation Pi
- Role for Technology
Strategy Board?
- UK/EU cloud providers
- Common authentication
- “National grid” to plug
into, using open standards

27. Actions Required: Building Capability

28. Actions Required: Building Capability

29. WearablesActions Required: Generation Pi
Photo credits: Technocamps, DesignSpark

30. Martin Hamilton
Head of Academic Systems,
Loughborough University
http://martinh.net
@martin_hamilton
IT is Innovation
in Technology