The Simulacrum

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SaaS'y Benefits
2007-02-18 01:00:00
SaaS or Software-as-a-Service as it is coined is the ability of a external service provider to provision a business service over the internet so that it can be consumed remotely by (mostly) enterprise organizations. The luring drivers for running software as a service stems from its propositions of the ability of a external service provider to apply economy-of-scales for either IT operations or applications to offer better 'benefits' to the consuming organization. benefits such as cheaper costs, high availability and better scalability are promised and seemingly delivered.Non-SaaSy Enterprise (Business as Usual):In fact, since IT spend happens to be one of the key drivers which is driving the SaaS adoption, lets take a look at the average IT spend and the proportions of such spend broken down into line-items spread between the CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) and OPEX (Operating Expenditure) of the spend.Here is a table on the cost breakups as per Gartner's survey on annual IT Staffin...
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The Long Tail of IT Spend
2007-02-16 12:17:00
'The Long Tail ' is a 'power law of distribution' used by statisticians to define a expanding market (in any given discipline that is) in terms of the economic and business model of the market. In fact the phrase 'The Long Tail ' was coined by Chris Anderson (editor-in-chief) of wired magazine. In simple terms the long tail can be explained with a graph as follows:This graph compares the total average IT spending of organizations of differing organizational sizes. Notice that the graph has a 'Big Head' with high amplitude but is immediately followed by 'The Long Tail' of lower amplitude (or spending) organizations. Though this graph is not 'explicit' in denoting that given the universe of discourse of all organizations which spends on IT, The top IT spending organizations ('The Big Head' of the curve) will still fall short of the collective 'volume' of IT spend that occurs on The Long Tail. This is seemingly true because the 'number' of organizations with a high IT s...
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Architecture Process Framework
2007-02-12 10:13:00
For several years and across several product development engagements, I have come across varied organizational structures and 'disparate' architecture and development processes that I thought I must reflect upon my own understanding of these ideologies and present a 'process simulacrum' that I have been able to assimilate over time. In essence, the simulacrum is based on varied development methodologies such as RUP (Rational Unified Process ), Agile UP, XP (eXtreme Programming), SCRUM, DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method) etc...This 'process simulacrum' is not general purpose. In my mind, the process I will present in this article will be applicable to technical architecture process as against a overall functional PDLC.(Caution: I have 'tried' to keep the article short, but have justified the definitions of some concepts, which makes it a rather longer version of a blog.)This technical architecture process will emphasize the process workflows necessary to enable the “c...
More About: Architecture , Framework , Frame , Architect

ESB Primer
2007-01-31 17:27:00
The Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) can be considered a virtual layer composed of a set of services that acts as a broker for “facilitating” SOA integration across all the IT systems and components that can or may possibly exists in an enterprise environment. ESB is a relatively new term emerging in the industry. Yet some of the rudimentary principles on which ESB is based on are relatively old (as in matured). The core objective of ESB is to enable agent based mediation between two service end points to accommodate service integration. To achieve such agent mediated service integration, the ESB uses web service and other integration technologies available. An ESB is not a pure play Web services solution. An ESB repertoire can include all the Web service standards, integration adapters, spectrum of business connectors, enterprise plug-ins to legacy platforms, messaging agents and brokers, process and workflow plug-ins, and message/data transformers. ESB acts as a ubiquitous process...
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SOA Primer
2007-01-05 16:42:00
Service Oriented Architecture or SOA is an architectural style or design encompassing a set of guidelines, rules or principles that suggests how a software application should be manifested as a service. SOA has emerged as integration architecture to create resilient applications to coordinate with each other and extend the process and execution boundaries across application.The software service in the SOA is a network endpoint abiding by certain protocols and technology constraints required by SOA. Typically web services technology is used to enable the network endpoints as a software service. The key features of SOA are loose coupling, distributed, application autonomy, programming language agnosticism, data and communication standardization, interface standardization and heterogeneity. All of these key features are enablers for achieving an IT ecosystem which acts as a virtualization layer to support and map the enterprise business objectives to the IT process boundaries.Web servi...
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The Fifth Utility
2006-12-15 11:41:00
Utility computing, also often called, as the fifth utility seems to be positioned as the cool new model for enterprise computing. Note that the term computing must not be read as just related to computer as a processing box, but must be generally understood as the ‘business model’ of offering a service. The fifth utility is more about business model based on utility computing rather than the technology alone.The idea of service provisioning for the clients based on similar grounds such as using electricity service or water, where in clients can consume as much of resources as needed and are only required to pay for what is being used, is considered as ‘Utility Computing’. So then, utility computing is a “Service Provisioning” model.Whenever an operation or a service becomes an absolute necessity for an enterprise to function, and the abundance and standardization of such services drives the ubiquity of such service, then, it will make the most sense for an organization t...
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What is Simulacrum ?
2006-11-13 07:58:00
In simple terms, Simulacrum (plural: Simulacra) is a 'copy' without a 'original'. The definition of simulacra has evolved over ages and specific meanings and connotations has been provided that has varied context across different bodies of work (Doctrine of the 'Eternal Return', The book 'Simulacra and Simulation' ...)Some context:Universe being a simulacrum without a original which recurres eternally.Simulacra of the beings where the copy is true without a model (model being a theory). This has branches of study around semiotics and biosemiotics.God is a Simulacrum. A-Life (Artifical Life) is a Simulacrum"Simulacres et Simulation" a French publication by Jean Baudrillard explores the philosophical juxtaposition of the 'real' and the 'hyperreal'. This philosophy seems to be making sense in the context of the modern world. Even so more applicable to the surrealism of software development practices, religious beliefs, politics, entertainment or whatever discipline one can ...

My authorings on Amazon
2006-07-23 23:23:00
Java Web Services ProgrammingPacked with lucid explanations and lots of code examples, this valuable guide covers the Web services framework and the open standards that support it, including XML, WSDL, SOAP, and UDDI. Learn to implement these standards using the WSDP, from working with the Java Web services architecture and developing JavaServer Pages and servlets to making the most of JAXP, JAXB, JAX-RPC, JAXR, and the rest of the Java XML toolset.Internet Security and FirewallsImplementing a firewall is the firs step in securing your network. This book will show you how to construct an effective firewall and teach you other methods to protect your company network. Internet Security and Firewalls gives you the knowledge you need to keep your network safe and gain a competitive edge.
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