Cloudcast Basics

SHOW: Season 2, Show 3

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.

FRAMEWORK FOR CONSIDERATION

This episode is going to focus on both how you can reduce risk (overall, vs. what you had before), but also look at what risks you need to consider when using the cloud.

1. Risk of Innovation: We’d like to try something new, but will we be successful? (setup, pick the right technology, pick the right vendor, allocate the right budget)
2. Risk of Planning: We planned and planned, but will we be successful when it’s time to execute? 
3. Risk of Overspending: Depends on the service, might actually be more challenging in cloud (requires a change of thought-process)
4. Risk of Failure: The scope of failure can be (somewhat) better controlled, although there are still examples of cloud failures. This is more about scope and timing that can be more granular.

REAL-WORLD CONSIDERATIONS:

• It’s important to understand the “Shared Responsibility Model” when working in the cloud. What do you own, and what does the cloud own? Not enough companies understand this.
• Risk (or Opportunity Costs) are very difficult to measure. Sometimes you need to work backwards and look at what you can control and what you can’t control. 
• Can you design around what you can control? 
• Can you design around what you can’t control?

RISKS OF USING THE CLOUD

• Not having good governance - self-service can lead to some very large bills
• Not having good cost controls - see above
• It’s important to understand the “Shared Responsibility Model” when working in the cloud. What do you own, and what does the cloud own? Not enough companies understand this.

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 2, Show 2

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.

FRAMEWORK FOR CONSIDERATION

1. Payment Flexibility (Free Tiers, Per-user (SaaS), On-Demand, Reserved-Instances, Usage-Credits, Spot Markets, Capacity Usage); Can Mix & Match as needed
2. CAPEX vs. OPEX  (although this isn’t always a benefit, or the preferred way to pay)
3. Immediate access to the latest technology, innovation (“built-in smart people”)
4. More focus on “solving business problems”
5. Visibility to inefficiencies (data centers, usage, etc.)
6. Ability to reconsider, re-evaluate, change, eliminate projects much easier

REAL-WORLD CONSIDERATIONS:

• Let’s begin with a basic concept - cloud computing isn’t cheap - but access to good technology has never been cheap.
• You’ll likely spend too much when you get started, because you bring legacy processes to the cloud. 
• Depending on the service you use (IaaS vs. PaaS vs. SaaS), you’re still going to need smart people (certified skills, consultants, community interactions, etc.), but they may now be more focused on the business challenges than the technology challenges.
• There are plenty of automated tools that can help with cost-visibility and cost-management. 
• Might be simpler to setup things like Backups, Disaster Recovery (use the cloud, not dedicated, pre-bought resources)
• Can we prevent people from “just spinning up cloud resources”? Yes and No. 

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 2, Show 1

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.

FRAMEWORK FOR CONSIDERATION

1. Access to technology (immediacy)
2. Access to technology you might not have had previously (opportunity)
3. Ability to experiment (on-demand, lack of CAPEX)
4. Location independence

REAL-WORLD CONSIDERATIONS:

• In 2000, when a startup went to get VC funding, nearly their entire first round (let’s say $50M) went to buying IT equipment. The cost and timing of innovation is too steep and too slow. 
• Now, you might get $5M to create that initial MVP (Minimum Viable Product), and not only prove the technology but also prove the business model (“finding market fit”). 
• Great ideas no longer need a gatekeeper. Tech skills can be offloaded to cloud services. Open source software is freely available, and examples are published online. 
• Innovation can get more immediate feedback (works, doesn’t work, market feedback), as well as iterate (or refocus) without the massive costs of completely re-tooling.  
• Experiment with new processes that are not currently in use by your IT organization.
• Try new HW or SW without making a significant commitment (e.g. GPUs, Global CDNs, etc.
• Use SaaS applications to see if you can retire an aging backend system, or new ways to engage with customers.

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 2, Trailer

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.

In this season of Cloudcast Basics, we’re going to shift from focusing on the core technologies to focusing on the business considerations for Cloud Computing. In Season 2, we’re digging into Economics, Experimentation, and Gaining Competitive Advantages in your industry. We’ll also look at how to better manage Technical Risk, Reducing Costs and transitioning your staff towards Cloud-centric skills.

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 1, Show 10

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.  

1. Are the “similar” technologies from each cloud provider the same? (e.g. Compute, Storage, Database)
2. Should I get certifications in all the clouds, or is one good enough?
3. Should I be concerned about cloud lock-in?
4. What are the easiest ways to get started in using the public cloud? (greenfield, migrations, etc.?)
5. When should I move from listening to Cloudcast Basics to The Cloudcast?

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 1, Show 9

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.  

• • What does AI/ML/Big Data mean in the cloud? The on-demand nature of public cloud really made sense, these capabilities require lots of data, lots of computing (various levels of capacity, variable amounts of time), and their ability to impact the business could be connected to how quickly new experiments were tried. 
  • How are AI/ML/Big Data services allocated? They are very much like “SaaS” offerings, run by the public cloud, with some level of “nerd knobs” to tweak usage patterns. It usually involves the ability to ingest data, ETL/clean data, store data, run algorithms, use predefined models, build customized models. 
  • How were AI/ML/Big Data services allocated before cloud computing? Massive capital outlays for equipment that was difficult to setup and maintain, and oftentimes didn’t have a model for sharing across groups within a company. 
  • What does the cloud computing provider do with a AI/ML/Big Data offering (responsibilities vs. customer responsibilities)? Cloud providers typically run the underlying services, and then there is variability on what the user can control or needs to do. 
  • Why are there so many variations of AI/ML/Big Data? This is sort of like databases, in that we’ve learned different ways to build models, test models, store data (real-time vs. historical).  
  • Does it matter where the AI/ML/Big Data is located? How do clouds organize AI/ML/Big Data?
  • How much do AI/ML/Big Data services cost in the cloud? What are the various ways you can buy AI/ML/Big Data? 

Examples:

• AWS AI/ML - https://aws.amazon.com/machine-learning/
• AWS Analytics - https://aws.amazon.com/big-data/datalakes-and-analytics/
• Azure Analytics - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/product-categories/analytics/
• Azure AI/ML - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/ai-platform/
• GCP AI/ML - https://cloud.google.com/products/ai

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 1, Show 8

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.  

• What does Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud mean in the cloud? This is the concept of either running an application consistently across two (or more) clouds, or managing a set of applications across multiple cloud environments. This can also be a set of applications made up of multiple cloud services.  
• How are Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud services allocated? Some companies take the “same technology everywhere” approach. Some take the “same process everywhere” approach. Many are still trying to figure out how to make diverse clouds seem consistent.
• How were Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud services allocated before cloud computing? This has been an on-going challenge for companies for nearly 10yrs, as they have a mix of on-premises and public cloud services (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, etc.). It becomes more challenging as Central IT groups get disaggregated by LoBs that control their applications now. 
• What does the cloud computing provider do with a Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud offering (responsibilities vs. customer responsibilities)? Cloud providers are trying to extend from the cloud into private data centers. Software providers are trying to extend into public cloud services. 
• Why are there so many variations of Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud? 
• Does it matter where the Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud is located? How do clouds organize SaaS (availability zones, regions, etc.)? In essence, Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud are overlays on how public clouds work, so they inherit all the capabilities of the cloud. 
• How much do Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud services cost in the cloud? What are the various ways you can buy Hybrid Cloud / Multi-Cloud? Varies based on the offerings or architectures.

Examples:

• Red Hat Hybrid Cloud
• VMware Hybrid Cloud
• AWS Hybrid Cloud
• Azure Multi and Hybrid Cloud
• Google Hybrid and Multicloud 

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twiter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 1, Show 7

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.  

• What does SaaS mean in the cloud? The cloud manages the entire application and data, and the “end-users” just consume or interact with the application. 
• How are SaaS services allocated? Typically by # of end-users, although it could be interacting with the overall service. 
• How were SaaS services allocated before cloud computing? Some companies had “centralized IT services”, but nothing like this really existed before SaaS.
• What does the cloud computing provider do with a SaaS offering (responsibilities vs. customer responsibilities? Cloud provider (or SaaS provider) is responsible for everything about running the application (security, data, scaling, etc.)
• Why are there so many variations of SaaS? Because of aspect of business and consumer services is now software, so SaaS can be applied to almost anything. 
• Does it matter where the SaaS is located? How do clouds organize SaaS (availability zones, regions, etc.)? Should be completely agnostic to the end-user, unless there are country-specific rules about where data is stored. The SaaS should manage that as well.  
• How much do SaaS services cost in the cloud? What are the various ways you can buy SaaS? 

Examples:

• Stipe
• Twilio
• Zoom
• TurboTax
• Salesforce
• Gmail
• Workday
• Spotify

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 1, Show 6

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.  

• • What does PaaS mean in the cloud? Developers write code and push it to production. Operations is managed by the platform. Simple way to get to all the services an application needs (database, queues, load-balancing, high availability, authentication, etc.)
  • How are PaaS services allocated? Typically by application, or volume of consumption (memory usage, # of transactions, etc.)
  • How were PaaS services allocated before cloud computing? Manually. Developers often had to know about infrastructure, security, availability, etc.
  • What does the cloud computing provider do with a PaaS offering (responsibilities vs. customer responsibilities? Lots of variety, depending on the service
  • Why are there so many variations of PaaS and Application Services? Evolution of understanding developer needs - how “opinionated” to be vs. giving developers more granular control.
  • Does it matter where the PaaS is located? How do clouds organize PaaS (availability zones, regions, etc.)? Usually most of this is hidden, beyond the geographic region. 
  • How much do PaaS services cost in the cloud? What are the various ways you can buy PaaS? 

Examples:

• AWS Proton - https://aws.amazon.com/proton/
• Azure Service Fabric - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/service-fabric/
• Google AppEngine - https://cloud.google.com/appengine
• Oracle Cloud PaaS - https://www.oracle.com/application-development/
• Heroku - https://www.heroku.com/
• Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated - https://www.openshift.com/products/dedicated/

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics

SHOW: Season 1, Show 5

OVERVIEW: From the creators of the Internet's #1 Cloud Computing podcast, The Cloudcast, Aaron Delp (@aarondelp) and Brian Gracely (@bgracely) introduce this new podcast,  Cloudcast Basics.  

• What does database mean in the cloud? Relational, Non-Relational, Key-Value, In-Memory, Time Series, Document 
• How are databases allocated? Purpose, Capacity, Performance, Availability, Geographic Location
• How were databases allocated before cloud computing? DBAs
• What does the cloud computing provider do with a database offering (responsibilities vs. customer responsibilities? Lots of variety, depending on the service
• Why are there so many variations of databases? (lots of different application needs, DB technology has advanced quite a bit in the last decade)
• Does it matter where the database is located? How do clouds organize databases(availability zones, regions, etc.)?
• How much do databases cost in the cloud? What are the various ways you can buy security? Native services vs. 3rd-party services.

Examples:

• AWS - https://aws.amazon.com/products/security/
• Azure - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/product-categories/security/
• Google Cloud - https://cloud.google.com/security
• Oracle Cloud - https://www.oracle.com/security/
• IBM Cloud - https://www.ibm.com/cloud/security
• Snowflake - https://www.snowflake.com/
• MongoDB Atlas - https://www.mongodb.com/cloud/atlas

SUBSCRIBE: Please subscribe anywhere you get podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc.).

CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK - http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotw

LEARNING CLOUD COMPUTING:
Here are some great places to begin your cloud journey, if you're interested in getting hands-on experience with the technology, or you'd like to build your skills towards a certification. 

• CBT Nuggets - Training and Certifications
• A Cloud Guru - Training and Certifications
• Cloud Academy - Training and Certifications
• Katakoda - Self-Paced, Interactive Learning
• GitHub - Code Samples and Collaboration

FEEDBACK?

• Web: Cloudcast Basics 
• Email: show at cloudcastbasics dot net
• Twitter: @cloudcastbasics