Dustin Amrhein

Most in IT understand that mobile applications are unique. In terms of development, delivery, and management things just are not quite the same as compared to your typical enterprise application. There are many reasons for these differences including new and different programming... (more)

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Just about everything I do in my job points back to a construct that is a foundational part of the modern enterprise IT organization: the application server. Now, when you say ‘application server', thoughts immediately wander to Java... (more)

How about we start this post off with some facts? - Mobile data traffic exceeded voice traffic in 2010 (Wireless Industry News, August 26, 2010) - Shipments of smartphones exceeded the shipment of PCs for the first time in 2011 (2011 Economist) - Ten billion mobile connected dev... (more)

One of the first things I learned when I started talking with clients about their plans for platform-based clouds is that there is no such thing as a ‘simple application environment.' Even for the most basic, CRUD-style applications, you can count on there being numerous differen... (more)

"It is what is on the inside that counts." How many times have we all been told that? Personally, I can't even remember. However, just because it is perhaps overused and undoubtedly cliché, does not make it any less true. In fact, I rank it right up there with the golden rule as ... (more)

I was talking to some colleagues the other day about the happenings in the world of cloud. Specifically, we were talking about a few different enterprises we worked with that had recently adopted cloud computing. As we talked, we seemed to hone in on the adoption path. Specifical... (more)

There is no shortage of information concerning the ‘right' way to do cloud. Don't believe me? Just google ‘adopting cloud computing' or ‘implementing cloud computing' and prepare to be bombarded with advice. Don't get me wrong. I am not attempting to impugn this kind of material ... (more)

For the last 5+ years, I have been deeply focused in the area of middleware application servers and the container services that they provide. If you go a bit further back and look at the arc of progression in this space, you will see multiple pivots of innovation for these server... (more)

Much of the initial focus in cloud computing has been on environment deployment. Specifically, it seems like we spend quite a bit of time talking about how cloud building blocks such as virtualization, automation, and standardization will lead to the kind of nimbleness and effici... (more)

If you get a chance to talk with directors or C-level executives about the benefits they expect to derive from adopting cloud computing techniques, expect to hear the terms ‘flexibility', ‘agility', and ‘cost reduction' come up quite frequently. While those are valid expectations... (more)

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped by the Intel Developer Forum to present a session and listen in on a few others. As always in these types of shows, I learned quite a bit. Most strikingly though, I was reminded of something that is probably quite obvious to many of you: Consumer ... (more)

"What are the use cases you want to pursue with your enterprise cloud project?" The question seems innocuous enough, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that it is anything but. If you asked five people from different teams within the same company to each give you three... (more)

What is an application? Well, like many things the answer varies widely based on who you ask. Consider the case of an online ticket booking application. If you ask the users of the application what the application is, then it's a web page or a series of web pages. If you ask the ... (more)

Quite some time back, I explored the idea of different delivery models for PaaS solutions. To sum it up concisely, I believe that PaaS providers have to make a decision when they deliver their solution. They have to decide the degree to which their solution supplies inherent know... (more)

When it comes to IBM Workload Deployer, I have no illusions regarding the veracity of our competitors. They are out there, and they are constantly on the attack. Their dubious claims aside, I know this because I still get asked quite frequently to explain the benefits of IBM Work... (more)

The growing consumer affinity to cloud is spurring on various new technological trends. It's not all new technology mind you, but there seems to be a growing appetite for anything that can remotely be put into the context of cloud computing. In some ways, cloud has been good for ... (more)

I would venture a guess that many cloud service providers are happy with cloud conversations going on in enterprises today. I say this because, at least in my experience, enterprises are truly starting to seek out and embrace the idea of PaaS. Many times these enterprises have ad... (more)

I find that it is interesting and sometimes even helpful to sit down and reflect on past experiences. That's true for life and it's true for work. In my last post, I reflected on some of the common challenges I have seen in the rollout of enterprise cloud projects. In this post, ... (more)

It seems like the last several months have brought a rapid increase in the number of organizations getting serious, really serious, about private clouds in their enterprise. By this, I mean they are going beyond working on ROI documents, formulating strategies, and doing referent... (more)

APIs for cloud are important. Based on the number of writings, conference sessions, and Twitter blasts endorsing the cloud API movement, I think this is something on which we can all agree. However, I sometimes get the feeling that we just accept the fact that the API movement is... (more)