Gunther's Blog

Software Architecture and "The Halo Effect"

GuntherL — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:35:00 GMT

The Halo Effect and the Characteristics of Successful Cloud Migration Projects

Recently I was discussing with some colleagues the characteristics of modern, Internet Scale, Applications. It was some interesting discussion and I will highlight some of the points in another post. About the same time I was reading the book The Halo Effect by Phil Rosenzweig (http://the-halo-effect.com/). In case you are not familiar with "The Halo Effect" the Wikipedia defines it as follows:

The halo effect or halo error is a cognitive bias in which one's judgments of a person’s character can be influenced by one's overall impression of him or her. It can be found in a range of situations from the courtroom to the classroom and in everyday interactions.

Basically, it means that we are often associating characteristics in retrospective, based on an outcome rather than objective research. Let's say for example, I could claim virtualization is the basis, and first step, of successful cloud migrations. While that seems reasonable there is the chance I could leverage virtualization in instances where it actually will cause the project to fail e.g. because of potential performance issues. Hence, I could associate virtualization as a failing, or success, factor for cloud migrations depending on the outcome. The example shows the classic notion of the Halo Effect or Halo Error, categorization based on the outcome.

The point I wanted to make with this short post is that we are usually looking for recipes for success and very often we are mislead by a Halo that seems to provide us success in a box, or silver bullet. Even though, we all know there is no such thing as a silver bullet. Therefore, I am arguing that bulleted lists of characteristics for successful projects are helpful guidelines, but we have to keep in mind that success is not based on a few variables alone but has to be seen in context and that context very often defines if a recipe is successful in a certain situation or not.

I will certainly be more cognizant of the Halo Error in future projects and hope you will be too.....

The Windows Azure Discover Event is coming to NYC

GuntherL — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:53:50 GMT

The Windows Azure Discover Event is coming to NYC on January 24, 2012…

We are hosting a half-day Windows Azure Discover Event (part of world-wide series brought to you by Metro – Microsoft’s Early Adopter Program and is free of charge) in New York City on Tue 24-Jan-2012 from 9:30am – 1:30pm.

Our goal is to help ISVs and software startups understand latest updates on Microsoft’s Cloud Computing offerings with the Windows Azure Platform, discuss the opportunities for the cloud, and show resources available to ISVs and startups to get started using Windows Azure and SQL Azure today.

The target audience for these events includes BDMs, TDMs, Architects, and Development leads. The sessions are targeted at the 100-200 level with a mix of business and technical information.

Attendees would have an opportunity to meet folks from Microsoft, several cloud ISVs and Startups plus a chance to win XBOX 360 Kinect raffle.

To secure your seat register here.

Additional Resources:

Categories: dotNET Developers, NJ Blogs

Getting Real with Windows Azure: Real world Use Cases - Hosted by Microsoft and Hanu Software

GuntherL — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:04:06 GMT

Day & Time: Wednesday, July 6^th from 1 – 2 PM Eastern

Recommended Audiences: Technology Executives, IT Managers, IT Professionals, COO, CTO, IT Directors, Solution Architects, Product Managers, Business Decision Maker, Technical Decision Makers, Developers, Chief Development Officers (CDO), Chief Information Officers (CIO)

You’ve probably been hearing about cloud computing. But when you get beyond the hype, most cloud solutions offer little more than an alternate place to store your data.
Join us for a cloud power event, and we’ll show you how we leveraged Microsoft cloud solutions and developed a value-added Windows Azure solution for a real world business case.
This webinar is for you:
• If you are looking to build SaaS applications or migrate existing desktop applications to Cloud.
• If you are looking to focus on your applications, not your infrastructure.
• If you are looking to leverage your existing Visual Studio and .NET, Php, Java to build compelling Cloud applications.
• If you are looking to build high availability, high performance, scalable applications
• If you are looking to adopt Cloud but confused about where to start.
Presenters:
Bob Isaacs, Platform Strategy Advisor, Azure ISV - Microsoft Corporation
Bob works with Independent Software Vendors to help them realize the value of the Windows Azure Platform.
Vyas Bharghava, Technology Head – Hanu Software
Vyas helps ISVs and Enterprises adopt Microsoft Cloud Platform (Windows Azure).

To Register click on: http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=156172

Windows AzureCamp NYC

GuntherL — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:35:16 GMT

Microsoft AzureCamp NYC

I hosted an AzureCamp at the Microsoft Office in NYC with 24 attendees on April 21/22. This 1.5 day event was targeted to Startups and ISVs in the New York City metro area. All stages of software solutions were welcome to join. The goal was to support the development/move of software solutions that target or extend to the cloud, to place them on the Windows Azure Market place, and to promote them through Microsoft channels.

The event finished with a 5 minute pitch to a panel to compete for a price for the most innovative solution that was deployed to the Windows Azure Marketplace during the event.

I would like to thank Jeana Jorgensen, Director Azure ISV Incubation at Microsoft for her support and providing executive sponsorship. Without it the event would not have been possible. I would like to also thank my colleague Bob Isaacs, PSA Azure ISV Incubation for his support and Shyam Mankikar and Vyas Bharghava both from hanu software for their presentation and technical engagement during the event. Last but not least, I would like to shout big thanks out to our distinct guest speakers and judging panel: Angelina Jao, Graham Lawler, Murat Aktihanoglu, Shai Goldman. Thank YOU!

Congratulations to Josh Jennings from Air Level 1 for developing the winning solution, Hot4Chinese!

Developed and deployed in only 1.5 days, Hot4Chinese is a English to Chinese translation service. Hot4Chinese is a great example of how startup companies can leverage Windows Azure to rapidly develop MVP (Minimal Valuable Products) and to test the target market to create revenue. Furthermore, the Hot4Chinese solution provides instantaneous and quality English to Chinese translation, integrated with e-mail and Twitter.

I captured the experiences of Josh Jennings form Air Level 1 and David Steketee from Auzzy Inc. and Do More Consulting in a few short Videos that I published on Channel 9:

AzureCamp NYC Interview with Josh Jennings from Air level 1 | Channel 9 https://t.co/IGBB8vS via @ch9 @GuntherLenz

AzureCamp NYC -- Interview with David Steketee of Auzzy Inc. | Channel 9 https://t.co/OqGpNA2 via @ch9 @GuntherLenz

AzureCamp NYC -- Interview with David Steketee of Do More Consulting | Channel 9 https://t.co/XgBXQs9 via @ch9 @GuntherLenz

Enjoy the Show .

New this week on Ignition Showcase 6-1-2011

GuntherL — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:11:40 GMT

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Important News for All Partners

A $250 Bonus for Completing Your first Windows Azure Application!

Follow Ignition Showcase on your Windows Phone

BizSpark News Windows Phone 7 Application

Events

Still Time to Play Rock, Paper Azure

Windows Azure Platform & the Cloud

Why the Windows Azure AppFabric Service Bus Durable Pub/Sub is a Killer Feature!

Can Azure Scale? You Bet!

New Windows Azure Pricing Calculator Released

15-Episode SQL Azure Learning Series Released

SQL Azure Improvements Announced

Want to build a Private Cloud? Here's how

Windows Phone

How to Publish Your AppMakr App into the Windows Phone Marketplace

BizSpark News Windows Phone 7 Application

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