Spent time at the Advanced Topics Workshop today. I still have my feeling that it is not changing much over the years and I’m not sure about it’s overall value proposition. There needs to be a shakeup of format or of blood or something.
Take clouds for instance which was our first topic. It’s interesting in that very few (2) had actually worked with AWS and could really comment on it. Most everyone else had looked at it, but hadn’t implemented. And this is something that’s been around for 2-3 years, and we’re supposed to be at the forefront/cutting edge? We’ve got work to do.
And yes, there was a lot of good discussion with regards to the data ownership issue, and the downsides of it, but it didn’t feel very balanced.
One of the things that I feel I have to say is that the cloud isn’t about the maximum but about this minumum. This came about mostly in response HPC items, but it is a general issue. It’s about getting the quanta of computing resources to something that is managible. Yes, this is not efficient especially costwise, but it does give you the ability to startup minimally.
Quote of the day: “The cloud is like KY Jelly – it reduces the friction. Makes it easier to get in, and easier to pull out.”
There was some talk of filesystems. If I was still looking into those heavily, it would be time to investigate GPFS, or Sun’s QFS, but that’s not likely to happen.
Then there was chargebacks. I’m a bit surprised that not as many people have run into this as it appears to be. The key here is to make sure that you’re offering a selection of pieces so people can pick what they want to pay for. If you’re only offering one item, people will look for alternatives. So, you have to do your market research and get the right options (and hire a marketing department?).
Then came career development. I think the may take away – there isn’t one once you get to the senior sysadmin level. This may be a hole we’ve dug ourselves. Our “next career goal” is usually to find and tackle the next big challenge. This much different then “I want to be the CEO” or “I want to be President.” You can’t set it as a goal, so your option is to move sideways to find different problems.
Someone suggested the idea of a “Minister without Portfolio” (still not sure if that’s right). This is the person who it is valuable to keep around to find solutions to random problems that arise. There’s no official position. Sounds attractive, but is this a long term option?
I related my movement to management and how it’s being rough. I was asked why I did it, and replied with that I thought it was my best chance to change us for the better. Thanks for the comparison: “This is like thinking you can change your girlfriend by marrying her.” Another replied that management needs problem solvers too. We can apply the same approach to solving technical problems: observe, analyze, research, experiment, iterate. My opinion is still out on this.
A lot of my issues with management really come back to leadership. You don’t necessarily need to be a manager to be a leader. You can have a role for IT leadership that isn’t a manager. Generally this is an “Architect” but does that cut it? I think I used to have this job, so can I get back to that?
Gotta remember that mentoring is a way out. Like mentioned the other day you have to find how you recharge. Mentoring is a good way because it helps someone else out, and keeps you working on a technical answer.
The last bit is about finding satisfaction. How does one find it? Money? Title? Solving hard problems? Go where you’re satisfied by what you’re doing. If you can’t be “satisfied” it’s because something is more important to you (salary, title, etc). I know that I’m definitely valuing money because I see that as a measure of value and it helps me (ideally) get what I want. I’m just not sure if that’s cutting it for me anymore.