Here is an ecosystem of companies that operte in the cloud computing space. I got the initial list of companies from a taxonomy created by Peter Larid. I added a few companies to that list and then created a database of all their alliances using information provided on their websites. Infrastructure companies are shown as triangles, platform providers are diamonds and service companies are shown as circles. Link colors denote type of alliances -- strategic (tan), technical (yellow), systems integrator (green). 

For a research project on cloud computing, I created this tag cloud using various definitions of cloud computing (Thanks Sandeep). As you can see, hardware and software figure prominently. Also, the notion of utility and on-demand services.

This semester in my clouds, platforms and networks class, I had students collect data on ecosystems and render them using Pajek. Here are examples of what they came up with for the class.

The ecosystem for Amazon Kinlde and Sony eReader

EMC NetApp Ecosystem

Netflix and Hulu Ecosystem

It has been a while since I posted a visualization on mashups. Here is a new one. I have highlighted some of the platform providers as diamonds in the picture. Since my last visualization in 2007, Twitter is one new player that has emerged as central to the ecosystem. A whole slew of applications have been created to run on the Twitter platform. Amazon and Facebook applications have also entered into the picture. As I think about mashups, I think they are the early examples of applications that run on clouds. One can think of the diamonds as cloud platforms and the circles as applications that run on these clouds. I am sure thta there are other plaforms that I'm missing in my highlights. I have started a new project on this topic and will post more visuals on this as my understanding of the domain improves.

The data for this visualization was provided by programmableweb.com

I spent this morning having an interesting discussion with international MBA students about the current job environment. We had a broad discussion about the macro factors. They felt that traditional markets like financial services were flooded with resumes and it was hard to stand out. New sectors like green technology were attractive but hard to penetrate. MBAs are being considered too expensive and salary expectations have to be drastically reduced. Employers were not keen on spending money for sponsoring visa petitions. Internship opportunities were hard to come by. Given this macro setting, what should they do to prepare for the job market?

We discussed several strategies for this marketplace. The first one was to follow your passion. During normal circumstances job candidates follow the traditional and expected path. Under the current conditions one should seriously look at what they are passionate about and follow that even if it means that it doesn’t pay. This could result in a good learning experience and a career. Some of the companies that we admire today were founded during down times. Pick up some opportunities for voluntary or social work. The second thing we discussed was the importance of networking. Use every chance to be seen and heard. Within Babson and in the greater Boston area there are several seminars and networking events to attend. Some of the social networking tools like LinkedIn and Facebook can help. A key point of emphasis for me was to engage in conversations and articulate a point of view. Identify websites and blogs to read and follow. I encouraged them to join the conversation by starting their own blogs and tweeting. This will also help them build their point of view. Employers may find you or consider you more attractive if you have a trace of opinions and thoughts on the net. One idea that came out of the group was to use non-traditional approaches for meeting and accessing people. I hope some of the participants would share their approaches that others can learn from and use.

Overall, Babson students were upbeat and showed their entrepreneurial spirit in approaching the current environment. Every meeting I have with them leaves me very encouraged about the caliber of students that we have and the positive impact they will have in the marketplace.

Is it me or are we hearing a lot about twitter these days? Talk shows like Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno had guests who talked about twitter. Individuals (athletes, analysts and company executives) are building their brand using Twitter as have companies like Comcast, JetBlue, and Dell. How is Twitter different from websites and blogs? I think it has to do with timeliness of information. Websites address the needs of customers looking for information about a company that is probably valid for months (if not longer). These sites are well thought out and represent the consensus opinion within a company about how it competes and its products and services. A blog, on the other hand, is a viewpoint expressed by an individual on a phenomenon of interest. A micro blog or tweet is a burst of thought that occurs to a person at a given moment. This could lead to a point of view or even a strategy to compete.

When the value of information reduces dramatically as it ages, twitter does its best work. See how Comcast and JetBlue use this to respond to customer complaints or individuals can use this to find out what interesting news is breaking out right now. I find myself using applications like twitscoop, twittertrends and tweetdeck to keep on top of what is happening. These tools help you to filter information that is hitting the wire and just listen to the conversations that are of interest to me. With the deluge of information that tools like twitter bring, it is very important for organizations to filter and make sense of the environment.

This summer I will be teaching a new class that is a follow-on to the introductory information systems class. Here is the description --

The first generation of Internet applications were focused on creating new business models and applications for reaching customers. These applications and models have evolved into the next generation that is making it easier for enterprises, especially small and medium sized, to compete by building applications on top of the existing infrastructure and applications (Facebook, Google, Amazon, Salesforce.com, etc) that are now available to them for reuse. In order for managers to design their enterprises for competitive advantage, they need to understand and leverage the new infrastructure. Managers need to understand concepts like architecture, shared services, global work, opensource development, business platforms, network effects and services to create even more powerful business models. As a result of applying these concepts, managers can bring to market new products and services at a faster pace.

The core concepts and technologies discussed in this class are important to both consumers and providers of services. We will examine business designs by discussing the underlying technology and how it helps shape strategy using case studies, conceptual papers and interactions with industry experts. In addition, this course highlights the emerging role of a business architect who is responsible for key decisions that positions the firm to compete in network-based businesses.