The Converging Network

Breathing Your Own Exhaust

One thing that happens to everyone at one time or another is when you become so engrossed in your own world view, you start to believe everyone else thinks the way you do, or if they don't, your spin will fool them. Doesn't matter whether you're big like Cisco and Microsoft, or the latest startup on the block with a new mouse trap. You hear phrases like "he believes too much of his own press" (I'm sure that's been said about me more than once, lol) or "they've been breathing their own exhaust too long."  I blogged about what could be one such case of this, Microsoft's self makeover to be perceived as "open source friendly". Another example is Microsoft claiming it supports Linux in Hyper-V, but only if it's Novell's SUSE Linux.

I'm a big believer in ideas like enrollment, passion and engagement, and to achieve these you have to believe in what you, your product and your company are doing. Doesn't matter if you are the press spokesperson or the person answering the customer service phone -- everyone else can pretty easily tell if you are enrolled in what you are doing, or it's more a matter of your going through the motions.

But that same passion and engagement can also create a blindness, especially in entrepreneurial environment where passion, ideas and commitment runs high. It's easy to build a wall around yourself or your company, focusing just on what's happening inside your product, the product development efforts, or even the geographical market area where you are physically located. My very good friend Alan Shimel used to frequently tell me "you need to get out of Boulder more often", not because Boulder isn't a good town (check out Brad Feld's blog post about Twenty-Five Square Miles Surround By Reality), but to really understand the industry, competition, customers and the market.

I recently blogged about (tangentially as it relates to partnering) the bubble effect that can happen in a startup company. It is very easy to become so engrossed in what you are doing, crafting your marketing messages, building the product, training the sales force in the ways you want them to sell, that you forget there are other people out there. Companies may claim to already do what you do, cover the same supposed differentiators, or have already beat you to the punch but you just don't know it yet. I call this inward looking focus, "staring at your own bellybuttons."

There are many things I've found helpful to me to try and avoid this. In a leadership role you probably have more opportunity to take advantage of these but I believe in any of our roles you can find a way, or even ask to participate in these kinds of activities. Here are a few ideas.

1. Never turn down an opportunity to talk to a customer. Doesn't matter if they are a sales prospect, an unhappy customer who wants to scream at you, or one that's nicely tucked in and happy. If you have a chance to talk with or meet with a customer, always, always do it.

2. Support your company's trade shows and marketing events. I learn more about the industry at many of the trade shows I attend than I probably do by reading about companies and the industry online. Even if you aren't one of the marketing dudes or dudets who normally cover these events, ask to go and help out. Stop by everyone's booth, introduce yourself, listen to their pitch, ask questions and learn. It's so invaluable.

3. Be well read. Read everything you can get your hands on. I get between 30 and 60 Google alerts each day. That's in addition to all the email and blog reading I do. I don't read them all, just the ones that really catch my interest, are newsworthy, are something new, or are on a topic I follow. Read blogs, news sites and portals.

4. Inject what you've learned.  Share it in meetings, on calls, in product discussions, in planning discussions, with customers, etc. Bring that information to everyone. Forward relevant info (but don't spam) to others in your company. Add your comments/insights up front so they know whether the article is worth the read or the value is in your insights.

5. Talk to every company, not just the ones you like. Go talk to your competitors. You might find out they could actually be your partner. Or, they may still be your competitor. But go meet them. As Alan also told me many times, "stay close to your friends, and even closer to your enemies."

These ideas are pretty basic and simple, and while they might not shake up the world, they could redefine how you view your own business.

Podcast #51 - Brad Reese Gets On Cisco's Case

Hey, it's time for another StillSecure After All These Years Podcast! This week, a special treat. I invited fellow Network World blogger Brad Reese to join Alan and me as our special podcast interview guest.

Brad blogs for Network World Cisco Subnet where he covers all happenings in Ciscoland. In addition to blogger Brad also has his own company which repairs Cisco equipment.

Out interview with Brad covers a range of topics but one area I think you'll particularly enjoy is Brad's views on Cisco's new CTO. Brad's received some flack for his controversial criticisms of former Motorola CTO , now Cisco CTO, Padmasree Warrior. But neither Alan or I let Brad off easy - he has to back up his views about Warrior and I think Brad fairs pretty well. Both Alan and I respect people with strong opinions and the depth to back it up so you'll find this discussion very engaging.

Please check out Brad's blogging on the Network World Cisco Subnet. You can also find me blogging at the Network World Microsoft Subnet in addition to my personal blog The Converging Network.

Enjoy the podcast and feel free to drop us any suggestions or questions at podcast@stillsecure.com.

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Is Microsoft Becoming Another Cisco?

I put a blog post today on my Network World blog about Microsoft turning into another Cisco, that is, Microsoft has ramped the acquisition engine and is now buying its way into product categories to keep up with more innovative companies. I'm thinking specifically of Google.

A commenter to that post reminded me that even DOS was an acquisition, which is true. I think the difference I'm pointing out here is that Microsoft is now playing a game of reactive cat-and-mouse. Google makes a move, Microsoft acquires a technology or company so Google doesn't gain the upper hand.

Will Microsoft become so bloated they'll drop under their own weight? Have they already reached that point? Well, Microsoft still as dominant as they've ever been so it's not time start call out "the sky is falling" by any stretch.

Cisco becomes its own innovation VC

Cisco announced the I-Prize competition, funding of up to $10 million for the team submitting the winning idea that could make Cisco $1 billion in a five to seven year period. The announcement was made at the opening of their Globalization Center East in Bangalore, India.

It's a new approach for Cisco who has proven time and again they are an acquisition juggernaut. If this generates good enough ideas it could represent yet another avenue for acquiring innovation created outside Cisco. Interesting enough is that it will also expose Cisco to ideas that don't win the prize, offering multiple options for gaining external innovation.

$10 million though is not much when it comes to creating products, especially if they are going to be subsumed back into a large company like Cisco at what could prove to be too early a stage. Cisco risks bringing the new technologies in house too soon rather than let them incubate and prove out more fully as the startups they acquire typically do.

Either way, it's a novel approach for Cisco and will be interesting to see what shakes out of the competition. 

Wanted: "Slash" to run data center fabric of the future

Are we ready for the Cisco/VMware virtual data center? Get ready because that's the message about the data center's future from Cisco and VMworld 2007. Essentially, grid computing, storage and networking with VMware as the data center OS and Cisco's Vframe managing the data center network cloud. Cisco describes this all as the "data center fabric". It may sound dreamy right now but if Cisco is really able to pull off this software strategy, it would literally change the face of the data center.

Stuck right in the middle of this strategy is the shifting sand of Microsoft's virtualization licensing restrictions, which has had VMware up in arms for some time. Microsoft's ability to control when it's OS can be virtualized may allow them to charge for licenses but restricting the technology that can be used raises anti-competitive vibes. Linux obviously does not have these same Microsoft complications but it would take a tectonic plate shift to completely displace Microsoft from the data center. Not in our lifetime anyway. I still see the major sticking point as to whether Cisco can pull of this software coup, it truly would require Cisco to become a very strong software company.

A huge complication no one is talking about is how the "data center fabric" intersects multiple disciplines across IT. Network design, provision and management mashed up with data center server and applications management, software development and system administration sounds like the Pittsburgh Steelers Kordell "Slash" Stewart equivalent of the IT career path.

This organization upheaval, and IT skills and change of job descriptions will be an even bigger challenge than any of the technology issues Cisco is likely to face. Microsoft has made much stronger inroads into networking than Cisco has into IT systems. This game isn't over so I wouldn't assume creating a happy ending for Cisco will be an easy one.

How CCIEs, MCSEs and other biases twist IT technology selection

Brad Reese, Network World Cisco Subnet blogger, brings up a great question in his post Are CCIEs protecting their turf to the detriment of employers? Brad gives the question relatively light treatment in his blog entry (he is a Cisc-ite himself) but I do give Brad credit for covering topics "off the Cisco ranch" on this blog. While we don't have any systematically collected data (that I'm aware of) to truly examine this question empirically it is worth giving the question some attention and analysis.

There certainly are very strong defacto technology vendors in our industry, such as Microsoft, Cisco and Linux to name the some of the most prolific. But each has their own dynamic in the market.

Cisco

Clearly the big gorilla in networking and security, Cisco owns the market. When overtaking market share by single digit percentages would significantly move the needle for Cisco competitors, that tells you Cisco is more than just dominant in the market (of course the numbers tell the same story.)

Cisco clearly figured out the certification game early and it's been one of the success factors that's propelled Cisco's growth. Certifications not only created more Cisc-ite engineers who have deeper expertise but it also invests them in Cisco products and more importantly in Cisco IOS, the Linux command line equivalent of the networking world.

The cost for Cisco certifications are very expensive, and there lots of certifications with classroom training, written and lab tests. Who in their right might would spend thousands, or even over ten thousand dollars, only to have their company go with a different vendor. Cisc-ite engineers will begin losing the skills they've worked so hard to earn. So yes, Cisc-ites have a vested interest in perpetuating an all or nearly all Cisco shop, to no surprise. Am I whining? No, bully for Cisco for being smart enough to pull this off.

Come on network and security vendors. Will someone please create or put their marketing clout behind an existing security certification program that will give Cisco at least a tiny run for their money? You're not just giving ground to Cisco, you're giving up. Competition is good, and we need other competitive certifications.

Microsoft

For the last 25 years, Microsoft has been the operating system on the personal and business desktop, and played an ever stronger server role in the data center. Who here doesn't run Windows 2003 Server (or Windows of some sort) for domain controllers, file and print servers, email, and other business applications. Microsoft isn't quite as ubiquitous in the data center as say Cisco but it's pretty close.

Does the Microsoft's family of MCSE certifications play the same strong role as Cisco's CCNA & CCIE? Microsoft certifications play out a bit differently. Since "anyone" can pick up a Microsoft software CD, install it and claim they are proficient in Microsoft product-blah-blah, MS certs really are a tool for providing basic training [and deep technical and product training] and telling IT management that employees they hire should at least know something about what they are doing. MCSA is more equivalent to CCNA but I'd say CCNA has much more technical depth in it that an MCSA. At one point MCSEs weren't held in that high regard but I think more and more are coming around to the value of having it.

Do they bias IT decisions? Absolutely, people go with what they know unless they are motivated to change or want to expand their horizons. No doubt. Cisco and Linux don't provide the same easy of entry for entry level technical staff as Microsoft products.

Linux

Linux, like Apple, has it's roots in counter culture and that's still largely true today (though the acceptance of Linux is by far more pervasive than Apple.) Linux is free, open, totally customizable and configurable, with tons of advantage. It can, and does, replace Microsoft in many data centers, but usually must coexist alongside Microsoft technology.

It would probably be an understatement to say that Linux advocates bias IT decision making. In this case it is because of all the personal investment in learning the technology, the benefits Linux brings, and frankly the zealotry that comes from believing in something so strongly as to help continue its counter culture nature and proliferation.

Is there Linux in XYZ's IT shop? Drive through the parking lot or cruise the IT cubicles and look for the Linux license plates, bumper stickers or tshirts. Nuf said.

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Correction and Editor's Note:

I typo'd when talking about Microsoft and comparing and MCSE with CCNA. [Thanks to my colleague Jake R for pointing out that mistake.] That should have been a comparison of MCSA and CCNA.

My son Phil is getting his Microsoft training now (with the encouragement of Dad). Microsoft gets it, just as much or maybe more than Cisco, about the value of certifications. Salaries have also increased for Microsoft certified IT staff, helping them in their careers. Microsoft software is much more accessible to the masses than a piece of Cisco gear. That's especially true when you consider the relative barriers to entry of Windows UI vs. the IOS command line, so Microsoft has a clear advantage attracting technology users to their products. MCSA and MCSE accelerates that. Cisco will run into this same issue again with Microsoft's entry into the unified communications market (but that's for another blog post.)

The call to action is to other network and security vendors to create industry valuable, game changing certifications, like Microsoft and Cisco have done.

The telco room from hell!

I was organizing some pictures tonight and I ran across some old jpg's from my days building broadband networks. In a previous life I was part of one of the most fun teams I've ever worked with. In less that 14 months we deployed over 450+ POPs in COs and colos across the county. And we had a blast doing it.

We literally had a factory running where we'd rack 'n' stack network racks with gear, wire them, pre-load them with configurations, perform burn in, and then ship them out bolted to a pallet destined for some city like Salt Lake, New York or Tempe. When they arrived on site, all you had to do was drop in power, ground, circuits, fuses and then find some brave soul to throw the -48V circuit breaker. (Most people hated this because of the danger from a fuse, wiring or ground problem but they always went just fine other than an occasional bad fuse.) Every time a new site came up we'd fire off the air horn and scare the crap out of everybody! :) The pre-assembly was done in a leased warehouse in east Denver we called the DLF (delf), short for Distribution Logistics Facility. (See, I was doing marketing even back in the late '90s when we came up with that name.) That was also the only management job I've ever had where two employees broke into a fist fight, but that's for another blog post!

Anyway, I digress. One of the telco rooms I had the "pleasure" of visiting (and one of the first) had to be the scariest place I ever stepped into. I was afraid to touch anything - wires were crisscrossed everywhere, all the way around the room, and most were DS1s or DS3, along with a good amount of fiber. You might say, "there aren't that many orange tags (hi speed) in those pictures." Well, most of the circuits didn't have orange tags on them cause you'd never have been able to get to the punch down blocks if they were all marked. It was a very narrow room, so much that a tool on your belt or your cell phone could easily snag some lucky copper wire. What was scary is this was the main telco room that every carrier used to get in and out of a neighboring CO, and if you touched the wrong thing while stringing up a circuit it could be curtains for somebody's network or lots of people's networks.

I thought you might enjoy a few pics of the place. I only have shots of two walls, but the third was even worse. It does bring back memories though. That was a lot of fun.

And no, I don't think I brought anybody's circuit down - at least as far as I know. But there was that one time... Hmm.

Do you IPv6?

Are you considering your plans for IPv6 yet? You can never start planning too soon and the first step is to come up to speed on IPv6 itself. Cisco has a recorded whiteboard intro presentation on IPv6 if you need a primer.  Click here to view the video.

home continuity at work

One of the major justifications for disaster recovery, equipment and services redundancy, and network security is business continuity. I found out tonight that the same applies to the home network.

I'm sitting here writing my blog post while my home network (Cobia router/firewall, wireless access point, switches, and broadband cable modem) runs on UPS power and I am using my battery powered laptop (still at 79% power remaining).

The whole neighborhood is in a blackout this evening, likely due to the energy consumption during a long 90+ degree day.

Flashlight at the ready should the power outage last longer, I'm finding that a little bit of UPS infrastructure in the home skill keeps me wired to the world. Now, if I could only find the leash to go walk the dogs.

Oooo free stuff, and you can help with product design

We'll be doing tests of the Cobia and Strata Guard IPS module user interface designs at Black Hat (August 1-2) and LinuxWorld (6-9). If you are interested, please send your contact info (email, phone number) to cobia@stillsecure.com.

Oh, yes. There is some free stuff for those who participate. Thanks!