What is the biggest challenge you face in your current role?

The greatest challenge in my current role is providing a premier service experience at the best possible price point to University constituents.

What is your process for determining which IT functions can be outsourced to the cloud?

I don’t look to our use of cloud as an outsource exercise, but rather a complement to our service offering. Computer Operations uses cloud computing as a method of insuring 24/7 availability of our management tools less the significant capital investment sometimes required.

Utilizing cloud options also provides solutions for our ability to continue operating in the event of a local or regional outage with remote staff engagement. If the tool we use is available using a cloud option and risk is mitigated appropriately, that will usurp the consideration to running it on premise. While cost is a consideration, looking past licensing costs and to the overall business benefit and process efficiencies a cloud offering provides will normally justify the transition.

IT professionals and decision makers often cite security as an obstacle slowing cloud adoption. Is this outdated thinking? How do you manage security concerns when both choosing and working with a cloud provider?

We certainly perform due diligence to determine the level of risk that using cloud technology for our data center services may present as a matter of course.

Additionally, as an ISO9001:2008 certified organization, Computer Operations has extensive controls and audit processes that allow for evaluating the risk, effectiveness, and performance of the cloud instance. While there are a number of cloud options available, the most critical component of concern, and choice, for me: Will my information reside domestically – both primary and redundant instances?

What are you speaking about at DCD Enterprise USA in New York next week?

My presentation is titled “What’s Possible When Legacy I&O and Quality Management Converge.” I hope to relay to the audience the benefits that putting a quality management program in place, especially for legacy functions, can promote the organization to a higher-level service delivery.

Why should someone attend your session? What can they expect to learn that perhaps they did not know before entering the session?

I posture this session as one of “enlightenment.” The use cases I’ll talk about aren’t going to be any different than the attendees experience every day – but it WILL change the way the attendee approaches these experiences after DCD Enterprise. My hope is that the attendees walk out not only with possible solutions, but a change in mindset on how business issues in the data center space translate to opportunity. If an attendee leaves with just one method of improving their business, I’ve done my job – it’s all about starting the conversation.

Is there anything you will be looking to personally take away from your DCD Enterprise USA experience? Anything on the agenda at the event that you want to explore?

Certainly the diversity of sessions makes the selection process very difficult. I will say that I do have a significant interest in other’s experiences with methods of strengthening infrastructure security, which I believe the data center industry has been somewhat remiss in aggressively tackling.

DCD Enterprise USA will take place March 17-18, 2015, at the New York Marriot Marquis, Times Square. There is still time to register and take part in this industry-leading event.