I've been working the past couple of months with AP Labs, one of the leading equipment makers for airborne military systems, who has now turned that expertise toward something that many of us have been anxiously awaiting - "wireless-in-the-sky" Wi-Fi services aboard commercial airliners.
AP Labs' Cab-N-Connect family of servers and wireless access points already form the on-board network foundation for the leading service providers in this space - such as Row44 and Aircell. Some of the major airlines already deploying the systems are Delta/Northwest, Alaska, Southwest, American, Air Canada, Virgin, AirTran and others (either large-scale tests and/or committed to full-fleet roll-outs for 2010).
Read more in the whitepaper
Friday, October 23, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Semiconductor IP Moving to a New Level
I've been drafting a whitepaper for a new client that describes their comprehensive semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP) architecture, which brings together a whole variety of nanometer IP blocks (I/O, standard cells, PHYs, memories, etc.) and does all of the routing and optimization for the designer.
Actually it's pretty interesting stuff when you consider the importance of Application Specific ICs and System-on-Chip designs to virtually every technology segment. With so many design elements involved and the time-to-market pressures escalating, it really has become impractical for anyone to design ICs from stratch.
But the ongoing proliferation of both merchant IP and in-house IP solutions has now made it a challenge just to get all of the different IP elements to work together. That's where the comprehensive, integrated IP architecture from Rapid Bridge comes in. Their "LiquidIP" approach is designed to make the whole thing "flow" smoothly from design through the fab, while efficiently supporting prototyping and ramp-up into volume production.
Actually it's pretty interesting stuff when you consider the importance of Application Specific ICs and System-on-Chip designs to virtually every technology segment. With so many design elements involved and the time-to-market pressures escalating, it really has become impractical for anyone to design ICs from stratch.
But the ongoing proliferation of both merchant IP and in-house IP solutions has now made it a challenge just to get all of the different IP elements to work together. That's where the comprehensive, integrated IP architecture from Rapid Bridge comes in. Their "LiquidIP" approach is designed to make the whole thing "flow" smoothly from design through the fab, while efficiently supporting prototyping and ramp-up into volume production.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
NetSuite Delivers on SaaS-based business model
In my other life, I manage my wife's gift and greeting card business called Olive Sandwiches and so I actually get a chance to put to use a lot of technology tools that I review and write about as the TechStoryTeller. One particular system that I've really become a fan of (and evangelist for) over the past five years is NetSuite. From the perspective of a hands-on small business owner, I think NetSuite represents the perfect model of how the Software as a Service (SaaS) approach can enable smaller players to operate at peak efficiency and execute like market leaders.
As an addictive multi-tasker, I particularly appreciate the web-based model that allows me full access and control from any browser - anywhere. I typically start my workday from home on my laptop and then migrate to the office before the staff come in - so, if I have a customer inquiry from another time zone, I can easily access their records and reply immediately without having to leave home. It's amazing how being able to provide a customer on the East Coast with a quick response at 5 AM from the West Coast always impresses them - - and let's them know how appreciated they are! Also, when I'm traveling, it's great to be able to access the same current data that our production manager is looking at back at the factory.
In the past five years, we've gone from just-a-hobby to now wholesaling products in over 3000 stores, distribution around the world, and a growing online retail business - and we couldn't have done it without NetSuite. We first started using the NetSuite system in January 2005 and have relied on it for accounting, inventory, web store, payroll and planning purposes - - all along the way.
If you want to know more about Olive Sandwiches (and maybe have a good laugh), check us out at http://www.olivesandwiches.com/ . We also just had a nice article in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, profiling our first five years in business and highlighting my wife's quirky "for ladies who love to laugh" humor that fuels our success. Read it here: http://kpbj.com/headlines/articles/2009-05-02-HED-16.html
As an addictive multi-tasker, I particularly appreciate the web-based model that allows me full access and control from any browser - anywhere. I typically start my workday from home on my laptop and then migrate to the office before the staff come in - so, if I have a customer inquiry from another time zone, I can easily access their records and reply immediately without having to leave home. It's amazing how being able to provide a customer on the East Coast with a quick response at 5 AM from the West Coast always impresses them - - and let's them know how appreciated they are! Also, when I'm traveling, it's great to be able to access the same current data that our production manager is looking at back at the factory.
In the past five years, we've gone from just-a-hobby to now wholesaling products in over 3000 stores, distribution around the world, and a growing online retail business - and we couldn't have done it without NetSuite. We first started using the NetSuite system in January 2005 and have relied on it for accounting, inventory, web store, payroll and planning purposes - - all along the way.
If you want to know more about Olive Sandwiches (and maybe have a good laugh), check us out at http://www.olivesandwiches.com/ . We also just had a nice article in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, profiling our first five years in business and highlighting my wife's quirky "for ladies who love to laugh" humor that fuels our success. Read it here: http://kpbj.com/headlines/articles/2009-05-02-HED-16.html
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Collaborative Knowledge Sharing
I've been doing some work lately with companies that provide rich-media software and systems for enhancing organizational training, communications and knowledge creation - a field that is increasingly referred to as Collaborative Knowledge Sharing (CKS).
Most senior corporate leaders agree that the overall level of knowledge in their company is a top factor (if not the most important factor) in the ultimate success and sustainability of their organization. However, in today’s fast-paced, globally competitive markets, companies can no longer afford to cling to traditional approaches of top-down creation, publication, dissemination and control of the bulk of organizational knowledge. In essence, voluminous manuals tend to cost a lot to maintain while rarely providing sufficient immediacy of information when and where it's needed.
A growing number of organizations are turning to the fundamentally different approach known as Collaborative Knowledge Sharing, which is grounded on the premise that the most useful and actionable knowledge is not “handed down from on high” but instead is dynamically being created and updated every day throughout the organization. The key focus is shifted to capturing, cataloging and collaboratively sharing this unending flow of knowledge, so that any specific piece of knowledge can be immediately available when and where it is needed.
CKS makes use of new innovative rich-media tools (such as video) for seamlessly capturing knowledge on-the-fly; combined with special methodologies for transforming that information into data that is searchable, accessible and can be easily served to front-line users in specific bite-sized portions to support immediate action-oriented objectives. But CKS is much more than just a technology or a set of tools.
Ultimately, it involves a fundamental shift of mindset in which knowledge is recognized as the life-blood of the organization. As such, it needs to circulate readily throughout the organization just as true blood needs to circulate to carry oxygen throughout a living organism. Companies that are using CKS are seeing cultural changes in which open sharing of knowledge leads naturally to major improvements in the quality and extent of knowledge. It tends to trigger a self-rating, self-generating cycle of knowledge-creation among employees throughout the company; who in a traditional top-down ecosystem might never have been given the opportunity to collaborate. For the organization, the bottom line benefits are improved productivity, fewer missed opportunities, increased revenue and a self-sustaining culture that makes people smarter and helps recruiting by attracting other smart people.
Most senior corporate leaders agree that the overall level of knowledge in their company is a top factor (if not the most important factor) in the ultimate success and sustainability of their organization. However, in today’s fast-paced, globally competitive markets, companies can no longer afford to cling to traditional approaches of top-down creation, publication, dissemination and control of the bulk of organizational knowledge. In essence, voluminous manuals tend to cost a lot to maintain while rarely providing sufficient immediacy of information when and where it's needed.
A growing number of organizations are turning to the fundamentally different approach known as Collaborative Knowledge Sharing, which is grounded on the premise that the most useful and actionable knowledge is not “handed down from on high” but instead is dynamically being created and updated every day throughout the organization. The key focus is shifted to capturing, cataloging and collaboratively sharing this unending flow of knowledge, so that any specific piece of knowledge can be immediately available when and where it is needed.
CKS makes use of new innovative rich-media tools (such as video) for seamlessly capturing knowledge on-the-fly; combined with special methodologies for transforming that information into data that is searchable, accessible and can be easily served to front-line users in specific bite-sized portions to support immediate action-oriented objectives. But CKS is much more than just a technology or a set of tools.
Ultimately, it involves a fundamental shift of mindset in which knowledge is recognized as the life-blood of the organization. As such, it needs to circulate readily throughout the organization just as true blood needs to circulate to carry oxygen throughout a living organism. Companies that are using CKS are seeing cultural changes in which open sharing of knowledge leads naturally to major improvements in the quality and extent of knowledge. It tends to trigger a self-rating, self-generating cycle of knowledge-creation among employees throughout the company; who in a traditional top-down ecosystem might never have been given the opportunity to collaborate. For the organization, the bottom line benefits are improved productivity, fewer missed opportunities, increased revenue and a self-sustaining culture that makes people smarter and helps recruiting by attracting other smart people.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Intelligent IT Notification Systems
I just finished an interesting assignment for MIR3 - a global leader in Intelligent IT Notification systems. It focused on the challenges that companies face in deploying automated notification systems in today's complex organizations. They often need to support worldwide 24/7 "follow-the-sun" mission-critical operations but must contend with a mish-mash of legacy operating systems and applications software.
The newest generation of these intelligent IT notification systems from MIR3 leverages an innovative Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) approach to streamline initial and ongoing integration with legacy applications, diverse platforms and changing enterprise requirements. This improves the users’ ability to quickly set-up, modify and maintain IT notification across a wide range of business functions by eliminating the need to individually tailor each application interface.
Another major benefit is that, by de-coupling from the underlying applications, ESB also opens the door for more effective delivery of IT Notification as a service. This allows enterprises to take maximum advantage of the growing trends toward Software as a Service (SaaS) and to leverage on-going improvements in IT notification technologies, while minimizing operating costs and avoiding future forklift upgrades.
It was a fun assignment because the real-world implications range across a wide spectrum of industries, academia, government and other organizations.
If you're interested, read more here.
The newest generation of these intelligent IT notification systems from MIR3 leverages an innovative Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) approach to streamline initial and ongoing integration with legacy applications, diverse platforms and changing enterprise requirements. This improves the users’ ability to quickly set-up, modify and maintain IT notification across a wide range of business functions by eliminating the need to individually tailor each application interface.
Another major benefit is that, by de-coupling from the underlying applications, ESB also opens the door for more effective delivery of IT Notification as a service. This allows enterprises to take maximum advantage of the growing trends toward Software as a Service (SaaS) and to leverage on-going improvements in IT notification technologies, while minimizing operating costs and avoiding future forklift upgrades.
It was a fun assignment because the real-world implications range across a wide spectrum of industries, academia, government and other organizations.
If you're interested, read more here.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Oracle, Sun Micro and Me
Pardon me for sounding a bit like an old-timer but today's news about Oracle acquiring Sun Microsystems has me reminiscing a bit about 1983. That was the year that I was co-founder and Exec VP of a start-up networked-workstation company called Syte Information Technology. Our main competitor, Sun Micro, was only a year old and potentially could be overtaken by our high performance single-board design that was designed to run multiple operating systems. At the same time, we were negotiating software relationships with a number of innovative young companies, including Larry Ellison at Oracle.
Unfortunately, by the time that we had finished the prototype stage and were moving into production ramp-up, the venture capital environment had moved from very hot to icy cold - maybe not quite as bad at today's environment, but you get the picture. After two years and $9 million of VC funding, our ultimate exit strategy turned out to be laying off all 120 people (most of whom I had personally recruited) and selling off the assets and technology. It was a painful time but looking back was probably one of the best learning experiences that I've been through in my career. There is nothing like living on the front lines for developing your skills in the art of matching technologies and markets.
Today's news was kind of like seeing a notice that your old rival and girlfriend from your high school days have just gotten engaged, 25 years after you all hung out together. I certainly wish them well and look forward to seeing how their marriage works out. I'll be rooting for them.
Unfortunately, by the time that we had finished the prototype stage and were moving into production ramp-up, the venture capital environment had moved from very hot to icy cold - maybe not quite as bad at today's environment, but you get the picture. After two years and $9 million of VC funding, our ultimate exit strategy turned out to be laying off all 120 people (most of whom I had personally recruited) and selling off the assets and technology. It was a painful time but looking back was probably one of the best learning experiences that I've been through in my career. There is nothing like living on the front lines for developing your skills in the art of matching technologies and markets.
Today's news was kind of like seeing a notice that your old rival and girlfriend from your high school days have just gotten engaged, 25 years after you all hung out together. I certainly wish them well and look forward to seeing how their marriage works out. I'll be rooting for them.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Improving Recycle Rates for Mobile Handsets
Recently, I've been working with a new company that is destined to radically change the way that the world thinks about recycling mobile phone handsets. Or maybe better said, the way that we don't think about it.
Only about 3 percent of displaced phones are currently being recycled and over 74 percent of people aren't even aware that their phones can be recycled. It is estimated that in the U.S. alone, over 1 billion previously-used phones are already discarded, just sitting in drawers, with over 150 million more joining them every year. This drawer-bound cache offers a total value of $10 billion dollars when refurbished and channeled into the growing market for used phones - largely in developing countries where wireless infrastructures are growing rapidly and used phones provide an attractive option.
The key to success is finding a more effective way to attract and incentivize the owners of these displaced phones - causing them to feed a much higher percentage of used phones into the recycling channels.
Watch this space in the near future for the name of the company and much more detail on their innovative, game-changing approach to this important challenge.
Only about 3 percent of displaced phones are currently being recycled and over 74 percent of people aren't even aware that their phones can be recycled. It is estimated that in the U.S. alone, over 1 billion previously-used phones are already discarded, just sitting in drawers, with over 150 million more joining them every year. This drawer-bound cache offers a total value of $10 billion dollars when refurbished and channeled into the growing market for used phones - largely in developing countries where wireless infrastructures are growing rapidly and used phones provide an attractive option.
The key to success is finding a more effective way to attract and incentivize the owners of these displaced phones - causing them to feed a much higher percentage of used phones into the recycling channels.
Watch this space in the near future for the name of the company and much more detail on their innovative, game-changing approach to this important challenge.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Balancing inflow/outflow in the new electricity grid
I've been reading lately about the rise of new green electricity generation techniques such as wind, solar, geothermal, etc. It's extremely exciting to see that many of these generation methodologies are already far ahead of expectations with regard to the amount of electricity being produced (especially wind power).
Interestingly, the more difficult challenge is now shifting to how best to integrate these higher levels of inputs into the electricity grid. Today's grids have evolved as sort of a "zero-sum" model in which inflows and outflows are kept in constant balance. Through complex routing and load-balancing mechanisms the grid distributes all of the available electricity to match various demand levels throughout the system.
This has worked in the past because most of the input levels could be controlled - such as hydroelectric, coal-fired, nuclear, etc. When less energy was required, the input levels were lowered. In contrast, wind power is less controllable. In effect, "when wind blows energy flows". As long as wind power represented a relatively small part of the overall mix, this could be addressed by reducing other inputs when high winds were producing more electricity (such as reducing the energy flow from dams). Now that wind is representing a high percentage of electricity generation, maintaining a balance in the grid is becoming more problematic. Either the grid becomes overloaded or precious energy goes to waste.
A major part of the answer to this challenge will require significant advances in the ability to store energy within the grid - something that has never really been addressed before. Batteries? Giant capacitors? Or maybe using the energy peaks to pump water to higher ground so that it can subsequently drive hydroelectric turbines?
This is definitely going to be an exciting segment to watch over the next years - especially as the federal government pumps billions into "the new electrical grid". Companies that provide real solutions to the electricity storage challenge will stand to make a lot of money. (Personally, I'm anxious to tell their stories!)
Watch this space for new developments.
Interestingly, the more difficult challenge is now shifting to how best to integrate these higher levels of inputs into the electricity grid. Today's grids have evolved as sort of a "zero-sum" model in which inflows and outflows are kept in constant balance. Through complex routing and load-balancing mechanisms the grid distributes all of the available electricity to match various demand levels throughout the system.
This has worked in the past because most of the input levels could be controlled - such as hydroelectric, coal-fired, nuclear, etc. When less energy was required, the input levels were lowered. In contrast, wind power is less controllable. In effect, "when wind blows energy flows". As long as wind power represented a relatively small part of the overall mix, this could be addressed by reducing other inputs when high winds were producing more electricity (such as reducing the energy flow from dams). Now that wind is representing a high percentage of electricity generation, maintaining a balance in the grid is becoming more problematic. Either the grid becomes overloaded or precious energy goes to waste.
A major part of the answer to this challenge will require significant advances in the ability to store energy within the grid - something that has never really been addressed before. Batteries? Giant capacitors? Or maybe using the energy peaks to pump water to higher ground so that it can subsequently drive hydroelectric turbines?
This is definitely going to be an exciting segment to watch over the next years - especially as the federal government pumps billions into "the new electrical grid". Companies that provide real solutions to the electricity storage challenge will stand to make a lot of money. (Personally, I'm anxious to tell their stories!)
Watch this space for new developments.
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