Cloud, As Seen From My Recliner At Home

“We adore chaos because we love to produce order.”

-M.C. Escher

“Alexa, turn on Apple TV”

“Alexa, turn on dining room lights”

“Alexa, play classical playlist from Spotify”

“Alexa, set the living room to 70 degrees”

Our household is definitely “Alexa”-enabled, but behind the scenes, of course, there’s Apple, Logitech Harmony, Philips Hue, WeMo, Spotify, and Nest. And I’m guessing I’m not alone in just such a setup. In fact, I’m probably on the conservative side when it comes to the number and variety of smart devices I’ve enabled. But here’s the thing…without something to coordinate it all together, what would my experience be like? Would I be so enamored by the connected home?

Don’t get me wrong. I love my Apple devices for what they provide. Similarly, I love my Philips Hue lights and WeMo switches. And so on. Each device provides me a specific function or experience I need/desire/fancy. But at the same time, each has its own configuration process. Its own app. Its own website for account management. So, if I had to go to four different apps, at least, in order to start watching a movie with optimal lighting and at a comfortable temperature, I might question if all that “chaos” was worth it.

In steps a device like Alexa…a solution to centrally interact and control all my devices. But it’s actually more than that. With something like IFTTT, I can now spread a level of intelligence across my connected home to automate processes, trigger on specific information, and so on. Some may find that intelligence in other options, like Samsung’s SmartThings. Regardless of the platform choice, this intelligence is where I see a parallel with today’s multicloud world. The need to bring order to the chaos we’ve inflicted upon ourselves.

Organizations today operate using many applications across many clouds and side by side with their on-premise IT environment. Each application, each cloud, or each application-cloud pair provides a specific critical function, or experience, for the organization. But at the same time, each has its own configuration process. Its own management interface. Its own performance SLAs and security requirements. Its own foundational technology. So once again, while I need all those individual services, at the end of the day, I still just want to watch a movie with optimal lighting and at a comfortable temperature.

So, like me and my connected home, organizations need intelligence that spans their multiple clouds and IT environment to make daily operations and new development easier and faster. Because at the end of their day, that intelligence enables organizations to meet stakeholder requirements with fast development and deployment, enhanced customer experience, efficient and secure operations, and quality performance. That kind of cloud intelligence  can provide application management that crosses boundaries. Security for your users, data and apps that crosses boundaries. Visibility and insights that cross boundaries. Networking policies and enforcement that crosses boundaries.

Because without it, organizations would essentially be, turning on their WeMo switches with the WeMo App and their Phillips Hue lights with the Hue app. Turning up their temperature with the Nest app. And turning on their entertainment center with the Logitech Harmony app or remote…or worse, turning on their TV, amp, Apple TV, and setting the proper inputs with so many remotes that they already lost count. Like me, organizations need cloud intelligence,  to provide the “order” that makes the overall experience well worth the “chaos.”