Richard's Blog

 Posts Tagged ‘cloud computing’

The Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget released a memorandum on “Security Authorization of Information Systems in Cloud Computing Environments”.

The introduction starts that “Cloud Computing offers a unique opportunity for the Federal Government to take advantage of cutting edge technologies to dramatically reduce procurement and operating costs and greatly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of services provided to its citizens. “

When we started with Therap almost 9 years go, probably the most common alternative to Therap was perhaps  still pen and paper. But after that many  agencies  were still deciding they were going to program their own software and run their own servers. We didn’t think that made sense in 2003 and we think it makes much less sense today.

If the Federal Government is moving towards cloud computing for cost and efficiency reasons, it would seem to make even more sense for non-profit agencies serving people with developmental disabilities.

When Therap started in 2003 and we said that there would be computers in all group homes and community based facilities to do documentation for providers of service to people with developmental disabilities many people looked at us like we were talking about doing documentation on Mars.  Perhaps we should have responded it would be documentation in the clouds.

At that time, noone was talking about cloud computing.  Now everyone is talking about cloud computing.  Even though people can’t seem to exactly agree on what cloud computing means.  And one persons cloud is another persons network. So Therap can run a cloud for our users, but we own and operate our own equipment.

Many gaming companies without any real HIPAA or privacy concerns use Amazon’s AWS cloud or other services.  However I like to know that we own the physical storage and database and where it is at all times.

There are now even Chromebook computers which have no hard drive and are designed to only run applications over the cloud.  The price hasn’t come down on them – but they have some nice advantages if agencies are concerned about people not being able to leave any PHI or other information on a hard drive.  The downside may be the data transfer and wifi access fees.

Happy New Year 2010.

I am back from Barbados. It was nice getting away and spending time with my family. Seeing a Christmas Show with songs like Calypso Christmas and Middle Pon Di Road was both fun and a new experience.

In addition to touch football on the beach and building sandcastles, I also had some time to read a mix of books.

Invictus – I read the original book “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mendela and the Game that Made a Nation” and now plan on seeing the movie. This book was enjoyable reading on many levels from the historical to the strategic thinking behind Nelson Mendela’s approach to the Afrikaner community.

Trunk Music by Michael Connelly- I found this quite a good airplane read if you like detective books. A number of fun plots twists and I think one of his better books.

Beyond the Cloud by Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com. This was an interesting read – and in fact I am considering making a list of which of the 111 points that Marc Benioff mentions apply to Therap as well. Salesforce is the largest software as a service company – and the book lays out many of the benefits of SaaS and cloud computing. However, a number of the stories come off more as self congratulatory and written by their marketing department. I also have significant issues with some of his points – like why you have to hold sales/marketing/training events at fancy hotels or restaurants in order for people to feel comfortable with your service. This just seems like a waste of money to me. I particularly recommend the book for Therap users and potential users who want additional validation that the Software as a Service model is both the present and the future in many sectors.

Googled: The End of the World as We Know It by Ken Auletta. I have long enjoyed Ken Auletta’s writing – and this book continued that experience. The book covered all sorts of issues ranging from how google started to their effect on many industries and competitors. As someone (like most of us) who uses Google in so many ways – from google maps to my new droid to searches and gmail and more – it was interesting to see how they are so tied to searches and advertising. I am often thinking about what I am doing at Therap – and why can’t google or others do what we are doing. But our emphasis on electronic signatures and medicaid compliance and tracking all versions and minimizing time spent in documenting so people can get back to work – these are a fundamentally different approach and structure.

Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe 1520-1536 by James Reston Jr. I don’t recommend this book in case any of you were going to rush out to buy it. I try and periodically read about different periods in history and I hadn’t previously read much about this period. But after several hundred pages of minor skirmashes and battles, and lots of marriages of different kings and queens and princes for political reasons – I was sort of expecting something to happen at the end of the book. Sort of like at the end of Invictus there was a game that the book led up to. I guess this book was just another chapter in history and it led up to whatever happened in 1537 to 1550 , and so forth. There were a couple of interesting strategic issues discussed – but I don’t think that makes it worth reading this book.

Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser. I am only about 1/3 finished with this book – but there have been some excellent chapters on privacy and security over the internet. The book is written by two lawyers who are directors of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.

I hope you all enjoyed your holidays.

I look forward to continued discussions and dialogs with you in 2010.