IT Architecture Needs to Be More Seamless
August 14, 2015
IT architecture might appear to be the same across the board, but depending on the industry the standards change. Rupert Brown wrote “From BCBS to TOGAF: The Need For a Semantically Rigorous Business Architecture” for Bob’s Guide and he discusses how TOGAF is the defacto standard for global enterprise architecture. He explains that while TOGAF does have its strengths, it supports many weaknesses are its reliance on diagrams and using PowerPoint to make them.
Brown spends a large portion of the article stressing that information content and model are more important and a diagramed should only be rendered later. He goes on that as industries have advanced the tools have become more complex and it is very important for there to be a more universal approach IT architecture.
What is Brown’s supposed solution? Semantics!
“The mechanism used to join the dots is Semantics: all the documents that are the key artifacts that capture how a business operates and evolves are nowadays stored by default in Microsoft or Open Office equivalents as XML and can have semantic linkages embedded within them. The result is that no business document can be considered an island any more – everything must have a reason to exist.”
The reason that TOGAF has not been standardized using semantics is the lack of something to connect various architecture models together. A standardized XBRL language for financial and regulatory reporting would help get the process started, but the biggest problem will be people who make a decent living using PowerPoint (so he claims).
Brown calls for a global reporting standard for all industries, but that is a pie in the sky hope unless the government imposes regulations or all industries have a meeting of the minds. Why? The different industries do not always mesh, think engineering firms vs. a publishing house, and each has their own list of needs and concerns. Why not focus on getting industry standards for one industry rather than across the board?
Whitney Grace, August 14, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Data Lake Alert: Tepid Water, High Concentration of Agricultural Runoff
August 13, 2015
Call me skeptical. Okay, call me a person who is fed up with silly jargon. You know what a database is, right? You know what a data warehouse is, well, sort of, maybe? Do you know what a data lake is? I don’t.
A lake, according to the search engine du jour Giburu:
An area prototypically filled with water, also of variable size.
A data lake, therefore, is an area filled with zeros and ones, also of variable size. How does a data lake differ from a database or a data warehouse?
According to the write up “Sink or Swim – Why your Organization Needs a Data Lake”:
A Data Lake is a storage repository that holds a vast amount of raw data in its native format for processing later by the business.
The magic in this unnecessary jargon is, in my opinion, a quest, perhaps Quixotic?) for sales leads. The write up points out that a data lake is available. A data lake is accessible. A data lake is—wait for it—Hadoop.
What happens if the water is neither clear nor pristine? One cannot unleash the hounds of the EPA to resolve the problem of data which may not very good until validated, normalized, and subjected to the ho hum tests which some folks want to have me believe may be irrelevant steps in the land of a marketer’s data lakes.
My admonition, “Don’t drink the water until you know it won’t make life uncomfortable—or worse. Think fatal.”
Stephen E Arnold, August 13, 2015
Lenovo: Is There Money in Malware?
August 13, 2015
Not for Lenovo.
Good old Lenovo, the former IBM personal computer until, seems to be hitting some rough water. I learned that the company is nuking some folks. The motivation for the cost cutting is tucked in the firm’s write up “Lenovo First Quarter FY 15-16: Tough Markets, Solid Results.” Reuters suggested that 3,200 folks are now able to find their future elsewhere.
As the proud owner of a Lenovo laptop, I wondered by I had lots of weird Lenovo software on the machine after we used the extra cost recovery discs to put a fresh version of Windows 8.1 on the limping dog.
Based on my research for my forthcoming study of the Dark Web, I knew there was big money in malware. Bad guys make money. Good guys make money. It seems that Lenovo, if the TNW News story “Lenovo Used a Hidden Windows Feature to Ensure Its Software Could Not Be Deleted” is correct, Lenovo drifted toward the dark side of the force.
The write up says:
The users discovered the issue in May when using a new Lenovo laptop that automatically and covertly overwrote a system file on every boot, which downloaded a Lenovo updater and installed software automatically, even if Windows was reinstalled from a DVD. The only problem is that nobody actually asked for this software, and it persisted between clean installs of Windows. Lenovo was essentially exploiting a root kit on its own laptops to ensure its software persists if wiped.
From my vantage point in rural Kentucky, it would seem that Lenovo is not able to make money selling personal computers and it cannot make money with malware.
The company may need a product optimizer or engineering that allows my limping dog to make haste less slowly. I find it interesting how Dark Web shadows fall across the sunny meadow next to the pond filled with mine drainage. Into every sunny Kentucky day, a cloud must drift.
I love the search system on the Lenovo Web site. Quite a challenge I had to locate the fix. I assume the malware specialists remain on staff, don’t you?
Stephen E Arnold, August 13, 2015
Alphabet Google: Server Envy
August 13, 2015
I know that Google has some nifty technology. But Amazon and Facebook have nifty technology too. My hunch is that the Alphabet Google thing has to come to grips with server envy. One indication of this is the write up “A Look Inside Google’s Data Center Networks.” The write explains that Google is or maybe was a pioneer. Now most of this early innovation was a result of Hewlett Packard’s Alta Vista stumble. The loss of balance tossed some under utilized real honest to goodness wizards into the Google dorm room. Jeff Dean, Simon Tong, and others (including a wizard who lives in a tree house. Well, that may be a Googlyth which is my word for a Google myth).
This write up rolls out some wonky Google terminology like Clos and Andromeda and makes clear that Google is, by golly, the leader in network datacenter stuff. The write up says for the benefit of those who worry about server envy:
our datacenter networks deliver unprecedented speed at the scale of entire buildings. They are built for modularity, constantly upgraded to meet the insatiable bandwidth demands of the latest generation of our servers. They are managed for availability, meeting the uptime requirements of some of the most demanding Internet services and customers. Most importantly, our datacenter networks are shared infrastructure. This means that the same networks that power all of Google’s internal infrastructure and services also power Google Cloud Platform. We are most excited about opening this capability up to developers across the world so that the next great Internet service or platform can leverage world-class network infrastructure without having to invent it.
Not quite A to Z but Amazon to Facebook should get the message.
Stephen E Arnold, August 13, 2015
CounterTack Partners with ManTech Cyber Solutions for a More Comprehensive Platform
August 13, 2015
A new acquisition by CounterTack brings predictive capability to that company’s security offerings, we learn from “CounterTack Acquires ManTech Cyber Solutions” at eWeek. Specifically, it is a division of ManTech International, dubbed ManTech Cyber Solutions International (MCSI), that has been snapped up under undisclosed terms by the private security firm.
CounterTack president and CEO Neal Chreighton says the beauty of the deal lies in the lack of overlap between their tech and what MCSI brings to the table; while their existing products can tell users what is happening or has already happened, MCSI’s can tell them what to watch out for going forward. Writer Sean Michael Kerner elaborates:
“MCSI’s technology provides a lot of predictive capabilities around malware that can help enterprises determine how dangerous a malicious payload might be, Creighton said. Organizations often use the MCSI Responder Pro product after an attack has occurred to figure out what has happened. In contrast, the MCSI Active Defense product looks at issues in real time to make predictions, he said. A big area of concern for many security vendors is the risk of false positives for security alerts. With the Digital DNA technology, CounterTack will now have a predictive capability to be able to better determine the risk with a given malicious payload. The ability to understand the potential capabilities of a piece of malware will enable organizations to properly provide a risk score for a security event. With a risk score in place, organizations can then prioritize malware events to organize resources to handle remediation, he said.”
Incorporation of the open-source Hadoop means CounterTack can scale to fit any organization, and the products can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud. Cleighton notes his company’s primary competitor is security vendor CrowdStrike; we’ll be keeping an eye on both these promising firms.
Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, CounterTack was founded in 2007. The company declares their Sentinel platform to be the only in-progress attack intelligence and response solution on the market (for now.) Founded way back in 1968, ManTech International develops and manages solutions for cyber security, C4ISR, systems engineering, and global logistics from their headquarters in Washington, DC. Both companies are currently hiring; click here for opportunities at CounterTack, and here for ManTech’s careers page.
Cynthia Murrell, August 13, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
SharePoint 2016 Beta is Coming Soon
August 13, 2015
There is a lot of excitement about the future of SharePoint. Microsoft wants to capitalize on the good buzz but in their excitement the timeline has gotten skewed. It seems that the most recent change is in their favor, however. CMS Wire covers the story in their article, “Cancel Your Plans: SharePoint 2016 Beta is (Almost) Here.”
The author begins:
“For the past couple of years, we IT pros really haven’t known what our place in the world was going to be with SharePoint. But I feel like in the past couple of months I’ve seen the future. At least for me, as an IT pro, part of that future is identity. So you’re going to be hearing a lot more about that from me. But also the reason you’re going to be hearing about a lot of that is because next month — August — we’re going to get our first public beta of SharePoint 2016.”
The beta release will come earlier than projected. Lots of updates will come fast and frequently once the release is available, making it difficult to stay ahead of the curve. In order to sort through the chaos, stay tuned to ArnoldIT.com, a website carefully curated by Stephen E. Arnold. His SharePoint feed is a great way to stay in touch with the latest news, without being overwhelmed by the unnecessary details.
Emily Rae Aldridge, August 13, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Thunderstone Rumbles about Webinator
August 13, 2015
There is nothing more frustrating than being unable to locate a specific piece of information on a Web site when you use its search function. Search is supposed to be quick, accurate, and efficient. Even if Google search is employed as a Web site’s search feature, it does not always yield the best results. Thunderstone is a company that specializes in proprietary software application developed specifically for information management, search, retrieval, and filtering.
Thunderstone has a client list that includes, but not limited to, government agencies, Internet developer, corporations, and online service providers. The company’s goal is to deliver “product-oriented R&D within the area of advanced information management and retrieval,” which translates to them wanting to help their clients found information very, very fast and as accurately as possible. It is the premise of most information management companies. On the company blog it was announced that, “Thunderstone Releases Webinator Web Index And Retrieval System Version 13.” Webinator makes it easier to integrate high quality search into a Web site and it has several new appealing features:
- “Query Autocomplete, guides your users to the search they want
- HTML Highlighting, lets users see the results in the original HTML for better contextual information
- Expanded XML/SOAP API allows integration of administrative interface”
We like the HTML highlighting that offers users the ability to backtrack and see a page’s original information source. It is very similar to old-fashioned research: go back to the original source to check a fact’s veracity.
Whitney Grace, August 13, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Google Needs SEO and Domain Name Look Up
August 12, 2015
I read a story which I find difficult to believe. The article with the shocking information is “BMW Owns Alphabet.com and Has No Intention of Letting Larry Page Have It.” Well, there goes a chance to replace the Lexus used for a version of the Google self driving car with a BMW driving machine.
According to the write up:
BMW has confirmed it has no intention of letting Larry Page have it. The car maker also owns an Alphabet trademark and is reviewing whether trademark infringement is being committed by the American company.
The domain name for the A to Z conglomerate which is the “new” Google is abc.xyz. The math club strikes again. Clever, clever.
Stephen E Arnold, August 12, 2015
Browser Wars: Sparks Fly During Firefox Microsoft Snipe Hunt
August 12, 2015
i read “Firefox Sticks It to Microsoft, Redirects Cortana Searches in Windows 10.” Ah, ha. Windows 10. Some day, maybe. I assume the endless reboots upon updating are merely a rumor. The real story is that a Firefox user can use Cortana to search something other than Bing.
The write up says:
After blasting Microsoft’s attempts to set Edge as the default browser in Windows 10, Mozilla is enjoying some sweet revenge by steering Firefox users away from Bing. With the newly-released Firefox 40, users no longer have to use Bing for web searches from Cortana on the Windows 10 taskbar. Instead, Firefox will show results from whatever search engine the user has chosen as the default. Using Firefox isn’t the only way to replace Cortana’s Bing searches with Google or another search engine. But Firefox is currently the only browser that does so without the need for third-party extensions. (It wouldn’t be surprising, however, if Google follows suit.)
Poor Microsoft. The company has been trying to build bridges. The result is a dust up.
I long for the good old days. Microsoft would have been careful to avoid getting stuck in a squabble about its Siri and Google Voice killer Cortana.
What impact will this have? My hunch is that as Windows 10 flows into the hands of those who fondly recall Bob, then the issue will become more serious.
For now, this is amusing to me. Recall I am a person who abando0ned my Lumia Windows phone because the silly Cortana feature was in a location which made activation impossible to avoid. I dumped the phone. End of story.
Stephen E Arnold, August 12, 2015
Further Adventures of Watson: Fantasy Football Time, Fans
August 12, 2015
Short honk: I read “IBM’s Watson Can Now Help You Kick Ass in Fantasy Football.” I don’t anything about fantasy football. I don’t want to know. For me the notion of paying to pick players and then receive a share of money in the pool seems like something that should be regulated and available from Churchill Downs. You may have a different view. IBM sure does.
The write says:
IBM announced it has teamed up with Edge Up Sports, a company that provides analysis for hard-core fantasy sports players, on an app that could help you dominate your league.
The article recycles the glories and wonders of Watson. The article does not discuss revenues, on going development costs, interest on Watson related investments, or Google’s credit card debit analysis. Link is here.
Several questions crossed my mind:
- If players have access to Watson, will the system generate equally viable outputs for each player?
- Is IBM getting a piece of the action, or is the initiative funded by IBM as a way to make Watson more of a goal scorer?
- What are the demographics of fantasy football players? Are these demographics the ones to which IBM hopes to license the Watson technology?
I have no answers. Just hunches.
Stephen E Arnold, August 12, 2015
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
