Inside Winter 2012 newsletter:
Moving from partly cloudy to cloudy
There was a time when a cloud was a white furry thing that slowly moved across a blue sky. Sometimes we would see angels, sailing ships, or faces in them.
Today, a cloud is something very different. It is a term used to describe a new era in computing, but few really understand how it works and how it will change the way we use computers.
“Actually, cloud computing is not new,” said Amy Murphy, director of Corporate and Community Services for Joliet Junior College. “It has been around for a number of years. Every time we save something to a server online or upload something to a website, we are using a form of cloud technology. Today, however, the concept is much broader and reflects a web-based approach to computing that does not require special software and can move files easily to a variety of applications and mobile devices.”
Bill Buxton(1), a principal researcher at Microsoft, agrees that cloud computing is not new and has been evolving over the past few years. He said that it takes many years for a revolution to become omnipresent in society. He believes the “mouse” is a good example because it took more than 20 years to become an everyday tool for computers users.
But what is cloud computing?
There is the official definition of it developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (2). They describe Cloud Computing as:
…a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
If that doesn’t exactly clear things up, a “howtogeek” blogger simply writes that cloud computing equals web applications. According to the author, the movement to cloud computing is essentially a movement away from self-hosted servers to web applications. If you use Gmail, Google Calendar, SalesForce, and Google Docs, you are already using cloud computing because these services are connecting you to a massive pool of servers on the Internet and you don’t need any special applications to use them.
The current push to cloud computing by Google, Microsoft and Apple is designed to encourage businesses to move their applications to the web allowing users to have access to data from any browser on any PC. The line between desktop and Internet will soon blur.
How is cloud different?
In the past, a business would run all their applications on their self-hosted servers. This requires a good deal of maintenance and upgrading to keep everything running smooth and secure.
With cloud computing, a business can utilize cloud services, which will provide the same applications on the Internet for anyone, including their customers. Google Docs is a good example. Additionally, if a company provides a service to others, they can create applications that run on servers provided by Google, Microsoft, Amazon and others allowing anyone to operate these apps from anywhere.
“Cloud computing is proving to be the future of Information Technology,” said Murphy. “It is cost-effective and provides fewer restrictions to shared information and interactions.”
John Willis3, an IT expert and blogger agrees. He says that server location is not as important as the ease of data access. “However you define it,” he writes, “I think cloud technology will have a footprint in every business that does IT within the next five years.”
This new approach to computing has created a new term: Software as a Service (SaaS). To make this work requires massive computers that have superfast bandwidth. It also means that companies will need to share data with a third party making security a critical issue that SaaS providers are addressing.
“Google is investing enormous amounts of capital and sweat equity to ensure that we can protect your data better than you can do it yourself,” said Dave Girouard, a vice president and general manager at Google (3).
Today, cloud computing is ready for market with Microsoft, Google, and Apple playing a huge role in promoting it. “For businesses to take advantage of this technology they will need to understand how it works,” said Murphy. “That is why we are offering a seminar on Successful E-mail Marketing and Cloud Computing 101. It will help business owners and managers understand how to use cloud computing to market their brand.”
Cloud computing and social media
For most of us, social media is the revolution that made the Internet relevant for everyone. Now, with the introduction of cloud computing, social media will become more powerful and tailored to individuals. Content no longer resides on a static website but in the middle of a community of users. According to one blogger, emerging cloud services like iCloud is making content storage more personal. Social media is not just a Facebook profile, but also an identity one can save on the Internet and be experienced by anyone in any online community. Rather than having an IP address with a connected and fixed device, we can have our own identity while surfing the net. That is a subtle, but major shift in how we compute today.
To learn more about cloud computing read the following links:
1-What does a Cloud mean to Social Media? http://www.buzzom.com
2-What is Cloud Computing and What Does This Stupid Buzzword Mean?
http://www.howtogeek.com
3-What Does Cloud Computing Mean for You? By John Brandon
http://www.pcmag.com
To learn more about the upcoming Cloud Computing seminar, call 815-280-1400, or e-mail sbdc@jjc.edu.
Preparing designers for today’s employers.
If you go to CareerBuilder.com and type in “graphic design” you will get quite a few responses. On one day alone, the following responses were generated in CareerBuilder:
Graphic Design 111 jobs
Web Design 723 jobs
Graphic Production 40 jobs
Multimedia 28 jobs
Interactive Design 130 jobs
Total 1031 jobs
Of course, there was some overlap of jobs being listed in one or two areas, but that is a healthy number which probably only represents about 80 percent of all the available design-related jobs in Chicagoland.
So, if you think print is dead – think again. Packaging, specialty printing, screen-printing, signage, and catalog publishing are still flourishing. Add to that the growing demand for Internet and interactive designers and you can see that the need for graphic designers is still strong.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 13 percent employment increase for designers through 2013, going from 286,100 in 2008 to 323,100. Part of that growth will come from in-house designers.
Many employers are finding it more economical and convenient to employ their own design professionals who can do everything including print, multimedia, web, and interactive design.
This has created a need for designers trained in more than one or two software applications. While many colleges and art schools teach graphic design, some of their graduates may lack the software skills needed to create an electronic document that is both visually exciting and easy to print or upload. In today’s high-tech world, employers are learning that they need designers with a range of software skills that include Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Acrobat and more. Additionally, designers today should understand HTML, Wordpress, and Javascript.
“Many of our clients are seeking designers who can do more than layout a flyer,” said Amy Murphy, director of Corporate and Community Services for Joliet Junior College (JJC). “They need a good, all-around designer who has a solid grasp of a variety of graphic applications and who is comfortable in both print and virtual publishing.”
For that reason, Joliet Junior College has developed a Graphic Design Certification program that teaches the software and design skills that many designers may need.
The program has two tracks: one for web and the other for print. It allows designers to take the track that offers them the software they need.
The web track, for example, includes courses in Wordpress, CSS, Javascript, web design, and HTML. The print track includes Managing Digital Photography in LighRoom, Advanced Photoshop for Print Production, and Tools of Marketing and Portfolio Building.
“These courses were developed to help fill the possible gap that may exist for some designers who did not get the opportunity to learn them in their formal training,” said Brenda Large, personal enrichment coordinator for JJC. I think employers will find these classes a valuable way to increase the skill level of their designers.”
To learn more about this program, call Brenda Large at 815-280-1504, or e-mail blarge@jjc.edu.
Joliet Junior College Begins Working with Innovative Consulting Firm.
Joliet Junior College and Enterprise OJT have teamed up to provide an innovative approach to on-the-job training. The
relationship will bring strong Subject Matter Experts together with the Enterprise OJT Performance System to deliver customized training programs at a much lower cost.
“We’re very excited about the partnership with Enterprise OJT,” said Bruce Kuzmanich, training manager for the Corporate and Community Services division of Joliet Junior College (JJC). “Both JJC and Enterprise bring valuable resources to employers who need effective training for their employees.”
Enterprise OJT is a Pittsford, PA based consulting firm that specializes in performance improvement in on-the-job training initiatives. Their clients include Lowe’s, Kroger, Baxter, P&G, Ford, Boeing, and many others.
“Enterprise empowers teams to capitalize on opportunities that will develop immediate improvement in productivity and motivation,” said Kuzmanich. “Their Performance System is a process that gives employers the tools, skills, and strategies they need to expand learning in new and profitable ways because it is tailored to their specific needs and delivered as an on-the -job program. They handle everything from training materials to training those people in the company who will be the on-the-job trainers.”
Anil Saxena is the Senior Consultant for Enterprise OJT in Elgin, Illinois. He sees this relationship with Joliet Junior College as an opportunity to help many businesses. “We see this as an opportunity to help organizations contain costs and make their employees more effective in the process,” said Saxena. “Enterprise OJT has developed some groundbreaking processes to drastically reduce training costs and yet make it far more effective.”
Enterprise OJT consultants have a great deal of experience and believe in the on-the-job approach to training. “Bringing the Enterprise approach to our clients will give them the opportunity to customize their training needs in an on-the-job environment which is the most effective and least costly approach to training,” said Kuzmanich. “This is exactly what business leaders need in this economy.”
To learn more about the Enterprise OJT system and how it can help your organization, call Bruce Kuzmanich at 815-280-1512, or e-mail bkuzmani@jjc.edu.