To Our Friends at Novell: Welcome to the Party!
Three years ago, rPath pioneered the concept of a self-contained software system that included its own operating system, middleware and everything else it required to run. The concept became widely known as a virtual appliance, a dramatically simplified model for installing and maintaining software.
Back then, we were a single voice in a lonely campaign to change the world one application at a time.
I’m sure we seemed like alchemists turning iron into gold. You can imagine some of the looks we got.
The End of the IT Bottleneck
If you’ve followed this blog, you’ve heard my expositions (rants, screeds) on the fragile and often tenuous relationship between application development and IT operations. My contention has been that these are two world’s divided by opposing cultures and goals.
To wit:
- Apps: freewheeling, ideological, collaborative, self-organizing, and organic
- Ops: policy-driven, command-and-control, focused on repeatability and efficiency
One wants speed, the other control. More often than not, control wins.
