Q&A: Andrew Walls, Research Director, Gartner Australia

Is cloud computing an area of interest?
Walls: “I’m bringing in an analyst who specialises to a certain extend in that area, Neil McDonald. Cloud computing is becoming a big phrase [but] we’ve been talking about computing in the cloud for 15 years.

“There’s still a big debate about what it exactly means and the taxonomy definitely gets confused because different vendors come up with their own interpretations of what it means, so there’s not a single definition. You can say the Web and everyone knows what you’re talking about. Part of that is because it doesn’t really fully exist at this point. Part of it does, and it’s growing.

“I’m nervous about cloud computing and I tend to want to specify aspects of it. So software-as-a-service is an example of a cloud computing implementation and that sort of issue will come up a lot when looking at in many of the talks.

“We’re actually looking at things like, how do we provide security for software-as-a -service or if you’re outsourcing storage to data centres all over the world how do you actually secure your data in that environment? There are many talks that touch on these issues and try to show way of how you can take your current security approach and transform it to meet the needs of these new environments.

“I get a little tired of the marketing fight over who owns the concept. Let’s get on with the business of security and not worry too much.”

What about a virtual environment?
Walls: “We will be discussing virtualisation in a very practical sense in terms of how do you provide security assurance in a world consumed with virtualised servers, virtual desktops and so forth.

“Neil McDonald takes a very refreshing look at the impact of virtualisation and how we can still provide security, in fact how we can enhance security through use of virtualisation. We see it as an opportunity for applying virtual security infrastructure not just as a server.

“I’ll be speaking about some of the issues around the virtual environments social status such as Facebook and their impact on security in businesses. We have several businesses in Australian who are making greater and greater use of these sorts of environments go.

“[Furthermore], as petrol prices fluctuate, as cost of transport fluctuates more and more businesses are starting to look at the idea of remote business. Should we be doing video conferencing? Should we be using Skype for phone conferencing rather than flying to Canberra for a meeting? Should we simply all get together in a virtual simulated conference room and have our meetings that way?

“There is a lot exploration and experimentation in that space. We need to look at how do we secure this and how do we provide a confidential platform for that kind of interaction?

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