Specialty Product Domains

Do you have hosted (SAAS, PAAS, Cloud) tools and apps that are mired in the Web 2.0 freemium swamp? Minor modifications to features and market-specific messaging can re-target your products for a real, paying client constituencies. Yes, you can get paid for real hosted applications. Technical services, equipment maintenance, Test and Measurement, fleet services. Target, get perspective, broaden your product horizons with my services. Let me help you save that code base.

Lets say your company has a web application (or any software system) that might have the potential to cross over from the horizontal to the specialty vertical or technical industrial markets, but you are not sure how to approach the sector for validation or go-to-market? What is the potential market volume, who influences, certifies, what features need modification? Let’s go.

Let’s say you have a lead that someone, some company needs a jump start into a specialty technical market, such as product service, automotive supply chain, etc. Get me a referral and I will pay you 20% off the top of my contract. Hire me on contract to provide contract management services, and I will lop off 15% of my standard rate.

Rating and Certifying the Cloud Hosting and Web Application Providers. Part III

Rating and Certifying the Cloud Hosting and Web Application Providers. Part III

I have been slowly morphing my consulting practice. I usually offer myself as a product sector strategy asset. Product Managers and VP’s in the on-line applications business hire me to shoulder some of their burden when targeting specialist sectors – you know, industrial, technical, services, professional. These established clients usually have an idea of where their development efforts are heading. I came in to refine and prove the potential numbers. I developed approaches to paid subscriptions, industry specialty requirements, and I found innovative ways to exploit trade specific marketing. I was the product manager’s helper, and It was a good gig until about 2007, when the economy got soft. Analysts are the first to have their contracts cut.

Now I am delivering what I learned as an analyst, and applying this to evangelizing small and medium businesses. These folks are the end users I had quantified, targeted, and interviewed in my work for web applications providers. Small and medium bizfolks perceive the benefits of hosted services and cloud computing. They clearly perceive the benefits of fault tolerance, licensing advantages, and a simplified communications topology. These smaller accounts are certainly numerous. Can they abide having recurring computing fees forever? They certainly know that their internal server and workstation / mobile infrastructure (as traditionally delivered), costs them big time when things go bad.

The SME  / SMB, in other words, gets it. They get the benefits of Web based, cloud hosted stuff. They like getting out from under the local IT support guy, or the internal IT guy that they are held hostage to. They look forward to a time where individual routers with special configurations are replaced by safe, centralized fault tolerant networks, servers, and comm infrastructure that they can provision and pay for in a rational way. They just don’t know if they can trust you and if you will be around long enough to justify the cut over.

So, before I close this series, which might include one more post on the brokering of technical services between partners and competitors to backstop business continuity failures, I will talk briefly about ratings and certifications for any remote provider of compute and storage – out there in the cloud.

Established utility computing providers, like AWS, are probably uninsureable as far as client’s needs are concerned; they are too big, and any coverage they do have insures only their own facilities and operations, which does accrue somewhat to the client’s benefit in the very long run, but does nothing when the downtime occurs. In the case of the big dogs, your insurance is their size and need to maintain a reputation. Eventually we will get our way, and instances of client computing services will get risk based pricing, preceded by business viability ratings, and of course, certifications for good facilities, operating procedures, and back office accounting standards. I’m willing to bet the ISO is working up something in their wild and crazy working groups as we speak.

One more thing: Why is PAAS different?

Briefly: clients using unitary applications or suites have invested a certain amount of time moving from  thick client project management to a hosted solution (one example). They have probably identified ways of moving the data off the platform (I hope), and so on. They are using an application, and we have all changed applications. PAAS is like marrying your company to .Net or some other standard. There is an investment, a rather large one for the SME, actually. For the lone developer making web apps, it’s ok.

The PAAS landscape is made of some very innovative and funny systems. I think you know what I mean. Some remind me of 4GL, some will let you host a language and framework, but not the integral database, some have language environments that are made from whole cloth. As a group they are fascinating and right on the cutting edge, and they are, as a group, under capitalized and illiquid. There are exceptions, but I will bet you the best dinner in Boston that one would be hard pressed to find a PAAS provider that would allow an industry ratings organization to inspect their capital and operations profile.

If a SAAS application company is illiquid in its essence, then we find another, move the data. If a PAAS company is under capitalized, we have a larger set of problems. The way migration has been handled for PAAS failures has been shameful.

Someone once asked me if the 25M round for an on-line storage provider places them in a well capitalized position; my answer was, “it depends, but generally, no, it is not considered well capitalized for the intended target and use case – 25M in a VC round ain’t shit when rating a crucial service provider that has not attained sustained profitability and near perfect uptime.”

Bush and Georgia: A Useless Conservative Plays the Wounded Hawk

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President Bush has been, in so many ways, a disaster in his handling of the economy and of our country’s military blunders. The man is a scandal and a virus, as far as I’m concerned. And, he is a chip off the old block as far as selling out our allies and standing idly by as our enemies crush our friends under their boot heels.

His father did this in the first Iraq war, calling for the Shiites to rise up against the Hussein Regime as the USA wound up its cleanup of the Kuwait invasion. The Southern Shiites, Marsh Arabs, and Kurds all did as Bush the senior asked, and were promptly slaughtered. It was a great shame to be an American in those post Gulf War times. The Bastard, Elder Bush; oh, the people who died for your inept misuse of power. We came, shortly thereafter, to help the Kurds rebuild – but we left the Shiites to fester in their hatred of us. They might have been our greatest ally in the current, manufactured Iraq tragedy, but the Bush family made sure that was not to be. Good going.

Now, we have built up the goodwill, yet again, of a former Soviet Satellite, and told them that we would be at their side when the shit hit the proverbial fan – and again, we are hanging them out to dry. Who, pray tell, is this new friend of Democracy, you ask?

Why, it’s the Democratic Republic of Georgia,

Georgia is now being crushed by the newly reconstituted Soviet state – the selfsame New Soviet run by Mr. Vladimir Putin, of whom Mr. Bush (the coward butt-hole Jr.) said, “I have looked into his (Putin’s) eyes, and I saw his soul”, – hows that going now, Mr. President? How do you like Putin now?

Just like his dad, Bush junior is selling out a tiny country that took him up on a pledge to hold to and support democracy. Do this and the USA will be with you. They must feel pretty stupid now, trusting us.

Of all the disadvantages of having this moron in office, I would think the one advantage is that he would at minimum protect the small and fledgling democratic allies that he personally gestated. Send in a few Aegis Missile Cruisers to give them cover for the capital of Tbilisi. Knock a few Russian fighters out of the sky.

Georgia sent 500 or so troops to Iraq to help us in a genuine misadventure that they had every right to beg off from; yet they stood firmly with us. A symbolic gesture, for sure, but a bold move of their brave president. They should have stayed home for all th good it did them.

Mr. Bush, arrrrgh, send the fleet into the Black Sea for heaven’s sake! Save our Friends that you gave hope to – give them air cover! You have done everything wrong in your eight years in office – ruined a great economy, waged a stupid needless war in Iraq, did not finish or adequately provision the real war we needed to win, ruined America’s international standing, etc.

Etc. indeed. Please, do the one right thing that a REAL CONSERVATIVE President should do – protect our weakest allies. Do that.

Then go away.

Failing this, maybe Israel might help.

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Walter Lukken, Liar in Chief , CFTC

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Walter Lukken -Chief Liar, CFTC

Another CNBC non-first: Walter Lukken, Chairman and Chief Liar of the CFTC (the criminals who ‘regulate’ futures speculation), came on CNBC for a well orchestrated lying session where he said, “We have limits and controls in place, and it seems that they are working well.”

That is to say, these stratagems are working well for Mr. Lukken, his friends, and his masters in the Bush Administration’s last days as they all clean up through their proxies in the NYMEX Pit.

How can this man sleep at night? How can he say these blatant lies? He has paper traders, under his nose, inflating the market and taking no delivery of the goods, with a virtual zero margin requirement.

So, as we see, we cannot trust CNBC to challenge any guest after said guest has propagandized to his heart’s content. And the CFTC and Lukken? Traitors like this we have not seen since the governmental banking manipulators of the roaring ’20s.

Another quote that I couldn’t catch the source of on that episode of the CNBC special:

“This type of speculation, where parties participate with no chance or intention of using or taking delivery of the product, is like creating a futures market in pharmaceuticals; life saving drugs whose critical need by the sick and dying manipulated by heartless robbers,  criminals whose only function is to take money out of the market by inflating the price, while the end-user suffers.”

Can you imagine a futures market in Insulin? Wait, it might still happen. Whoever put that concept in play is a good person, a truth-teller.

Your average commuter of the working class, and yes, professionals that must take to road? Screwed. How dare you, you evil bastards that propagate this MYTH that paper speculation in crude futures has no effect? You will meet with the judgment of the heavenly tribunal – in  the days to come, when you are infirm and your loved ones have abandoned you.

That is what is happening now – bastard speculators that never touch the oil are merely placing a permanent long position, and whacking 40-60 bucks on the delivery price, and who pays…..you do.

CNBC, you owe us more. Stop taking fast and asking shallow questions and diagram out the horror that is ICE and long contracts – dry, empty, no product no delivery contracts.

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Brian Darling, Professional Liar, Heritage Foundation

On CNBC, the center for misinformation for all things regarding commodities futures trading, Brian Darling, a paid liar for the Heritage Foundation says that increasing margin requirements for oil futures speculators will destroy the economy.

Mr. Darling needs to be beaten with an oil field pipe wrench  – he is paid by the foundation to convey misinformation. The entire run up in crude prices is due to the number of speculators that hold contracts on dry barrels. These evil folks could never hope to take delivery of the commodities that they are bidding on. Worse, they are bidding with a near zero investment backing their long positions. Could it get worse that this?

Yes. In most cases, they are not even placing the 5% margin requirement that is called for (it should be 50% margin). They are allowed to trade for free, with no need to take delivery, and with what is essentially no margin requirement.

Brian Darling – you are an evil traitor to this country you bastard.

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The Quick Answer to the Problem of Crude Oil Futures Speculation

If you know about how most crude is put on contract, and how that crude gets to our shores (discounting domestic, Canadian, and other non-OPEC sources) you would see the following:

1. The same bulk oil carriers (supertankers) going back and forth from the Straights of Hormuz to the various storage facilities on the east and west coast of the USA. Same bulk transporters, same tankers, same terminals, same refiners.
2. The domestic storage and refining capacity has not changed substantially for decades. Our usage has increased, which has put pressure in the tempo of the rate of transport and distillation. Overall, USA consumption has increased 20% since the 90’s, and we have the same refiners and storage.
3. What has changed is the amount of money available to place on futures contracts. There is more money on paper to promise a certain price of delivery on a future date. So much money in fact, that these contracts exceed the available oil stock by 2 or 3 times the physical inventory controlled.

This has caused a tremendous surge in oil above the actual dynamics of supply and demand. If you and I stand around a grain silo and keep bidding up the price amid a climate of scarcity, and we have no hope of ever taking delivery of the wheat…..and we are joined by 1000’s of other speculators that are doing the same thing?

That’s a good picture of the trading pit at the NYMEX.  How can we fix this?

Well, I suggest that we we hire a SWAT team to tear gas or pepper spray the Pit for a few days to clear out the most egregious offenders. Barring that, possibly Marlon Perkins could be brought out of cryogenic suspension in order to shoot a round of tranquilizer darts at the floor traders in the NYMEX and Chcago MERC pits. That ought to bring the price of crude down and fast.

Then we can limit trading to those that can take delivery of the product – period. Futures contracts on paper for dry barrels could be allocated to professional options boards adhering to stringent margins requirements.

The worst take on all this, of course, is the liars that frequent CNBC, mostly investment analysts that are paid to say that no amount of dry contract speculation can affect the price of oil. They are liars, they are stealing from you, and they must be dealt with, in the parking lot of the NYMEX, if need be…..maybe a slap, maybe a baseball bat, maybe a decent shaming.

Something has to be done bring conscience back to the futures business.

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CNBC and a Crude Discussion – talking fast and saying nothing

Before you read me, please read Tom Kloza, who is a real authority:

CNBC and a Crude Discussion – talking fast and saying nothing

Image by DayLove via Flickr

Have you ever noticed that the anchors and analysts on CNBC talk very fast. Especially the ‘money bunnies’, Maria Bartiromo and Erin Burnett, they talk really fast. One reason for this rapid repartee is that they have no idea what they are talking about, and they don’t want you to notice.

While this can be forgiven when applied to a financial news anchor, it is unforgivable when dished up by a sector analyst. Specifically, the energy sector experts on CNBC should be beaten with a pipe.

A horrible lie is being circulated (via CNBC in particular), stating that the current price of crude oil could be due to any number of factors; it is just not known precisely what is causing the constant rise in the price of oil. Some analysts featured by CNBC say demand is the cause, some say speculation; they are both correct, but the role that speculation via crude futures trading plays in the price of crude is being deliberately hidden from public discussion, until now. I will enlighten you.

While there is no doubt that demand has played its part, we are seeing a new dynamic in the old commodity trader’s bag of dirty tricks – this is the trading of ‘dry contracts’.

Read on, babes, you are being had.

The Stooges Classic

I couldn’t help myself when I saw this. Several interesting things such as cultural references that place the Stooges most popular episodes in the period immediately after WWII:

1. References to “this guy must be from outer space”; i.e., an alien. America was preoccupied with science fiction at the time – Buck Rogers, etc. Moe says this about Joe, meaning that he is acting strange.
2. References to Matzha – The Stooges were Jewish and Jewish writers and Jewish humor dominated Tin Pan Alley and the writing of film and early TV. Still does I am proud to say that the only real humor is Jewish humor even when written and performed by gentiles.
3. Notice the shoes and such, many types of sneakers and work shoes still are with us.

Here is the clip:

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Microsoft Buys Yahoo Search biz – Why is this a good idea?

I dont get it, maybe Im not the smartest guy, but some questions arise:

1) how will Microsoft retain the brand image of Yahoo search – I mean it is almost a sure thing that no matter what they buy will devolve into another MS Live-Blah misbranded product? no?

2) what will Yahoo do with the missing search revenue? Just replace it with Google. I thought that Yahoo has sunk almost a billion into its search platform R&D, – isnt this an admission that they have failed? If so, why would MS want it?

I have a good friend who was invited to “jury” for Yahoo’s senior search team. That is the only way he could describe it – A Ph D. style juried dissertation taking place over 4 days. This man is a senior computational scientist with credentials in the pharma, life sciences, and trading tech market, and he is one sharp blade; I worked with him at FT R&D. He did not, ultimately get the job at Yahoo, but he had this to say (and I will wrap up why I think this is relevant to MS-Yahoo): read post  jump for his impressions