[communities] GGF Proposal Submission

[pawel at gridwisetech.com]

proposers_name: Pawel Plaszczak 
 
affiliation: GridwiseTech 

email: pawel at gridwisetech.com 

proposed_title: Grid Primer for Managers 

session_type: tutorial/workshop 

proposed_duration: 3-4 hours 

target_audience: managers, decision makers 

num_attendees: 10+? depending on GGF marketing 

abstract: The major threat for widespread acceptance of Grid computing is the common confusion on its meaning and lack of understanding of its value. Newcomers to the field find their way difficult because various vendors and interest groups present their own marketing pitch and a coherent vision seems to be absent. This is partly the reason why there are very few adopters of the technology. Having discussed the subject with Steve Crumb and Mark Linesh, I am re-submitting our proposal for the Grid Primer tutorial first presented at GGF14. 

synopsis: We propose the „Grid Primer for Managers” workshop. This would be a management-level Grid technology tutorial, primarily focused at the newcomers to the field. The tutorial will take 3 or 4 hours and will be led by 1 or 2 instructors.
It will answer the questions: 
ÿ What is Grid computing? Why and how is it useful in business? 
ÿ Where is Grid computing in relation to utility computing, on-demand, virtualization, Web services etc?
ÿ What is Grid technology? What are its components? Is it usable? What is the state of the market?
ÿ What does a „Grid architecture” and „Grid application” mean?
ÿ What are various types of grid installations/systems?
ÿ What are the core Grid standards and how are they important?
ÿ Why and how should I migrate to a Grid architecture?
ÿ Why should I grid-enable my software product, and how do I go about it?
ÿ What are example Grid success stories?

The tutorial will follow the „learn by example” principle. We will demonstrate a working demo application with all software layers typically seen in Grid architectures. This will give the participants a chance to interact with Grid in real time through an easy portal-based user interface and experience the benefits the technology can bring. At the tutorial we will also review the solutions existing on the market and discuss examples of institutions who successfully deployed grids.

The discussion on managerial issues, such as ROI and TCO calculations, team management and project planning, can appear as an interweaving thread. However, we suggest not to make this the main subject of the class. Although the class is directed mainly to decision makers, we feel that our primary mission would be to help people understand the concepts and opportunities. We think that showing a coherent message of Grid technology, backed by examples and demos, is the most promising way to go.
As for the presentation itself, we will reuse in large part our material presented at the GGF14. After the tutorial we have received some constructive critics which allowed us to improve the content. The recurring suggestion was to reduce management-oriented material, while more emphasis should be put on real world examples and learning by example. We are going to follow these suggestions.

About us:
GridwiseTech is an independent consultant in Grid computing, offering training, management consulting and assistance with the development and integration of Grid systems. GridwiseTech was founded in 2003 by former developers of the Globus Project. I am the President of the company. Apart from leading Gridwise, I have spent the greater part of the past year working on the book „Grid Computing: Savvy Manager’s Guide” (savvygrid.com) published by Morgan Kauffman/Elsevier in August 2005. During this time I have conducted numerous interviews and consultations with vendors, early adopters and technology experts. Since the intended audience of this work is identical with that of the proposed workshop, we are well suited to plan and prepare the content of such an event.
During the past two years myself and Gridwise have conducted a number of Grid-related workshops and tutorials, lasting from 2 hours to 3 days. We have always received extremely positive feedback for our expertise, enthusiastic approach and flexibility with the audience’s needs. This included the first Grid Primer workshop, at GGF14 in Chicago with about 12 participants. The feedback was excellent.
GridwiseTech is unique in the field of Grid computing for being vendor-independent. Our mission is to provide unbiased expertise on the subject which will be necessary in a workshop like this.

 

tech_requirements: We need a projector working with both Linux and Mac, a KVM switch and reliable wireless network connectivity. We can also go without KVM and network if we choose not to present the demos. 

prereq_participants: General understanding of IT technologies. Tutorial is directed mainly to decision makers relatively new to Grid technology or those needing to systematize their understanding of the subject. People seriously involved in the work of GGF, especially the technology providers will not find it useful.

 

advertise_suggestion: GGF website and email blasts, GridToday and all PR channels that GGF is using. Also, advertising in Europe through local institutions involved in organizing the event.