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A lot has been said about agility and the need for enterprises looking to innovate and disrupt to build agility. Agility, at the same time, also gets confused with the process of scrum. Small and large teams get enamored with the idea of scrum and mistake the process with the state of being agile. This is often more detrimental to the enterprise and can often create more process and not enough real agility. What is Agility Agility is the efficiency with which an enterprise executes and delivers on its objectives and goals. Agility is the ability to react to changes in goals, feedback from customers and shifts in strategy. Agility, from the outside, looks like a predictable stream of value delivered by the enterprise that matches and exceeds the needs of the customer. Organizational agility requires agility at multiple levels within the enterprise to drive the insights that can channel and align the efforts of the entire organization by leveraging data and information to make quick and informed decisions. Business Agility Business and customer-facing employees need to achieve "Business Agility". This is the ability of these employees to react to business critical in real time if needed and have access to the latest information at any decision point. Business Agility enables users to reduce the latency or lag between a need in the market or of the customers and when they are able to service the need. Decision Agility Analysts and data scientists creating the insights to drive decisions require "Decision Agility" i.e the ability to easily discover, leverage and use data for analytics and insights through any and multiple tools and channels. Analysts and data scientists need to produce insights that reduce the time and effort required to convert data into information and insights that are required to drive key decisions and actions. Development Agility Application developers and data engineers need the ability to easily generate, collect, access and deli

Blockchain are certain to disrupt almost all industries fundamentally. Though there are technical issues, the idea of utilizing a blockchain to prove ownership, to prevent double spending and to establish trust and transactions in an otherwise trust-deficient world, is gaining excitement and acceptance. More and more enterprises are getting curious about the blockchain and are willing to start investing in learning, prototyping, and building on top of the blockchain technology. Starting out with the blockchain requires investment in a building the domain expertise, establishing the identity, establishing the infrastructure and deciding the blockchain that the enterprise wants to work with. Among these decisions is the question: Should the enterprise choose a public blockchain or a private blockchain. Both have advantages and disadvantages and the question can often come down to what are the short term goals and potential applications that the enterprise wants to build on the blockchain. Public BlockChains The default option when considering blockchains is the public blockchain. This is the blockchain that is truly decentralized, leverageable for any type of transaction and in the case of the Ethereum blockchain, offers SmartContract authoring capability that makes the blockchain very attractive for building contracts that reflect the needs of the real world. However, for an enterprise deciding between public or private contracts, there are some considerations that require attention. Speed and Scalability Public blockchains tend to be slower as they are limited by the number of transactions that can be verified every second and confirmed every 10 minutes. There are several efforts underway to make blockchains faster and more scalable however those will take time to get implemented. Speed and scalability will continue to be an issue and contracts and applications that require instant or near real time execution will suffer from this lack of speed and scale. Se

This year, Creative Safety Supply is hosting a scholarship competition for college students. Students currently enrolled in a college, university, or technical school who have a minimum 3.0 GPA and are United States citizens are eligible to apply. Those interested can find full eligibility details, as well as two essay questions, here: https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/scholarship/ Creative Safety Supply developed this scholarship program to support students pursuing higher education. On a daily basis, we work to help businesses achieve their goals and we wanted to help students achieve their goals, too. The winner of the competition will receive $1,000 to be applied toward educational expenses in 2017. As part of the application process, we're interested in hearing from students about their career goals and about ways they have used creative thinking to achieve academic or personal success. Finding creative solutions to common safety, compliance, and productivity problems is what we do, and we believe this kind of thinking plays an important role in any endeavor, whether that endeavor is in the workplace, education, or personal life. Since we launched our scholarship program this summer, we've seen a positive response from students across the country. If you are or know an interested student, there's still time to apply: the deadline for the scholarship is next Thursday, December 15th. A winner will be selected in January. Contact scholarships@creativesafetysupply.com with any questions.

People today work 40+ hours per week, meaning they are spending about half of their waking hours at work. Given the total number of hours employees are spending at work, it is inevitable that some of them will experience serious medical problems while at the facility. When this happens, employers have a responsibility to be able to contact the paramedics right away, and to provide the initial care until professionals can arrive. In the event of respiratory or cardiac arrest, it may be necessary to perform CPR or even use an AED. Providing instruction to employees on how to use an AED, and how to properly perform CPR is essential. Some companies will offer the training to everyone in the facility, and others will only train a select few. The important thing is that there is someone who can respond to emergencies, and help keep the person alive until the paramedics can arrive. What is CPR? CPR, or Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is one of the most commonly seen emergency procedures. It is performed on television all the time, and even in real life it is far more common than most people might think. While it might look easy to perform on TV, the fact is, it needs to be done with proper technique or it can cause a lot of damage. Fortunately, training people to properly perform CPR is fairly simple, and doesn't take very long. In many cases a full CPR class can be given in a half of a day, and the employees in the class can become certified to perform this life saving procedure. During the training classes, employees will learn when they should attempt CPR, and how it should be performed. Some interesting things that employees will learn include: CPR is done to help push the blood through the body when the heart is not beating. Keeping the blood circulating will prevent damage to the heart, brain and other vital organs. Rescue breathes are actually optional. While most people surveyed believe that breathing into the mouth of the victim is the most important part of

A swimming pool is a very good addition to any home as they add luxury and a place to cool off during hot sunny days. You should note, however, that swimming pools are just as dangerous as they are fun if the proper safety supplies are not implemented during use. One can easily drown in a swimming pool if you are not careful enough to follow good guidelines such as not swimming alone, and not diving headfirst into any pools that are not extremely deep and allow for diving. This holds especially true if you are not a good swimmer. You should therefore make sure to have safety products and supplies on hand at all times when using swimming pools. It is also wise to ensure that there is some form of supervision when the pool is being utilized. You can employ the services of a professional life guard or have a grown up look after children who are using the pool. You should note that the life guard should also implement the use of safety products and supplies irrespective of how good they are at swimming. Safety supplies for swimming pools start with exterior elements that ensure the pool is safe for use. You can start by putting up a fence and gate. Such steps to ensure the safety of small children who might wander into the vicinity of the pool is especially important. As well, safety supplies are very effective in restricting access into the swimming pool for others who might not appreciate the dangers. This will ensure that unauthorized persons who are not well experienced in swimming can not access the pool without authorization. You can also opt to put a cover over your pool. This will ensure that your pool is not contaminated by debris. It also prevents people from falling into the pool when it is not in use. Other safety supplies include floatation devices. Floatation devices can either be worn or used separately, such as when one holds onto the device and/or lays atop of the floatation device. Floatation devices come in very many shapes and sizes all dependin

On the A Lean Journey blog, Tim McMahon offered up the reins to Lean Six Sigma writer, Kathryn Thompson, about a case study in lean manufacturing and six sigma. Inappropriately titled "The Successes of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma: A Case Study," Thompson's post is sparse on details and any data backing up the claim that Midlake Products is a decent model for lean and six sigma. No disrespect intended toward Ms. Thomson, but this article is NOT a case study. It reads more like a press release for Midlake Products. Thompson's post gives a summary of this company's lean six sigma background and links to their website which, for all intents and purposes, is devoid of any significant examples of how they implemented lean or six sigma and what the pros/cons included. A case study is something that gives a reader some indication of a need for improvements, the processes implemented, and results. They are important documents for anyone who is contemplating starting a program and looking for basic firsthand perspectives from professionals in their industry or comparable production models. If one were to desire a real case study on the matter, I'd recommend this one from Lean Enterprise Institute for starters. It lays out the information in a more traditional way.

Every time you step onto a construction site, there are countless hazards that you can come across in just a matter of seconds. That is why construction safety is not something that should be taken without serious diligence and precaution. Whether you are working on a commercial or residential site, or if you are working on a road, demolition, excavation or any other type of construction workplace, taking safety into consideration must be your first priority. Here is a comprehensive look into construction safety and why it can mean the difference between life and death if not given proper attention. Causes of Injury In 2012, 4,383 people were killed on construction sites. The math on that shows that nearly 12 deaths occur every single day around the nation. That number is incredibly high, especially when you consider the prevention that you can take to avoid death or serious injury. Of that number of people who were fatally injured in 2012, their deaths most commonly fell into one of four categories. This includes falls, being struck by an object, electrocutions, or being caught in between two objects. Falls made up for nearly 36% of all deaths, which is the most of the four categories. Second was being struck by an object, 10%, followed by electrocution and caught in between objects, 9% and 2% respectively. You will notice that that doesn't add up to quite 100%, but keep in mind that the remaining injuries that result in death are caused by other factors. But nearly 56% of all total injuries come from one of these four construction incidents. It is estimated that by being more prepared and cautious in the workplace, over 400 construction workers could prevent injury on an annual basis. While some workplace issues are still likely to occur, there is no denying that the potential of these four categories should be the first thing considered on a construction site. Importance Of Prevention The reasons that construction sites should be concerned with their safety

Tips & Tricks for Efficiently Tracking Lean Projects Recently, we wrote about a couple of problems facing many Lean practitioners. These were problems that hindered their learning process and often caused overconfidence. Amongst the advice to help combat these problems arose the need for detailed tracking and note taking with regards to practice and progress. Being able to accurately track not only the effects but also the process of a Lean project is critical to ongoing success, and is a key to stimulating growth amongst not only the receiving end of your project objectives, but also amongst the employees and Lean practitioners themselves. To start off, let's take a look at the current state of Lean project tracking for many Lean practitioners. A recent LinkedIn discussion posed the very question of project tracking, and sought to understand a few different distinct metrics. In addition to measuring the effectiveness of any program when it comes to completion, tracking can also be about measuring the scope of your projects, so that you can accurately project what the effects will be before you actually reach the stage at which you expect them. Part of this "scope" involves tracking exactly who is involved with your project, who is affected, and how they are progressing in their respective tasks. Where we are now First of all, it's important to evaluate the current methods that are prevalent in Lean record keeping. The LinkedIn discussion starter, self-identified as Ian R., mentions in his opening post that, when he last posed the question about a year ago, the consensus was that most practitioners were simply using excel spreadsheets for their tracking needs. While there's nothing wrong with relying on Excel for the basics, other users were quick to offer up some slicker alternatives, signaling a sharp (and welcomed, in our book) departure from some of the more basic methods. Unsurprisingly, there exist several specialist software applications whose n

Eliminating Awkward Postures For most companies, the work that employees perform on a daily basis can be quite physical. This type of physical labor can lead to a wide range of injuries. Of course, to improve on workplace safety it is important to do all you can to help reduce the amount and severity of these types of injuries. One easy place where you can start is with the different postures that employees take while performing their day to day activities. In many cases, they put themselves in awkward postures, which increase the risk of injuries to the back, neck and other parts of the body. Fortunately, there are typically alternative ways to do things or even tools that can do those tasks for them so they can avoid injury. According to OSHA: Working in awkward postures increases the exertion and muscle force an employee must apply to complete a task and compresses tendons, nerves and blood vessels. In general, the more extreme the postures the more force is needed to complete the task. Examples of awkward postures include performing overhead work, bending or twisting to lift an object, typing with bent wrists, and squatting. The important thing is helping to identify the awkward postures, and help find alternatives for the employees. The following five positions should be removed from the workplace as much as possible so that employees can complete their work with as little risk for injury as possible. 5 Awkward Postures that Should be Avoided 1. Working with Arms above the Head The first awkward posture that is commonly seen in workplaces is trying to complete tasks with your arms above the head. There are many examples of this, some of which could include holding up a board while it is secured in place, or even painting a ceiling. Any time you are working with your arms over your head, you are putting added strain on your back. In addition, your arms are going to fatigue much more quickly than they would in a more natural position. This can put you at r

Safety - An Issue worth Taking Seriously! Safety is of great importance no matter if it is for the work place or home. If we are talking about home, we might discuss how kids who are messing around the house and playing games could be exposing themselves to dangers, resulting in injury or in worst case scenario, even accidental death. However, there are many safety products available in the market specifically designed to prevent injury in and around the home. It is in this frame of mind that we will occasionally be introducing some safety products for home use, in order to help parents and their children avoid any accidents, where possible. two workers discussing safety planAs well, when it comes to workplace safety measures, ignorance or lack of proper safety measures, can also lead to considerable financial loss for a company, or even the greatest of losses - someone's life. It is therefore very important that an employer take great care in installing and using safety measures, which includes proper safety training, materials, supplies or products. While there is no denying of the fact that it can be difficult for an employer to fully provide adequate safety products and measures to prevent any mishap, it is a task that must be accomplished. The task of safety management may prove even more complex for a team leader who must engage in managing safety at a construction site or workplace, as seen in this set of videos from OSHA. For those of you who have not yet researched the market, there is a huge range of safety supplies available for you to choose from. It pays to shop and compare, but even then, just when you think that you found the right solution, someone else comes up with a product even better and more efficient. That is why we have created this blog and review site. We hope that with our help as safety product experts we can help you or your firm to select the proper, most helpful safety supplies. You can find solutions and insight by reading ou

It is the legal duty of any factory's management to make sure that it protects its employees from the dangers of arc flash. Most importantly, they need to comply with the OSHA industry standards which among other things, require that the management conducts a proper assessment of the arc flash hazards within and around the workplace. Have you heard about the arc flash analysis software? You need to consider it as you deal with the dangers of arc flash when working with high voltage equipment. Arc flash analysis is theoretically quite straightforward. It involves collection of data from the power distribution system. You also look at the dimensions of the electrical cables; the cross-section area and length. Once management has sourced this and other relevant information, they use the arc flash analysis software to conduct the short-circuit analysis of the system. The data realized is then used to get comparisons with the standards. With resultant data, the management is able to decide on the best PPE equipment for the employees. After using the arc flash analysis software, the resulting PPE requirement is in most cases too expensive. What can the management do to avoid paying the high costs? One way of doing this is upgrading the equipment to newer and more efficient versions. You may have noticed how easy it is for old circuit breakers to trip. This is simply because these breakers have low reaction times. The arc flash analysis software helps management to conduct sensitivity study, and the results of such a study might suggest an overhaul of the existing circuit breakers. You might be wondering whether arc flash analysis software is that important. In the industry setting, the primary concern for the manager should be the safety of employees. Arc faults are very dangerous and can cause burns, serious health complications and in some instances, death. It is important for the management to take arc flash analysis and warn of such hazards and so as to curb the

Since the inception of factory production in the industrial revolution, safety has been a concern. However, safety today looks nothing like it did back then. We now have OSHA and other government groups, unions, and lobbies that safeguard the safety of workers and make sure that they are adequately provided for. In addition, workers themselves have more rights in suing an employer over unsafe conditions and receiving compensation in the event of an incident that leaves them injured. Especially if an injury prevents them from providing for their family. The point is, a lot has changed over the past few hundred years in workplace safety, and those changes have unanimously been in the best interests of the workers that inhabit those workplaces. However, just as changing times caused safety evolution in the past, it is important that this trend continues now with the advent of things such as the internet, tablets, smart phones, and more. Safety is no longer limited to physical seminars and training sessions. That being said, let's take a look at exactly how you can use technology and engagement to enhance your safety efforts. eNewsletter to Employees One way that employers are reaching their employees both in a new way and outside of the physical confines of the work area is through email newsletters. The vast majority of working adults (and most every demographic, for that matter) are online these days and employers need to make sure they are taking advantage of that online time and platform. Formatting an email newsletter is great because it can be easily sent out to every single employee in your workforce. This can be used for general company news and the like, but can also be used to send out weekly safety lessons or reminders for employees about any witnessed unsafe behavior. To get started down this round, you'll need to make sure your emails get opened and engaged with. Here are a couple of ways to do that: 1. Keep your subject lines short but catchy. Sub

The Adventure of Reducing Risks and Hazards in the Workplace Whenever starting a new job, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what you should be doing, and how it needs to be done. When I started working at a new facility as a safety manager, I began my first day with a meeting with the facility manager. The meeting was set up so he could tell me what was expected of me in my new role, and provide other details of the job. I was quite surprised when the meeting took less than two minutes, and the only objective I was given was to 'reduce risks and hazards in the workplace.' I asked for some clarification or guidance in what exactly he was looking for, but he simply said that I was hired to improve safety, and he was leaving the task of finding out how to do it in my hands. He gave me a sheet of paper with some information about what resources I had available, including my annual safety budget and told me to get to work right away. I should point out there that I had several years experience as a safety manager at a large company, which is why I was brought in to this new facility. The facility had recently been cited by OSHA for a variety of safety hazards, and there were even some fairly severe injuries that occurred in the previous months. The facility owners made it clear that safety was a priority for them, and they were willing to do whatever it took to pass inspections, and keep the employees safe. Planning My Safety Program While that initial meeting was unique, to say the least, I was also quite excited about the opportunity. It is quite rare that a safety manager is given such flexibility, and I wanted to make sure the manager wouldn't regret that decision. I got to work right away planning my safety improvement program. OSHA Safety Sign Guide I wanted to make some quick changes to help improve safety in the short term, and then also plan out ways to create a culture change within the facility so everyone would be more safety focused. I kne

In the video below, we take a GoPro camera ride along with a tower climber as he scales to the top of a 1768 foot tall antenna. The worker slowly climbs on increasingly smaller and precarious looking ladder rungs, all while toting a 30 pound tool bag behind him, occasionally assisted by his climbing partner. The video, aptly titled "The most dangerous job in the world," is stirring up a lot of controversy, especially because it has simply shed light on a profession most people didn't even know existed. Tower climbers are often hired by cell phone companies to adjust antennas and mechanisms located at the top of their cell towers; they are often required to climb thousands of feet into the air. However, the even scarier part is that in many cases, they do not even use any sort of safety cable. In the video, a voice over remarks that OSHA regulations allow for this type of "free climbing" method. As it turns out, most experts are confused as to where the video makers got that idea, as there's nothing to be found in the OSHA guidelines that condones such procedure. In fact, to the contrary, OSHA has published findings highlighting the lethality of this particular profession and method, noting that AT&T alone has had 15 cell tower workers die from falls since data started being collected in 2003. What's even worse is that sanctions against cell companies have been nearly non-existent, and not once has OSHA gone after the larger providers, despite their high mortality rates. Part of this may be due to a loophole (indeed perhaps the very same one that the video cites as "allowing" for such a dangerous climb) that won't hold companies liable for the unsafe behavior of independent contractors if they don't have knowledge of it. In short, a contractor, knowing full well their workers will be free climbing, can simply not communicate to a cell company as such which in turn gives them plausible deniability. Why Should You Care As A Business Owner? ​No

Back pain and injuries account for some of the most reported and most serious common workplace injuries worldwide. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a country whose labor department doesn't dedicate pages of literature to both employers and employees solely on this topic. Loss of work days and productivity, lifelong injuries and disabilities, and short term discomfort are all common results of lower back-related incidents. According to an OSHA fact sheet, More than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, and back injuries account for one of every five workplace injuries or illnesses. Further, one-fourth of all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries, costing industry billions of dollars on top of the pain and suffering borne by employees. okstate.edu - OSHA Fact Sheet While employers have a responsibility to their workers to implement training programs that minimize injuries (and proactively improve the ergonomics of work-related tasks), employees also need to respect their own bodies and know their limits. This article will be broken up into several sections, each relating to specific aspect of lower back injuries in the workplace, with a primary focus on prevention. Anyone reading through should have a solid grasp on this all-too-common workplace plague by the end of their brief time here. Let's begin. Eliminate Back Injuries While we'll get to proper lifting technique and some employee-level suggestions in a minute, one of the best things employers can do is actually seek to eliminate lower back hazards from their workplace altogether; this is known as elimination - getting rid of risks period - and should be your first step in improving safety before moving on to prevention - mitigating risks that you and your workers have to live with in order for your business to function. Most lower back injuries are associated with lifting, and the most dangerous zones for humans are when lifted objects are below the knees or

When running any sort of physical production based business, you will often have stock on hand. Instead of only stocking for a short time, there will be a "backup" supply of products that can be called upon as demand changes. This is known as "just in case" manufacturing and is highly common in most industries. However, several decades ago, the rise of lean business gave way to the concept of "just in time" manufacturing. In a just in time, or JIT, system, products are made as they are demanded and there is little to (ideally) no back-stock at any time. Why go lean? The idea behind JIT manufacturing is that one can eliminate several kinds of waste by taking away the need to keep inventory of excess stock. From now on, equate "stock" to "excess stock" or the concept of having too much on hand, because in a JIT environment "stock" doesn't really exist outside of individual orders. When you don't have to keep inventory, employees free up their time for other projects and tasks. Also, you have less paperwork to manage, and can focus on other things, like workplace safety, new profitability angles and marketing strategies, etc. Another reason to go to a JIT model is that you increase accountability of management. Because you have no inventory to fall back on in a JIT situation, inventory cannot be used as a crutch to make up for other problems. Slow, inefficient production is often masked by a stockpile of inventory, making it harder to realize certain areas of production may need improvement - these may include machine functionality, worker habits, reliability, and inadequate space management. Another huge place you save by adopting this method is in transportation. Materials do not need to be stocked at various sites and you need to do much less transporting. You will eliminate time wasted in transit when there is traffic or road congestion, and you'll even be more environmentally friendly by reducing fuel burned for shipping purposes

Introduction to Operational Excellence For most of us, Lean is a common concept by now. By extension, we're also familiar with the idea of continuous improvement; the way we run our business should ultimately be reflective of a chain of efforts to change for the better and reach more perfect efficiency. That's all well and good, but we've seen more and more businesses shying away from simply relying on "continuous improvement" in recent years and instead throwing around the term "operational excellence." While the two terms do ultimately work in tandem, and even though there's some overlap, it's important to understand where the two differ. A good way to think about operational excellence is as the answer or endgame to your continuous improvement actions, it's a state you want to attain through your workplace improvement endeavors. Unlike continuous improvement, however, where you're simply trying to 'always get better', operational excellence has a more clearly defined point where it can be said you've reached your goals. One of the biggest criteria for operational excellence is a horizontal and vertical (so throughout all levels and teams of a company) understanding of how workflow should look and how to correct problems when something isn't flowing correctly. This creates operational excellence because employees are now able to solve their own problems without relying on specialists or management, drastically decreasing downtime and putting them into a preventative rather than a reactive mode when solving problems. Furthermore, operational excellence then frees up your management and executives to focus on advertising and brand/market expansion planning and projects. In short, operational excellence allows a company to achieve continual improvement while still having the resources to put an emphasis on bottom line and market share growth. Operational Excellence Question Posed Sounds pretty awesome, right?! We think so, but you

When shopping for industrial label printers, it is important to find one that is reliable, produces high quality labels and signs, and can keep up with the demand of the facility. Bepop printers excel in all three of these categories, and many others. When evaluated in real working conditions, it is easy to see that these printers will meet or exceed the requirements of even the most demanding situations. There are multiple models created by Bepop, such as the CPM-100G3U and the CPM-200GU. Each one is designed to print, and cut labels for use in virtually any situation. Reliable Printing Bepop printing and cutting machines are manufactured by MAX®. This is a company with a lot of experience building printers that can stand up to the toughest conditions, and their Bepop line is certainly no exception. While it is always best to keep printers as clean and safe as possible, Bepop printers have been tested extensively in dirty and difficult conditions. They can continuously print out great labels and signs in almost any type of environment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA is dedicated to the health and well-being of employees while on the job. Day in and day out employees are exposed to potentially dangerous situations based upon their specific job functions. Whether a person is employed at a manufacturing facility, an auto body shop, or within a large warehouse, OSHA regulations aim to provide the warnings needed to keep hazards at a minimum and keep employees informed about their surroundings. One of ways in which employees are kept informed about the hazards and dangers within their work environments is through the usage of warning labels. Types of OSHA Warning Labels and Signs The term warning label or sign can be used interchangeably in regards to OSHA's recommendations for hazard warning. There are basically three types of labels or signs outlined within OSHA 1910.145 and they are used to indicate danger, caution, or general safety instruction. Danger Sign/Labels: Danger labels or signs should feature the colors or red, black, and white. Employees should be informed that whenever danger signs or labels are posted they should exercise extreme caution as many hazards are immediate. This does not mean dangers are possible, it means they are imminent if certain things were to happen. Caution Sign/Labels: Any signage or labels indicating caution should feature a yellow background with black lettering. Caution labels or signs should be used to inform employees about potential hazards. This is unlike danger signs, since dangers signs indicate certain dangers that ARE there, while caution indicates that hazards are just simply POSSIBLE. Safety Instruction Sign/Labels: The standard background should be white, with black letters upon the white background. In addition, on the panel, green with white letters may also be used. This type of warning label or sign is used when general information related to certain safety practices is available. Furthermore, OSHA indicates in 19

The cutting edge platforms for today will be the commoditized platforms of tomorrow. As the technology matures and evolves, the previous generation of technology becomes easier to build and deploy enabling a rush of vendors to capitalize on it by making it accessible to the largest possible customer base. This puts enterprises in the nontechnology sectors in an awkward position. Often not ready to consume the latest and greatest technology due to parts of their stack unable to leverage new technology and requiring upgrade to and deployment of the stepping stone technology, these enterprises have to choose between vendor lock-in in a multi-year software and service contract or risk building and implementing a version of the older technology in-house. Business Drivers of Infrastructure-as-a-Service The biggest risk in building technology platforms in-house is the risk of commoditization. The argument played out with the debate over internal vs. public clouds. Initially, enterprises were hesitant to leverage public clouds with several of them opting to build internal, private clouds. Building a cloud is hard. Operating and maintaining a cloud is even harder. Ensuring that the cloud is running on and leveraging the best in class technology requires dedication to the cause. This is often missing in non-technology enterprises by design given they are driven by different and separate business drivers and considerations. A cloud service provider is motivated to ensure the best in class service and technology because that drives revenue for them. An enterprise whose main business is not offering cloud or software services will not be motivated by the same drivers and thus there will be an inherent difference in their approach and success with building and delivering an internal cloud. Business Drivers for Platform-as-a-Service The same argument (public vs private clouds) applies to platforms. Building the best in class platforms that offer the ability to develop cuttin