Eric D. Schabell: 2017

Saturday, December 30, 2017

2017 in review - Global Technology Evangelist Director and more

Every year ends and every year it's always good to look back on the times we have shared, the trips taken and what's been accomplished.

This year started off with a promotion to Global Technology Evangelist Director in March, after over five years in various technical marketing roles throughout Red Hat.

I am now approaching nine years at Red Hat and it's never been more fun than now.

This year saw a transition from supporting integration portfolio solutions like Red Hat Cloud Infrastructure and Red Hat Cloud Suite, to focusing the coming year on hybrid cloud stories.

With that in mind, here is my review of my activities in 2017.

Blockchain Powers Travel to New Hybrid Cloud Heights

There has been a lot said about the distributed ledger technology known as blockchain, mostly in the realm of financial services and Bitcoins.

It goes beyond the normal usages you might think of with blockchain technologies, such as ICO's where tokens are sold as initial offerings to purchase services from the companies making the offerings.

There are others jumping into the fray, such as large logistics companies attempting to gain better control of shipping standards.

The basis is about trust, being absolutely sure that the thing you are receiving is actually what it's supposed to be. With that in mind, there are many other interesting opportunities for using blockchain technologies to ensure your applications and customers are interacting through a cryptographically secure, decentralized, tamper-proof network.

Let's take a look at how this can be implemented using open technologies and watch the recording of this live demo as presented on stage in Sydney, shall we?

Free Online Self-Paced Workshop Updated to OpenShift Container Platform 3.7

Last summer it was announced that a series of free online workshops were available for your enjoyment.

One of these is an AppDev in the Cloud workshop, focusing on real application deployment using six containers and agile integration on OpenShift Container Platform 3.6.

Not wanting to stand still with the latest release of OpenShift Container Platform 3.7, the entire workshop has been updated. There is now a track for using version 3.6 or version 3.7, your choice!

Let's look a little closer at what the workshop has in store for you, shall we?

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness: Step 8 - Curing Travel Woes

Step 8 - Curing travel woes

Every journey starts at the beginning and this journey's no exception, a journey of 10 steps to cloud happiness

As previously presented in the introduction, it's possible to find cloud happiness through a journey focused on the storyline of digital transformation and the need to deliver applications in to a cloud service.

Application delivery and all it's moving parts such as containers, cloud, platform as a service (PaaS) and a digital journey requires some planning to get started. There's nothing like hands-on steps to quickly leverage real experiences as you prepare.

Previously we covered how to get a cloud, the use of a service catalog, how to add cloud operations functionality, centralizing business logic, process improvement, the human aspect, and a retail web shop, so what's next?

Red Hat Summit 2018 - Hybrid mulit-cloud, optimize IT and VM migration submissions

Red Hat Summit 2018 theme

This years Red Hat Summit will be in San Francisco, CA from May 8-10, 2018.

It will be located at the Moscone Center and has expanded to include more room for sessions, labs, lightning talks, panels and the pavilion.

You can register online and the agenda will be posted soon since the call for papers has closed.

This year I'm part of the organization committee that's providing the entire labs experience at Red Hat Summit. Since it's such a massive effort to organize, I've backed down my normal array of submissions to work with a few select presenters. Below are my submissions, a session and a lab, but there might be a few more small mini-theater type of talks as these tend to be arranged closer to the actual event.

Looking forward to seeing you there, be sure to stop by or find me on social media to grab some time to chat. I am always excited to meet fellow enthusiast who are excited about OpenSource technologies, Cloud technologies and of course anything related to Business Process Management.

There is a good chance I might have something exciting around my BPM book project to tell you about at Red Hat Summit, so stay tuned.

Let's see what is coming for my sessions:

Cloud Happiness - How to install new OpenShift Container Platform 3.7 in minutes

Get OpenShift Container Platform v3.7 today!

Since the release of the OpenShift Container Platform it has been my desire to provide a simple, fully configured and easy to use installation.

This installation needs to have the Red Hat Middleware product streams installed (pre-configured container options) and all the extras like source to image and .Net Core containers.

Since I last updated this project, OpenShift Container Platform 3.7 was released.

As of today you can now install this new release in just minutes on your laptop, machine or where ever you might like if you have the time and inclination.

Bit of history

A few months back I showed you how to go from no cloud to fully cloud enabled with a container based application development platform in just over two minutes with OpenShift Container Platform 3.4.

Next up we supported you with a newer version 3.5 with many new features you wanted to get your hands on.

For version 3.6 you got a tech preview of the all new service catalog, a way to use templated containers.

Now it's time to embrace the latest version of OpenShift Container Platform 3.7 and start enjoying the new features it brings.

Zero to Cloud Ops on Container Development Kit (CDK) in Minutes

Red Hat Dev Suite installer for CDK installation

Some time ago I walked through installing the Cloud management solution known as CloudForms in a container.

While this was fun, it was not really feasible and quickly ran into limitations in use.

The real solution is pulling this example into the Red Hat Demo Central collection and put it on a Cloud solution based on open technologies.

This gives you the chance to go from your laptop, to Cloud installation and onwards to a Cloud Operations solution in just minutes.

Installing on the OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) was easy enough, it only took minutes, but now we're going to how how to use the Container Development Kit (CDK).

Let's take a look at how this works, shall we?

AppDev in the Cloud with Financial Customer Evaluation Solution

Good or bad financial customer?

The oldest business logic demo in modern JBoss BRMS times is the Customer Evaluation example launched back in June 2012.

Back then, JBoss BRMS included rules, events and processes. The project provides a fully installed and configured environment for showcasing the project and all the available BPM components. It includes a JBoss Developer Studio project complete with unit tests.

Since then this project was ported to work on OpenShift version one, version two and it just makes sense to provide it as an AppDev in the Cloud example on the OpenShift Container Platform version three.

Let's take a closer look at how to get started with the Customer Evaluation project using the JBoss BPM Suite on OpenShift Container Platform.

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness: Step 7 - Retail Web Shop

Step 7 - Retail Web Shop

AppDev in the Cloud with Baggage Delivery Solutions

Back in March 2015 the JBoss BPM Baggage Delivery application demo project was launched based on work by a North American Solution Architect, Jason Milliron at Red Hat.

It consisted of a local installation and demo instructions to run this on your own local machine.

After languishing for over two years now, in dire need of updating, it's been brought forward in to the age of cloud, containers, and modernized application delivery.

The local installation remains an option, but now it's enhanced with an installation on a private cloud on your laptop with the OpenShift Container Platform so why not push this baggage delivery example in to the clouds?

What's been done to bring this application up to date:

Updated existing JBoss Demo Central Baggage Delivery project.
Create the AppDev in the Cloud project providing Baggage Delivery application delivered in a container on OpenShift Container Platform.
Added link to Red Hat Demo Central for container deployment, listed as option two.

Let's take a closer look at how to get started with AppDev in the Cloud and the Baggage Delivery project.

Windows Hyper-V OpenShift Container Platform Install in Minutes

Install OpenShift Container Platform on Hyper-V

Since the release of the OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) it has been my desire to provide a simple, fully configured and easy to use installation.

This installation needs to have the Red Hat Middleware product streams installed (pre-configured container options) and all the extras like source to image and .Net Core containers.

For some time there's been easy to use installations for Unix platforms like Linux, osX and a generic Windows installation. During workshops where attendees would arrive using various versions and configurations of Windows, each requiring it's own tweaks to install using Virtualbox.

While Linux has the ability install using the native virtual environment under KVM, Windows has been lagging behind with our support of Hyper-V.

No more.

Thanks to a community member of our project, today you can install on Windows using Hyper-V as your virtual machine provider.

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness: Step 6 - Human Aspect

Step 6 - Human aspect

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness: Step 5 - Real Process Improvement

Step 5 - Winning with process improvement.

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness: Step 4 - Centralize Business Logic

Step 4 - Centralize Business Logic

Every journey starts at the beginning and this journey's no exception.

As previously presented in the introduction to this series of articles, you'll be taken through the 10 steps to your cloud happiness.

This journey focuses on the storyline that you're interested due to the push towards a digital transformation and the need to deliver applications in to a cloud service.

This focus on application delivery and all the new moving parts, like containers, cloud, platform as a service (PaaS) and digital journeys might leave you searching for that simple plan to get started. There is nothing like getting hands-on to quickly leverage the experience you've acquired over the years, so let's dive right in.

Previously, you were shown how to get a cloud, the use of a service catalog, and how to add cloud operations functionality, so what's next?

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness: Step 3 - Adding Cloud Operations

Step 3 - Adding Cloud Operations

Every journey starts at the beginning and this journey's no exception.

As previously presented in the introduction to this series of articles, you'll be taken through the 10 steps to your cloud happiness.

This journey focuses on the storyline that you're interested due to the push towards a digital transformation and the need to deliver applications in to a cloud service.

This focus on application delivery and all the new moving parts, like containers, cloud, platform as a service (PaaS) and digital journeys might leave you searching for that simple plan to get started. There is nothing like getting hands-on to quickly leverage the experience you've acquired over the years, so let's dive right in.

Previously you were shown how to get a cloud and the use of a service catalog, so what's next?

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness: Step 2 - Use a Service Catalog

Step 2 - Use a Service Catalog

Every journey starts at the beginning and this journey's no exception.

As previously presented in the introduction to this series of articles, you'll be taken through the 10 steps to your cloud happiness.

This journey focuses on the storyline that you're interested due to the push towards a digital transformation and the need to deliver applications in to a cloud service.

This focus on application delivery and all the new moving parts, like containers, cloud, platform as a service (PaaS) and digital journeys might leave you searching for that simple plan to get started. There is nothing like getting hands-on to quickly leverage the experience you've acquired over the years, so let's dive right in.

Previously you were shown how to get a cloud, so what's next?

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness: Step 1 - Get a Cloud

Step 1 - Get a Cloud

Every journey starts at the beginning and this journey's no exception. It's 10 steps to cloud happiness and you need to start with the first step.

As previously presented in the introduction to this series of articles, you'll be taken through the 10 steps to your cloud happiness.

The storyline around a push towards digital transformation and the need to deliver applications in to a cloud service is why a private cloud become essential tool for delivering applications.

Delivering applications and working with all the new moving parts, like containers, cloud, platform as a service (PaaS) and digital journeys means a plan's needed to get started. Getting hands-on is the best way to quickly gain experience, so let's dive right in.

The first thing needed is a cloud, but not just some service online that' not hands-on. Running a cloud on premise means leveraging it as a test platform for application delivery while working right on your very own laptop.

OpenSlava 2017 slides: 10 steps to AppDev in the Cloud happiness

As mentioned previously, I was at OpenSlava 2017 this week presenting a keynote, a lightning talk and a breakout session.

OpenSlava is organized by Accenture and brings together speakers on emerging technologies and open source, kicking off October 5-6 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Below you will find the slides from my breakout session.

10 Steps to Cloud Happiness Introduction

No matter how many steps there are, it's always a journey.

There's always ups and downs in any journey as you traverse the path you've chosen.

This is no more true for a walk to the top of a ridge line than for your digital journey into the cloud.

As an application developer, or as an operations specialist, you have to wonder how to get from zero to that plateau of cloud happiness.

Let's take a closer look at an easy 10-step program to get you up and running your own application delivery platform in the cloud, even though it's going to be a local experience.

This first article will layout the 10 steps with subsequent articles presenting each step in detail. You'll be able to follow along as your happiness grows with each following article.

How To Setup Integration & SOA Tooling For JBoss Developer Studio 11

The release of the latest JBoss Developer Studio (JBDS) brings with it the questions around how to get started with the various JBoss Integration and BPM product tool sets that are not installed out of the box.

In this series of articles we will outline for you how to install each set of tools and explain which products they are supporting.

This should help you in making an informed decision about what tooling you might want to install before embarking on your next JBoss integration project.

There are three different software packs that offer tooling for various JBoss integration products:

This article will outline how to get started with the JBoss Integration & SOA Development tooling with any of the JBDS 11 series of releases.

How To Setup BPM and Rules Tooling For JBoss Developer Studio 11

This article will outline how to get started with the JBoss BPM and Rules Development tooling with any of the JBDS 11 series of releases.

Select JBoss BPM & Rules Development tooling.

How To Setup Fuse Tooling For JBoss Developer Studio 11

This article will outline how to get started with the JBoss Fuse Development tooling and any of the JBDS 11 series of releases.

OpenSlava 2017: Keynote, AppDev in the Cloud, APIs and more

Back in July, I mentioned submitting a few talks to the event OpenSlava 2017.

With only a few weeks before the event takes place I wanted to share the two talks I will be presenting.

The organization selected the talks listed below and on top of that, one will a part of the opening keynote which means I get to help launch the main theme of the event; Emerging Technologies.

OpenSlava is organized by Accenture and brings together speakers on emerging technologies and open source, kicking off October 5-6 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Be sure to sign up on the registration site before you join us.

Let's look at the outlines for the keynote and accepted talks I'm presenting.

Zero to Cloud Operations on OpenShift in minutes

Red Hat Forum Norway 2017 - foundation for digital transformation recap

As previously mentioned, I was in Oslo, Norway last week to present the technical keynote for the Red Hat Forum Norway.

With 200+ attendees, it was a full room and lots of interest in the foundations for digital transformation being the open technologies that Red Hat provides.

Red Hat Forum Norway

Not only that, the application development and deployment layers featuring OpenShift Container Platform were not only of interest, but the morning customer sessions featured many embracing the story today.

There were many side sessions where conversations took place around architectures for containers, where to find more on container security and live demo sessions showcasing the hands-on workshop that I have place freely online.

All industries were present, enthusiastic and enjoyed not only the focus on customers telling their stories, but also partners like Microsoft spent time laminating on the virtues of leveraging Red Hat open solutions on their Cloud platforms.

Red Hat Forum Finland 2017 - foundation for digital transformation recap

As previously mentioned, I was in Helsinki, Finland yesterday to present the technical keynote for the Red Hat Forum Finland.

Red Hat Forum showcasing the
foundations of your digital
transformation.

With 500+ attendees, it was a full room and lots of interest in the foundations for digital transformation being the open technologies that Red Hat provides.

Agile integration workshop updated to OpenShift Container Platform 3.6

Agile integration in hands-on workshop.

This last summer I posted an overview of the workshops available online for free.

They included middleware workshops showing you how to leverage business rules with JBoss BRMS, developing process applications with JBoss BPM Suite and a new look at application development in the Cloud.

They all get you hands-on with the various technologies, provide online browser-based instructions you can follow anywhere at your own pace. They take you from zero to fully completed solutions and are meant to give a solid feel of what using these open technologies can do in a short timeframe.

The latest Cloud focused workshop was based on OpenShift Container Platform 3.5 and with the new release of version 3.6 it's time to update this workshop.

Retail in the Cloud - Business rule integration in retail with Vaadin 8.1

Shopping cart UI updated to Vaadin 8.1

Last year the retail example integrating business logic with an online retail shopping experience was taken in to the Cloud.

We talked about the various layers from the bottom up and provided you with the easiest way possible to install your own private Cloud.

We brought you a full retail example with the JBoss Cool Store running on the OpenShift Container Platform (OCP), which you can install in just minutes before pushing this retail example in a container hosted on OCP.

You can now fully demo and leverage a retail example based on JBoss BRMS through the business central web console running containerized on not just your own OCP, but on any OCP installation you want.

How about that?

Red Hat Forum Norway 2017 - Keynote on a foundation for successful digital transformation

Last year I was asked to keynote and open the Red Hat Forum in Finland.

It was so much fun to spend the day with customers and partners from the Nordic region, talking about cloud, application development and poking fun at the challenges we face with our digital journeys.

This year I'm again going to be delivering the technology keynote on September 5th, 2017 in Helsinki, Finland and then traveling to Oslo, Norway on September 7th, 2017 to speak at the Red Hat Forum there.

Below is the title and abstract of the talk, which I hope entertains as much as the session did last year. With hundreds and hundreds of customers, partners and Red Hat experts on hand, you won't want to miss the chance to listen to some great speakers, attend the various breakout sessions and have a chat with us. Be sure to register and I'll see you in my session listed in the agenda:

Cloud Happiness - How to install new OpenShift Container Platform 3.6 in just minutes

Get OpenShift Container Platform v3.6 today!

Since the release of the OpenShift Container Platform it has been my desire to provide a simple, fully configured and easy to use installation.

This installation needs to have the Red Hat Middleware product streams installed (pre-configured container options) and all the extras like source to image and .Net Core containers.

Since I last updated this project, OpenShift Container Platform 3.6 was released.

As of today you can now install this new release in just minutes on your laptop, machine or where ever you might like if you have the time and inclination.

Bit of history

A few months back I showed you how to go from no cloud to fully cloud enabled with a container based application development platform in just over two minutes with OpenShift Container Platform 3.4.

Next up we supported you with a newer version 3.5 with many new features you wanted to get your hands on.

Now it's time to embrace the latest version of OpenShift Container Platform 3.6 and start enjoying the new features it brings.

If you've been following my journey through the application development phases of storytelling, it's fairly obvious I'm a fan of cloud based solutions like OpenShift. This is how application development goes from local resources and moves on to remote resources, while developers continue to work locally in the same manner as always.

It is so simple, I believe that anyone can set this up in just minutes, so let's take a look at how to get you started:

Red Hat Forum Finland 2017 - Keynote on a foundation for successful digital transformation

Last year I was asked to keynote and open the Red Hat Forum in Finland.

It was so much fun to spend the day with customers and partners from the Nordic region, talking about cloud, application development and poking fun at the challenges we face with our digital journeys.

This year I'm again going to be delivering the technology keynote on September 5th, 2017 in Helsinki, Finland. Below is the title and abstract of the talk, which I hope entertains as much as the session did last year.

With hundreds and hundreds of customers, partners and Red Hat experts on hand, you won't want to miss the chance to listen to some great speakers, attend the various breakout sessions and have a chat with us. Be sure to register and I'll see you in my session listed in the agenda:

How to Optimize Existing IT by Modernizing Travel Processes

There is a concentrated effort today in the technology world for businesses to navigate towards becoming a digital business.

This is not a simple turn-key solution, nor is it something easily achieved without taking a step-by-step approach to your complex environments.

Let's face it, there have been many commitments made in the past to certain technology paths. There are legacy investments that are still returning enough value to cause hesitation when reaching to pull their plug. There could be partially completed projects that were chosen in the course of spending political capitol, making it nearly impossible to abandon them without endangering the entire IT landscape.

These are just a few of the issues that necessitate one of the first steps being to evaluate optimizing existing IT investments.

OpenSlava 2017: Keynote & AppDev in the Cloud showcase

OpenSlava 2017 is a large event that Accenture puts together on emerging technologies and open source.

It's running from October 5-6 in Bratislava, Slovakia which provides the beautiful backdrop to the registration site.

I have been asked to provide the opening keynote session covering open source, Red Hat and what's interesting in our emerging technologies. I have some thoughts on the matter, but won't post that here until post conference event.

Below are a few other talks submitted and well worth your time if you're attending in the Fall.

How to Optimize Existing IT by Modernizing Retail Processes

How to Optimize Existing IT by Modernizing Financial Processes

How to Optimize Existing IT by Modernizing HR Processes

Financial AppDev in the Cloud with Generic Loan Demo

Previously you received a containerized financial application as a demonstration for application development in the Cloud.

This was intended to showcase a generic loan process based application running in a container on the Container Development Kit (CDK).

Multiple demo projects installed on OCP.

Times have changed, the products showcased move forward and this is an update to take the Generic Loan demo application in to the future with JBoss EAP 7.0 and JBoss BPM Suite 6.4 on OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) 3.5.

Updated generic loan project

Today the updated financial (FSI) generic loan example that can be installed on any OpenShift Container Platform layer of your stack.

Other improvements include the ability to clone the project from inside the container and to install this demo project alongside any of the others found in Red Hat Demo Central in a single OCP instance.

Free open source workshops available online for AppDev in the Cloud

Over the years of being a technology evangelist I have come to understand the value of workshops.

They are a way to take developing ideas and deepen them as they gain traction with the audiences I am trying to reach.

Workshops emerge as ideas, then they gain an implementation from either someone in the field or that I put together myself and finally it justifies taking the time to provide depth.

This is the process of teaching, from idea to implementation to detailed workshop. It's taking that initial possibility to the point that demand requires an in depth model everyone can learn from.

Just talking about a solution is not the way to gain traction, it's just the test bed of your ideas. Once you gain traction and there is interest, you develop a demo implementation to prove the value. Often this lacks any form of explanation beyond installation documentation.

To reach the masses, a workshop with step-by-step instructions along with eventual video support is the most effective tool I have found.

Catching up on the Red Hat Partner Conference

Last week was a whirl wind of activity at the Red Hat Partner Conference hosted in Frankfurt, Germany.

I provided tips before attending this conference and it seems quite a few of you took them to heart.

While my workshop did not get the room needed, a talk on sales conversations around Cloud Infrastructure was selected for the main keynote stage together with Margaret Dawson.

The event kicked off on Sunday, but due to earlier commitments I arrived on Monday afternoon. The event for me is almost a reunion with many of the current Red Hat partners around Europe having been around since my Solution Architect days in the Benelux area.

Start laying your digital foundations today!

I spent Monday evening touring the regional areas during a dinner where I got to chat with the partners from the Benelux region, German region, Italian region and UKI region.

That final group included my good friends from the Scotland JBug who were one of the first meetups I ever spoke at in Europe.

The power of networking was in full swing as the Italian region solicited for a keynote at the OpenSlava 2017 conference hosted by Accenture, so watch for me there in the Fall.

Digital transformation with hybrid cloud solutions

Getting ready to dive in to your digital journey?

Are terms like digital transformation, digital business, modernizing infrastructure, scalable infrastructure, optimizing IT, and modern development starting to resonate with you?

These and many more topics related to hybrid cloud solutions are on stage (virtually) this week, keynote speakers, sessions and more.

Everything is brought to you live sessions and as post-event recordings on-demand that you only need to register for to attend and view (recordings available through late September).

Red Hat Cloud Suite is the baseline for these sessions, bringing together Ops, DevOps and modern AppDev storylines in a single event. This is Red Hat's broadest offering combining OpenShift Container Platform, Red Hat OpenStack Platform, Red Hat CloudForms, and much more.

Register for this virtual event to learn how Red Hat's hybrid cloud solutions can help your organization meet business demands—today and tomorrow. Join Red Hat experts, industry thought leaders, and market innovators as they discuss how to:

3 ways to effectively prepare for process improvements in your digital journey

Effectively prepare for process improvements.

In our journey to transform our ways of working, our focus on our customers’ wishes, and our plans to pivot to a digital business, process improvement is a must.

While the transformation to a digital business can encompass many aspects that are new to your organization, there are always existing investments in technologies and processes that need to be evaluated. Some can be modernized and migrated onto the new infrastructure that will support your digital business. Others will remain in place as legacy systems of record.

One thing is for sure: Evaluating existing business processes and looking to improve their effectiveness is a necessary step. Here are 3 ways to effectively prepare for process improvements in your digital journey.

Digital Transformation with Hybrid Cloud Virtual Event (slides)

On June 29th Red Hat is hosting an online virtual event entitled, Digital Transformation with Hybrid Cloud Solutions.

This event spans a day of online keynotes, sessions and demonstrations. You can register online to see this live, or post-event to view recordings of any of these items.

My session explains why the Red Hat Cloud Suite is the ultimate application development stack and below is the abstract followed by the slides for you to enjoy.

"As you can imagine, Red Hat Cloud Suite is a complete and all encompassing solution that offers a lot to an enterprise, but you might be left asking yourself, "How can I experience the Red Hat Cloud Suite as an application developer?"

This session will orientate your interests on application development with the Red Hat Cloud Suite stack, getting you started on the path to containerized application development and Cloud happiness."

Anyone show you how to install OpenShift Container Platform in minutes? (video)

The OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) is the primary way to manage your application development experience in the Cloud.

From code, to containers, to deployments in a polyglot of languages and frameworks, nothing is easier to integrate in to your toolbox or IDE than OCP.

To make this process of getting your very own private Cloud based on OCP, a simple and fast installation project was created. I spent some time on presenting this to various groups and at this years Red Hat Summit event. It has also become a basis for the free online workshop where you can enjoy application development with containers in the Cloud.

The best teacher is a video that supports the claims of installing the latest OCP in just minutes, so here you go: