The RSA Conference kicked off today with the Cloud Security Alliance Summit. The morning’s presentations were standing room only, indicating just how hot cloud security is right now.
I walked away with a profound respect for the folks who are navigating the many security standards and attempting to establish a single framework for secure cloud. This effort transcends vendor and service provider interests, to the federal government. The transmission and storage of data across borders raises serious national security concerns, and legislation is in our future.
Within the private sector, security professionals are learning what questions they need to ask of their cloud service providers, but they aren’t getting the answers they need. When asked about the impact of security standards, providers present this morning agreed they are an “operational burden.” I can’t imagine anyone in the audience — except maybe other service providers — felt any sympathy in response to this statement. Such is the cost of doing business in the cloud. And it needs to be paid sooner than later. Those providers who can implement security controls and provide visibility to consumers will be those that stick around for the long haul — with or without legislation.
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Crystal Bedell
Freelance technology writer & content consultant
This year’s RSA Conference is less than a week away, and I’m getting very excited. I’ve been to RSA many times, but this is only my second time attending since I began freelancing in 2008. I have to admit, attending conferences is a lot more fun when you get to set your own objectives and agenda.
In regards to sessions, I am focusing this year on cloud security and application development since I’ve been doing a lot of work in these areas. I am particularly looking forward to the Cloud Security Alliance Summit on Monday and Wednesday morning’s session “CISOs Check the Weather: Beyond the Hype of Cloud Security.” I’m sure I’m not in the minority and these sessions will be packed, despite their early start. I plan to blog from the show, so come back next week for updates.
I’m also meeting with current and potential clients next week. This face time is what I look forward to most. I work in Eastern Washington, where I do not have any local clients, so this is a rare and welcome opportunity. It is also a rare opportunity for companies that are thinking about hiring a freelance technical writer for the first time. Meeting at a conference such as RSA gives us the opportunity to get to know each other before engaging in a project. If you’ll be at RSA next week and you’d like to meet, feel free to drop me a line. I’d love to get your perspectives on the show and to learn about your company.
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Crystal Bedell
Freelance technology writer & content consultant
cbedell@bedellcommunications.com
As a follow up to my post on how to prepare for a subject matter expert (SME) interview, I thought I’d write about customer case study interviews. Finding customers who are willing and able to share their deployment story can be a challenge. When you have a customer lined up, you want to take advantage of the opportunity while being respectful of his/her time. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your customer interviews.
- Find out if your customer is comfortable with a full case study on the adoption and deployment of your solution. If so, write a customer case study. But don’t leave it at that.
- Think about all the other ways you can use this customer’s story. Can you include a shortened case study as a sidebar in an ebook (and link to the full case study)? Can you include a quote about the customer’s pre-deployment challenges in a white paper? Can you include a testimonial in your newsletter or on your website? Be sure to get your customer’s approval for each use case.
- Perhaps the customer is not comfortable speaking about their specific deployment. In that case, ask if they are willing to comment on the technical and business problems they had before deployment, and the class of technology used to solve the problem without referring to your specific solution. This type of interview is particularly helpful for a white paper where your goal is to educate the reader as opposed to selling them on your specific solution.
- Educate your customer on the difference between marketing case studies and editorial case studies written by journalists. Although it is unlikely the customer will have an opportunity to review an editorial case study, the information will be used in a manner very different from a marketing case study. Given the unbiased nature, perhaps the customer will be willing to speak to a reporter even if he/she will not agree to a marketing case study.
Related posts:
How to prepare for a subject matter expert interview
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Crystal Bedell
Freelance technology writer & content consultant
cbedell@bedellcommunications.com
As a white paper writer, I often conduct subject matter expert (SME) interviews to fill any gaps in my knowledge of a topic and ensure that I get the client’s messaging correct. Occasionally the SME, while certainly knowledgeable, is not prepared to provide the information I need to write the white paper the client wants. Because I don’t always have contact with the SME until the actual interview, I thought it would be helpful to offer some tips on how to prepare an SME for a white paper interview.
- In advance of the SME interview, provide your expert with the white paper outline and basic information about the paper, such as objective, target audience, page length, etc. This will give the expert some context for the interview.
- Whenever possible, provide the SME with speaking points for the interview. Ask your copywriter to either highlight areas of the outline that he/she will be discussing or to provide the actual interview questions. This will help your SME come to the conversation prepared and ensure that he/she hits all the important points.
- Gather any collateral, such as internal sales presentations, white papers, etc., that may be helpful to the writer and your SME. You can send this information to your writer in advance to help him/her ask more informed questions. Your SME might also want to refer to it during the interview.
- Finally, send an email — separate from the meeting invitation — introducing the writer to the SME. Include the titles and contact information of both individuals so that they can quickly reconnect, if necessary, to address follow-up questions after the interview.
Related posts:
Get more out of your customer case study interviews
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Crystal Bedell
Freelance technology writer & content consultant
cbedell@bedellcommunications.com
Despite the worsening economic situation in Western Europe and volatility in other regions, International Data Corporation projects continued growth in IT spending both in the US and worldwide. This growth will be largely driven by mobile devices, software and network equipment.
According to IDC’s Worldwide Black Book, IT spending worldwide and in the US will each continue to grow at a rate of 5% in 2012.
In 2011 the IT industry grew by almost 9% in the US and 5% worldwide, according to IDC. The strongest growth came from smartphones (+46%), software (+6%) and disk storage systems (+6%). Businesses continued to invest in infrastructure upgrades, along with new software applications and mobile devices (including tablets).
IDC expects these trends to continue in 2012, when enterprise spending on network equipment will also accelerate as many organizations invest in network upgrades to cope with the continuing increase in digital information, which will meanwhile ensure another positive year for the storage market. By the end of 2012, the PC industry will also return to positive growth, according to IDC.
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Crystal Bedell
Freelance technology writer & content consultant
cbedell@bedellcommunications.com