FOSE Cloud Game Teaches Real Lessons
March 11 – Visitors to FOSE will be able to follow the cloud computing wargame as it evolves on plasma screens at Booz Allen's booth.
The dice were rolling fast and furious today during the first sessions of the Booz Allen Hamilton Cloud Computing Wargames. Action at the tables started slowly, as teams tried to sort out the elements of strategies that would last the entire game and enable them to emerge the winners.
Some players wondered whether the wargame was rigged to favor investments in cloud computing, rather than traditional IT programs or using commercial services, as the path to winning. That theory was dispelled, however, in the second game of the day, when one team gambled on pursuing traditional IT investments coupled with heavy spending on human resources to support portfolio management – and won.
“The risk in the traditional IT approach is the lack of flexibility,” said Greg Dupier, Booz Allen’s master of ceremonies for the event. “This team took the approach that it knew the risks in portfolio management, and it committed a large number of people to stay on top of things.”
In general, Dupier said, a winning strategy comes down to figuring out when to make the switch from the usual way of doing things to the cloud.
One player, whose “day job” is with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, echoed Dupier’s comment.
“We started out in traditional IT, but the hybrid cloud really had a good payoff,” she said. “Spread the word and tell them there are some good strategies in the hybrid cloud environment.”
While winning is always satisfying, the true test of the wargame’s worth is whether it gives players a better grasp of the strengths and pitfalls of cloud computing, and how it can complement other approaches.
“It gave me an understanding of how investing in the cloud can strengthen the enterprise,” said John Grayson of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “It was a fun way to learn about new technologies.”
After watching a full day of action at the wargame, some key strategies to potential success have emerged:
- People are truly invaluable resources; teams that emphasized building an HR strategy and HR department had the greatest success overall.
- The capabilities players are required to invest in are frequently duplicated across tasks; identifying and building those repetitive capabilities offered excellent returns.
- Teams are made up of (mostly) strangers; the quicker the team figures out each individual’s strengths, the better.
- A corollary: the wargame board is very complex, so teams did better when they broke it into smaller areas which different team members were responsible to keep track of.
- Several teams over the course of the day attempted to collaborate with teams at other tables, but negotiations always broke down; Dupier said he hopes other teams try this approach because collaborating would provide an even bigger boost to their chances of success.
The first day’s sessions all focused on civilian agencies. Wednesday’s games will offer exercises for defense and intelligence cloud computing. After the last session, Booz Allen is hosting a capstone event, with a panel discussion among representatives of leading cloud computing vendors, such as Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft, and senior government executives. The top winners of the wargame will be announced, with a review of the lessons learned during the game.
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