You could say my SAP Month of Service began last week, on Michael’s birthday — but I’ll have to hold this story for a little longer. It’s still unraveling.
Today I was lucky to participate in my first official SAP Month of Service volunteer activity at Coit Tower. It was one of those rare gorgeous warm days in San Francisco — with not a cloud or threat of fog in the sky. Organized by HandsOn Bay Area, we met the sole gardener in charge of the gardens of Telegraph Hill. In his job, Milo continually battles against non-native invasive vegetation. Today we got to help play a tiny role in this fight. We got to revel in the soil of San Francisco; we weeded invasive grasses; we replaced our divets with native grasses.
Below is my silly short compilation video of the day — the long version is 12 minutes and also seems ridiculously long — but what a beautiful day it was. How lucky we are to be able to serve our community in this way; how fortunate that I work for a good community citizen. Thanks SAP; thanks HandsOn Bay Area; thank you Milo!
I just published a white paper on the cloud on the community network over at where I work, software giant SAP. Written together with colleagues Michael Klimentiev and Frank Stienhans, it provides a broad overview of current cloud-enablement topics in the enterprise.
Among all the hype about cloud computing, why should you read this paper above all the others? Because it’s readable and interesting — if I may say so myself!
In this paper we take you through a broad market overview, discuss challenges and market drivers, and examine some of the technical and educational barriers to overcome when tackling cloud enablement in the enterprise.
Doesn’t sound readable to you?
For bonus points, we cite external sources from current thought leaders including a few of my personal favorites Jonathan Zittrain, Tim O’Reilly, and, of course, SAP’s own visionary Vishal Sikka.
If that still doesn’t grab you, cloud-related grammar connoisseurs among you will no doubt notice my stubborn insistence on the term “on-premises” in the paper instead of the apparent standard “on-premise,” based on the actual grammatical differences between the words “premise” and “premises.”
Check it out and then let me know if you don’t agree that probing cloud concerns in the enterprise can be readable and fun! Thanks!
Of course I’ve known Marilyn Pratt, self-described in her Twitter bio as “SAP Community Advocate working to be a sustainable citizen of the world,” for many years, and yet we only just met this week. I’d never even so much as exchanged email with her until this year, but we’ve had a hearty online relationship. She’s been a big advocate for me – for my blog content (both personal and on the SAP Community Network) and on Twitter. If you’ve been active on the SAP Community Network she’s probably been an advocate for you too. She has been omnipresent and synonymous with online community at SAP, and so it was both stunning and unsurprising when I met her in person to find just how much more she is. Did you know, for example, her first computer language was Assembler, or that she directed IT for a kibbutz? Have you heard about her husband and five children, who are obviously as dedicated to her as she is to them? Did you know she came to SAP, in a roundabout way, as an escape from a truly (literally) toxic situation?
The second I found out Marilyn was visiting Palo Alto from her hometown New Jersey during Ada Lovelace Day, my schedule turned upside-down. She arranged for me to participate in an awesome interview with Marge Breya. She set aside precious time to meet me — out of so many on her schedule — and, most profoundly, she let me show her my home.
I was honored to be able to drive down the road with her, introduce my family to her, take her to the top of my city San Francisco, dine with her, get a chance to sit and share with her, and follow her in her (tireless, and often sleepless) work dedicated to advocating for others — indeed, to “amplifying the voice of the disenfranchised.” She would find spotlighting herself the least worthy cause of all, and it was only under great collective pressure that she finally cracked and allowed me to allow her to — although she would not say so herself — let her tell it the best.
Ergo — in honor of Ada Lovelace Day 2010, I dedicate this to Marilyn Pratt, a true technology heroine who honors us all and makes advocating for the community her (dare I say our) core business. Without further ado: Marilyn Pratt
BONUS VIDEO! Marilyn at work on Ada Lovelace Day in Palo Alto:
“Amplifying the voice of the disenfranchised doesn’t mean a protest voice — it just means making sure that people who might demur have more focused ability to be visible and make themselves heard.”
Moya Watson 