Great addition to the discussion Rich.
Last Fall I had the pleaseure to serve as moderator for a terrific session at the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists (ARCS) conference, entitled "Digital Condition Reporting". There are GREAT things happening and more on the way. I believe the notes are available on the ARCS website and well worth the time to look through. http://www.arcsinfo.org Please don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of paper redundancy. It's just not the primary process any more. I have worked with museums that didn't have conservators, registrars, curators, and/or educators, etc. It "worked", but I wouldn't say it ever worked well. But what did each and every one have? Facilities staff and a Book Keeper. Why? Because you can't run anything without them. If your museum relies on email, has ecommerce, databases on the cloud, WiFi on site, networked printers, VoIP, routers/switches, scanners and so on you really can't ignore the importance of it all. The original question was whether or not to go to the cloud and we seem to agree that it has great advantages with some downsides. One thing it won't solve is the tech gap generally found in most museum staff. Adam -----Original Message----- From: Rich Cherry [mailto:rche...@museumsandtheweb.com] Sent: Friday, June 20, 2014 05:14 PM To: 'Museum Computer Network Listserv' Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Cloud Computing Adam,While I dont disagree that it behooves museums to understand as much abouttechnology as they can... not even the largest will ever have the breadthand depth of technology staff skill of a serious cloud provider has and Idont think they should.Just like not all museums have conservators, professional photographers,lawyers, or even graphic designers on staff. That just means they hirethose resources as they need them. And just because museums dont stopcollecting when they dont have appropriate staff to maintain the collectiondoes not mean they shouldn't... it just means their board might not havethe priorities straight. And you could say that about many of the othersupport staff in any museum.. security, facilities, food service.. mostorgs would agree that they need to secure the collection but that does notmean they can't get the same quality of security by using a service.. inmany cases they can get staff with better training than they could affordto do on their own simply due to the scale an outside provider brings tothe table. Just like cloud services. Of course they also have theresponsibility to carefully select and manage the security provider... sothey need to know some aspects of the security needs to do that.So I dont think using cloud and planning technology over 5+ years aremutually exclusive... the most successful orgs will be the ones that aresmart about knowing what their core competencies are and leveragingeverything else including technology to combine the best people ANDservices to support those competencies to achieve mission for the best ROI.Many museums are straddling this challenge by hiring and promoting staffthat are technology savy into junior and senior positions and usingtechnology skills as a job requirement for what were historically non-techjobs. Why hire a chief publisher when you can hire a chief digital officerwho started in publishing and saw that over the long term digital skillswould be needed.So I am looking for a great registrar with great technology skills: Registrar,Collections and Technology @ The Broad butthat does not mean they need to know how to code a CMS from scratch... theyneed to be a great registrar first and know how to leverage technology tosupport the organization.RichOn Fri, Jun 20, 2014 at 12:43 PM, wrote:> Ari, you have many good points. Your point out the level of IT expertise> generally found on a museum staff, usually quite limited (I think you were> saying the same) is right on. However, I think museums large and small will> have to consider rectifying that. Just because the cloud is cheap and easy> doesn't necessarily mean that all technical problems are solved by passing> them to someone else. If you have a collection at a museum do you stop> collecting if you don't have the appropriate staff to maintain it? Probably> not. In this case, as everyone goes further and further with technology it> wll become a critical function to have an actual IT on staff. Even if only> part-time or under contract.>>> For me, it is a question of looking ahead at what ordinary functions at> museums will look like in 5, 10 and 15 years. The cloud is certainly part> of it, but institutions will have to embrace that technology will be an> integral part of their success. If it isn't already.>>> Adam>>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----> From: Ari Davidow [mailto:aridavidow at gmail.com]> Sent: Friday, June 20, 2014 10:37 AM> To: 'Museum Computer Network Listserv'> Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Cloud Computing>> Some things to consider:CONIf the cloud server goes down, you have no> ability to fix it. You just haveto wait.When your data is off-site with a> third party you don't have control overit. You will think you do> though!Having mulitple users accessing the same files at the same time can> gettricky with off-site storageNow, try to work around these with your> local staff when it is localservices that go down. Consider the level of> expertise your organizationcan afford vs. some of the larger, reputable> vendors (e.g., AWS, Microsoft,Google, etc.). Have you lost more data, or> had it inaccessible longer,because of them, or because it took significant> time to order, provision,and install a replacement server or piece of> equipment locally?Having your data sitting in a box nearby provides the> *illusion* ofcontrol, but often means that significantly fewer resources> areavailable--and available more slowly--when things go wrong; and that> staffare significantly less knowledgeable (and significantly more> distractedfrom) routine maintenance and disaster preparedness. Other> organizationsmay be different, but we never had the staff, depth of> expertise, or budgetto provide a service level comparable to what we got> from AWS or our SaaSvendors.ariOn Fri, Jun 20, 2014 at 11:18 AM, wrote:>> Cindy-->>> You are right to ask about the advantages and disadvantages of> cloud> storage. There are many bullet points on both sides!> To give a few> examples of both:>>> PRO> Realtively cheap for huge amounts of data storage> space> Your institution does not have to pay for continually updating>> systems/hardware/software related to servers and desktop computers>> Potentially very easy access from any web connection>>> CON> If the cloud> server goes down, you have no ability to fix it. You just> have to wait.>> When your data is off-site with a third party you don't have control over>> it. You will think you do though!> Having mulitple users accessing the same> files at the same time can get> tricky with off-site storage>>> When I> consult on this topic with museums I will have a discussion about> how to> break apart the storage data into related chuncks. Image databases> can be> in the Terabyte range. No doubt you have confidential or sensitive> records> which I would suggest should be stored locally. Ultimately, try not> to> look at cloud storage as a "yes" or "no" question, but a way to>> selectively lighten the burden of your in-house system/servers.>>> Best,>>>> Adam Mikos>>>>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----> From: Cindy Mackey> [mailto:CMackey at currier.org]> Sent: Friday, June 20, 2014 09:50 AM> To:> 'Museum Computer Network Listserv'> Subject: [MCN-L] Cloud Computing>> Our> IT department is investigating whether it is beneficial/cost-effective> to> switch all of our computer use to the cloud. Have any of your> institutions> completely switched over or is it a mix of cloud computing and> onsite> servers/software?Cindy MackeyAssociate RegistrarCurrier Museum of> Art150> Ash StreetManchester, NH 03104T: 603-669-6144 x137F:>> 603-669-7194www.currier.orgCONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message,>> including all attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient>> (s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any>> unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you>> are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail>> and destroy all copies of the original message including all>> attachments._______________________________________________You are>> currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network> (> http://www.mcn.edu)To post to this list, send messages to:> mcn-l at mcn.eduTo> unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:>> http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-lThe MCN-L archives can be found at:>> http://mcn.edu/pipermail/mcn-l/>>> _______________________________________________> You are currently> subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer> Network (> http://www.mcn.edu)>> To post to this list, send messages to:> mcn-l at mcn.edu>> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:>> http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l>> The MCN-L archives can be found> at:> http://mcn.edu/pipermail/mcn-l/>>> _______________________________________________> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer> Network (http://www.mcn.edu)>> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu>> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:> http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l>> The MCN-L archives can be found at:> http://mcn.edu/pipermail/mcn-l/>-- Rich CherryCo-chair, Museums and the Web at richcherrywww.museumsandtheweb.com
