Badge: Python for Data Science

The Python for Data Science badge earner is able to write their own Python scripts and perform basic hands-on data analysis using IBM’s Jupyter-based lab environment.

Issued By: IBM

Issued On: 11 July 2018

What it takes to earn this badge

•  Successful completion of the Big Data University course “Python for Data Science”.

Badge: Cognitive Practitioner

The Cognitive Practitioner badge earner has a foundational understanding of Cognitive solutions and offerings that allows them to initiate a Cognitive conversation with co-workers and colleagues.

Issued By: IBM

Issued On: 13 July 2018

What it takes to earn this badge

•  Completion of GBS Cognitive 101 education course and passing the assessment.
•  EARN; Currently this badge is only available for IBM Employees.

Badge: Education Industry Foundations

The Education Industry Foundations badge is awarded for successful completion of the Industry Jumpstart program.

Issued By: IBM

Issued On: 16 Apr 2018

What it takes to earn this badge

•  Industry Basics: Describe the basics of the industry and be able to identify key decision makers for the industry and their priorities.
• Industry Solutions: Articulate key business processes in strategic IBM solution areas and  have the ability to relate key industry financial drivers to future growth opportunities
• Engage Client: Become engaged with other industry professionals (internal & external) and be able to prepare to have a business conversation with a client or industry professional
• EARN; Currently this badge is only available for IBM Employees. Follow this link to earn this badge.

Blockchain Architecture Training

This course is offered by Blockchain Training Alliance (Link to course: https://blockchaintrainingalliance.com/collections/all-courses/products/blockchain-architecture)

Dates: April 25-27, 2018: Virtual Instructor-led WebEx

Certification obtained on May 16th, 2018 – Certified Blockchain Solution Architect (BTA-CBSA)

Course Overview

This instructor-led 3 day Blockchain Architecture training is for technical leaders who need to make decisions about architecture, environment, and development platforms. The class covers the following topics:

• What is Blockchain
• How does Blockchain work
• Types of Blockchains
• How is Blockchain different from what we have today
• What are use cases for Blockchain
• What does a Blockchain app look like
• How do I design a Blockchain app
• How do I develop a Blockchain app
• How do I test a Blockchain app

 

Course Outline

What is Blockchain?

• A record keeping system, Trust, Decentralization, Trustless environment

How does Blockchain work?

• Announcements, Blocks, Nodes, Chaining, Verification, Consensus, Scalability, Privacy, Crypto Hashing, Digital Fingerpring, PoW vs PoS

Types of Blockchains

• Public vs Private, Open vs closed, Smart Contracts, Blockchain as History, Tokens / Coins, Gas

How is Blockchain different from what we have today?

• Decentralized, Peer-to-peer architecture, Software vs Firmware, Database vs Blockchain, Distributed database or other technology? Data Sovereignty, Group Consensus

What are Use Cases for Blockchain?

• Use Case Examples: Currency, Banking Services, Voting, Medical Records, Supply Chain / Value Chain, Content Distribution, Verification of Software Updates (cars, planes, trains, etc), Law Enforcement, Title and Ownership Records, Social Media and Online Credibility, Fractional asset ownership, Cable Television billing, High fault tolerance, DDoS-proof, Public or Private Blockchain? Who are the participants?

What does a Blockchain app look like?

• DApp
• Resembles typical full stack web application
• Any internal state changes and all transactions are written to the blockchain
• Node.js
• IDE
• Public Blockchain visibility
• Private Blockchain solutions
• Oracles

How do I design a Blockchain app?

• What does this solution need to let users do?
• Will the proposed solution reduce or remove the problems and pain points currently felt by users?
• What should this solution prevent users from doing?
• Do you need a solution ready for heavy use on day 1?
• Is your solution idea enhanced by the use of Blockchain? Does the use of Blockchain create a better end-user experience? If so, how?
• Has your business developed custom software solutions before?
• What level of support are you going to need?
• How big is the developer community?
• Does your vision of the future align with the project or platform’s vision of the future?
• Does the platform aim to make new and significant contributions to the development space, or is it an efficiency / cost play?
• Should the solution be a public or private Blockchain?
• Should the solution be an open or closed Blockchain?
• Create a plan for contract updates and changes!
• Hybrid solutions
• Monetary exchanges?

How do I develop a Blockchain app?

• AGILE approach pre-release
• Define guiding principles up front
• Software vs Firmware
• Announcements, not transactions!
• Classes, not contracts
• Link contracts to share functions
• Use calling contracts to keep contract address the same
• Hyperledger vs Ethereum
• CONSIDER No of Users * Avg No of Transactions (state changes) per User
• Should a Blockless solution be applied?
• Performance
• Security
• Anonymity
• Security
• Monolithic vs Modular
• Sandwich complexity model

How do I test a Blockchain app?

• Recommend 5x to 10x traditional application testing time
• SECURITY is #1!
• Networks (Ethereum)

Certification: VTSP Foundation 2017

Overview:

This eLearning course on VTSP Foundation introduces the VMware Whiteboard methodology that the sales engineer can build upon to deliver the whiteboards on all VMware solution areas. The course explains how to practice the VMware Whiteboard in a sales play, superimposing the customer’s environment onto the Whiteboard framework, and then illustrating the VMware solutions that the sales engineer would recommend.

Objectives:

• Explain how VMware solutions complement one another to present a holistic vision to customers.
• Customize the VMware Whiteboard to fit your customer’s environment and needs.
• Present the VMware Whiteboard without difficulty.
• Access VMware sales tools.

Outline:

1. Introduction to VTSP Foundation
2. VMware Portfolio Review
   • The Customer’s Strategic Priorities
   • Delivering on the Customer’s Strategic Priorities
     • Challenges to Data Center Capabilities and Utility
     • Challenges to Public Cloud Integration
     • Challenges to Exceptional Mobile Experiences
     • Challenges to Cybersecurity
   • VMware Solutions and Products:
   • Horizon Cloud with Hosted Infrastructure and Horizon Cloud with On-Premises Infrastructure
   • On-Premises Data Center
     • vSphere and vSphere with Operations Management, The Universal App Platform
     • vCenter Server
     • vSAN (Formerly Virtual SAN)
     • Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Deployment
     • Site Recovery Manager
     • NSX: The Next Generation Networking Model, NSX Use Cases: Security, Automation, and Application Continuity
     • vRealize Operations
     • On-Premises Data Center Suites: vRealize Suite, vCloud Suite
     • Cloud Foundation, SDDC Manager: Automated Lifecycle Management and Operations, Next Generation HCI Architecture
   • Off-Premises Data Center
     • vCloud Air
   • Cross-Cloud
     • vRealize Automation Overview, Use Case – IT Automating IT, DevOps Ready IT
     • vRealize Business for Cloud
     • vCloud Air Hybrid Cloud Manager Overview
   • Digital Workspace
     • Workspace ONE
     • AirWatch
   • On-Premises User
     • Horizon 7
   • Off-Premises User
3. The VMware Whiteboard
   • Introducing the VMware Whiteboard, The Framework, Adaptable to All Kinds of Environments, Showing the Customer’s Environment With the Framework, Showing How Data Flows with the Framework
   • The Whiteboard Quadrants
   • Customer Roles, How Customer Roles Map to Whiteboard, Concerns, Impact, Conversation Points
4. Customer Conversations
   • The VMware Whiteboard in a Customer Conversation
     • Discuss the Primary Data Center
     • Explore Any Additional Data Centers
     • Explore the Environment Further
     • Discuss the End User Space
     • Present the VMware Solutions in the Data Center
     • Present VMware Solutions in the End User Space
     • Finalize the Whiteboard Presentation
5. Technical Tools and Tips

 

 

IBM Cloud: Deploying Microservices with Kubernetes

This course is offered by coursera (Link to course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/deploy-micro-kube-ibm-cloud/home/welcome)

April 7, 2018 – Completed Topics:

• Introduction to Kubernetes – what Kubernetes is and what it does. Explore Kubernetes architecture and basic concepts.
• Set up your environment – how to set up your environment, and create a Kubernetes cluster.
• Deploy a microservices application to a Kubernetes cluster – deployment configuration, and deploy a microservices application to a Kubernetes cluster in IBM Cloud.
• Manage applications in a Kubernetes cluster – how to secure and manage a Kubernetes cluster, and how to plan cluster deployment to IBM Cloud.

General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR)

Studied and read the standard to prepare for supporting my organization and others to comply with the regulation, through process and technology, as well as the people and awareness side.

Full Text: https://advisera.com/eugdpracademy/gdpr/

Useful Links: https://advisera.com/eugdpracademy/knowledgebase/useful-links/

Learning (online course): https://training.advisera.com/

 

Book | Scarcity

Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much, by Shafir Sendhil Mu, 2013

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1846143454/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

I will add my own review and summary at a later point, but it is one of the books where you have a lot of AHA moments!

“In this provocative book based on cutting-edge research, Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir show that scarcity creates a distinct psychology for everyone struggling to manage with less than they need. Busy people fail to manage their time efficiently for the same reasons the poor and those maxed out on credit cards fail to manage their money. The dynamics of scarcity reveal why dieters find it hard to resist temptation, why students and busy executives mismanage their time, and why the same sugarcane farmers are smarter after harvest than before.

Once we start thinking in terms of scarcity, the problems of modern life come into sharper focus, and Scarcity reveals not only how it leads us astray but also how individuals and organizations can better manage scarcity for greater satisfaction and success.”

 

Book | Deep Work

Deep Work – Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport, Grand Central © 2016

Link: http://a.co/eAKQioo

Take-Aways:

• “Deep work” is professional work that requires intense focus and concentration.
• Deep work is essential for and central to knowledge work.
• It is necessary for mastering complex topics more quickly.
• How much elite work you produce equals the time you spend on your task multiplied by how intensely you focus.
• Obstacles and conflicting demands are increasing every day and they hinder deep work.
• Deep work promotes a sense of flow, meaning and sacredness.
• Evaluate your habits and actions with the goal of structuring your time to protect the attention you need for deep work.
• Some people integrate deep work into their lives in daily units.
• Others, like Bill Gates, withdraw from the world periodically for periods of complete focus.
• To promote deep work, “embrace boredom,” “quit social media” and “drain the shallows” of your life.

 

Useful Quotes:

• “Deep Work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capacities to their limit.”
• “Deep work is necessary to wring every last drop of value out of your current intellectual capacity.”
• “Shallow Work: Non-cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted.”
• “To succeed with deep work you must rewire your brain to be comfortable resisting distracting stimuli.”
• “The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy.”

Book | The Digital Transformation Playbook

The Digital Transformation Playbook: Rethink Your Business for the Digital Age, by David Rogers, Columbia University Press, April 2016

Link: http://a.co/2Udew2s

Topics discussed include:

1. The Five Domains of Digital Transformation – A Holistic Framework
2. Customer Networks and the New Path to Purchase
3. Understanding Digital Customer Behaviors
4. Platform Business Models
5. Coopetition, Dis/intermediation, and Asymmetric Competitors
6. Building Data as a Strategic Asset for Your Business
7. Big Data at Work: New Data, New Tools, and Templates of Value
8. Innovation Through Experimentation: AB Test and Minimum Viable Products
9. Translating the Lean Startup to Enterprise Scale Innovation
10. Adapting Your Value Proposition
11. Mastering Disruptive Business Models
12. Surviving Disruption: Six Incumbent Responses to a Disruptive Challenger
13. Leadership and the Customer Value Imperative

A valuable book with great references and practical examples.