I've been away for quite some time. Not physically, you understand, although the same level of travelling around the world applies, as ever, but in writing terms. A lot has been happening in the world of Backup Exec and its left me with little time to sit and think and write. For that I can only apologise but its all been in the name of a good cause. If you're reading this then you are probably aware that Backup Exec 2012 has been launched. Its significant. It brings change, but not just change for the sake of change. It brings change that makes life easier. I urge you to familiarise yourself with the changes. I moved from a Blackberry to an iPhone a little while ago and its a bit like that. Different, but better and it took no time at all to get into a new look and feel.

While I'm on the subject of change, its change time for me too. For the last eleven years I've been looking after Backup Exec in one role or another and that's a long time in anybody...

Why Roseville?

We started the NetBackup and Backup Exec launch sequence this week with the release of the Countdown to Better Backup Calendar. This was modeled after the idea of an Advent Calendar. Every few days we will open a new window to reveal a new feature of the launch calendar leading up to the product launch. As part of the launch effort each square on the calendar will open in a different city worldwide. This helps us reach our customers and partners in cities around the world and it gives us a chance to bring together all the people who have worked on the release.

Often in marketing it is hard to deliver technical information to the end customers. Everyone is busy, and there is so much noise online it is hard for product announcements to reach customers. One just needs to post a question on LinkedIn asking question about a technology to...

Cloud is the answer. It has to be doesn't it? And its all about software, right? Wrong. I'm at VMworld in Copenhagen this week and its not just about software and its not all about virtual. Sean Regan walked around the show and found 14 hardware boxes that weigh more than him. Cloud? Maybe - clouds aren't weighed down by steel boxes. Consolidation? Maybe. Some of its expansion, especially in storage, but shhh, don't tell anyone; its a secret.

From customers I've talked to here it seems to be all about doing more with existing hardware. Getting the cloud you want from the infrastructure you've got. That sounds like its a blend of physical and virtual, not just all about virtual. Symantec can take the hardware you've got today and help you build a cloud infrastructure on top of it in partnership with VMware. Once you've built that infrastructure, we'll help you protect it too. Can you imagine deploying a physical production...

I noticed an interesting tweet today from Rachel Dines @Forester. It quoted Carl Meadows @SungardAS. 

"Common misconception: cloud solves our sys admin problems. Wrong! Cloud requires more skilled sys admins." 

I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I drive down 101 to Mountain View from SF.  Each day someone gets in a fender bender and traffic continues around them. Sure, life is disrupted but it's par for the course. Sometimes car accidents happen. As I drive south I also pass under SFO. Each day 100s of planes take off. The expectation is that these planes will almost never have an accident. They are piloted by highly trained pilot while the car on 101 is piloted by someone like you and me. 

Cars are like servers.  Planes are like Clouds. 

• When a plane crashes the media shows up at the scene, the bloggers speculate....