The Xenomorph from Alien offers a fascinating example of systems thinking, demonstrating how an organism can function as a highly efficient, self-sustaining system within a broader ecosystem. Here are several key systems thinking lessons we can draw from the Xenomorph: 1. Adaptability and Resourcefulness Systems Thinking Insight: The Xenomorph is a prime example of adaptability within a system. It adapts its lifecycle to different environments (human hosts, in particular) and is able to exploit any available resource to ensure its survival and reproduction....
Fun with Cloudflare Zero Trust
I signed up for Cloudflare Zero Trust recently, to kick the tires :) There is a free tier (up to 50 users!) and it can be turned on instantly via self-service signup. I had used other Cloudflare products to protect and cache several websites before, and thus was excited to see if Cloudflare Zero Trust matches that experience. Use-case I am using Cloudflare Zero Trust to create a SWG (Secure Web Gateway) and CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) where I can enforce access, acceptable use and device posture policies....
Using abstraction as a framework for discussions
As a Solution Architect, I often find myself in discussions with two kinds of audiences: The Engineer Here, I refer to those that wants to ‘see the matrix’ to a certain depth, (i.e. how the sausage is made somewhere between assembly language to GUI). The Executive This is from the endearing term ‘Executive Summary’. Here, it is less about ’the matrix’ but how they can leverage a certain resource to maximize a certain other resource (i....