Contributed Article.  Author: Tim Sedlack, Quest Software

 

 

Grazed from KoreaTimes.  Author: Kim Sung-ik.

In the foreseeable future, cloud computing will be a part of our everyday lives.  To move decisively and securely into cloud-enabled future, it is vital for banks to understand how cloud computing will impact future banking products, services and technologies.

First, customer relationships will be redefined. The most disruptive impact of cloud computing will be how it redefines the relationship between consumers and their providers of banking products and services. Cloud computing will make these services more convenient, more accessible, easier to use, and more personalized to the needs and lifestyles of individuals…

Grazed from CloudTimes.  Author: Florence de Borja.

Groupon, Facebook, and Zynga are currently having difficulties since their initial public offerings. Their losses can go as much as 70%. Currently, public cloud computing companies are not affected. This is primarily because companies like NetSuite and Salesforce.com have already proven themselves since they’ve been around since late 1990s. These companies have already proven that their customers are capable of buying their products and services. These customers also know that these companies offer cloud computing applications which are packed with benefits.

Social networking companies, on the other hand, are relatively new and they have not proven themselves. The social industry goes with the highly changing times and that it’s difficult to convert the customers’ support to money. This year, companies like Bazzarvoice, Brightcove, Demandware, and ExactTarget have gone public…

Grazed from KoreaTimes.  Author: Editorial Staff.

How will cloud computing shake up the banking industry? The pre-crisis, high-leverage banking approach is no longer fit for purpose in the post-crisis world. For example, to successfully manage current market challenges (e.g., with liquidity, volatility and regulation), retail banks can no longer rely extensively on expensive branch-focused distribution to achieve sustainable growth. Rather, they must look to “smart size” their distribution network. In this new market context, banks will need to successfully overcome specific distribution and marketing challenges.

A powerful nexus of changing customer behavior through the use of the Web, mobile and social connectivity and emerging new technology (e.g., digital, analytics and cloud) is motivating “smart banks” to re-examine and re-engineer their business models. And, there are at least three unique business models emerging among smart banks…

Grazed from PC Magazine.  Author: Christina DesMarais.

Cloud gaming and desktop computing service OnLive’s fate is in: It has been sold to an unnamed entity. The news puts to rest some rumors that had been swirling about its future.

If you’re a user of the on-demand video gaming service there’s no need to worry, at least for now. A spokesperson for OnLive CEO Steve Perlman said the company will continue to operate its OnLive Game and Desktop services during the transition and the new company is well-funded.

OnLive said in a statement that "the new company is hiring a large percentage" of its staff across all departments…

Grazed from CloudTimes.  Author: Florence de Borja.

With more and more organizations moving towards the clouds for its customization, flexibility, and agility, sad to say, large cloud computing providers are not that keen to tap the open environment because doing so will be have negative effects to their financial interests. Since Linux started some 20 years ago, there is a growing demand for openness in the IT arena.

Today, there is a growing demand for cloud computing to deliver open source cloud computing applications. OpenStack, a community for the development of open-sourced public and private clouds, is on the forefront with more than 180 organizations around the world as supporters…

Grazed from Times of India.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Big data, 3D printing, activity streams, Internet TV, Near Field Communication (NFC) payment, cloud computing and media tablets are some of the fastest-moving technologies identified in Gartner Inc.’s 2012 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies.

Gartner analysts said that these technologies have moved noticeably along the Hype Cycle since 2011, while consumerization is now expected to reach the Plateau of Productivity in two to five years, down from five to 10 years in 2011. Bring your own device (BYOD), 3D printing and social analytics are some of the technologies identified at the Peak of Inflated Expectations in this year’s Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle…

Grazed from RedOrbit.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Grazed from PC Advisor.  Author: Stephanie Overby.

Global IT services spending should reach more than $251 billion dollars this year, up 2.1 percent from 2011, according to Gartner’s latest IT outsourcing forecast. Adjusting for currency changes, that’s actually around a 4.1 percent increase in spending–about the same level of growth as the year prior, according to Gartner research director Brian Britz.

But the fastest growing segment of outsourcing–cloud computing services–is expected to nearly double from $3.4 billion in 2011 to $5 billion this year. Even more notable–infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) will contribute 38 percent of the increment outsourcing growth in 2012, compared to 8 percent in 2011. "This is reflective of how difficult the current market is for established IT outsourcing services–like data center outsourcing–and the providers of those services," Britz says. "There is definitely some displacement or substitution of cloud for what might have otherwise been delivered through more traditional outsourcing models taking place."…

Grazed from CloudTimes.  Author: Florence de Borja.

According to the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, the return on investment of cloud computing may not be able to meet expectations due to hidden costs.

In its white paper “Calculating Cloud ROI: From the Customer Perspective”, there are 5 hidden costs which everyone must be aware of before they move to the clouds:

1. There is a cost involved when an enterprise decides to house their IT services back to its premises because it will be faced with regulatory changes.
2. There is also a cost involved in mitigating cloud computing risks.
3. Some expenses may be incurred unexpectedly when systems are migrated to the clouds.
4. Due to the shift to cloud computing, there’s going to be a loss of IT knowledge which provides competitive differentiation.
5. There’s also a lock-in provision with a proprietary service or particular cloud service provider which is expected to slow down any future plans for adopting open standards-based services…