Grazed from BusinessWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Enterprises continue to move towards cloud deployments to save time, costs and resources, but need assurance from their cloud providers that their critical business data is secure. Demonstrating its commitment to delivering secure cloud solutions, Axway (NYSE Euronext: AXW.PA), a market leader in governing the flow of data, announced today that it has completed an independent review of security controls for its Cloud Services organization and completion of Service Organizations Control 1 (SOC 1)/SSAE16/ISAE 3402 type 2 report.

Conducted by a leading audit, tax and advisory services firm, the SOC1 examination analyzed the design and operational effectiveness of the processes and security controls within Axway Cloud Services. Customers depend on Axway Cloud Services to extend critical business flows into the cloud, in order to enable rapid adoption of complex integration solutions…

Grazed from Business2Community. Author: Zach Taji.

As cloud computing has become a more reliable, affordable and secure technology over the past few years, more businesses have started to use it as an additional or even primary method of storing and backing up their data. A variety of industries are already using the technology – from tech startups to government (more than half of the US government has already moved to the cloud).

The cloud storage industry is expected to generate over $4.04 billion in revenue by 2016, and it’s only going to increase as more than 70% of businesses have already started using cloud storage solutions or plan to soon, and 3 out of 4 IT professionals have stated that cloud storage is the #1 reason for migrating to the cloud…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Roger Strukhoff.

I recently led a panel discussion for SYS-CON.TV on the topic of "Cloud Computing 2.0," a term I decided to employ just a few minutes before we started recording.  A few years ago, any right-minded person would wince at the use of "2.0" to describe anything, as it had long become a meaningless cliché.  So I don’t know if I was being ironic, too clever by half, or just tedious when I told the panelists that we’d go with the topic of Cloud Computing 2.0.

The Debate Evolves

My point was, and is, that the discussion about cloud computing has notably changed this year.  Three years ago, the debate was how to define cloud, whether virtualization alone was enough to fit the definition, whether an on-site datacenter could even fit the definition of cloud, and to what degree the big-vendor latecomers were engaged in cloud washing…

Grazed from CloudWedge.  Author: Editorial Staff.

The County of Los Angeles has nearly 100,000 employees on its payroll. When Richard Sanchez, CIO of LA County, saw an opportunity to begin evaluating a more matured Exchange Online Office 365 offering, he halted the onsite Exchange implementation and began testing out the cloud email service with some of his end users. Although Sanchez’s onsite Exchange migration was nearly 40% complete, Sanchez decided to put the project on hold.

What caused Sanchez to change the direction of Los Angeles County’s entire email system? Sanchez mentioned, “There were considerable costs we were incurring on for migration services, as well as for storage, computing facilities and the like.” While Sanchez’s crew hustled along with the traditional build out of on premises exchange server, Sanchez’s research showed him that his end users would get more functionality at a smaller price tag by choosing the cloud alternative. Once fully migrated to Office 365, LA County’s end users will receive full-fledged access to the Microsoft Office 365 suite including extras such as Sharepoint, Exchange and OneNote…

Grazed from Forbes.  Author: Joe McKendrick.

Do organizations that have mastered cloud computing have an easier time advancing into the digital realm? Is digital enterprise even possible without cloud computing? It’s very likely that cloud paves the way to the digital enterprise, but don’t expect overnight transformation as a result of cloud. Digital enterprise, associated with the design, development and delivery of innovative products and services through online channels, is the result of a long, multi-year journey that includes cloud computing as a vital component.

That’s the word from Saugatuck Technology, which just released two new reports that explore the connection between digital enterprise initiatives and cloud computing. Business and IT leaders still have plenty of work ahead of them — even if they are well along in their cloud implementations, says Saugatuck Technology analyst Mike West in a recent post…

Grazed from Decoded.  Author: Julie Sinclair.

The need for reliable operations and secure access increase as companies migrate to cloud technologies. Defending your applications from distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks is a top area of concern for your business. Before moving your company’s important data to a cloud service provider, implement a plan to deal with DDoS threats. When designing your DDoS plan for your business, understand how your cloud service provider protects your data.

Five Top Security Issues

1. Securing a new perimeter:

Moving your data to cloud technologies means your data is distributed to multiple data centers. How can you effectively create a new security perimeter for your company and protect your data from attacks? Understand what tools your cloud provider uses to protect your data against DDoS attacks. Check the comprehensive detection tools your cloud provider uses for detection of DDoS attacks. Understand the inline deployment used for examining all inbound and outbound traffic for DDoS attacks…

Grazed from BuildYourBestCloud.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Cloud computing is becoming a more strategic initiative to many companies, according to a newly published survey. In fact, nearly half of companies queried said they’re using cloud to grow revenues and/or drive product development.

The survey, “2014 Future of Cloud Computing,” was conducted by North Bridge Venture Partners and Gigaom Research and interviewed 1,358 technology decision-makers.  There’s plenty of interesting data in this survey, and I’ll go over some of it in two blog entries. I think of particular interest is just how many view cloud computing as a strategic endeavor for their companies…

Grazed from Equities.com.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Cloud computing is one the fastest growing areas within the technology space. According to research firm Gartner, cloud computing will become the bulk of new IT spending by 2016. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is one of the fastest growing segments within cloud computing. In fact, it is the largest overall cloud market segment.

Not surprisingly then, shares of Callidus Software Inc. (CALD) , a provider of a suite of SaaS solutions, have gained more than 80% in the past one year. Indeed, the small cap star is an excellent option for investors looking to capitalize on the burgeoning cloud computing market…

Grazed from GigaOM.  Author: Signe Brewster.

In 2012, Google hired Ray Kurzweil to build a computer capable of thinking as powerfully as a human. It would require at least one hundred trillion calculations per second — a feat already accomplished by the fastest supercomputers in existence.

The more difficult challenge is creating a computer that has a hierarchy similar to the human brain. At the Google I/O conference Wednesday, Kurzweil described how the brain is made up of a series of increasingly more abstract parts. The most abstract — which allows us to judge if something is good or bad, intelligent or unintelligent — is an area that has been difficult to replicate with a computer. A computer can calculate 10 x 20 or tell the difference between a person and a table, but it can’t judge if a person is kind or mean…

Grazed from TechPageOne.  Author: Ann Newman.

I’ll take a storage service from Amazon, a test environment from Google and a cloud burst from Microsoft. I’d also like a Dell Cloud Manager with a side of support services — hold the mayo. Brokers can make cloud services acquisition as easy as ordering a burger with fries and a shake.

Cloud services brokers (CSBs) aren’t likely to offer fries on the menu, but they do simplify — and often add value — to the cloud procurement process.
What is a cloud services broker?…