Grazed from CloudComputingAdmin. Author: Ricky M. & Monique L. Magalhaes.

In this two part article we will look at contractual terms in cloud services contracts and issues for consideration, to reduce risk. If you would like to be notified of when Ricky & Monique Magalhaes release the next part in this article series please sign up to our CloudComputingAdmin.com Real Time Article Update newsletter.

Due diligence procedures should not be overlooked when selecting a cloud provider. Cloud computing risks can be identified, managed and even reduced through thorough scrutiny of the services contracts to ensure the appropriate contract assurances and operations best practices are in place. Contracts for cloud services vary, from ‘one-fit-all’ solution contract or a multi-layered services agreement…

Grazed from Utilizer. Author: JP Morgenthal.

North Bridge in partnership with GigaOm Research released their 2014 Future of Cloud Computing – 4th Annual Survey Results. As you examine the 124 slides, one thing is obvious that the greatest growth in cloud computing is coming from Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Market research like this is very important because it provides tangible proof for our anecdotal hypotheses. That said, the report does not extrapolate what is the most interesting facet of SaaS hyper growth—59% in three years—the model for commoditization of business function is market validated.

Like all things that get commoditized, differentiation or uniqueness that keeps economic value high becomes less important than the common, undifferentiated features driving costs down. The interesting thing is that lower costs is a side-effect of commoditization as commoditization can only occur when businesses identify that they can achieve the same goals with the commodity item as they can with the unique one…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Doug Bonderud.

While many midsize companies see the value in moving away from local stacks and physical mainframes, overall efficiency is often crippled by existing static networks. Software-defined networks (SDNs) and network edge virtualization may not be as flashy as the cloud or as disruptive as bring-your-own-device (BYOD), but could have a significant impact on the utility of virtualized resources.

Better Network, Better Net Worth

A June 18 piece from MSPAlliance examines the Nemertes Report "Application Delivery for Virtualized Infrastructures." According to the report, "Virtualized infrastructures are highly dynamic and increasingly automated. By comparison, the network delivering applications to users tends to still be static, fragile and manually configured." In other words, while businesses have learned the value of virtualization in the "center," edge functions remain largely unchanged. As a result, efficient use of resources in virtualized containers is countermanded by transmission through legacy systems…

Grazed from WallStreet CheatSheet. Author: Jess Bolluyt.

What if there were a better way to save energy than all of the obvious ideas — solar power, wind energy, electric cars — one with even bigger effects on the environment? What if that solution were a better way to run the technology that the way we use the internet relies on? Wired reports that Zack Rosen, CEO and co-founder of professional website platform Pantheon, says that that there is. Rosen says that changing the way we use cloud computing, by switching from virtual machines to Linux containers, could have an even bigger impact on the environment than switching to electric cars.

What is a virtual machine?

In simple terms, Wired explains that virtual machines are “those things that let anyone run software on the massive cloud computing services offered up by the likes of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.” A virtual machine is a software-based environment that emulates a computer…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Marissa Tejada.

Many firms are taking a closer look at hybrid cloud computing, having noticed that it has led to numerous benefits for all types of firms on many levels. Hybrid clouds are the new de facto standard data center architecture. According to a new survey, firms that do not utilize the technology and that fail to switch workloads from public to private clouds are falling behind.

The Choice

The InformationWeek Hybrid Cloud Survey found that IT professionals have become more comfortable with cloud computing, and, based on their knowledge, they tend to choose either public or private clouds. Specifically, the survey revealed that 30 percent are deploying hybrid clouds, while another 32 percent are considering them. The research also revealed that most workloads are located in private data centers and not the public cloud…

Grazed from INN. Author: Joe McKendrick.

While cloud computing has been in the public consciousness for a few years, the insurance industry, with characteristic caution, continues to steadily advance onto this latest platform. However, tentative steps taken a year or so ago are now accelerating into bolder moves, as insurers recognize the value and competitive advantage cloud services deliver. “In a few years’ time we believe that cloud will simply become the way things are done,” states a report from Accenture. “Those insurers that move more quickly to embrace it will gain a competitive lead that others may struggle to match.”

Insurance companies already immersed in the cloud agree with this assessment, citing a variety of benefits they are already seeing. “Cloud is a big advantage for us,” says Marianne Petillo, president and CEO at ROM Reinsurance. “When you move to the cloud, you don’t have to worry about upgrades or maintenance; that’s all done for you.”…

Grazed from ComputerWorld. Author: Sharon Gaudin.

Google made it clear today that it’s still going after enterprise users. After focusing much of its approximately two-and-a-half-hour-long Google I/O keynote on its Android platform and related devices, the company turned its attention to the enterprise with announcements about Google Docs and its cloud service. The changes represent something of a long play to pull in more business from large companies.

"It’s really a long-term thing," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "Microsoft Outlook is well-entrenched in almost all large businesses. Google is making a slow progression as an enterprise vendor, but there’s no doubt now about the company’s commitment to that business." Part of Google’s enterprise announcements today centered on Google Drive…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

GoGrid founder and CEO John Keagy is hoping to bring together companies interesting in open source cloud that feel threatened by Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create an open cloud orchestration engine. His project, which was recently unveiled, has been dubbed OpenOrchestration.org—more or less following suit with most open source cloud projects that have been launched over the last few years.

CRN broke the story about Keagy’s latest project, which it noted has been in progress and under wraps for several months. According to the article, Keagy has been slowly courting other major technology vendors in the hopes they’ll join the OpenOrchestration.org project to create a universal orchestration engine designed for clouds. And it’s clear he has AWS in his target sights…

Grazed from TheStreet. Author: Editorial Staff.

Big Blue’s future is unclear as it struggles to keep up with innovators and please investors. Its share price has dropped 11% this year, versus a 23% gain for the S&P 500 Information Technology Index. The century-old tech company has reported eight consecutive quarterly revenue declines; its annual revenue has hovered at about $100 billion since 2007.

Chairwoman and CEO Virginia Rometty has said she wants to raise IBM’s operating earnings per share to $20 by 2015. That’s a long way from what it was in 2013, when the company had operating earnings per share of $16.28, according to its 2013 annual report. Cloud computing has been the company’s big hope for growth. Cloud provides companies or individuals with the ability to share information, applications, data sets and software platforms over the Internet on a pay-as-you-use basis…

Grazed from TheVarGuy. Author: Christopher Tozzi.

Competition surrounding OpenStack in western Europe is heating up. Mirantis has announced the opening of a new facility in France, a move that comes shortly after Red Hat’s acquisition last week of eNovance, another OpenStack specialist with roots in the same country. Mirantis already has a strong presence in California and in eastern Europe (specifically, Russia, Ukraine and Poland), as well as an office in the Netherlands.

But the new center of operations, which will be based in Grenoble, France, and "will serve as both an R&D center and a training, consulting and support facility," will help to enhance the company’s operations in western Europe as well. In a statement regarding the new office, Mirantis cited an interest in helping to serve "the growing number of Mirantis customers in Europe such as Orange, Ericsson, and Pulsant."…