Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Alex Barrett.

Every IT function you can think of is available as a cloud-based service these days: email and communications, payroll, human resources, file sharing, analytics — the list goes on. Cloud services are often used by newer companies with no legacy infrastructure, but they’re also pitched to replace existing on-premises systems. That’s when the trouble starts, said Curtis Peterson, vice president of operations at RingCentral Inc., a provider of cloud-based business communications services that is an alternative to legacy PBX systems.

While higher-level executives may be open to the idea of cloud-based services, more entrenched, operational IT staffers — so-called server huggers — often are not. Here’s what Peterson hears from server huggers and what he has to say to those who just can’t give up their beloved hardware…

Grazed from MoneyNews. Author: Editorial Staff.

Oracle Corp. is nearing a deal to buy hospitality-industry software provider Micros Systems Inc. for more than $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Oracle and Micros are in exclusive talks, though the two sides could still fail to reach an agreement, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.

Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison is looking to acquisitions to fuel expansion after 10 quarters of sluggish sales growth. The company was late to the market for Internet-based cloud software and Ellison is now rushing to remake Oracle as a provider of gear and programs to underpin its clients’ shift to Web-based computing…

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

After nearly six months in research and due diligence, Hicksville-based NSA Computer Exchange Corp. has launched its Cloud Suite solution. Cloud Suite powered by Axcient is a disaster recovery, business continuity, and monitoring solution for small- to medium-sized businesses.

The main purpose of the Cloud Suite is to protect businesses from data loss due to man-made issues (fire, theft, accidents, etc.), natural disasters (flood, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.), or server outages, and get them back on their feet in a fraction of the time of other solutions available today. NSA’s focus and client commitment is providing the most user friendly, responsive, and intuitive cloud recovery system on the market. More focus was put into making sure the product could adequately protect businesses from the trials of sudden disasters…

Grazed from ChannelNomics. Author: Larry Walsh.

With the release of Cloud Service Management, CA Technologies aims to give service providers and private cloud builders a simpler and effective platform for deploying applications in cloud environments. “The explosion of applications and devices deployed in the enterprise has made service delivery a cornerstone of employee and business productivity.

CA has designed a solution that unlocks the full potential of SaaS by focusing on what matters to customers — employee satisfaction, speed of deployment and reduced cost of ownership,” said Lokesh Jindal, general manager of IT business management at CA. Agility and elasticity — the ability to quickly modify infrastructure and resources — are pillars of cloud computing. Through hosted and virtualized resources, businesses add, scale or modify resources ranging from raw computational power to applications…

Grazed from ITBusinessEdge. Author: Mike Vizard.

One of the biggest issues that any IT organization has with cloud computing is a loss of the sense of control they have over those resources. As part of an effort to restore that sense of control, Virtustream, with the release of version 3.0 of its xStream cloud management software, is giving customers the ability to more granularly control application workloads running on any public or private cloud.

Virtustream CEO and CTO Kevin Reid says the company’s xStream software carves cloud resources into defined units of compute, memory, storage and networking resources using Micro-VM technology that presents the IT organization with a logical abstraction of those physical resources…

Grazed from NetworkWorld. Author: Editorial Staff.

In its battle for public cloud supremacy, Microsoft announced a new service today that it plans to debut next month: A predictive analytics and machine learning tool. The move is interesting on a number of fronts. Firstly, it shows that the company is putting the peddle to the metal in terms of rolling out new products, services and features in its cloud computing portfolio to take on the giant of this industry and its biggest competitor – Amazon Web Services.

Secondly, focusing on data analytics is a natural area for Microsoft to invest in. The company has a strong history of managing data for its customers. Between SQL Server and its suite of Office 365 apps, Microsoft a lot of corporate data is managed using software from the Redmond company…

Grazed from TheVarGuy. Author: Christopher Tozzi.

Public cloud computing and Big Data analytics have converged in a new partnership between MemSQL and GoGrid designed to simplify the orchestration of MemSQL’s in-memory distributed database system for business intelligence. MemSQL and GoGrid are both invested in high-performance Big Data computing.

MemSQL’s platform leverages in-memory storage to speed both real-time and historical data analytics, while GoGrid tailors to customers interested in Big Data-oriented hosting solutions that include SSD storage, large amounts of RAM memory and dedicated servers. The new partnership between the companies, which they announced June 17, adds ease of use to the high-end services that each provides, they said…

Grazed from ComputerWorld. Author: Matthew Finnegan.

Concerns over security are creating a barrier to the deployment of technologies such as cloud and mobile by UK banks, a survey has claimed. In Fujitsu’s ‘Financial Services Landscape’ report – which surveyed 176 IT decision makers at a range of financial sector firms – respondents indicated that uptake of digital technologies was slower than previously expected.

For example, although the number of companies to roll out cloud computing across their organisation had doubled from two years ago, it still meant that only 16 percent of banks have done so. Meanwhile, 20 percent do not see cloud as an ‘enabler’ for their business at all. “This presents cause for concern. While security should be a priority for any IT deployment, it shouldn’t be the blocker standing in the way of a technology with the vast potential of something such as cloud,” the report claims…

Grazed from NYTimes. Author: Quentin Hardy.

Microsoft has a new strategy to win cloud business: A supposedly comprehensive predictive analysis service — and all you have to do is store your data in Azure, the Microsoft cloud. The service, called Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, was announced Monday but won’t be available until July. It combines Microsoft’s own software with publicly available open source software, packaged in a way that is easier to use than most of the arcane strategies currently in use.

“This is drag-and-drop software,” said Joseph Sirosh, vice president for machine learning at Microsoft. “My high schooler is using this.” That would be a big step forward in popularizing what is currently a difficult process in increasingly high demand. It would also further the ambitions of Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, of making Azure the center of Microsoft’s future…

Grazed from SmartCEO.  Author: Simon Tutt.

You’ve probably heard a lot about the cloud recently.  Everything from smartphones to entire computer networks made better by the cloud.  But why should CEO’s care?  Consider this: According to a study conducted by SMB Group* at the end of 2012, 52% of small and mid-sized businesses (SMB’s) were using cloud solutions in their businesses. That number has definitely gone up since then.

What does this report mean to CEOs who are still on the fence about a move to the cloud? They are way behind their peers, and playing catch-up could end up costing more in the long run than the upfront cloud costs may present. In turn, the CEOs who are already making the move to the cloud are better positioned to see revenue gains and foster their company’s growth…