Grazed from GCN.  Author: Dan Chenok.

In recent years, federal agencies have made significant strides incorporating cloud computing into their IT portfolios.  From the OMB “Cloud First” strategy, to GSA’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), the government is following commercial best practices to leverage the cloud.

Cloud capabilities can be provided over the public Internet or through connections over private networks — and government does both. Some agencies establish private clouds due to perceived risks of making data available over public channels. At the same time, they are moving toward greater use of the open Internet, including public clouds.

Grazed from LinkedIn.  Author: Alex Tomic.

With HP’s announcement of the release of a new distribution of Openstack called Helion (Ancient Greek ἥλιος hēlios, “sun”), it has become all too obvious that there is either a fascination with the classics in the cloud computing world, or, more likely, we’re simply running out of derivatives of the English word "cloud".

Helion is an interesting departure from the trend of cloud-derived words, presumably because it casts a ray of sunshine on the murky and … cloudy world of cloud computing…

Grazed from 2X.  Autthor: Giorgio Bonuccelli.

The Internet of Things : The 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas was dominated by Internet of Things (IOT) and web-connected products. This speaks volumes about the growing popularity of this new innovation. The acquisition of Home automation company, Nest Labs, by Google adds up to researchers belief that IOT is going to revolutionize the network technology in the coming 10 years Though IOT is not new, there is a significant progress in this segment in recent times. As IOT has become an inevitable option for most businesses, it is important for businesses to make the most out of it.

What is Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things or IOT is an entity comprising humans, machines, animals or objects with the ability to communicate with each other using a unique identifier. The embedded technology within these objects enables them to proactively interact with external and internal environments, allowing them to take and implement decisions without requiring human intervention. IOT connects new entities to the internet and when each object is digitalized, you can control it from anywhere…

Grazed from GigaOM.  Author: David Linthicum.

Total cost of ownership, or TCO, is a formula that assesses direct and indirect costs and benefits related to the purchase of any IT component. The goal is a final figure that will reflect the true purchase price, all things considered.

For instance, if I leverage a public cloud, my reoccurring costs go up since I now pay subscription usage feeds. However, the amount of money I pay to buy and maintain hardware and software should go down, or go away entirely. Thus, the TCO of cloud is the adjustment in direct and direct costs and benefits as a result of using cloud…

Grazed from 6Fusion.  Author: PR Announcement.

6fusion is pleased to once again be one of the cloud industry leaders collaborating on the 4th annual Future of Cloud Computing Survey and we encourage everyone involved in cloud to participate in the survey. Whether you are a cloud user, cloud provider, cloud broker, or play another role in the cloud you should take the survey. It will only take about 5 minutes to complete and you can access the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6FusionNB

North Bridge will announce the results at GigaOM Structure, one of the leading cloud industry events that annually convenes influential technology experts to both examine and debate the future of cloud computing. North Bridge partner Michael Skok will present the results of the survey at the show on June 18 in San Francisco. If you are interested in attending, we can offer a 25% discount on tickets to the event. Ping us at info@6fusion.com to get the discount code.

Grazed from gillmckerrow.com.  Author: Jeremy Harris.

It came from my daughter, who heard it from one of her lecturers. She’s studying film and television at university. And of course, everything in film and television is digital these days.  I immediately thought about our approach to software (particularly cloud-based applications), and realised the same principle applies.

So much of what we do today is digital. And it makes whatever we’re doing—photography, communications or even accounting—quick and easy.  But where is the information being stored? Do you have a backup? Where is it? And how quickly and easily can you access it?  Let’s look at a few different scenarios, starting with one close to home…

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Cleveland D. Bonner.

New markets are being created in the cloud. According to a recent survey by IBM and the Economist Intelligence Unit, 67 percent of companies with revenues less than $1 billion have adopted the cloud at some level. But those companies that deploy the could in their organization solely to save money will eventually realize the available cost savings.

How else can we use clouds? The answer comes from a small — but growing — number of companies that are starting to use the cloud in disruptive ways. Such companies are creating new markets and industries, or are creating new revenue streams. And they aren’t alone. An IBM Institute for Business Value, “The Power of Cloud,” found that 16 percent of survey repondents are using cloud as a tool to innovate. They’re finding ways to use the cloud in entirely new ways. Take gaming. By 2015, half the video games will be played on the cloud. How can the cloud change your business? To read stories about how clients can benefit from “Made with IBM,” click here.

Subscribe to the CloudCow bi-monthly newsletter @ http://eepurl.com/smZeb

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Andy Oram.

If your data consists of one million samples, but only 100 have the characteristics you’re looking for, and if each of the million samples contains 250,000 attributes, each of which is built of thousands of basic elements, you have a big data problem. This is kind of challenge faced by the 2,700 Bio-IT World attendees, who discover genetic interactions and create drugs for the rest of us.

Often they are looking for rare (orphan) diseases, or for cohorts who share a rare combination of genetic factors that require a unique treatment. The data sets get huge, particularly when the researchers start studying proteomics (the proteins active in the patients’ bodies)…

Grazed from Business2Community. Author: Marc Shaw.

In part 1 we considered the importance of both knowing the details of your company’s network and in part 2 we discussed the need for keeping data backup onsite in case of an emergency, along with the acronym D2D2C and the 3-2-1 rule for maximum protection. When it comes to system outages or downtime, unless you have widespread system automation, the biggest effect of system outage will obviously be on the end user.

It’s therefore important to factor in user experience to any data recovery or backup plan. Keep track of general problems users are having, from latency to inadequate response time during normal usage, as these can be an indicator of problem areas and lead to bigger glitches down the line if left unaddressed…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Editorial Staff.

Government agencies that rely upon cloud service providers have to trust that cloud providers will protect their data or services from risk and harm. In a perfect world, cloud providers would have a complete understanding of the unique missions — and risks — that agencies face.

In reality, cloud service operators tend to provide a "one size fits all" approach to services that often overlooks specific or unique mission risks. As a result, government agencies must ultimately accept responsibility for ensuring that cloud providers offer the appropriate amount of protection to manage risk. It also requires agencies to directly address some fundamental questions regarding risk…