Grazed from CBROnline. Author: Joe Curtis.

Governments are set to spend proportionally more on cloud computing than private industries as expenditure is predicted to increase 35% year-on-year until 2018. The UK government’s annual budget for cloud services will grow by 35.6% year-on-year over the next four years, according to the latest statistics released exclusively to CBR by research firm Kable.

That outlay is 4.5% more than the combined predicted cloud spend of Britain’s financial, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and insurance industries. Kable also pegs the UK government to lead international public sector spend on cloud, ahead of the US (34.7% year-on-year), Denmark (30.5%), and Canada (30.1%), hitting $8.4bn by 2018…

Grazed from CiteWorld. Autthor: Matt Weinberger.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) basically defines the bleeding edge with its mandate to build and operate robotics for planetary exploration missions. Which is why it’s no surprise that it’s turned to cutting-edge cloud infrastructure to empower scientists within JPL to use the right technology to deliver the right content and workloads to the right place at the right time, while still maximizing its $1.5 billion annual budget, as explained NASA JPL IT CTO Tom Soderstrom at this week’s CITE Conference in San Francisco.

NASA JPL has been experimenting with the cloud for the last six years, Soderstrom explained. And by "experiment," he doesn’t mean that they proceeded with caution — Soderstrom and his team audited a bunch of solutions from a multitude of vendors, using it for exciting test cases around new and interesting ways to process and visualize big chunks of data with advanced analytics (which he refers to as a "less-hyped version of Big Data")…

Grazed from GovInfoSecurity. Author: Jeffrey Roman.

Two members of Congress have introduced legislation that’s designed to help pave the way for the Department of Defense to make greater use of cloud computing providers to save money – as long as specific security requirements are met. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., and Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., introduced the Department of Defense Cloud Security Act, which would require the U.S. comptroller general and the CIO of DoD to assess the cloud security requirements of the Defense Department.

The bill would require a full evaluation of the overall security and potential capabilities of the current DoD cloud system; a determination of best practices related to cloud security by both public and private entities to establish security requirements for the DoD; and an examination of the potential for commercial cloud providers to host DoD information systems, the sponsors say…

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Caitlin White.

Enterprise IT has found the business intelligence value of big data, but SMBs and startups without money or staff have missed out on the benefits of data analytics. Analyzing petabytes and exabytes of unstructured data on-premises requires significant overhead. Companies need the staff, resources and time to prepare the data for analytics — before it’s even ready to be mined for business intelligence (BI).

As a result, smaller businesses, particularly those in the start-up phase, don’t have access to intelligence that could enhance the business. Cloud computing, with its minimal overhead and upfront costs, could level the playing field. "Cloud-based tools lower the barriers to entry [by] creating readily understandable graphics for complex, data rich topics," said Dan Sullivan principal of DS Applied Technologies, LLC…

Grazed from BusinessWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Verify Corporation, a Minneapolis-based software technology company, today announced the release of Verify Platform 6.0. The Verify Platform is a cloud-based technology platform that powers anti-counterfeiting, brand protection and digital marketing software solutions for Fortune 500 companies.

The latest enhancements include a redesigned user experience and a responsive design that allows the application to work on a wide range of devices. Another key update is the expanded reporting and analytics engine, which enables companies to condense large volumes of data into actionable, real-time insights. These features give Verify clients added visibility into their supply chains as well as detailed reporting on how their consumers interact with brands…

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Jack Vaughn.

"To build or to buy" has long been the soliloquy of enterprise technology leaders. But as cloud databases and database as a service (DBaaS) offerings continue to mature, administraors are left with more to consider, because the cloud — and the big data cloud, in particular – is bringing a "to rent" option into the mix.

Storing data in the cloud was by no means the first thought when cloud computing arose. The concept has more than its share of security and compliance issues, and moving masses of on-premises data to the cloud isn’t easy. But for some types of data-intensive applications, rented cloud architecture increasingly seems the way to go…

Grazed from BusinessWire. Author: PR Announcement.

HyperX®, a division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the release of the HyperX Cloud gaming headset. HyperX Cloud features extremely comfortable ear cushions and larger audio drivers to give gamers ultimate comfort and superior sound during long game play sessions.

HyperX Cloud uses memory foam ear cushions and a soft, leather-padded headband with custom stitching for enhanced comfort and style. The over-the-ear, closed-cup design helps block out ambient noise for a more immersive game experience. Interchangeable velour ear cushions allow gamers to hear their surroundings while also delivering dialogue and every explosion and gunfire in clear, high-fidelity audio from the large 53mm drivers. HyperX Cloud also features a detachable microphone and is made of aluminum for durability…

Grazed from Computing. Author: Graeme Burton.

Internet and cloud companies must turn over all information to US government agencies on demand, regardless of where the data is held. That is the landmark judgment by US Magistrates court judge James C. Francis in a judgment against software giant Microsoft. It follows moves by Microsoft to quash a search warrant that sought the contents of emails of a customer, whose data was held on a server physically located in Ireland.

"Microsoft contends that courts in the United States are not authorized to issue warrants for extraterritorial search and seizure, and that this is such a warrant. For the reasons that follow, Microsoft’s motion is denied," wrote Francis in his judgment. He continued: "On December 4, 2013, in response to an application by the United States, I issued the search warrant that is the subject of the instant motion…