Grazed from ComputerWeekly. Author: Michael Gillespie.

Hybrid cloud or private cloud within a public cloud is an attractive proposition for any business looking to harness the benefits of cloud computing, while acknowledging the need for adequate security layering on differing types of information. Different information and sub-sets of information has differing security needs. This will vary by organisation and should be subject to a comprehensive information triage process.

The challenges arise when factoring in the security, for many reasons. As we know, there are some very cheap solutions on offer from brokers, so if the priority is cheap then we may as well stop talking about security and move on to the businesses that want to use cloud, have properly identified their organisational risk appetite and want to build a strategy to do it securely…

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

The explosion of mobile applications and devices has lead to an extremely crowded and fragmented market leaving mobile developers searching for new opportunities to differentiate and improve the user experience. Increasingly, successful mobile apps are supported by data feeds and services in the cloud such as databases, messaging, location, and social networking status.

At the same time, enterprises are realizing the importance of the mobile channel and are moving beyond devices and applications devising new strategies to broaden their reach. Extending enterprise data and services to mobile developers via APIs is an approach enterprises are increasingly pursuing. These macro trends are driving demand for mobile cloud services platforms…

Grazed from Business2Community. Author: Laura Hall.

Remember when we thought CDs were a fad? Is the Cloud Applicable to Small Businesses? Or how about the Internet? I myself was skeptical, but seemingly overnight these advancements were mainstream. That’s what the cloud is doing for IT.

The “cloud” is proving to be more than just a buzzword. More and more business are adopting cloud solutions to run their business in an easier, more cost effective way. In fact, Gartner research indicates that the cloud computing market reached $150 billion in 2013!
As a small business owner, what’s in it for you?…

Grazed from BusinessNewsDaily. Author: Elizabeth Palermo.

"Where do you work?" There was a time when that question might have received a simple answer: a company name, or a physical address. But in the age of cloud computing, smartphones and telecommuting, workers are moving away from the confines of cubicles and corporate addresses and toward something more difficult to plot on a map.

Andrew Jones — an organizational business consultant, educator and partner at Conjunctured, a co-working space in Austin, Texas — believes that the mobility of today’s workforce is an integral part of any discussion on employment in the 21st century. His new book, "The Fifth Age of Work: How Companies Can Redesign Work to Become More Innovative in a Cloud Economy" (Night Owls Press, November 2013), redefines conventional ideas about where, when and how people go to work in the modern age…

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Attunity Ltd., a leading provider of information availability software solutions, announced today that it has been named one of the top 100 Coolest Cloud Vendors of 2014 by CRN Magazine. The annual list recognizes the most innovative cloud vendors and solutions tailored to address the industry’s unique needs. The list also helps solution providers navigate the growing cloud marketplace and identify the best solutions to support the IT channel. Winners are named across five major cloud categories, including platforms and tools, infrastructure, storage, security, and software. Attunity and its Attunity CloudBeam software were featured in the ‘Cloud Storage Vendor’ category.

"The adoption of cloud computing solutions is showing no signs of slowing down as solution providers look to offer their clients the scalability, flexibility and cost benefits necessary to compete in today’s business environment," said Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company- publishers of CRN Magazine. "Each vendor on this list was carefully selected based on its ability to help organizations capitalize on those opportunities."…

Grazed from CloudComputingIntelligence. Author: David Grimes.

The cloud computing market has matured significantly in the past two to three years, becoming almost synonymous with infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). But if the rapid adoption of IaaS was Cloud 1.0, what does the future hold for cloud beyond IaaS and what services will we see being enabled by cloud in the future?

Primarily cloud adoption was driven by cost. Not always in the sense that switching to cloud would reduce spend immediately, but the benefits of moving from a CAPEX to OPEX model was, and continues to be, a compelling proposition to businesses. Other factors have also helped to shape today’s cloud industry. These include the maturation of virtualisation technologies, the ever increasing capabilities of the underlying hardware platforms, and the expertise which service providers have developed in delivering robust, secure solutions using a shared infrastructure model…

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Joe McKendrick.

Okay, just about everyone is convinced at this point — cloud computing is a good thing that can provide tremendous business value, if applied properly and smartly. The question is, who is going to make this all happen? Organizations are relying on information technology managers and professionals, to a large extent, of course. However, many IT people say they aren’t receiving enough training or support to move their organizations into this new computing realm.

That’s the takeaway of a recent survey of 1,000 IT professionals, conducted by ScienceLogic. The survey finds 50 percent of organizations will spend more on IT in 2014, investing heavily in virtualization and cloud infrastructure. At the same time, half of the respondents participating in cloud initiatives within their organizations say they need more education on the technology — their current skillsets do not adequately prepare them to do their jobs well in the coming year…

Grazed from NextGov. Author: Editorial Staff.

The Marine Corp is considering using a commercial cloud service provider instead of the Defense Information Systems Agency to host its version of the Global Combat Support System. Separately, the Marines on Wednesday launched a procurement to cut personnel systems costs by selecting just one system integrator to manage 15 systems.

DISA currently hosts the Global Combat Support System Marine Corps (GCSS-MC) at its Enterprise Computing Center in Mechanicsburg, Pa. The Marine Corps Systems Command said in a request for information to industry on Feb. 4 that it is considering using a private cloud service “to increase IT efficiencies, minimize risk, achieve performance objectives and reduce total cost of ownership.”…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Bill Kleyman.

SDN may sound abstract, but the technology is on target to provide concrete advantages to network infrastructure — from increased global connectivity to better content delivery. The concept of the software-defined network (SDN) initially caused some confusion in IT, but the picture gets clearer the more we learn. Similar to network virtualization, SDN allows for the direct network-related abstraction of services.

This abstraction of services can be accomplished on both logical as well as physical infrastructures, but is not actually defined by specific physical devices or logical components. How will SDN affect the future of network infrastructure? Let’s take a look at the biggest benefits…

Grazed from TheStreet. Author: Chris Ciaccia.

If you thought that Google (GOOG) was done innovating, and VMware (VMW) was just about cloud computing, think again. The Chromebook is trying to revolutionize the modern business world. Google and VMware today announced that the two companies are going to "modernize corporate desktops for the Mobile Cloud Era," giving businesses secure cloud access to Microsoft (MSFT) Windows applications, data and desktops on Google’s Chromebooks.

Not only does this deal expand the presence of Google Chromebooks in the enterprise, it allows businesses to cut costs as well. "Google Chromebooks can save businesses about $5,000 per computer when compared to traditional PCs," said Amit Singh, President of Google Enterprise in the press release. "Chromebooks are designed for the way people use computers today and are a secure, easy and cost-effective solution to help organizations embrace a new way of doing business. Through our partnership with VMware, businesses can now capitalize on these advantages with access to legacy applications, data and desktops they need to keep employees productive."…