Grazed from Forbes. Author: Dan Woods.

The expansion of Software-as-a-Service offerings, mobile devices, and all variants of managed and cloud computing mean that the definition of the data center as an expensively provisioned room, with lots of power, a raised floor, incredible cooling is obsolete. The entire Internet is your data center now. CIOs are playing catchup in learning how to manage this new world.

When a company had just a few SaaS applications that were not mission critical, and one or two APIs or cloud based apps, this was all manageable. Many firms are just leaving this stage, prompted by adoption of more SaaS apps, and especially by Microsoft Office 365, which is going to present a host of new challenges for many CIOs…

Grazed from BaselineMag. Author: Dennis McCafferty.

A "state of the IT worker" survey from ScienceLogic contains mostly good news: Information technology employees expect that their organizations will spend more money on IT initiatives in 2014. They also think that the enterprise network, IT applications and the data center will likely emerge as the top areas of future investment.

The IT pros also confess that they make pretty good money. In fact, some of them even feel that they are overpaid, and they anticipate making even more next year. But these workers are less encouraged by their preparation for what’s ahead, especially when it comes to their educational grounding in cloud-focused developments…

Grazed from Calligo. Author: PR Announcement.

Cloud service provider Calligo has launched two new products, CloudAnalyser and CloudCentre, to assist client’ moving to cloud computing. Written in-house by Calligo’s software development team, these two solutions give Calligo clients visibility into their own environments to help them decide whether to move some, or all, of their IT infrastructure into the cloud, along with making the on-going management simpler.

CloudAnalyser imports statistical data taken from existing systems and combines this with the results of a detailed questionnaire. The software then uses custom algorithms to evaluate the costs and benefits of using the cloud along with recommending the type of cloud technology the client should be considering for each of their business applications…

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

Cloud computing is the newest wave in the world of data storage. Essentially, when a business uses a cloud server, their information isn’t in their office-instead they access their information through an Internet connection. Using the cloud has tremendous advantages for businesses of all sizes, particularly because it’s possible to access information from any location or computer, and the amount of storage space is nearly unlimited. With that being said, as with any data storage, there are security risks, and it’s important that business owners are prepared for a transition to the cloud that is safe and secure, otherwise they could jeopardize their entire business.

SecuritySystemReviews.com, a site that provides reviews of the top security companies in the country, including a newly updated FrontPoint security review and a Vivint security review, has created a list of tips for business owners that will help them better navigate the cloud transition…

Grazed from The Washington Post.  Author:  .

Following the relatively easy fiscal 2014 budget and appropriations agreements, the Pentagon has some level of budgetary certainty for the first time in several years.  Though the Defense Department did not get as much money as it wanted, it has some sense of its funding ceilings and can plan accordingly. Make no mistake — belt tightening will continue as policy and legislation force the Pentagon to root out waste and streamline operations.

Information technology will play a major role in the effort to save money. IT has been recognized as an enabler of cost savings if done right, as demonstrated by the mandates driving cloud computing, data center consolidation, mobility and other technologies.  The Pentagon’s strategic IT direction hinges on progress in eight key areas:…

Grazed from PRWeb.   Author: PR Announcement.

Awesome Cloud Services recently published an infographic illustrating the growth of cloud computing. The infographic also showcases the opportunity for IT providers to generate new revenue by providing cloud services to their clients as part of the AwesomeCloud Channel Partner Program.   Cloud Computing Infographic:
http://www.awesomecloud.com/blog/cloud-insights/cloud-computing-infographic/

The infographic is interesting in that it not only outlines the growth rate of cloud services by segment but also predicts growth. For example, by 2014, 60% of server workload will be virtualized, meaning more businesses will be utilizing cloud services. Of all the cloud computing revenues, about 50% comes from the US and currently, 40% of the customer relationship management (CRM) systems sold globally are cloud-based. Additionally, IT organizations in 30% of Global 1000 companies will likely broker two or more cloud services for internal and external users by 2014. That is up from today’s current figure of 5%…

Grazed from Business2Community.  Author: Jamin Andrews.

I’m one of those people (as I’m sure you are too) who has moved a great deal of my life online and into the ‘Cloud’. If you’ve joined the cloud computing revolution then you will also be experiencing the benefits of having your emails, documents and images all online and accessible wherever you want.

WordPress in its own rights has become a type of cloud computing, storing multitudes of content on each website. WordPressers use the site to store content and images that they intent to make live one day. Most users will admit to only storing this material on their WordPress site and not having another copy elsewhere, why would you need to …right? Here I’ll aim to answer the above question, does WordPress keep your content safe?…

Grazed from GreatResponder.  Author: Maria Dehn.

This was announced by the Oracle Company this weekend that it has decided to embark on a visionary model of mobile app development by initiating a Back-end as a Service BaaS cloud computing platform. According to the statement of the company, the API service will be available through ‘Oracle Mobile Cloud Service’ platform, which an ambitious cloud computing platform of the company.

“Initially, this project will focus on the internal IT organizations that will be allowed to set up their BaaS platforms to integrate mobile computing applications with multiple back end systems that run on the Oracle software”, said Suhas Uliyar, the vice president Mobile Strategy Product Management at Oracle Corporation…

Grazed from ScientificAmerican.  Author: Ellen M. Gilmer.

Compared to familiar climate-saving programs that aim to stuff greenhouse gases into the ground or harness the power of the wind, ideas like "cloud computing" are hard to penetrate. Still, the practice is gaining attention as the information technology (IT) industry promotes it as a tool to save both energy and money.

Meanwhile, though, companies, environmentalists and consumers find themselves struggling with a new question: How do you measure the carbon footprint of a "cloud"?…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Mario Meir-Huber.

Self-service is a traditional element for humans. A typical and successful example of self-service is vendor machines that dispenses drinks. Coca-Cola (among others) operates a large number of self-service machines all over the world, in public places such as universities, museums, and sport arenas. People are used to dealing with the machines as they are simple to use and easy to find.

In today’s world, there is a huge variety of self-service machines that are not limited to soft drinks. There are self-service machines for snacks, chewing gum and you can even buy pizzas from self-service machines…