Grazed from LiveMint.  Author: Anirban Sen.

On Friday, India’s third largest software services exporter Wipro Ltd posted better-than-expected results during a seasonally soft quarter, raising investor hopes of a revival in the fortunes of the Bangalore-based firm.  Wipro is making a massive push towards automating more parts of its commoditized information technology (IT) businesses and planning to boost its on-site efforts by hiring more people at client locations that feeds into its de-centralized organizational structure.

In an interview on Saturday, Wipro chief executive T.K. Kurien, who’s just completed three years at the helm of the firm, spoke about the challenges that Wipro has faced over the last three years, changes in the IT industry in the backdrop of automation and also the possibility of creating a separate subsidiary or business unit to focus specifically on cloud computing services. Edited excerpts:…

Grazed from PingZine.  Author: Editorial Staff.

PCI Policies for cloud computing organizations are now available from the PCI DSS experts at pcipolicyportal.com. The PCI policies for cloud computing entities are highly essential for ensuring compliance with the PCI DSS standards, while also putting in place best practices for ensuring the safety and security of cloud based platforms.

Cloud computing will continue to grow in an aggressive manner – much like the PCI compliance regulatory mandates – thus it’s critically important to obtain high-quality, industry leading informations security documentation for PCI. pcipolicyportal.com offers PCI policies for cloud computing consisting of the following material:…

Grazed from VCPost.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Microsoft wants to provide a new and unique pricing system to its cloud consumers. Just like in Priceline.com, the software giant wants to set the rate of its cloud service based on the performance level the client is willing to pay for, according to VentureBeat.

Last year, two workers from Microsoft Research filed for a patent for "performance-based pricing for cloud computing," according to InformationWeek. Under this system, an enterprise client could bid for a set of performance requirements in a cloud service. The service manager could either reject or accept a client’s bid. The basis of performance level might include a deadline for a task, or the number of requests a client can make to the service, the report explained…

Grazed from InformationWeek.  Author: Cindi Howson.

Visual data discovery, cloud computing, and mobile lead the BI trends to watch in 2014. Take a closer look.

What’s in store for business intelligence in 2014?  In some respects, 2014 will echo themes heard in 2013, but the message is getting louder when it comes to visual data discovery, cloud, and mobile. Big data also will continue to garner attention, but people will take a pragmatic approach to adoption. Simplicity, meanwhile, will experience a second coming…

Grazed from TechRadar.  Author: Raj Narayanaswamy.

Cloud migration is in full swing and for companies to make the trek; step one is to determine whether or not the destination is indeed a true cloud vs. an on-premise solution in disguise. With global spending on SaaS rising by 17.9 percent to $14 billion, it’s time for companies to be able to spot a fake when they see one and ultimately become a more discerning buyer.

Many software vendors simply modify their applications so they can be accessed online—but application hosting is not the same as "real" SaaS. On-premise solutions cannot deliver on the real promises of cloud computing. "True" SaaS delivers seamless upgrades, lower operating costs,ubiquitous access and ease-of-use…

Grazed from eWeek.  Author: Pedro Hernandez.

In oddly fitting timing, Microsoft announced on Jan. 16 that its Windows Azure cloud platform has been validated to conform to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS 2.0), credit card industry policies and requirements that govern how merchant IT systems handle sensitive payment information.

"The PCI DSS is the global standard that any organization of any size must adhere to in order to accept payment cards, and to store, process, and/or transmit cardholder data," wrote Windows Azure General Manager Steven Martin in a company blog post. He added that his company’s cloud "delivers a compliant framework" that enables customers to run their "own secure and compliant applications."…

Grazed from CMSWire.  Author: David Roe.

In its first salvo in the information management space this year, OpenText has closed the deal to buy GXS for $1.065 billion. The acquisition will give OpenText cutting edge business-to-business cloud integration technology, which will compliment the investments OpenText has made in cloud computing in recent years.

Expanding EIM Base

According to the statement issued about the deal, GXS will remain intact and become a wholly owned subsidiary of OpenText. It also says OpenText’s information exchange portfolio will be integrated with GXS’s cloud-based B2B integration services…

Grazed from Cloud Computing Intelligence. Author: Editorial Staff.

With businesses of all sizes and across all sectors of the economy transitioning to cloud computing, IT vendors are racing to position themselves at the cutting-edge of what remains one of the industry’s hottest topics. Cloud billing has become a dynamic growth area. Yet, it is becoming ever harder for buyers to cut through the hype and understand the term. Is a cloud billing system one that bills for cloud services, or a billing system that resides in the cloud?

To some vendors, it does not seem to matter. Just put "cloud" in the product/solution name and voilà, they have a "cloud billing" system. Certainly, among some businesses there is a desire to jump on the cloud bandwagon – a sense that the cloud is now becoming so pervasive that they need to be involved. They must have a cloud story to tell or risk being left behind by the competition. This drive by businesses to be seen as "cloud-based", even when they are not, is creating market confusion and, in turn, that confusion risks damaging the sector immeasurably…

Grazed from ITWorld. Author: Joab Jackson.

Kicking off an initiative to better bridge cloud services with its own software, Oracle has released an adapter that allows organizations to copy data between their Salesforce.com accounts and Oracle software. "We’re encapsulating standard Web services calls into easier-to-use adapters," said Demed L’Her, Oracle vice president of product management.

The Oracle Cloud Adapter for Salesforce is an extension of the Oracle SOA Suite, Oracle’s software for integrating enterprise applications through the use of Web services standards. It will be the first in a number of connectors that the company plans to offer that connect cloud services with on-premises Oracle applications, L’Her said…

Grazed from SFGate. Author: Maghan McDowell.

A self-described "English geek," Gretchen Curtis worked as NASA’s unofficial "creative director," where she met Josh McKenty, before helping to launch Piston Cloud Computing with McKenty and Christopher MacGown in 2011. As chief marketing officer, Curtis oversees the company’s business operations and leads corporate communications.

She’s also the one to thank for the mad-scientist-meets-gentleman style for which the company has become known; this includes Fancy Friday, when most of its 28 employees dress up in suits, vests and the Goorin Bros. hats that they receive when they start at the company…