Grazed from ComputerWeekly.  Author: Jim Mortleman.

The debate over the risks and benefits of cloud computing has never been as writ large as it was in 2013. On one hand, this summer’s NSA Prism scandal brought home to organisations the danger of using US-based cloud services – namely, that any unencrypted data could be trawled at will without their knowledge by security agencies. On the other, the year was a tipping point for the use of the cloud, with an increasing body of research showing that even large organisations are now firmly embracing cloud-based services as an essential part of their IT infrastructure.

Despite concerns over Prism, including a broadside from European Commision (EC) vice-president Neelie Kroes, few organisations were deterred from their cloud ambitions. However, businesses increasingly recognised they would need to take additional precautions to protect any sensitive customer or commercial data, with some reportedly looking towards cloud providers in Switzerland, where privacy is enshrined in law…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Cloud Ventures.

It’s hard to read or listen to the news without hearing concerns about protecting sensitive data. Whether it is providing security for payment card/banking information or maintaining privacy from cyber surveillance – governmental and otherwise.

Edward Snowden was back in the news last week when The Guardian revealed that the GCHQ and NSA targeted charities, Germany, the Israeli PM and EU chief on their surveillance list. These ongoing revelations have many organizations concerned about the privacy of customer data and other sensitive business information being put in the cloud…

Grazed from Forbes.  Author: Louis Columbus.

Alan Kay’s saying that the best way to predict the future is to create it resonates through the best cloud computing and enterprise software predictions for 2014.  Constraints that held start-ups back from delivering sophisticated new apps and services are disappearing fast.  The dynamics of one of my favorite books, The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen, are in full force across the cloud and enterprise landscape.

There are many predictions being generated right now and instead of writing yet another set,  I’m providing a listing of those that are the most interesting and thought-provoking. They are listed below:…

Grazed from Midsize Insider.  Author: Marissa Tejada.

Private cloud computing is showing impressive growth among today’s firms. According to a recent report by InformationWeek, the percentage of organizations using functional private clouds has more than doubled.

Going Private

InformationWeek’s Private Cloud Survey found that within a period of about 20 months, private cloud adoption has increased from 21 to 47 percent. The findings revealed that just a year and a half ago, 30 percent of respondents had just begun a cloud project. The study concluded that firms are adopting the cloud at an extremely fast rate because they expect a significant increase in operational productivity and cost savings…

Grazed from eWeek. Author: Darryl K. Taft.

IBM closed a busy week of cloud computing deals across Europe and Asia that indicate the systems, software and services giant is intently focused on its quest to become the leader in the cloud computing space. On 18 December IBM joined forces with 21Vianet Group, a large Chinese carrier-neutral Internet Data Centre (IDC) service provider, to introduce IBM’s premier cloud infrastructure service and accelerate high-value managed private cloud adoption. As part of the deal, IBM will provide the physical point of distribution (POD) and service while 21Vianet will host the POD facility at the 21Vianet data centre in Beijing.

China innovation

This partnership brings IBM SmartCloud Enterprise+ to China. IBM has a long history in driving innovation in China and already manages numerous high-value cloud engagements with many large organisations. Cloud computing has become a mainstream delivery mechanism for IT globally but enterprise cloud is still in a nascent stage of adoption. Many IT buyers understand that there are a range of options from the low-end, commodity cloud marketplace that provides little more than cheap storage and access. On the other end of the spectrum is IBM’s cloud infrastructure and managed services that can expand to accommodate any workload with the real-time performance and integrity…

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Barracuda Networks Inc. (NYSE: CUDA), a leading provider of cloud-connected security and storage solutions, today announced that the Barracuda NG Firewall is now available in the Amazon Web Services Marketplace. The Barracuda NG Firewall for Amazon Web Services (AWS) allows customers to protect and access their server infrastructures deployed in the AWS cloud.

"The Barracuda NG Firewall offers AWS customers comprehensive features to securely deploy in public cloud environments," said Blair Hankins, VP Engineering, Barracuda. "This expanded offering extends remote network access to augment the other Barracuda security offerings available on the Amazon AWS cloud platform." The Barracuda NG Firewall provides VPN and security-enhanced remote network access between customer networks and the AWS cloud platform, including highlights such as:…

Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: PR Announcement.

IBM inventors have received a patent for a breakthrough data encryption technique that is expected to further data privacy and strengthen cloud computing security. The patented breakthrough, called "fully homomorphic encryption," could enable deep and unrestricted analysis of encrypted information –intentionally scrambled data — without surrendering confidentiality. IBM’s solution has the potential to advance cloud computing privacy and security by enabling vendors to perform computations on client data, such as analyzing sales patterns, without exposing or revealing the original data.

IBM’s homomorphic encryption technique solves a daunting mathematical puzzle that confounded scientists since the invention of public-key encryption over 30 years ago. Invented by IBM cryptography Researcher Craig Gentry, fully homomorphic encryption uses a mathematical object known as an "ideal lattice" that allows people to interact with encrypted data in ways previously considered impossible. The breakthrough facilitates analysis of confidential encrypted data without allowing the user to see the private data, yet it will reveal the same detailed results as if the original data was completely visible…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Akash Valand.

We stand on the edge of the digital age, where technology moves quickly, and our lives have been transformed by modern computing. Digitization has resulted in a staggering amount of information flowing through cyberspace. Processing that data has led to a revolution in how we store and access information. The idea of the cloud is nothing new. Considered as far back as the 1960s, it was the principle on which the internet was developed. The term “cloud” was coined in the 1990s with the advent of virtual private networks.

Initially used for simplifying business processes, the application of cloud computing quickly gained popularity among scientific and gaming communities as well. Today the cloud has transcended some of its earlier models and is now widely accepted as a secure means of data storage and shared processing power. Its application in science is vastly accelerating research and has been used with particular success in astronomy…

Grazed from DataCenterKnowledge. Author: Jason Verge.

Cloud computing is more than just a buzzword. It’s a mega-trend that has become an umbrella term for the ongoing shift from in-house data centers to third-party facilities. Within that mega-trend are many smaller trends, which have important implications for the industry and your IT operations. Here’s a look ahead at the trends that cloud thought leaders believe will be the most significant in 2014.

Cloud and CDN continue to blur, and the Network plays a bigger role.

As perhaps the last bastion to get “cloudified”, the network will continue to be a focal point in 2014. There’s also been a lot of interest in “edge” computing, and using cloud in a way to deliver content more efficiently. “The world of cloud and CDN is going to continue to blur,” said Robert Miggins, senior VP of business development at Peer 1. “Clouds that run in multiple geographies will be important. In order to be bold, in order to be a real player in the cloud you have to be in multiple locations. Those locations need to be able to operate between very seamlessly. You get at some distributed content ala CDN. We’re seeing customers come to us because we have lots of data center choice and they’re connected to one another.”…

Grazed from The National Law Review.  Author: J. Michael Nolan III.

In the age of cloud computing, electronically stored information (“ESI”) is no longer stored exclusively on physical drives or Facebook. Dropbox and Google Drive are programs (“apps”) that provide cloud storage services. A user can upload files to reserved space on a server from any computer, smartphone, or tablet connected to the Internet.

The stored data can be synchronized and downloaded to the user’s other devices. Individual users get limited storage space for free, and higher limits are available on a pay-as-you-go basis. Apple’s “App Store” and Google’s “Google Play” store for Android devices show that Dropbox and Google Drive are among the top free downloadable apps for smartphones. (Microsoft Skydrive, Apple iCloud, and Amazon Cloud are other popular cloud computing services.)…