Grazed from OpenMarkets. Author: Ari Studnitzer.

Today, I am on a panel at the Bloomberg Enterprise Technology Conference in London to talk about all recent developments ushering in the next generation of financial technology. It probably won’t surprise many to hear that we are living and benefiting from an era of convergence – from network access to data to digitization to cloud computing. Convergence has become the new black. With a desire for increased transparency and risk management, we are experiencing the convergence of OTC with common clearing and Trade (Swap Data) Repositories along with Swap Execution Facilities and the increased trading of standardized products.

Convergence is the name in cloud computing where advancements in compute, storage, and network are converging to enable new capabilities, decrease cost, and introduce scale previously thought unimaginable. Mobility is furthering that convergence with access from anywhere enabled itself from a convergence of voice, network, compute, and software. Just as cloud and mobile computing are enabling new business models and driving innovation, convergence in the financial industry is creating similar opportunities and new drivers for technology innovation…

Grazed from Jeda Networks. Author: PR Announcement.

Jeda Networks (www.jedanetworks.com) today announced that it has been named winner of the 2013 UP-START Cloud Award for the category "Best Cloud Storage Solution." The company was recognized for its flagship Fabric Network Controller (FNC), a Software-Defined Networking (SDN) approach to storage that solves the cost, complexity and scalability issues inherent in many of today’s storage networks. The UP-START Awards are part of the UP Cloud Computing Conference and honor disruptive, next-generation cloud computing companies who are defining key elements of cloud technology.

Jeda Networks was selected from ten other companies by cloud industry experts during a two-stage open vote on the Up Cloud Computing Conference website and LinkedIn. Conference attendees accounted for the third and final round of voting, selecting the most outstanding cloud solution as measured by technical innovation, marketability and likelihood to be a market leader…

Grazed from SysCon Media. Author: Paige Leidig.

For some organizations, cloud computing can be a hard sell, even before you come to the question of how to handle cloud-computing security. Public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, encryption, tokenization, data residency, privacy regulations – all are factors involved and the perceived effort can sometimes seem to overshadow the benefits. But just as cloud computing comes with a slew of demonstrated business benefits, so does effective cloud computing security. Included below are three specific benefits to implementing a cloud computing security system…

1. Regulatory compliance prevents costly fines.

One of the most common reasons enterprises have for investing in cloud computing security is, of course, regulatory compliance. Heavily regulated industries like finance and health care – industries that handle the most sensitive personal information – must remain in compliance with relevant regional, national, and international laws, as well as with industry-specific standards. Failure to do so can come with a high price. In fact, banks that fail to comply with the PCI DSS requirements, for example, may face fines of anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 per month, costs that tend to get passed downstream, resulting in higher costs for all, according to the PCI Compliance Guide’s FAQ…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

A new application from CloudPassage combines the cloud infrastructure security firm’s Halo event data with correlation and analysis from Splunk Enterprise 6 to monitor security events on both public and private cloud servers. CloudPassage Halo App for Splunk Enterprise was designed for users of both CloudPassage and Splunk to collect 80 unique security event types across cloud infrastructures, and then analyze and correlate the data with other machine data indexed within Splunk Enterprise.

According to the two companies, the new app enables end users to create unique dashboards for insights that come from pairing Halo’s "massive event data" with Splunk Enterprise’s ability correlate and analyze data. Additionally, the application provides the ability to geo-locate user login attempts and cloud computing instances on any cloud provider for additional insight and control into cloud infrastructure services…

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Editorial Staff.

Just say the words "public cloud" and those in IT likely think of Amazon Web Services. And that was certainly the case in the Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards, with Amazon Web Services public cloud winning the Best Cloud Service Provider category. Since AWS entered the public cloud arena, it has continued to gain momentum — first with startups and one-off development projects, then gaining more widespread acceptance within the enterprise. "We’re currently using Amazon Web Services for a national website," noted one voter.

As the cloud market continues to grow, enterprises are faced with several choices for cloud service providers. How do IT pros decide which cloud platform to deploy? And how do cloud service providers differentiate themselves in a sea of options? Often, it comes down to cost…

Grazed from FierceFinanceIT. Author: Jim Kim.

Are we moving toward a day when banks will be forced to do everything in the cloud? That is a long ways in the future, given privacy regulations and the like. But it is fair to say that the sheer economics of cloud computing have led banks to embrace cloud-based initiatives across the board. Bank Systems & Technology looks at four areas that appear ripe for cloud approaches: payments, document management, platforms and analytics.

Payments certainly seem a good fit, even if bank executives do not know it. "As banks tentatively look to move more functions to hosted environments, perhaps one of the most natural to bring to the cloud is payments," the article states. "After all, notes Celent senior analyst Gareth Lodge, banks are already doing some payments processing in the cloud, even if they don’t realize it…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: InstantCheckMate.

In the modern world of Internet connectivity, cloud computing, online banking, social networking, personal privacy and information security is essentially dependent upon password protection. Passwords are the crucial barrier that safeguards the personal information contained in the perhaps dozens of accounts that we interact with every day from theft and exploitation.

In particular, with the advent of cloud computing technology, password security becomes even more important as individuals store more and more information on virtual server networks. Despite the many advantages offered by cloud computing, the system remains vulnerable to security threats…

Grazed from Computing.co.uk. Author: Graeme Burton.

The cloud computing industry is heading for a future of brownouts amid widespread power shortages. That is the warning of a senior Cisco engineer, who points out that major new data centres currently planned by Amazon, Google and others will have the equivalent power consumption of cities of 500,000 people.

Dave Ward, chief technologist of engineering at Cisco Systems, says that today major data centres consume between 40 and 50 megawatts (MW), but by 2020 the biggest data centres will be drawing as much as 120MW. Ward told EE Times that while advances in silicon photonics could reduce the need for such large data centres, generating the energy to power all the servers required by cloud computing by the end of the decade "will be one of the most important questions for getting to 2020"…

Grazed from SysCon Media. Author: Cloud Ventures.

TRANSFORM is the name of our consulting service, referring to the fact that our primary specialism is in business transformation, how it can be achieved through enterprise cloud computing. This is a message also defined by T-Systems. A TRANSFORM engagement therefore begins with the board room, deals in corporate strategy and then rolls this down through an adoption program featuring:

• Strategy and Enablement
• Metrics and Cost Controls
• Transformation through Maturity Models
• Driving Efficiencies through Outsourcing…

Grazed from Carrenza. Author: PR Announcement.

Leading cloud computing supplier Carrenza Ltd has launched a new infographic that illustrates some of the key trends that IT directors must be aware of if they are to successfully prepare their systems for the coming years. With more than three-quarters of businesses already using some form of cloud computing solution within their organisation, and around £448 billion set to be spent on this technology between 2013 and 2016, ensuring that businesses are equipped to make the most of this will be vital if firms are to efficiently use IT to drive business growth.

The infographic illustrates how cloud is impacting on the future of the IT department and what enterprises need to be aware of when planning for the future. The infographic aims to help sets organisations on the right path to a solution that is suited to their unique needs with clear explanations of the offerings available…