Grazed from ImprovedDataRecovery. Author: Gene De Libero.

According to an article in CIOinsight.com, a new report from 451 Research, in conjunction with the Uptime Institute and the Yankee Group, indicates that while cloud computing adoption is becoming more common, a number of barriers to entry still exist. 83% of the respondents participating in the study said they faced significant roadblocks when deploying projects. But what surprised me most about the results of the research was that, according to the article, IT roadblocks have declined while non-IT roadblocks have increased by 68%.

Some of the more prevalent non-IT issues cited by respondents centered on people, processes, budgets, time, politics, security challenges, contractual agreements and change management issues. Each one of the challenges cited here is significant when taken individually; when taken together, they can absolutely crush an initiative…

Grazed from IT Business Edge. Author: Michael Vizard.

Three months after IBM acquired SoftLayer for $2 billion, the company is aggressively transitioning all of its cloud computing services to the SoftLayer platform. IBM announced that it is moving the IBM Social Learning Platform and the recently acquired Xtify mobile messaging software to the Softlayer cloud platform. The company also reported that it has signed up 1,100 additional customers since acquiring SoftLayer.

Dennis Quan, IBM vice president of cloud infrastructure services, says the total base of customers using the SoftLayer platform is more than 22,000, and IBM now has over 100 software as a service (SaaS) applications…

Grazed from ChicagoTribune. Author: Neha Alawadhi and Aditya Kondalamahanty.

Cloud computing software maker Citrix Systems Inc estimated quarterly results below analysts’ expectations as businesses delayed contracts, sending its shares down as much as 14 percent in extended trading. Cloud computing companies such as Citrix and VMware Inc have been facing delays in closing large deals as customers review IT budgets to prune discretionary spending.

Citrix’s warning could set the tone for other software companies as it comes just ahead of the third-quarter reporting season. VMware shares fell 3.3 percent after the bell. Cloud computing software allows customers to access applications remotely from a central server, and reduces costs by eliminating the need to upgrade and install software on each individual computer on site…

Grazed from NetworkWorld. Author: Brandon Butler.

Today, cloud computing resources are bought and sold in a fairly straightforward process: A company needs extra compute capacity, for example, so they contract with a provider who spins up virtual machines for a certain amount of time.

But what will that process look like in, say, 2020? If efforts by a handful of companies come to fruition, there could be a lot more wheeling and dealing that goes on behind the scenes. An idea is being floated by several companies to package cloud computing resources into blocks that can be bought and sold on a commodity futures trading market. It would be similar to how financial instruments like stocks, bonds and agricultural products like corn and wheat are traded on exchanges by investors…

Grazed from ITWorld. Author: Nancy Gohring.

In case you missed it, there’s been a bit of a hubbub about whether Google is serious about its Compute Engine offering or likely to shut it down on a whim, like it did with Google Reader and countless other services. The question popped up when analyst Rene Buest raised the alarm after reading a GigaOm story that said Google Cloud Platform manager Greg DeMichillie “wouldn’t guarantee services like Compute Engine will be around for the long haul.”

DeMichellie went on to say that given Google’s compute services also run internal offerings, the company is unlikely to shut them down. ”There’s no scenario in which Google suddenly decides, ‘Gee, I don’t think we need to think about storage anymore or computing anymore,’” he said, according to GigaOm…

Grazed from ZDNet. Author: Larry Dignan.

IBM was awarded a patent for dynamically managing network bandwidth in a cloud computing environment. IBM’s bet is that its invention can optimize cloud computing performance. The patent, U.S. Patent #8,352,953, is for a method that automatically decides the best way for users to access a cloud system based on available network bandwidth.

IBM said that the approach should allow clouds to better handle surges in traffic because systems can reassign work to system nodes with bandwidth. Usually, a cloud user has access to a virtual machine and the more people tap the system the more networking bandwidth matters…

Grazed from BusinessNewsDaily. Author: Sarah Angeles.

For many businesses considering cloud computing, a public cloud where servers are shared by multiple companies fits the bill. For those that need tighter security and more control, however, a private cloud is just what the chief information officer ordered.

Whether an organization needs to limit access to their cloud, is looking to meet compliance standards or requires an extra layer of protection to prevent cyberattacks, private clouds can give that peace of mind. With the myriad of cloud providers available and the rapid pace at which the industry is changing, it can be a challenge finding the best private cloud provider for your organization…

Grazed from NetworkWorld. Author: Alan Shimel.

By now, you have likely heard about the latest massive breach over at Adobe. Besides the source code for Acrobat and Cold Fusion, something like 3 million accounts were breached as well. The good news is that credit card numbers for many of the account holders was encrypted. The bad news is that the credit card numbers for many of the accounts was encrypted. It is probably just a matter of time on that front.

But forget credit card numbers for a second. The fact is that Adobe has suffered yet another breach. Millions of accounts were compromised. If you use the same password on other sites that you use for Adobe, they are now in danger. Once again, the source code to their products is available. The Flash and Acrobat products are already two of the leading causes of breaches and sources of vulnerabilities…

Grazed from Terremark. Author: Jeff Medaugh.

Application programming interfaces (APIs) are a hot topic in cloud computing and will likely affect the decisions we will have to make as we deploy applications in the cloud. First a refresher—standard APIs are simple commands that are understood by both the sender and receiver to mean the same thing. For example, if I were to say in English, “sit,” “stay,” or “fetch,” to a well-trained dog we both understand what needs to happen next if the dog is going to earn a treat. It doesn’t matter if I say this to a French bulldog, a German shepherd, or an English mastiff—the command is always understood and executed.

In cloud systems, API standards are necessary so that we can use the same commands over and over again to talk to different systems. We write once (an automation tool, a data request, etc.) and we know that it will work with the many applications and web services we need to connect together for our application infrastructure. There are several API standards in use, but the Representational State Transfer (REST) standard is the most current API standard used in cloud computing…