Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: CJ Arlotta.

Backup and recovery software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications provider Backupify has released a new set of open APIs through the Backupify Developer Platform — a move designed to extend the company’s backup technology to SaaS application providers.

Backupify CEO Rob May says the company is working with a group of partners looking to protect customer data through the Backupify Developer Platform. Backup and recovery software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications provider Backupify has released a new set of open APIs through the Backupify Developer Platform — a move designed to extend the company’s backup technology to SaaS application providers…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Robert Lawson.

Cloud computing is quickly stirring up a frenzy of innovation its wide applications and easy access for small to midsize businesses. There is a seemingly endless stream of forms and functions for the technology, and it is one of the most flexible sources for business infrastructure tech. The service can be used in a variety of industries, and it is affordable, powerful and has a variety of capabilities.

According to Fierce Enterprise Communications, a business and technology publication, a study completed by Birst and Dimensional Research that polled several business intelligence (BI) professionals revealed that BI user satisfaction tops 80 percent for this type of technology. Respondents cited the following benefits: faster implementation, lower total cost of ownership and broader user adoption than for installed BI software…

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Alyssa Wood.

Performance is a big concern around remote application access on mobile devices, but there are ways to deliver apps and data from the cloud without compromising speed. To keep performance on par with traditional desktop applications, Splashtop Inc. uses its enterprise customers’ existing server infrastructure to deliver apps to mobile devices.

The company has only been around for three years, but today has 15 million users across iOS, Mac, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices. Its remote app and desktop delivery software also comes in a Software as a Service (SaaS)-based business edition, or users can download a consumer version right to their tablet or smartphone. Splashtop CEO Mark Lee sat down with SearchConsumerization here at the Interop conference to explain the benefits of a hybrid approach to app rendering and why some apps are so difficult to mobilize…

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Beth Pariseau.

From AppScale to Zillabytes, a plethora of cloud computing startups have emerged in recent years. There are three ways to go from here: acquisition, IPO or failure. Thus, IT pros considering products from a cloud computing startup should also closely examine the company’s funding, market segment and partner ecosystem before they buy.

Identifying the source of funding for CliQr Technologies Inc. was important for Robert Banks, director of PZFlex, a virtual prototyping company based in Mountain View, Calif. that uses CliQr’s CloudCenter software to manage clouds hosted by Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Rackspace Inc…

Grazed from SmartDataCollective. Author: Asher Ross.

The benefits of the cloud, such as lower costs, scalability and flexibility, are numerous. But while SMEs have enthusiastically embraced the cloud, large companies have been more reluctant to invest in this technology. It’s time for change: the cloud has advantages for the company and also of greater magnitude will see CIOs essential as a way to secure the future of their organizations.

CIOs are increasingly warming to the cloud. A survey in May this year by the analyst firm Research found that 92 percent of CIOs and IT professionals think the cloud is good for business. The same survey also found that only 31 percent of companies that describe their infrastructure is mainly based on the cloud, indicating a rejection among most organizations to take positive steps towards cloud adoption. Seems that if larger the company, the greater the resistance…

Grazed from ComputerWorld. Author: Mary K. Pratt.

The CIO at Utah State University, Hawley says he and his team must serve the university’s employees and deliver the tools they need. But he realizes that many of the school’s users are finding outside options, installing unsanctioned applications that they find easier to use. "People always gravitate to the most functional or least-cost solution. And in our ‘freemium’ world, those things are available by the dozen," he says.

Hawley says he suspects that employee use of unauthorized IT tools is particularly prevalent these days, as telecommuting and bring-your-own-device policies become increasingly common. People everywhere are becoming more mobile. Empowered first by company-issued laptops and now by their own smartphones and tablets, employees of all stripes want to do their work from any location at any time with any device, and they’re turning to the cloud to help them do it — using hosted services to share, store and sync work files with just a click…

Grazed from Marketwire. Author: PR Announcement.

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) today unveiled the speaker line up and presentations for its upcoming CISO APAC Forum to be held December 17-18 at The Venetian Macau. The announcement was made at a press conference today hosted jointly with Macau SAR Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation (DSRT), Macao Computer Society (MCS) and attended by leaders of CSA Hong Kong and Macau Chapter.

Designed to be a gathering of the world’s leading minds in information security and definitive authorities in cloud computing, the CSA CISO APAC Forum will be the CSA’s first main event in East Asia, having held both the first CSA CISO APAC Forum last November and the inaugural CSA Congress APAC this past May in Singapore. This year’s event will address, through presentations, case studies and first-hand experiences, some of the most controversial and debated topics in cloud security including panels on Cryptography and Privacy as a Business Model; Governmental Cloud Strategy and Experience Sharing; Big Data & Emerging Threats Experiences; Emerging Cyber Threats & Securing the Cloud; and The CISO Report 2013 and CISO Guide by OWASP…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Marissa Tejada.

Cloud computing has become an important part of the most reliable and effective disaster recovery solutions. That is proven by the fact that disaster-recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) is growing in popularity as more and more organizations become comfortable with cloud deployments. DRaaS is a big consideration for midsize firms as they seek solutions to ensure that their precious data is safe no matter what disaster may occur.

More Disaster Recovery Adoption

According to analyst firm Gartner, more than 30 percent of midsize companies will have adopted cloud-based disaster recovery (DR) by next year. Gartner’s findings, recently featured in InfoTech Spotlight, also outlined the key benefits of using cloud computing for DR. Cost savings is one big benefit. Additionally, firms may reduce their recovery testing. The study points out that reduced complexity at start-up is also important and that organizations will put DRaaS in place to support critical applications and those that require short recovery times…

Grazed from eWeek. Author: Darryl K. Taft.

Splunk recently announced Splunk Cloud, a new service that delivers Splunk Enterprise in the cloud. However, at least one competitor is asking whether Splunk Cloud is a cop-out. In a blog post, Charlie Oppenheimer, CEO of Spunk competitor Loggly, claims that Splunk has given up on Software as a Service (SaaS).

“It appears that Splunk has thrown in the towel on Software as a Service (SaaS) and replaced Splunk Storm with a hosted software model,” Oppenheimer said in his post. “We were always skeptical that a company with such a phenomenally successful enterprise software business would disrupt its own business with a serious SaaS offering. And with today’s announcement of Splunk Cloud now it seems that the doubts were justified.” Splunk officials declined to comment on Oppenheimer’s claims…

Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: Editorial Staff.

IBM Corp. IBM -0.58% was downgraded to an equal-weight rating by Barclays on Monday morning. In a note to clients prior to the opening bell, analyst Ben Reitzes wrote of the impact of cloud computing and the growth of software-as-a-service, or SaaS, "which seem to adversely impact all of IBM’s segments in some way." He said his report was not a call about the company’s second half of the 2013 fiscal year.

"It is increasingly clear to us that investors will evaluate IBM on cash flow more than earnings until revenue starts to grow meaningfully," he wrote, cutting his price target on the stock to $190 from $215. IBM shares were last down 0.7% to $182.83 in morning trades on Monday…

Read more from the source @ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ibm-downgraded-on-growing-threat-from-cloud-saas-2013-10-07?link=MW_latest_news