Grazed from InterConnectNetworks. Author: Frank Murdica.

Have you ever wondered how cloud computing got its name? Despite popular opinion, cloud computing has nothing to do with the clouds in the sky. Instead, information is transferred to and from data centers, which are shaped nothing like clouds. Yet, there are similarities between the two clouds. We will compare them side-by-side to help you better understand cloud computing.

Cloud Storage

• A cloud from nature stores water.
• Cloud computing stores data.

In the same way that clouds are filled with rainwater, cloud computing stores information like files, music, videos, applications, and more. You will often see marketing for cloud computing services make this connection by using a cloud graphic with data a consumer values pictured inside of a cloud. Unfortunately, the prevalence of this marketing campaign has led to almost half of the public believing that cloud computing actually stores data inside of real clouds, and therefore, cloud computing is a bad idea because sometimes there are no clouds in the sky…

Grazed from The Var Guy. Author: Editorial Staff.

OpenStack, the open source cloud platform, is facing a shortage of trained technology professionals. But that challenging reality could be changing, thanks to growung efforts like the OpenStack Training Marketplace and training guides associates, developers, operators and architects.

The VAR Guy has been careful not to hype OpenStack — even as big-name companies like Rackspace, Hewlett-Packard, Red Hat and even Oracle have vowed to support OpenStack in various capacities…

Grazed from ProofPoint. Author: Editorial Staff.

The cloud’s reputation for security appears to be steadily growing as cloud services continue to gain wide endorsement. Recently, the FBI announced its approval for certain uses of cloud computing technology. According to GovInfoSecurity, the FBI’s new policy clarifies that law enforcement agencies can use cloud services to process criminal justice information, but stipulates that commercial cloud service models are still not approved for use in Criminal Justice Information Services environments – at least not as they have traditionally existed.

This provision relates primarily to the ways in which cloud providers’ metadata functions mine the data of organizations using their services. "The metadata derived from [criminal justice information] shall not be used by any cloud service provider for any purposes," the FBI’s policy dictates, according to the news source…

Grazed from MergerTech. Author: Editorial Staff.

With more companies relying on cloud computing for everything from daily operations to storage and backup planning, it is essential that businesses in those areas can offer clients the very best. A recent technology acquisition could help businesses operating in this space.

The iomart Group announced this week that it will acquire Backup Technology for $37 million. The latter company is a cloud backup and disaster recovery services provider. According to its website, iomart is one of Europe’s largest cloud computing providers…

Grazed from MarketWired. Author: PR Announcement.

PiiComm Inc. (www.piicomm.ca) Canada’s premier Managed Mobility Services (MMS) provider, has teamed up with Mobile Computing Corp (www.mobilecom.com) a leading full service provider of mobile field force automation and optimization solutions that enable businesses to dramatically improve customer service and retention and reduce operating costs in real-time.

Shawn Sicard, PiiComm’s CEO said, "Mobile Computing Corp. (MCC) is helping best-in-class service companies manage stronger, leaner, more profitable operations. Since 1986 MCC has been providing leading edge wireless field service and distribution mobile computing solutions. By leveraging the synergies of our respective companies, customers are now able to deploy fully-managed, end-to-end, workforce solutions with the cost-effective, mobile point-of-sale functionality that accelerates productivity and delivers a faster return on investment."…

Grazed from FCW. Author: Frank Konkel.

The federal government’s first cloud-based identity management pilot will be hosted by HP Enterprise Services. Toronto-based SecureKey Technologies, which the U.S. Postal Service selected in August to develop the Federal Cloud Credential Exchange, tapped HP Enterprise Services on Oct. 2 as its subcontractor to host the exchange.

Under the subcontract, HP Enterprise Services Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) for U.S. Public Sector will provide the cloud computing horsepower necessary to offer millions of users and organizations secure online access to multiple federal agencies and online services through existing, approved third-party digital identification credentials…

Grazed from MSPMentor. Author: Editorial Staff.

The 4Ps – Product, Place, Price, and Promotion – are well known by marketers as the fundamental building blocks of marketing mix. While the 4Ps have served consumer marketing well, some have said that a new model is required for marketing B2B services.

Harvard Business Review published the results of comprehensive study and suggested that SAVE – Solution, Access, Value, and Education – is a more appropriate approach for B2B. But in today’s competitive environment, marketing cloud services is challenging, no matter what terms you use…

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Amy Larsen DeCarlo.

In less than a decade, cloud computing has grown from an intriguing niche to a mainstream market segment. Future expectations are high, with Morgan Stanley projecting Amazon Web Services will hit the $24 billion revenue mark in 2022. Of course, how successful any single provider is in growing its cloud business depends on its ability to help dispel the cloud security worries that still sideline some on-demand deployments.

The presumption that a highly virtualized, multi-tenant environment is intrinsically more susceptible to attack is a byproduct of the belief that the level of accessibility and flexibility that makes the cloud so appealing to customers also opens the door to opportunistic hackers who are ready to capitalize on the many points of entry…

Grazed from Diginomica. Author: Jon Reed.

The hype about cloud job growth is in full swing. Exhibit A: in a June 2013 report, IDC predicted 14 million new cloud jobs by 2015. But what do these numbers really mean to the enterprise? After taking a swing at a couple of simplistic pieces on cloud jobs in last week’s hits and misses, it seemed a good time to hold my own feet to the fire and see what I could dig out. Aside from Amazon’s recent announcement of the planned hire of 70,000 seasonal full time employees, I don’t see many large companies in bulk hire mode of any kind – cloud-related or not.

Hiring news – mixed at best

A cynical reader commented on Joe McKendrick’s Forbes piece on IDC’s cloud jobs numbers: No technological advance creates more jobs than it eliminates. It’s impossible because the very point of a technological advance is to increase productivity…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Kristin Burnham.

Western Digital Wednesday unveiled My Cloud, a new personal cloud device that lets users organize, centralize and secure digital content from their computers and mobile devices and access those files from anywhere.

An alternative to pricier cloud solutions, the My Cloud drive is available in three capacities: 2 TB for $149.99; 3 TB for $179.99 and 4 TB for $249.99. In comparison, 2 TB of storage on a personal Google Drive account will cost you $100 per month. "We believe that there’s no place like home for the cloud," said Jim Welsh, executive vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products and consumer electronics groups. "Everyone is inundated with thousands of digital files scattered across multiple computers and mobile devices, and controlling that chaos is a challenge."…