Grazed from Wired. Author: Dan Conde.

Cloud computing has been on minds of many people, but there are many definitions depending on who you ask. For some people, it means services or apps that are run off-premises as Software as a Service (files stored in the cloud, or music that is stored and played from the cloud instead of your own disks). For others, it is defined as servers or other resources are spun up on-demand from a data center somewhere in the cloud.

Let’s look at the second definition since we’re talking about how networking needs to be re-invented, and because the performance of cloud servers rely heavily on the networking. On top of that, many providers of Software as a Service use an on-demand model in their data center, so ultimately, the network underpins cloud computing in general. When people designed the datacenter systems with traditional servers, storage and networking gear, it was carefully designed with a particular workload in mind…

Grazed from Infosec-Magazine. Author: Bill Hackenberger.

When organizations move their data to the cloud, traditional security measures may not be effective. With some basic knowledge, Bill Hackenberger of HighCloud Security says companies can take advantage of Infrastructure-as-a-Service, while keeping their data private. If your organization is considering use of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) from a cloud service provider (CSP), be aware that traditional security measures, such as full drive encryption, may not translate.

Most IaaS rely heavily on server virtualization to achieve the elasticity and rapid deployment we expect from the cloud. But virtualization introduces new technologies and attack surfaces that must be considered from a security perspective. If you are concerned about the privacy of data running in virtual machines (VMs) in the public cloud, there are some basics you need to know…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

Following up on the launch of its Box DLP offering earlier this year, cloud security specialist CipherCloud is now incorporating encryption into the offering with the hope of providing something to Box customers they currently don’t have access to.

There are other encryption offerings that touch Box, but according to CipherCloud, its new encryption capabilities provide a seamless experience that its competitors don’t offer. Most importantly, the company takes an approach to encryption and security that places the encryption keys in the hands of the customer, giving them ownership and control, said Praveen Kothari, founder and CEO of CipherCloud…

Grazed from ITWorld Canada. Author: Howard Solomon.

Linux has made the operating system fight into a “two-horse race”, the head of the Linux Foundation told the opening of the annual LinuxCon conference. It’s “the end of an era” for Microsoft’s Windows, Jim Zemlin, executive director, Linux Foundation told the New Orleans gathering of developers and vendors this morning.

Web-based and cloud computing is exploding and making the shift to open source operating systems and software easier. “Linux is at a tipping point.” As head of an organization whose job is to promote Linux, Zemlin didn’t hold back…

Grazed from NetworkComputing. Author: Brian Prince.

A new report from analyst firm Transparency Market Research predicts the global market for software-defined networking (SDN) will reach more than $3.5 billion by 2018. According to the report, the SDN market is driven primarily by the need for efficient infrastructure and mobility, as well as the increasing demand for cloud services. "Nowadays, many organizations are storing, computing, and networking through cloud-based infrastructure.

They are doing this for more agility, flexibility, manageability, and programmability in their network infrastructure," the firm said in a prepared statement. The report breaks out four categories of SDN technologies: SDN switching, SDN controllers, cloud provisioning and orchestration, and security and services. Cloud provisioning and orchestration dominates the global SDN market and also is expected to be the fastest growing area as it helps to design, optimize, secure, and monitor the network, according to the research firm. SDN switching had the second largest revenue share of the SDN market in 2012. The firm forecasts an overall compound annual growth rate for the SDN market of 61.5% from 2012 to 2018…

Grazed from BusinessWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Financial service firms, including banks, brokerages, security firms and more, are among the types of organizations that can take advantage of the endless benefits of cloud computing architecture. Many financial organizations have made the move to cloud solutions, while other organizations are examining such a move. However, for regulated firms, there are significant legal and regulatory challenges that IT teams must navigate before moving to cloud architecture.

HOB, the market leader in pure software-based remote access solutions, seeks to help IT teams at financial institutions better understand the benefits of cloud computing and how to overcome regulatory challenges with a new e-paper now available for free download on the HOB website. The e-paper, titled "Clearing the Haze on Cloud Computing in the Financial Services Industry," describes various concerns financial institutions may have about cloud computing and offers insight on how to overcome these challenges…

Grazed from MobileMarketingWatch. Author: Editorial Staff.

A new report from cloud services provider Bluelock is highlighting the benefits and advantages of cloud infrastructure as a service. “There’s a lot to consider when it comes to the cloud buying process,” the company says. “Security, compatibility and managed services are just a few important offerings cloud buyers have to consider. But, what matters most to cloud consumers?”

The findings of a recent survey from the company were compiled to form a telling new infographic that draws a strong picture of what matters most to the IaaS consumer now, and what they expect to care about in the future. To learn more, and to view the infographic, visit: http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/infographic-what-customers-actually-seek-from-iaas-providers-36043/

Grazed from MarketWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Bill.com, the leader in integrated bill payment, invoicing and cash flow management solutions for businesses, today announced that it has launched the Bill.com App Center, which for the first time creates an open, SaaS-based platform focused on streamlining workflows and supercharging productivity not just for CFOs but for entire companies. Whereas the finance function historically has been an island, unaware of purchases or sales that impact cashflow until often too late in the process, the Bill.com App Center has now created critical bridges to the finance operation by integrating essential business tools from cross-company departments into the finance system.

The Bill.com App Center is designed to solve financial professionals’ most common business needs, streamlining workflow by bringing together key tools, such as combining expense management, online mail management, and accounting systems…

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: Juan Carlos Perez.

Box, the Silicon Valley darling that has disrupted enterprise cloud storage and file sharing, will broaden its scope into the content-creation space with a new online note-taking application. Box Notes, to be unveiled on Monday at the company’s BoxWorks conference in San Francisco, will provide a word processor-like interface where colleagues can add content to the document and co-edit it in real time.

The application, which will be a standard component of the Box product, is in a limited test release. Interested testers need to request access by signing up at Box.com/notes. The company is looking at next year for releasing it in final form. "This is our first step into content creation and productivity [software]," said Chris Yeh, Box’s senior vice president of product and platform…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Charles Babcock.

Amazon Web Services has altered its Reserved Instance (RI) terms to enable customers to make certain changes after the contract is signed. Even with new powers to modify a contract, setting initial terms is not as simple as it sounds. Cloudability is stepping in to try to make it easier.

AWS Reserved Instance customers may now change the availability zone in which a RI runs or the network attributes assigned to it, but they can’t vary the lifespan set forth in the contract. RIs come with one-year or three-year subscriptions. In the past, customers were stuck with whatever RI attributes they signed up for, over the duration of the contract. But the RIs also come with a significant discount over Amazon’s on-demand server prices…