Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

BetterCloud, which focuses on evangelizing and selling apps on the Google (GOOG) Apps platform, released the results of its quarterly customer survey. Based on 1,537 responses from the nearly 25,000 Google Apps for Business administrators the company deals with, the survey has come up with a Google Apps customer profile, as well as data that shows Google Apps has become the critical foundation of the cloud application stack.

Keep in mind that BetterCloud has bet its livelihood on Google Apps, so the company is gaining data from those who are already sold on the platform. But still, its survey came up with a few highlights worth examining. The typical BetterCloud customer, which uses BetterCloud’s FlashPanel and Google Apps, is an IT director or system administrator who manages a domain with an average of 631 users…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Salman Ul Haq.

Cloud initially started off as a cost-effect and convenient way to get small and medium business up and running on the web but with the exponential growth both within SME and large enterprises, other domains within computing have also started to integrate Cloud within their own equations. First it was PaaS and IaaS then SaaS and now we’ve seen phenomenal growth and adoption of GaaS which is short for Gaming as a Service. It is one of the most useful and powerful Cloud services which are being used for online Cloud based interactive gaming and there are numerous consoles that are being launched based on this technology.

For the gaming console leaders in the computing industry, it’s practically impossible to resist the augmented usability of the Cloud managed libraries of content with stream-anywhere capability. ‘Any device gaming’ and ‘click to play’ experiences have equipped the users to stream and play the games anywhere using the Cloud just like they stream the HD media on different web outlets like Netflix, YouTube, Pandora and Spotify…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Thomas Claburn.

Ethan Oberman has a problem with cloud computing. "A person should be able to use cloud technologies without relinquishing his or her privacy," explained Oberman, CEO of cloud storage service SpiderOak, in a phone interview. Given Internet companies that rely on mining data about users for revenue, government agencies that have the capability to monitor online activities and read personal communications, businesses seeking competitive intelligence, and hackers hammering at the data piggy banks, maintaining a comfortable degree of privacy isn’t easy.

The problem is that cryptography isn’t easy. Cryptography doesn’t ensure security. It’s merely an element of a broader security strategy. But it has become a necessary element, given the inadequacy of perimeter-based protection. Because barriers can be penetrated or bypassed, data deserves additional protection…

Grazed from Ferret. Author: Brent Balinski.

LAST year an interview with Autodesk’s CEO in Tech Crunch magazine got a lot of attention from those who follow CAD news. "I’d say two to three years from now, every one of our products will be used online," Carl Bass said in April 2012. "The only way to use them will be online."

Whether or not he was speaking literally was argued on many a message board, and whether or not he was, there’s no doubting the company’s focus on cloud computing as both massively useful for its users and of huge importance to its own future…

Grazed from IT Business Edge. Author: Michael Vizard.

Rather than building its own cloud computing platforms, Accenture is maneuvering to position itself as a broker of cloud computing services that are delivered via multiple cloud service providers. The global IT services and business consulting giant today announced that an update to the Accenture Cloud Platform now includes cloud computing services delivered via a variety of third-party infrastructure-as-a-service providers including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Windows Azure, Verizon Terremark and NTT Communications.

In addition, Accenture announced an investment in Apigee, a provider of an application programming interface (API) management platform that is widely used to integrate applications across the cloud. According to Michael Liebow, managing director and global lead for Accenture Cloud Platform, the Accenture cloud strategy is anchored around the ability to provide a single pane of glass through which its customers will be able to manage multiple cloud computing services…

Grazed from Business Daily News. Author: Ryan Goodrich.

Cloud computing continues to change the way businesses work. It creates a new way to facilitate collaboration and information access across great geographic distances while reducing the overhead associated with maintaining what was once an expensive series of resources. As a result, software companies are more flexible and cost-effective and allow consumers to purchase only what they use rather than off the shelf as a large initial investment.

Despite how many companies regularly use cloud-based services, many individuals don’t fully grasp the terminology associated. The jargon that comes with the cloud is understandably confusing, so here’s a quick breakdown of common terms…

Grazed from ITWire. Author: Graeme Philipson.

SaaS is an ‘industry darling’ with massive growth, but that growth needs to be properly managed. There are many challenges posed by the wholesale shift to mobile applications. US digital investment consultancy Siemer & Associates has published a report into the global SaaS (software as a service) market. The report focusses on opportunities and challenges for vendors and financiers, in keeping with Siemer’s client base, but it is also of relevance to the user community.

The report finds that the SaaS business model continues to be an ‘industry darling’ in recurring revenue, in the venture capital and private equity worlds, and on stock markets, but growth needs to be managed appropriately with the shift to mobile…

Grazed from The Cloud Factory.  Author: Events Announcement.

PLANET EARTH’S PREMIERE ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE.   The Cloud Factory is a premiere enterprise technology conference to be held in the stunning resort town of Banff, Alberta, Canada on April 7 and 8, 2014. This conference will bring together senior enterprise executives, corporate M&A teams, venture capitalists, startups, industry disruptors, technology thought leaders and global media to discuss disruptive innovations in cloud computing, big data and enterprise technology.

Each day will focus on a distinct theme – Democratizing the Enterprise, and Growth Hacking the Enterprise – featuring keynote presentations, fireside chats, panel discussions, startup pitches, demo alleys and post-event excursions and activities. The conference will culminate in the first ever Canadian Cloud Awards dubbed as the Oscar’s of Cloud Computing…

Grazed from The Canadian Cloud Council. Author: PR Announcement.

The Canadian Cloud Council and Boast Capital have just announced a 2-day mega conference titled The Cloud Factory to be held from April 7 and 8, 2014 in the beautiful resort town of Banff. This enterprise focused conference will bring together senior executives, corporate M&A teams, venture capitalists, enterprise startups, industry disruptors, technology thought leaders and global media to discuss disruptive innovations in cloud computing, big data and enterprise technology.

Day 1 of the conference is specifically focused on Democratizing the Enterprise and Women in Technology. Featured tech women leaders include Linda Cureton, Former CIO of NASA; Theresa Payton, Former CIO of the US Federal Government; Paula Long, Founder and CEO of Data Gravity; Whitney Bouck, GM at Box; Cynthia Stoddard, CIO at NetApp; Perry Hewitt, Chief Digital Officer at Harvard University; Michelle Zatlyn, Cofounder of CloudFlare; Janet Wood, EVP at SAP; Shelley Kuipers, CEO of Chaordix; and Tori MacLean, Cofounder of BeauCoo…

Grazed from CIO-Today. Author: Editorial Staff.

It’s getting cloudier over at Hewlett-Packard. On Wednesday, HP announced new additions to its Converged Cloud portfolio that deepen its position in the OpenStack camp and position the company as a facilitator for hybrid clouds in the enterprise.

HP’s announcements focused on its next phase of OpenStack-based architecture for its private, managed and public cloud offerings, as well as new software and services for cloud implementations. In its announcements, HP noted research it had commissioned, which found that "it is expected to be a hybrid world," with 75 percent of enterprise IT to be "delivered across private, managed and public clouds" within three years…