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…

Grazed from PR NewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Worldwide markets are poised to achieve significant growth as the SOA systems provide the base for cloud computing and support the use of smartphones for transactions and collaboration. SOA is useful for addressing the need for flexible systems, the need for adaptation to mobile handset presentation of information, and the need for marketing analytics.

SOA supports cloud computing solutions with a platform. IBM is the market leader, setting the defacto industry standard in SOA systems implementation. IBM WebSphere is the defacto SOA standard by virtue of providing a way to interconnect disparate siloed web applications within a large data center…

Grazed from ChicagoTribune. Author: Editorial Staff.

Tidemark said Thursday it has raised $13 million in venture backing for its cloud-based analytics services, boosting the startup’s efforts to challenge enterprise giants in a fast-growing sector of business technology. The investment round, which brings Tidemark’s total funding to $48 million, was led by Tenaya Capital, with participation by existing investors Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and Redpoint Ventures.

The Redwood City, California-based company, whose competitors include Oracle Corp’s Hyperion and SAP , allows businesses to analyze data on a cloud-based basis, using remote computers rather than a customer’s own computing infrastructure…

Grazed from Business2Community. Author: Kamran Maqbool.

Cloud computing is becoming a successful option for a growing number of organisations, effectively freeing resources and promoting flexible collaboration. If you are considering the switch to cloud computing but are put off by concerns over security, there may be a way for you to gain assurance. Below we have created a list of the main issues posed by cloud computing, along with some suggestions of simple solutions. Where is Your Data? The thought of your data being stored in a different location to your base of operations is one of the biggest concerns for many potential clients.

What happens when your contract ends, or the provider goes into administration? The way around this is to get to know your provider and the data centres they use. This way you can be sure of the exact locations where your data will be stored, and what protocols are in place for worst-case scenarios. Create a Backup Even when you gain reassurance from a provider, you may still hear a worried voice in the back of your head. It is hard to give up control over information normally safeguarded by your business to a third party…

Grazed from SiliconRepublic. Author: Editorial Staff.

More than three-quarters of IT managers felt that a lack of trust in security was the biggest barrier to adoption of cloud computing technologies in their organisations. The study by IT security service provider SecureData highlighted that although cloud offers many benefits to IT departments there are still huge concerns over how to securely migrate to online services. As a result, over half (59pc) of IT managers thought having a fully outsourced managed security service offering was of importance in order to safely support the roll out and management of cloud technologies.

Furthermore, 67pc of IT managers thought that a Security as a Service (SaaS) provider should be held responsible for any security breaches, highlighting that SaaS providers have a significant responsibility to provide best of breed security…