Grazed from SiliconAngle. Author: Maria Deutscher.

Managing workloads in hybrid public environments is more complex than ought it to be, according to cloud computing specialist Appcara. Earlier this week the Santa Clara-based firm pulled the curtains back on a turnkey solution that will help small to medium enterprises (SMEs) resolve this issue, a solution built on automation and analytics.

The new AppStack Express Appliance features a homegrown tool that captures metadata in real-time and stores it in a continuously updated ‘configuration repository’. The system taps into this database to automate provisioning and maintenance tasks. Appcara pegs its patent-pending technology as a superior alternative to the server templates and scripts that have become an indispensable part of most admins’ toolkit…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Salam Ul Haq.

The ever expanding internet data coupled with social and mobile infrastructure expansion has made big data analytics a buzz word, especially looking at the fact that ninety percent of the world’s internet data is created in the last couple of years. However Big Data is the name of a problem, not a solution. The solution is the advanced algorithms running on large platforms crunching data and numbers to generate useful information.

It could be termed as data recycling to obtain packets of information from a dense knowledge and data clouds. Naturally, most solutions involving big data are based on huge processing clusters to handle the load of processing bulk information making it prohibitive for small and medium level business which cannot cope with the barrier of entry investment. In the last few years, large enterprises have invested their resources to generate analytics and harvested tremendous gains in business by streamlining marketing and streamlining products to user needs…

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Ken Owens.

Ask anyone in technology circles, “What is cloud?” and you’ll get a handful of different answers. But the responses will likely all relate back to three key models: Public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. Businesses need to be aware of how these models can fit into their strategies. We know from this independent survey conducted by research firm Vanson Bourne for Savvis that IT leaders are shifting their views on cloud computing – and broader IT outsourcing. About 60 percent of leaders agreed that owning IT infrastructure wasted resources, compared to just 38 percent two years earlier.

Not surprisingly, given these figures, a huge percentage of organizations have shown an air of regret around the purchasing of IT equipment. Equally significant, as these organizations shift to cloud and outsourcing, we’re seeing CIO mindshare now center on more strategic concerns…

Grazed from NetworkWorld. Author: Brandon Butler.

Many times in discussions about cloud computing, the hybrid cloud – meaning a service that combines both off-site public cloud and on-premises private cloud computing resources – is thought of as being some nirvana state that will be the dominant architecture at some point in the future. Well, Forrester cloud expert James Staten has news for many IT shops: Hybrid cloud is already here, whether you know it or not.

Staten lays out the argument in one of his latest blog posts, but it boils down to the point that if enterprises are using some sort of public cloud resource – like an customer relationship management (CRM) app from Salesforce.com, or some on-demand virtual machines from Amazon Web Services – that more likely than not those applications are using information from some on-premises databases or applications hosted behind your company’s firewall. If there is some sort of transfer of data between your on-premises systems and that public cloud resource, then you’ve got a hybrid deployment. “If you are planning for hybrid down the road, I have a wakeup call for you,” Staten says. “Too late, you are already hybrid.”…

Grazed from Sys Con Media. Author: Editorial Staff.

Today at Citrix Synergy™, Citrix unveiled advancements toward its mobile workstyles vision, providing powerful new ways for people to work whenever, wherever and however they choose. Citrix enables mobile workstyles through a comprehensive portfolio of cloud solutions that accelerate building, deploying and managing cloud services and IT infrastructure. More than just computing and storage power, Citrix cloud solutions serve as the engine of mobile workstyles, delivering any type of app, to any type of device, over any type of network, while supporting new forms of social collaboration to connect people. At this week’s Citrix Synergy Los Angeles, attendees will learn about how these new offerings and the entire Citrix cloud solutions portfolio can mobilize every aspect of work and bring the reality of mobile workstyles to any business.

Mobile workstyles are not just about devices, they are about people and the changing nature of work. This evolution has been amplified by the consumerization of IT and the rapid adoption of mobility and cloud. As work becomes more complex and unpredictable, people need simple solutions that let them get more done, more quickly. Today’s news from Citrix highlights new ways for customers to mobilize their businesses by delivering desktops, apps and data as true on-demand cloud services from both private and public clouds, transforming how they operate, collaborate and innovate:…

Grazed from ITWorld. Author: Mikael Ricknäs.

Cloudian is integrating its platform with Citrix’s CloudPortal Business Manager as it aims to make it easier to roll out and manage storage as a service. CloudPortal Business Manager is a services delivery platform that lets enterprises and service providers control user management, provisioning and other operational aspects of a cloud from a single interface. This is functionality Cloudian will take advantage of, according to Jay Desai, vice president of product management at Cloudian, whose platform is used to provide storage for private, public and hybrid clouds.

To make the integration possible, Cloudian has developed a connector, aptly named Cloudian Connector for Citrix CloudPortal Business Manager. It works as a bridge between Cloudian’s own application programming interface and the API Citrix has created for third parties that want to integrate with CloudPortal…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Charles Babcock.

Last November a small startup called CloudCheckr launched the beta of its performance-monitoring system for Amazon Web Services. Now, it’s bringing out a specialized version, CloudCheckr Gov, suitable for monitoring performance on AWS GovCloud, no mean trick because security requirements keep most independent monitors out. CloudCheckr is part of a small but thriving third-party market consisting of companies that shed more light on what’s going on inside the AWS cloud. Cloudability, Cloudyn, Cloud Cruiser, Newvem, ExtraHop Networks and Uptime Software occupy this space and compete for AWS users.

CloudCheckr is an online service that provides basic AWS monitoring for free, and advanced, CloudCheckr Pro for $179 a month. CloudCheckr Gov is also priced at $179 a month. It’s more than a passive monitor. It checks for up to 150 best practices in cloud workload configurations and security alignments. It can advise what should be done when it spots an exposure or shortcoming. With evident foreign interest in hacking U.S. government agencies, expertise in security and the ability to monitor GovCloud help set CloudCheckr apart…

Grazed from Computer Business Review. Author: Editorial Staff.

SaaS now accounts for at least 40% of the software revenue for 10 major companies listed Global 100 Software-as-a-service (SaaS), cloud, IT consumerisation and mobile are expected to impact the software industry in the coming days, according to a report by PwC.

PwC’s Global 100 Software Leaders report found that SaaS now accounts for at least 40% of the software revenue for 10 major companies listed Global 100 and out of them nine companies are based in US. PwC US software and Internet leader Patrick Pugh said that software companies and vendors are especially beginning to feel the effects of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology on their business models…

Grazed from CiteWorld. Author: Nancy Gohring.

Businesses are increasingly aware that employees are bringing apps to work to make their lives easier. But most might be surprised at just how many apps are being used without their knowledge. “Cloud computing is massively disruptive to the IT industry,” said Rajiv Gupta, CEO of Skyhigh. He said that on average, Skyhigh customers say they think employees are using between 25 and 30 different cloud apps when in fact they’re using 300 to 400 services.

Skyhigh, a company that detects what apps are being used inside the firewall, said it is adding 500 new cloud services to its database of services every six weeks. That’s right — nearly 100 new cloud apps pop up each week. Skyhigh is so confident that it will find dozens of unexpected apps in use by employees that it has promised it can find 30 cloud services unknown to the IT department in 30 minutes. If it fails, it’ll pay for 30 months of Netflix for the customer…

Grazed from Informatica. Author: PR Announcement.

Data integration software player Informatica Corporation introduced Informatica Cloud Summer 2013, the latest release of its Cloud family of cloud-based integration and data management software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions.

• Powered by integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS), Informatica Cloud Summer 2013 delivers:
• New SAP Connectivity via Informatica Cloud SAP Connector.
• Informatica Cloud Extend capabilities for integration task flow and business process automation.
• Cloud Connectors and Get it Now Cloud Integration Templates on Informatica Marketplace.

General availability of Cloud Data Masking service to protect against data breaches in development and testing environments.