Grazed from PCWorld.  Author: Chris Kanaracus.

Software AG has picked up cloud PaaS (platform-as-a-service) vendor LongJump in a bid to give small and medium-sized companies a way to rapidly develop applications with less involvement from IT. Terms of the deal, which was announced Thursday, were not disclosed.

LongJump’s platform gives users a set of models and templates for building applications, with no need to code, according to Software AG’s announcement. Applications can be deployed on public and private cloud services, as well as on premises and through mobile devices…

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

Fusion PPT, a recognized cloud computing strategy and technology firm, announced today that the company has released its new Cloud Computing Architect (CCA) certification program. The certification is open to Information Technology professionals and experienced architects looking to solidify their skills, stand out to employers, and maximize their earning potential.

Fusion PPT’s CCA credential is the most important industry-recognized certification for cloud computing architects. Globally recognized and demanded, the CCA demonstrates that applicants have the experience, education, and competence to lead and direct complex Cloud Computing Architecture projects…

Grazed from DestinationCRM. Author: Kelly Liyakasa.

While the social Web is the next frontier in understanding and predicting future consumer buying patterns, B2B sales and marketing are reaping benefits as well. New solutions are emerging to help companies harness the power of social identity data to add context and color to customer account records in order to improve lead generation efforts by marketing, and ultimately, shape follow-up actions made by salespeople.

"Social media gives you a whole new dimension on leads," says Amnon Mishor, cofounder and vice president of products of Leadspace, makers of a SaaS B2B social lead targeting solution. "You can understand the true story about who this person is, what [his] role is in an organization, and what [he’s] interested in."…

Grazed from RealWire. Author: PR Announcement.

(ISC)2 ("ISC-squared"), the world’s largest not-for-profit information security professional body and administrators of the CISSP®; and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, today announced they have signed an agreement to collaborate on a new professional certification for information security. The combined initiative will address a significant concern over the security of modern business systems by establishing a common global understanding of professional knowledge and best practices in the design, implementation and management of cloud computing systems.

The new credential will build on existing certifications offered by both organisations, including (ISC)²’s Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and CSA’s Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK), by examining the depth of technical knowledge required in architecting business systems, based on cloud computing…

Grazed from Mendix. Author: Pam Baker.

The buzz on using platform-as-a-service (PaaS) for app development has been loud for a while now but it has just recently emerged as a serious reality play. Sure, a few developers have been working in PaaS, most of whom were quick to tout its benefits. Still, they were in the minority. Many developers and development managers were still kicking the PaaS tires and were not quite ready for the test drive.

But that was then and this is now: 2013 may be the year PaaS goes full bore in mobile app development, according to industry experts and enterprise development teams. “In the mobility world we call it MBaaS or Mobile Backend-as-a-Service,” explains Vishal Jain, analyst of Mobile Services at 451 Research. Technically, MBaaS is a hybrid of PaaS and middleware involving ready-made server code and APIs, explains Jain in his report. “Increasingly it is moving towards offering custom code services from the earlier out-of-box for some of the generic use-cases,” he says…

Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Barb Darrow.

The Pivotal Initiative, the big cloud and big data startup backed by parents EMC and VMware, now has another big, scary backer: General Electric is ponying up $105 million for a 10 percent stake in the company. Bill Ruh, GE’s VP, will talk about the investment and the Pivotal One Enterprise PaaS later today on Pivotal’s coming out party at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, joining Paul Maritz, the former VMware CEO (pictured above) who’s heading up Pivotal.

GE, the huge conglomerate that makes everything from household appliances to medical devices to jet engines, has been talking up the industrial internet of late. And now GE’s Global Software Center in San Ramon, Calif., will to use the Pivotal technologies as a standard way to deliver data management across GE units, according to the joint announcement…

Grazed from ZDNet. Author: Rachel King.

Introduced during a media presentation at Pivotal Labs on Wednesday morning, EMC execs boasted that Pivotal One integrates data fabrics, programming frameworks and support for legacy infrastructures. Some of the typical target uses cases that Pivotal is shooting for include real-time telecommunications and future retail scenarios, large-scale intelligent agriculture, and intelligent industrial control and services utilizing telemetry.

"The short reason for Pivotal’s existence is we feel there’s a need for a new platform for a new era," said Maritz.
Paul Maritz, formerly CEO of VMware and now at the helm of Pivotal, offered some background about the project, outlining that it is based upon "key assets and people" from across both VMware and EMC…

Grazed from ComputerWorld. Author: Mikael Ricknäs.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is looking to expand its security offerings with hosted intrusion protection appliances and more extensive encryption features, as it seeks to increase the level of protection users can get in its cloud. For Amazon, proving its cloud computing platform can offer the same level of security as traditional hardware and software has been an ongoing challenge.

That it’s difficult for companies to meet their existing security requirements in the cloud is a common misconception, according to Stephen Schmidt, chief information security officer at Amazon Web Services…

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Reuven Cohen.

Like it or not outages are part of life in today’s technology landscape. It seems hardly a day goes by without some kind of attack, outage or interruption. From hacking to power outages to regular old fashion hardware failures, the only certainty is at some point your systems will fail. While many in the industry use the build for failure mantra, many more risk adverse enterprises still need an extra bit of assurance.

Today the MSPAlliance in partnership with Lockton Affinity, the world’s largest privately owned independent insurance broker announced the availability of a new Cloud and Managed Services Insurance. The cyber insurance is aimed at service providers who require comprehensive protection…

Grazed from Kaseya. Author: PR Announcement.

Kaseya, the only vendor to provide a complete IT systems management cloud solution, along with an on-premises solution, today announced an extensive set of new SaaS IT tools. Free versions and subscription license offerings are available, depending on user needs.

The cloud delivers a myriad of potential advantages over on-premises applications, from simplifying new software deployment and maintenance to enabling compliance and enhancing security, all contributing to significant cost savings to IT organizations. Kaseya is committed to its vision of providing the widest and most comprehensive range of automated IT systems management tools and is the industry’s only vendor to offer a complete cloud solution…