Grazed from InformationWeek.  Author: Charles Babcock.

The private cloud computing model isn’t a slapped together virtualization environment, with a few management bells and whistles thrown in on top. Instead, it’s a standardized set of pooled data center resources that allow end users to self-provision virtual servers, which run in a highly automated fashion.

If you don’t plan for such an architecture, you won’t get to real cloud computing, warns Dave Roberts, a frequent writer on the private cloud topic as co-founder of LeverHawk, a blogging site he shares with Scott Bils, discussing wide ranging cloud issues. Roberts is also a senior director of solutions marketing at BMC in Houston, Texas…

Grazed from Talkin Cloud.  Author: Joe Panettieri.

OpenStack, the open source cloud computing platform, won praise today from Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Seagate Technologies (NASDAQ: STX). Call it a hunch but I bet Seagate’s cloud backup business (EVault) makes some OpenStack moves, too. The applause comes as cloud services providers (CSPs) and the open source community prepare for a major OpenStack Conference in April 2013.

OpenStack seeks to offer a standard platform for public and private clouds, allowing partners and customers to move workloads more easily between various cloud systems. HP Public Cloud is built on OpenStack, and now Seagate has also endorsed the platform…

Grazed from Computing.co.uk.  Author: Danny Palmer.

We won’t be discussing cloud computing in two years’ time, not because the service has become obsolete, but because it will have become so ingrained in IT there will not be a need to talk about it as a concept.   That’s the consensus to come out of a roundtable discussion hosted by Rackspace, which explored the impact cloud computing is having on UK businesses.

"Most of our customers don’t even know they’re in the cloud. They consume IT through a server, as far as they’re concerned," said Raj Patel, executive deputy chairman of cloud-based accounting software provider Kashflow.   Patel added that in future cloud will be discussed as an entity which creates value for businesses, rather than just cutting costs…

Grazed from CtPost.  Author: Editorial Staff.

In 2012, the Informational Data Corporation (IDC) made some pretty bold predictions regarding the development of a new high-tech industry in the convergence of social networking, — cloud-based computing and data storage.

The IDC suggested that many industry giants may scramble to maintain relevance, while some startups would gain leadership positions in what some anticipate will be the technology industry’s fastest transition ever.  Today’s major players may be in trouble if they don’t prepare for change…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

Cloud information protection solution vendor CipherCloud released a guidance on cloud security based on requirements set out by PCI Council. The guidance, which lays responsibility for cloud security on both the part of the cloud provider and the customer, details the five steps necessary to achieve PCI DSS compliance in the cloud.

That’s an easier breakdown when compared to the 52-page cloud security guidance issued by PCI Council, but of course, that’s what CipherCloud has been aiming to do with cloud-based encryption and security — make it simple. In the last several months, CipherCloud has been beefing up its team and its financial backing to continue to expand its security offerings, which are mostly focused around encryption in the cloud…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Editorial Staff.

Tata Communications, today announced the world’s first cloud-based policy management solution that enables mobile network operators (MNOs) to create differentiated mobile data services quickly and with significantly less capital investment. As mobile broadband subscribers increase, the service brings more efficient network optimization for a higher quality user experience. Developed in partnership with Allot Communications and Openet, Tata Communications’ Hosted Policy Engine allows MNOs to move beyond flat-rate data packages to deliver targeted data service offers for new revenue streams.

The Hosted Policy Engine is a pre-integrated policy management solution, which enforces traffic optimization and monetization policies in real-time, based on subscriber usage patterns across 2.5G, 3G, 4G and WiFi networks. This allows mobile operators to create targeted service packages to optimize network resources and revenue through tiered service plans for customers…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

Vaultive has announced the 3.0 version of its persistent encryption gateway. The big news in this major release is that Vaultive has extended its encryption and data residencey support to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Office 365 and Exchange 2013.

According to the company, Vaultive 3.0 provides "seamless support" for Exchange 2013, no matter whether it has been deployed in the next version of Office 365 (Wave 15), is hosted elsewhere or has been implemented on-premise. The vendor incorporated several new scalability, resiliency and availability features into the 3.0 version to help enterprise customers protect data while implementing deployments of cloud-based services…

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: Peter Wayner.

In business, you go where your customers are. If the kids want to listen to that rock and roll music, well, you put it on the jukebox. If the enterprise caretakers want to buy something from a cloud, then you bundle up your server boxes and call them a cloud. That’s what Dell is doing. If time is too short to buy your Dell machines with a purchase order and take delivery, you can call up the company and it will start them up in its data center.

Dell’s new cloud has a distinctly Dell flavor that’s apparent from the beginning. The company has always been very close to Microsoft, and now it’s even closer after the leveraged buyout. While other clouds charge a bit more for a Microsoft license, you get one to Windows Server 2008 R2 as part of the whole bundle. The Dell Cloud portal where you control your machines insists that you log in via Internet Explorer or Firefox. Chrome isn’t even on the list…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Walter Bailey.

Many research and studies verify the fact that the volume of the cloud computing business is swelling exponentially across the globe – the growth rates are unprecedented and unexpectedly high. Among such reliable studies, Gartner research and Market Research Media group a few to name – from the results of these studies, it has been found that the growth rate of the volume of business based on cloud computing is much more than the expected.

Forrester Research reveals that the volume of cloud computing business would reach $241 billion in the year 2020 – which is many times the existing market of $41 billion in the year 2011. The investment in this field of the business is much more than expected during the past few years – meanwhile, it is also being predicted that the investment in future would be much more than previous estimations…

Grazed from ITWorld. Author: Patrick Budmar.

Stand by, Cloud busting is here. And that’s just on reason there is so much focus on the hybrid Cloud, according to VMware Cloud infrastructure and management product marketing manager, Aaron Steppat. "What Cloud busting means is the ability for a company using the hybrid Cloud to use infrastructure that isn’t on their premises, such as from a public Cloud, but in a secured, measured and controlled state to get extra capacity for their infrastructure requirements," Steppat said.

He added a "key enabler of that ability" is workload portability or mobility. Thomas Duryea Cloud services general manager, Adam Beavis, refers to the hybrid Cloud as a "good stepping stone" for people who want to move forward and make use of the technology. "People are looking for the agility that Cloud offers, but also want to maintain that control of the on-premise solution, whether it is for security reasons or compliance," he said…