Grazed from Sys Con Media. Author: Jeremy Geelan.

"Cloud computing’s not a panacea and it’s not the ideal solution for every business situation," wrote Oracle SVP Bob Evans recently in Forbes, "but at the same time, it’s no longer some nebulous (pardon me) theory whose risk is high and whose potential benefits are impossible to quantify."

Evans was commenting on the state of the infrastructure industry in response to a report by McKinsey consultants James Kaplan, Chris Rezek, and Kara Sprague in which they suggested that the recent IDC saying spending on third-party-managed and public-cloud environments will surpass $70 billion in 2015 might significantly under-estimate the true size of the market…

Grazed from RTTNews. Author: Editorial Staff.

Cloud computing poses a larger threat to your privacy than you might think, according to an European Parliament study. The study published by its Directorate-General for Internal Policies identified potential risks: "The challenge of privacy in cloud computing is underestimated, if not ignored. The main concern arising from the growing reliance on cloud computing is less the possible increase in cyber fraud or crime than the loss of control over individual identity and data."

On Monday, Europe is marking annual data protection day, an initiative to raise awareness of how people’s personal information is collected and processed and how to best protect your private lives. The EP is currently looking at plans to update current European rules on data protection to bring them in line with the latest technological developments and prevent misuse of private data. The report, published at the year-end, also points out that U.S. law authorizes surveillance of cloud data of non-American citizens. U.S. authorities would not be bound by the proposed reform of EU rules, but it is something that could be dealt with by opening EU-U.S. negotiations, the report says…

Grazed from Lexology.  Author: John P. Beardwood.

In the closing months of last year we conducted a survey of our clients as to their views on the benefits and risks of cloud computing.  Admittedly, conducting surveys of IT professionals and business executives regarding their views on cloud computing has been somewhat of a growth industry over the past two years.

However, our survey was notably different in that most of the respondents were either in-house counsel or in risk management positions wherein they are responsible for retaining counsel, rather than business executives or IT professionals.  As a result, the survey has provided a valuable cross-section of those critical personnel’s views as to the risks and benefits of cloud computing…

Grazed from Network World.  Author: Brandon Butler.

Leading cloud computing vendors are diversifying into new product and service areas, as well as expanding into new geographic territories in an effort to stave off up-and-comers, according to new research.  The moves reflect a maturation of the cloud computing industry, which Technology Business Research (TBR) analysts say is a transitioning from vendors differentiating by their technology offerings to separating themselves via business strategies, such as which new markets to enter.

Stalwarts of this developing industry have begun spreading into new service areas in an effort to extend their reach into the enterprise. Salesforce.com, for example, has broadened beyond just sales management tools and into application development; Amazon Web Services (AWS) has moved from being a virtual machine rental service to hosting entire databases in its cloud. Meanwhile, hosting providers are looking to South America and Latin America, as well as Asia and Pacific nations, to expand their reach…

Grazed from Datamation.  Author: Sean Michael Kerner.

Hybrid cloud deployments are attractive to many enterprises in that they offer the best of both public and private cloud approaches.  The move to hybrid is part of the evolution of cloud, according to IDC Research VP Mary Johnston Turner. It’s an evolution that will require a new generation of IT management technologies.

"We see increasing interest in open standards based heterogeneous and hybrid cloud architectures," Turner said during a Red Hat sponsored webcast this week. "A couple of years ago, we mostly saw tactical cloud initiatives, focused on enabling fast self-service deployments for relatively specific needs."…

Grazed from GSN.  Author: Rutrell Yasin.

The use of cloud computing in some form is inevitable in police technology. But like many professions, law enforcement executives have particular concerns about using cloud technology, ranging from the risk that unauthorized persons could steal sensitive information to concerns about the costs of technology migration.

A report, “Mitigating Risks in the Application of Cloud Computing in Law Enforcement," aims to help law enforcement officials weigh the pros and cons of moving to cloud computing. Written by Paul Wormeli, executive director emeritus of the Integrated Justice Information Systems Institute, and presented by the IBM Center for The Business of Government, the report offers recommendations on how law enforcement organizations can successfully move to cloud infrastructures…

Grazed from CenturyLink.  Author: Editorial Staff.

The Cloud used to be nothing more than an enigma, a buzz word. Now, the Cloud has made itself a necessity for many people in many different situations. In order to take advantage of all the great advantages of the Cloud, you first need an Internet service to rely on. View CenturyLink deals to find an affordable and fast Internet plan that you can use to access the Cloud.

Using a Cloud service is something that is universal, but also personal. Here are some of the ways that people are taking the Cloud, and using it in a way that suits their specific needs…
 
1.    Studying. High school students to grad students are all looking for ways to make studying easier. One of the best ways to do that is with the Cloud. Google docs, Google hangouts and platforms like Evernote make it simple for students to share ideas. The Cloud is changing not only how students study, but when.  Students don’t even need to deal with the mess of setting up specific times to meet up. Share notes, mock tests, study guides and more virtually, instead of personally. What makes the Cloud even more beneficial to students is that if you lose your notes or your computer melts down without saving, all the material you need is already stored in the Cloud waiting for you…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is thumbing its nose at law enforcement in the hopes of better protecting its users’ data stored on Gmail and Google Drive. Although the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) gives U.S. law enforcement agencies the right to obtain data that’s more than 180 days old with nothing more than a subpoena, Google is ready to take on those agencies.

Google is demanding that law enforcement agencies obtain probable cause search warrants before it will hand over user data. Google released its biannual Transparency Report, which included for the first time information on how U.S. law enforcement agencies push service providers including Google into handing over customer data. At the same time, Google called "shenanigans" on the entire process. Even though law enforcement agencies have the right to obtain data under the ECPA, there frequently have been discussions about the fairness of the law, as well as concerns over privacy (many foreign businesses refuse to store data in U.S.-based data centers for just this reason)…

Grazed from Smart Data Collective. Author: Thu Pham.

Cloud computing has found a place in nearly every industry, from e-commerce and banking to automotive to healthcare, and all the processes in between. Research shows that cloud use in supply chains has increased dramatically over the past year, and doesn’t expect to slow down in 2013. Dwight Klappich, research vice president for Gartner, explains that supply chain management has adopted cloud use quickly, with an estimated 40% increase in 2012 over 2011. He explains in a Logistics Management article watching this shift from more traditional software to the cloud:

“Two to three years ago when we talked to shippers about software, the cloud was just one option. In many cases, cloud has now become a preference for companies.” He predicts that around 50% of the transportation subset of supply chains are currently cloud-based…