Grazed from RCRWireless. Author: Roberta Prescott.

Global data center traffic is forecasted to grow fourfold to reach a total of 6.6 zettabytes annually by 2016, while cloud traffic is expected to achieve 4.3 zettabytes by 2016, a 44% combined annual growth rate (CAGR), from 683 exabytes of annual traffic in 2011. These forecasts were released by Cisco in its second annual Cisco Global Cloud Index (GCI), 2011-2016.

Although in general, fixed networks offer better upload and download speeds, and latencies than mobile networks, Cisco said the performance gap between fixed and mobile networks will begin to close in the near future. This might happen because of the growing global adoption of advanced mobile technologies, such as third- and fourth-generation (3G and 4G), and the worldwide demand for wireless support of next-generation devices…

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Information Service Industry Association of Chinese Taipei (CISA) today forms a Taiwan Delegation — a group of approx. 40 members with the majority coming from renowned Taiwan ICT companies and associations including telecom, R&D, software & hardware in cloud computing areas, all appearing in the 2012 WCIT Show held in Montreal, Canada. The Taiwan delegation will showcase its latest Cloud Computing technologies in the Taiwan Pavilion booth during the 3-day show, followed with a workshop presentation on Cloud Computing to report achievements and future development in Taiwan.

Kicking off with a special "CLOUD" opening ceremony and cocktail reception on Day 1 of the 2012 WCIT show, Taiwan delegates will showcase the latest cloud computing products in the Taiwan Pavilion at Montreal. Ming-Ji Wu, chief representative of the delegation, who is also Deputy Minister of Council for Economic Planning and Development, leads the delegation and to demonstrate Taiwan cloud computing achievements at the event…

Grazed from FierceEnterpriseCommunications. Author: Editorial Staff.

As Mark Neider of Cbeyond (Nasdaq: CBEY) noted in a presentation at TMCNet’s ITEXPO earlier this month, cloud computing is gaining momentum and driving more bandwidth consumption as businesses large and small increasingly take advantage of the opportunities cloud provides. The biggest advantage, of course, is being able to purchase services once available only to enterprise-level companies–including business voice, back office and billing support, and data storage and security–at a very affordable rate.

But cloud services is still quite young–not in its infancy any longer, but perhaps headed for its terrible twos phase. And it faces some significant threats to its ability to grow. Here are three threats to cloud computing that businesses can’t afford to ignore…

Grazed from TNS. Author: PR Announcement.

Adobe Systems, San Jose, Calif., has been assigned a patent (8,296,763) developed by Mark S. Peercy, Cupertino, Calif., and Danny D. Loh, Menlo Park, Calif., for a "system and method for personal cloud computing."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "A system and method for providing Personal Cloud computing and for hosting applications and/or content may employ a network attached storage device on which virtual machine monitors (T-cups) and logical devices (Ts) are instantiated in memory. Each T may include hosted content, application modules, a server module configured to host the modules and/or content, and an interface module configured to provide access to the modules and/or content in response to detecting an authorized key…

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: Sean Hull.

If your company hasn’t ventured an Amazon cloud deployment already, the day may be fast approaching. Amazon’s pay-as-you-go cloud is no longer "just" a popular playground for developers, a magnet for technology startups, and the clandestine home of "shadow IT" projects. It’s also increasingly a component of official IT operations.

Working with the Amazon EC2 cloud isn’t especially difficult, but it is different. This quick guide will get you up and running and on your way to cloud mastery. When your company finally embarks on that Amazon deployment or the next stop in your career requires cloud skills, you’ll be ready to answer the call…

Grazed from Law.com. Author: Doug Caddell.

Is the personal computer dead? The usefulness of Apple’s iPads and other mobile devices has been heavily debated in legal organizations; the "consumerization" of IT has been extensively discussed. Also in the conversation: desktop virtualization and cloud computing. What do they all have in common?

The intersection is anywhere/anytime computing. Each of these technology components is a cog of a larger phenomenon: users’ expectation of ubiquitous computing. Lawyers and other professionals demand "always-on" connectivity. Consider that just a few years ago the definition of a mobile user was someone connecting online from home — or perhaps a hotel room, or a client’s office. What they have in common: a physical location and, often, a hardwired connection to the Internet. Today’s definition of mobility is "everywhere," from a taxi or walking down a street…

Grazed from Trefis. Author: Editorial Staff.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is due to report its earnings from Q3 on 25th October, having finished the second quarter on a mixed note with revenues growing 29% to $13 billion approximately while trailing 12 month free cash flow decreased by 40% to $1.1 billion. The North America segment led the revenue growth with a jump of 36% while the international segment followed with at 22%. Operating income dipped from almost 4% of total sales during the same period last year to slightly less than 3% of total sales.

In the earnings call, we will be watching closely how Amazon plans to extend its lead in the Electronic and General Merchandise and cloud computing markets. We will also look for any announcements regarding the performance of the new Kindle Fire device range which was launched in early September. Amazon competes primarily with leading retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), consumer electronics giant Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Marketplaces in the Electronics and General Merchandise market, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the device market, and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Barnes and Noble (NYSE:BKS) in the content market…

Grazed from Small Business Trends. Author: Annie Pilon.

It’s no secret that cloud computing and mobile technology have changed the way modern workplaces operate. But with so many cloud-based collaboration tools available, businesses can have a hard time choosing the solution that works best for their company’s needs, current size, and growth potential. Igloo Software is a cloud-based collaboration tool that prides itself on adapting and scaling with businesses as they grow and change needs. The company also has a number of improvements changes and additions in the works, including stronger integration options with email providers, social task management, and secure instant messaging.

The company has already enacted a number of features that could be helpful for small business users, including drag and drop sharing, document reviews and approvals, editorial workflows, permission settings, and more…

Grazed from CIO. Author: Kenneth Corbin.

If the shift to cloud computing and the adoption of BYOD policies seem like an inevitability in the corporate world, they are anything but in the military and intelligence communities.

In a panel discussion Tuesday at a government IT conference, Debora Plunkett, information assurance director at the National Security Agency, joked that she would break out into hives at the mere mention of the term "BYOD." But just as private-sector employees have been clamoring for authorization to bring their iPhones, Androids and other devices into the workplace, federal workers–including those who deal with classified information–have been voicing similar requests…