Grazed from Penguin Computing. Author: PR Announcement.

Penguin Computing today announced the immediate availability of its Ultimate Data X1 (UDX1) system. The UDX1 is the first server platform offered by a North American system vendor that is built on the ARM-based EnergyCore System on Chip (SoC) from Calxeda.

The UDX1 brings new levels of efficiency and scale to Internet datacenters. With a five Watt power envelope per server the UDX1 is ideal for I/O bound workloads including “Big Data” applications, scalable analytics and cloud storage. The UDX1 offers a drastic reduction of TCO for high-density, low power computing environments. Workloads that have been processed by racks of conventional systems can now be handled by a group of servers in a single physical unit. The UDX1 features a modular architecture that can be configured with up to 48 Calxeda EnergyCore server nodes, with four cores per node. The system includes an internal 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch fabric for node-to-node connectivity and provides up to 144TB of hard drive capacity…

Grazed from DataCenterKnowledge. Author: Bill Kleyman.

Within the data center community, server sprawl was an issue many administrators had to face and address. Virtualization helped consolidate many of those systems to create a leaner infrastructure. After a little while VM sprawl became the new challenge. With improved management and controls, managers were able to regain some virtualization real estate by tackling the VM sprawl issue, although many will insist that this issue still persists.

Now, with more WAN utilization, better underlying hardware components and more organizations moving to some kind of a cloud model, the IT industry is experiencing a new type of challenge: Cloud Sprawl…

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the enterprise cloud computing (http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/) company, today announced it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Social CRM, 2012, published September 27th, 2012. Gartner defines Social CRM as, "a business strategy that generates opportunities for sales, marketing and customer service, while also benefiting online communities." Salesforce.com moved further into the leadership position of the quadrant than any vendor included.

According to the report, "Leaders in the social CRM Magic Quadrant will exhibit two characteristics. First, their software must benefit both company and community. Leaders show benefits to enterprises by demonstrating ROI and supporting key performance indicators (KPIs), and Leaders’ software convinces users that they will get something valuable by participating in a conversation or community. Second, Leaders’ offerings demonstrate support for multiple CRM processes, and have substantial revenue coming specifically from their social CRM offerings."…

Grazed from WallStreeTech. Author: Greg MacSweeney.

While cloud computing has been around for a few years, many financial services organizations have been reluctant to move to the cloud because of security and compliance concerns.

On the regulatory front, financial services regulators are very concerned about where customer data resides. If a firm can’t identify where the data is being stored and used, regulators could take action. For instance, if data is being stored in a large cloud provider’s service, it may be difficult to identify where the data is or how it got there (did the data travel through another country on its way to the data center?)…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Sharon Hurley Hall.

Cloud computing is often seen as bringing massive cost savings to midsized businesses and others, but what’s not talked about so much is the strain this may be putting on IT networks. Companies need robust networks to deliver the increasing array of cloud services in an era where instant, always-on service provision is becoming the norm, but that’s not always that they get. An article on AllThingsD cites research by Juniper Networks who polled 150 top IT executives to get their views on the effect of the cloud and big data on existing IT networks.

Research Findings

While it’s true that midsized businesses may save money by using software as a service (SaaS) thereby reducing their dependency on hardware and software, the research found that 58 percent of IT execs had to expand and upgrade their networking hardware to meet the needs of the cloud services they were using. In addition, the rise of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend seen by 47 percent of businesses polled also imposes demands on the network. Ironically, the very trends that should simplify life for midsized businesses have made it more complex. Networks seem to be crumbling under the weight of the data and services they have to manage. Some 86 percent of IT execs have seen this effect service provision, while 74 percent see their IT networks as complex, and 35 percent are having trouble managing the networks as they are too rigid…

Grazed from NPR.org. Author: Jordan G. Teicher.

Behind the ephemeral "cloud" of cloud computing, the network we use for everything from checking our email to streamlining our health care system, there lies a very tangible and very big computer infrastructure. But besides a glimpse at some of the hardware in 2009, there has been little information about Google’s data centers, the warehoused collections of servers that have given the company the foundation for its vast Internet operations.

Today, the company is throwing open the gates to the world — digitally, of course. It has released a site featuring photos of facilities from Belgium to Finland to Iowa and launched a guided Street View tour of one in Lenoir, N.C…

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

AirWatch, the global leader and innovator in mobile security, Mobile Device Management (MDM), Mobile Application Management (MAM), Mobile Content Management (MCM), Mobile Email Management (MEM) and BYOD management announced that TMC, a global, integrated media company, named AirWatch as a 2012 Cloud Computing Excellence Award winner presented by Cloud Computing Magazine.

The Cloud Computing Excellence Awards recognize companies that have most effectively leveraged cloud computing in their efforts to bring new, differentiated offerings to the market. AirWatch’s cloud deployment delivers the scale to support one device to more than 100,000 devices. With quick deployment and minimal effort, there is no significant investment in technology or installation services required by organizations. Maintenance and upgrades are handled by AirWatch with the ability to easily transfer to on-premise deployment at any time…

Grazed from PR NewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Leading cloud computing company iomart Group plc has today announced a multi-million pound investment in a new optical fibre network that will provide its customers with the fastest connectivity and transit of data between its data centres and the main UK internet exchanges.

iomart Group plc (AIM:IOM) has entered into a 10 year agreement with Geo Networks Ltd (Geo) to deliver high capacity fibre connectivity into its six UK data centre locations. The new fibre network means that iomart will no longer rely on routing customers’ connectivity via multiple providers, giving it total control over its own network…