Grazed from MyDigitalFC. Author: Varun Dutt.

Cloud computing has had a sweeping affect across the IT realm in recent years but there has been hardly any clarity on what it actually is. According to Jonathan Stri­ckland of How Stuff Works? Cloud computing is the use of computing resources that are delivered as a service over a network (typically the internet). End users access cloud-based applications through a web browser or a desktop or mobile app while the business software and user’s data are stored on servers at a remote location. It allows enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with improved manageability and less maintenance, and enables IT to rapidly adjust res­ources to meet uncertain business demand.

Strickland argues that buying computers for everyone in an organisation can be costly in terms of both the hardware and software but cloud computing provides an impressive alternative: Instead of installing a suite of software for each computer, one just needs to load one application which would allow workers to log into a web-based service hosting all the programs…

Grazed from MarketWire. Author: PR Announcement.

KANA Software, Inc., a global leader in customer service solutions delivered on-premise or in the cloud used by more than 900 organizations worldwide, including half of the Global 100 and 250 government entities around the globe, today introduced Lagan Express, a knowledge-centric multi-channel cloud customer service solution delivered via the Software as a Service (SaaS) model to meet the constituent service needs of mid-market public sector organizations, here at the 98th Annual Conference of the International City/County Management Association in Phoenix, Ariz.

Lagan Express provides a complete suite of integrated multi-channel contact and knowledge management capabilities to support improved customer service quality, accuracy and response times. A single, integrated platform ensuring consistent customer service across all channels including phone, email, chat, web self-service, virtual assistant and social media, Lagan Express unifies customer contact records and knowledge resources and automatically delivers contextual help and information when and where it is needed…

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Joe McKendrick.

Many organizations are still in the early stages of their cloud computing journeys, and the reports are: so far, so good. No major flaws or “gotchas” have emerged in nascent cloud engagements, and CIOs are saying full steam ahead. Still needed, however, are more security assurances, and more vendor flexibility.

That’s the key takeaway from a new report just published by Navint Partners, LLC, which finds large companies are seeing mainly positive results from their cloud computing efforts. The consulting company convened a roundtable with 20 CIOs from Fortune 500 companies to discuss their progress and concerns about cloud computing. Nine out of 10 respondents, for example, say they have received 100% of the savings they expected from their cloud computing projects. In addition, four out of five say their cloud efforts have helped their organizations achieve some sort of competitive advantage, and two-thirds say cloud has helped their organization’s efficiency and effectiveness…

Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: PR Announcement.

InfoStreet Inc., Cloud Computing pioneer and provider of Cloud Apps, is being featured in Merrill R. Chapman’s newly published book, "SaaS Entrepreneur, the Definitive Guide to Success in Your Cloud Application Business." The new book features an interview with InfoStreet’s CEO, Siamak Farah, and focuses on his knowledge of the Channel Partners market in the chapter titled SaaS Entrepreneur Case Study InfoStreet: An Interview with Siamak Farah.

"The principal reason I profiled Siamak and InfoStreet in ‘SaaS Entrepreneur: The Definitive Guide to Succeeding in Your Cloud Application Business’ is that when Softletter first began its SaaS University series in 2007, I turned to Siamak to present and explain the role of resellers and channels in SaaS," Chapman said. "Siamak has tremendous experience in the area and can talk knowledgeably about channels in SaaS from aggregators to OEMs. Since that first session in Santa Clara, Siamak has attended other SaaS University in venues such as Boston and Denver and lectured on ongoing developments in SaaS channels. When I began work on the ‘Channels’ chapter in SaaS Entrepreneur, he was one of my principle resources. InfoStreet’s development of its SkyDesktop aggregator marketplace concept is part of the ongoing development of SaaS channels and we’ll be hearing more about it."…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Luchi Gabriel Manescu.

The increased security risk of having your files and programs on someone else’s server is one of the main reasons why so few people and businesses are making the move to cloud computing. And while hackers serve an essential role of showing programmers the fragile spots in their security systems, it is never a good feeling when they do so by accessing your data.

Still, truth be told, many times hackers do not need to crack the security systems of cloud servers,—those are very well protected and have a team of experts keeping an eye on them 24/7—instead they will go for the weak links that the users themselves create. So here are three essential security concepts that you need to keep in mind whenever accessing your cloud data…

Grazed from ZDNet. Author: Larry Dignan.

Appirio on Monday said it will acquire Knowledge Infusion in a deal aimed at implementing cloud-based human capital management software at a broader scale. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The news, which should be good for companies like Workday and Salesforce, will create an organization with 600 consultants. Appirio has specialized in cloud and software as a service deployments. Knowledge Infusion has primarily focused on the HCM market. Systems integrators such as Accenture, Deloitte and others have been rapidly building up cloud computing practices. Appirio and Knowledge Infusion both would have had to bulk up to compete…

Grazed from DataCenterKnowledge. Author: David Grimes.

It is highly unlikely to find anyone today that doesn’t see cloud computing having an incredibly bright future given the significant cost, agility, and operational advantages it provides to organizations of almost every size and industry. But believing in the power and future of the cloud doesn’t mean IT has to turn its back on more traditional, physical solutions. The smart strategy is one that combines the most advanced products, technologies, and providers to deliver the best solution possible, whether it be physical, virtual or hybrid.

The term “hybrid” is arguably as overused today as “cloud.” For many in the industry, the term is used to discuss the mix or use of both internal and external cloud solutions (public and private cloud by enterprise). However, a less common definition, but arguably a more common implementation, is to describe the use of a mixed architecture including both cloud and a traditional, single-tenant hosted infrastructure…

Grazed from Federal Times. Author: Nichole Blake Johnson.

One of the most attractive benefits of cloud computing can also be one of the hardest to prove: cost savings. Agencies often lack the details needed to compare their pre-cloud costs — for hardware, software, labor and the like — with cloud-computing fees.

“It’s kind of a shaky premise to say we are moving to the cloud and going to save all this money, and they [organizations] don’t have a sense of what they’re spending today and how much they will save,” said Ed Anderson, a research director at Gartner whose focus is the cloud computing market. “I see a big danger in that because cost savings is the No. 1 justification for moving to cloud.”…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Stephen Delahunty.

The Office of Management and Budget introduced the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy in February 2011, putting federal agencies at the beginning of the cloud adoption curve. Since then, federal IT teams have been evaluating, planning, and implementing cloud services, an exercise that by every indication will be an essential part of the IT planning process for years to come. This article analyzes the state of cloud computing in federal government with new, exclusive data collected by InformationWeek Government. Our third annual Federal Cloud Computing Survey, conducted in September, was completed by 103 federal IT pros.

The question isn’t so much whether there’s been progress, but how much. Are government organizations moving past early-bird projects and turning to the cloud as their first choice when looking to meet new IT requirements? Which issues stand in the way of cloud deployment? Do agencies want private or public clouds? Our survey shows that a sizable majority of respondents have work under way or plans to advance their agencies’ cloud strategies. More than half of these agencies have identified use cases for cloud services, and 46% have evaluated cloud products and services. Fifty percent of all respondents say their agencies are moving ahead with cloud adoption or are in the early stages of doing so; last year that percentage was 40%…

Grazed from AMEInfo. Author: Editorial Staff.

Users worldwide are exposed to increasing amounts of unprotected data due, in part, to the explosion of connected devices, the internet, social media, cameras, sensors and user generated content. Industry experts predict that up to 90% of corporate data such as documents, webpages and email, is usually unstructured and potentially accessible.

Addressing cloud computing and security concerns during Gitex Technology Week, 14th to 18th October 2012, Intel and McAfee will focus on tackling four key areas that include; securing cloud data centers, securing the network connections, securing the devices that connect to cloud services and accelerating the development of unified standards for cloud security…