Blog - Page 1765 of 2266

June 27, 2012 Off

New cloud realities emerge

By David

Grazed from ITWeb. Author: Tracy Burrows.

Cloud computing has delivered on its promises – and then some. But for the early adopters, there have been a few surprises along the way.

This is according to Andi Mann, VP of Strategic Solutions at CA Technologies.

Mann says he sees customers daily who have realised some – or even all – of the promises of cloud, including cost reduction, faster time-to-value, easier management and improved mobility.

“That said, it is not always easy, the results are not always as expected, and they don’t always happen straight away. For example, many of my customers have found that while they are getting fantastic speed and efficiency benefits from cloud, the cost reduction is nowhere near what they expected. Others are finding the ongoing operation and management even of low-touch SaaS applications is more of a burden than they expected,” he says…

June 27, 2012 Off

Canadian Cloud Computing Network launches Cloud Ecosystem Accelerator Program

By David

Grazed from Sys Con Media. Author: Editorial Staff.

The Canada Cloud Network (CCN) is a proactive network of like-minded professionals that focus on the latest technology innovation to benefit citizens, reduce government spending and spur Canadian leadership in the cloud computing space.

In parallel, the federal government has indicated an interest in using public procurement to support the competitiveness and growth of smaller Canadian technology companies. CCN’s new Cloud Ecosystem Accelerator Program (CEAP) will be a powerful connection mechanism between participating companies and governments.

“Cloud computing has not been aggressively adopted by Canadian business and governments because of general inertia, latent security concerns and poor packaging of solutions across companies,” said Neil McEvoy, CEO of L5 Consulting Inc. and founder of the CCN. “Canadian technology SMEs have trouble selling to the federal government with the current complex and lengthy procurement system that favours major players. Larger companies understandably have the resources to be successful. The SMEs we have polled generally believe that government contracts are ‘done deals’ with the large suppliers, and so the RFP bid process is a pointless formality. CEAP is designed to change the status quo and help smaller promising cloud computing companies to band together and get in the game in a big way.”…

June 27, 2012 Off

Cloud Business 101: Storing The Data

By David

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Jeff Norman.

Cloud computing launches new businesses more quickly with greater efficiency. This technology virtually eliminates the need to install new software or download it anew elsewhere, as all of a company’s vital applications can be immediately accessed via the cloud. There is no cap on virtual storage space within the cloud either, especially when compared to the traditional storage model of physical servers (the use of which is growing more antiquated by the day, by the way). Augment your cloud storage in a snap with the payment of a relatively frugal fee.

ADVANTAGE: Storing the data for your business on the cloud allows for it to be accessed with ease by any member of your team, slashing communication delays and eradicating the need to physically work together — a boon for well-qualified business aspirants who are always on the go…

June 27, 2012 Off

Public Cloud Is Neither More Nor Less Secure Than Private Cloud

By David

Grazed from NetworkComputing. Author: Mike Fratto.

There’s a meme in the water that public cloud is more secure than private cloud. That’s just plain wrong. Also wrong: the idea that the private cloud more secure than public cloud. There’s nothing inherently more or less secure about either cloud model, and you can put VMs or applications securely in either (or both). Don’t get excited by these FUD-filled claims.

Let me be clear: When people talk about something being more or less secure than another, what they mean is that one thing is better protected than another–that the better-protected thing is harder to break into. What they don’t often talk about is risk. Risk is the likelihood that some loss will occur. There is always risk. Always. With public cloud, you face different risks than if you use a private cloud. I will not be focusing on risk–rather, I will focus on protection and debunking the pernicious myth that public cloud is more secure than private cloud…

June 27, 2012 Off

Vertical cloud providers and cloud transparency

By David

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Dave Shackleford.

While much scrutiny has taken place in the realm of cloud security practices over the last several years, much of the attention has been focused on the largest cloud security providers (CSPs), like Amazon, Rackspace, Verizon’s Terremark and Google. Most of these large providers have well-documented and publicized security practices. However, many organizations are doing business with smaller CSPs in one vertical, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) services for medical billing or marketing firms.

The scant security information some of these vertical-specific CSPs make available on their websites, though, makes it difficult for a potential customer to glean any insight into their security controls. Cloud transparency is critical for an organization to make an educated buying decision, but an examination of some vertical cloud provider sites illustrates how elusive cloud transparency is…

June 27, 2012 Off

Cisco’s CloudWatch 2012 report shows increased confidence in cloud computing

By David

Grazed from SiliconRepublic. Author: Elaine Burke.

Cloud has become more than just a buzzword, as more companies now see it as an integral part of their IT strategy, independent research commissioned by Cisco for its annual CloudWatch report shows.

CloudWatch 2012 surveyed IT decision makers across a range of vertical sectors in Ireland – including retail, finance, healthcare, the public sector and service providers – to examine changing attitudes to cloud computing. Of these, 90pc said cloud is on their agenda – a huge increase from just 52pc in 2011 – and 31pc of those consider it critical to their organisation’s activity…

June 27, 2012 Off

Pano Logic Reinvents Cloud Computing for the Desktop

By David

Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: PR Announcement.

Pano Logic, the leader in zero client desktop virtualization (VDI), today announced Pano System for Cloud, the lowest cost desktop computing platform for organizations moving to web-based applications. Pano System for Cloud eliminates the need for a local operating system and central processing unit and delivers web-based computing, using Google’s Chrome browser as the interface.

Pano System for Cloud is the most cost-effective computing platform available for many businesses, schools, governments and other organizations seeking an alternative to PC-based or thin client models that rely on costly end user software and hardware. The platform centralizes all computing activities in the cloud; end users see a familiar browser interface and use software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions or web-based applications to do their work. Other web-based computing solutions still require endpoint processing, increasing the overall cost by 50 percent over the new Pano System for Cloud, which utilizes a new low cost Pano Zero Client, the G2M, introduced at $149. The new platform also strips away costly infrastructure layers including software licensing, expensive SAN or NAS hardware and ongoing operational expenses…

June 27, 2012 Off

‘Shadow IT’ Illuminates New Cloud Computing Opportunities: Survey

By David

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Joe McKendrick.

Today’s “shadow IT” – in which business users acquire and run their own IT resources as a way to circumvent their IT departments – may eventually become part of tomorrow’s corporate IT portfolios. However CIOs and IT managers need to be proactive in broadening their resource base to include new platforms and devices. And, while until recently cloud providers attempted to mimic corporate data centers, now corporate IT seeks to mimic cloud service providers.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with John Engates, chief technology officer at RackSpace, about the new role IT leaders need to play in the new world of cloud computing. He discussed some of the surprises that emerged from RackSpace’s latest survey of 500 IT decision makers, particularly the fact that “shadow” or “rogue” IT is now prevalent across many enterprises, large and small…

June 27, 2012 Off

Cloud Computing: Startup Challenges Microsoft With Completely New Business Computing Platform

By David

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

Today, CrowdPC, Inc. announces the public unveiling of its completely new business computing platform for small businesses. The CrowdPC platform consists of an on-site wireless computer, a suite of business software applications, and an online data center, all working together to dramatically improve usability and flexibility, and decrease costs and complexity compared to Windows-based small business systems.

Developed quietly over a six-year period, the CrowdPC computer platform has been designed to leap ahead of the 25-year old Windows based approach now used in businesses around the world. Using state of the art hardware and software technology, CrowdPC delivers PCI and HIPAA compliant security, data safety, all commonly used small business software, real-time off-site backup, and easy connections to smartphones, tablets, and other customer and employee devices at a price of $299…

June 26, 2012 Off

Private Cloud Hosting: Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

By David

Grazed from Smart Data Collective. Author: Jon Dawson.

Industry titans like Google and Microsoft have put billions of dollars into cloud computing initiatives over the past five years in an effort to pre-empt inevitable consumer demand in an industry poised for phenomenal growth. Some of that growth has already taken place, so much so that the cloud industry has already diversified its service suite and offers 31 flavors of cloud for the consumers – among them, they can be split into two groups: public and private.

A Line in the Sand

A public cloud has significantly less regulatory hurdles and as such host services that aren’t necessarily tightly integrated into the manifold arms of a large business. You probably use about five cloud services right now — Dropbox, Evernote and Gmail are three notable and widely used cloud-based services. Public clouds are great for bringing services to market quickly, but aren’t secure enough to host highly critical applications. That’s where private clouds come in…