Gravitas Private Cloud Delivers Flexible Computing Resources On Demand To Alternative Asset Managers
Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: PR Announcement.
Gravitas, a co-sourcing platform providing technology, risk and research services to the financial services industry, today announced the launch of Gravitas Private Cloud, an expandable, secure cloud solution based on leading converged infrastructure systems from VCE. The Gravitas Private Cloud is an industry vertical cloud, designed for the unique computing and hosting needs of alternative asset managers, from startup to established funds.
Gravitas Private Cloud combines the advantages of cloud computing – flexibility, scalability and lowered upfront costs – with the turnkey infrastructure and security that regulated financial firms require supported by the managed services required to run this effectively. The Gravitas Private Cloud enables deployment of a fully-functional IT system in days, as compared to weeks for traditional cloud solutions. It significantly expands Gravitas cloud services, which were launched in 2009…
IEEE Brings Cloud Computing Expertise and User Resources Together to Foster Worldwide Collaboration & Innovation
Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: PR Announcement.
Today IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity, introduced a comprehensive set of resources and activities that bring together expertise from across the global organization to help accelerate the development and use of cloud computing technologies. The collection of resources and activities, established under the IEEE Cloud Computing Initiative (CCI), can be accessed from the newly launched IEEE Cloud Computing Web Portal ( http://cloudcomputing.ieee.org/ ).
The IEEE CCI represents the first, broad-based collaborative endeavor for cloud computing to be offered by a global technical professional organization. The IEEE CCI coordinates, under one umbrella, the extensive work that experts from multiple disciplines within IEEE contribute to cloud computing and makes the results of this work conveniently available to anyone who wants to learn about them. The IEEE Cloud Computing Web Portal provides members of the technical community as well as the general public a convenient, centralized gateway to news and information about cloud computing and the many activities organized and led by the IEEE CCI.
New cloud realities emerge
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…
Canadian Cloud Computing Network launches Cloud Ecosystem Accelerator Program
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.”…
Cloud Business 101: Storing The Data
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…
Public Cloud Is Neither More Nor Less Secure Than Private Cloud
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…
Vertical cloud providers and cloud transparency
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…
Cisco’s CloudWatch 2012 report shows increased confidence in cloud computing
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…
Pano Logic Reinvents Cloud Computing for the Desktop
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…
‘Shadow IT’ Illuminates New Cloud Computing Opportunities: Survey
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…