Grazed from IT Business Edge.  Author: Loraine Lawson.

CIOs, CEOs and other executives must have a lot of questions about cloud computing, and I’m not sure there are actually good answers right now when it comes to portability and integration.

For instance, I recently talked to a CEO who expressed deep distrust of storing anything personal in the cloud, including pictures and a rough draft of his dissertation for his third degree.

“What happens if that company goes out of business,” he asked. “What do they do with my stuff?”…

Grazed from TheServerSide.  Author: Jason Tee.

The on-demand nature of cloud computing has put scalable Web applications within easy reach for businesses of all sizes. There’s little to no barrier to entry for even the smallest companies to access the kind of computing power and data storage that was once only available to enterprise customers. It’s not just cheaper than ever to get all the server space you want – it’s also easier. The cloud has made ordering up more resources as simple as ordering a fast food meal at a drive through.

However, just because a business can now “supersize” its infrastructure in the cloud doesn’t mean IT should just keep hitting the button to order more resources. Low-cost isn’t no-cost. Many businesses find out the hard way that simply making the switch to a cloud-based infrastructure doesn’t save them nearly as much as they anticipated…

Grazed from TechTarget.  Author: Michelle Boisvert.

Cloud computing has had its share of misconceptions and misunderstandings. Even the definition of cloud computing at times comes under fire from industry experts and users alike. But when people believe a cloud provider, especially one of the largest in the business, is actually rebranding a successful cloud product midstream, what we have is failure to communicate.

“If it is true, it’s pants-on-head retarded.”
Talk about an identity crisis. This gem comes from Carl Brooks, analyst at Tier 1, in response to rumors that Microsoft was planning to phase out the name “Azure” from its well-known public cloud product line. Turns out, the speculation stems from an unclear email Microsoft sent customers informing them of a change in billing. But for Windows Azure customers throwing lots of money into the public cloud product, the thought of a new name midstream had some questioning Microsoft’s sanity…

Grazed from Midsize Insider.  Author: Doug Bonderud.

Read anything about cloud computing, and you’ll get hype–hype if you’re a consumer ("the cloud lets you store photos, talk to anyone, anywhere and there’s never a chance anything could be lost!") and certainly hype if you’re a manager or CEO ("instant ROI, easy to migrate, growing fast!)." But the nitty gritty is just as you’d expect: A cloud transition is difficult, made more so by the "silver bullet" promises many providers offer. That isn’t to say the cloud can’t drive change or significantly shift the way a company does business–it can. Instead, IT admins at midsize business need to articulate their concerns to management higher-ups and know exactly what they’re getting into before signing on with a provider…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Maureen O’Gara.

Dell has turned up with the very first cloud-directed microservers using Xeon processors built on Intel’s teeny-weeny 22nm process with sexy TriGate transistors.

It will be amusing to see if AMD sends its recent SeaMicro microserver acquisition, which used to be tight with Intel, out to buy the same chips on the open market while it retools for some AMD dingus.  AMD did say SeaMicro would continue its Xeon line.

Intel is also warding off promised server competition from ARM. ARM server start-up Calxeda is supposed to be about a month away from beta testing its boxes…

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

Corent Technology, Inc., a disrupting innovator in the Cloud Computing space, announced that its key product – Corent multi-tenant Server(TM) – has been named a finalist in the Cloud Computing/Software as a Service (SaaS) category for the 2012 TechAmerica Foundation American Technology Awards. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner to be held on June 13, 2012 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

"The caliber of this year’s nominees was incredible. Our judges had their work cut out for them," said Jennifer Kerber, President of the TechAmerica Foundation. "We congratulate Corent Technology for their outstanding work and thank them for their contribution to the growth and innovation in the tech industry."…

Grazed from ZDNet.  Author: Larry Dignan.

Citrix has rounded out its mobile software portfolio with one eye on IT management policies and another on enablement.

To date, Citrix has focused on enabling corporate apps so they can be used on tablets and smartphones via its Receiver software. On Wednesday, the company moved to bolster efforts to deliver those apps via storefronts and centralized tools…

Grazed from CIO.  Author: Paul Krill.

This evening’s annual Codie awards for business software features a three-way tie in cloud computing, with Google, Keynote Systems, and Scribe Software all winning in the Best Cloud Application/Service category.

Given out by the Software & Information Industry Association, awards are intended to recognize "industry excellence," SIIA said. Award winners are being announced at an SIAA event in San Francisco. Categories range from Best Asset Management Solution, won by Flexera Software with its FlexNet Manager Suite for Enterprises, to Best Security Solution, won by Venafi Director, and Best Web Services Solution, awarded to Dell Boomi for its Atomsphere product…

Grazed from CIO.  Author: Brandon Butler.

In an effort to diversify its cloud offerings, NaviSite – a Time Warner Cable cloud computing and managed hosting company – announced plans to offer storage service for customers in what one analyst says could the beginning of service providers looking to offer big data analysis from the cloud.

At Interop, NaviSite announced NaviCloud Intelligent Storage, which is based on an EMC Atmos cloud architecture that lets enterprise customers store, backup and share files. NaviSite has traditionally offered managed applications services that in recent years has expanded into collaboration tools and virtual desktops. Object storage is the next logical progression for the company, says Chris Patterson, product manager for NaviSite’s cloud offerings.

"This is an extension of things we’ve already been doing," Patterson says. "We’ve had a nice cloud offering, but we’ve been looking to add complementary services on top of that." The company offers a pricing model that will start at $0.20 per GB; the service will be available beginning in June…

Grazed from WSJ.  Author: Michael Hickens.

CIOs are beginning — some would say finally — to use cloud computing as a strategic tool. The ability to rent computing and storage capacity as needs arise, as well as applications that can be used to manage sales accounts, deploy field technicians, or just about any other function, gives CIOs the ability to help their organizations seize new market opportunities without making huge up-front investments. Greg Buoncontri, CIO of Pitney Bowes, is using cloud-based systems to insulate the company from a recessionary environment he saw looming in Europe. The systems are intended to lower costs while putting the company in the position to move quickly when the opportunity presents itself.  “For a period of protracted lower growth, you want to make sure your processes are streamlined,” he told CIO Journal in an interview Thursday.

Cloud-based applications don’t offer every feature, and certainly can’t be customized as much, as software installed on corporate-owned servers. But as Google CIO Ben Fried said at a Bloomberg technology conference Thursday, “as a CIO, you have to figure out what is really important to you.”…