Grazed from ComputerWorld.  Author: Jon Gold.

Given that cloud computing is still emerging, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that opinions vary widely on the best way to architect the storage. In fact, it seems likely that there is no such panacea — different types of private cloud almost always require different approaches.

Or do they?

In a recent interview, Piston Cloud CEO Joshua McKenty asserted flatly that, when it comes to private clouds, the best approach is to integrate the storage with the servers, a setup that offers performance far beyond that of more traditional approaches…

Grazed from NewsFactor.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Most people are wary of electrical devices that don’t carry a seal of approval from Underwriters Laboratories, or a bank that isn’t FDIC insured. Wouldn’t it be great if there was something similar that businesses could rely on when choosing a cloud computing vendor?

With the marketplace still evolving, however, there isn’t a single "thumbs up, thumbs down" standard for cloud security. Yet business technology leaders still have to make the right call on outsourced IT vendors and the integrity of data centers they use to deliver information to the cloud. The dilemma: many decision-makers are unfamiliar with or lack confidence in choosing the best services to make those assessments…

Grazed from ITWorld.  Author: Paul Krill.

Microsoft on Tuesday will preview a cloud-based application build service and improvements to its Visual Studio IDE to make it easier to build SharePoint programs.

Through an extension planned to the company’s Team Foundation Service platform, developers can build source code on the Windows Azure public cloud. Team Foundation Service is basically a cloud-based version of the company’s Team Foundation Server application lifecycle management server.

"The biggest benefit [of the improvements] is it’s supereasy," said Brian Harry, Microsoft Technical Fellow of Team Foundation Server. "You could be up and going, building your app in the cloud in 10 minutes." The preview of the build service is intended for use with the Visual Studio 11 beta IDE as well as Visual Studio 2010. It will be extended to Visual Studio 2008 in a week…

Grazed from SiliconRepublic.  Author: John Kennedy.

Seniors handset maker Doro is rolling out a new cloud-based service that will make it possible for senior citizens to take part in the smartphone apps revolution as well as enjoy easy-to-use cloud computing experiences on their PCs.

The Swedish handset maker will be bringing out a new Windows PC and Android tablet-based product called the Doro Experience Manager that will allow seniors to enjoy sophisticated computing without complexity…

Grazed from Bloomberg.  Author: Aaron Ricadela.

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK), a maker of architectural and engineering software, unveiled new design software and a revamped cloud-computing platform called Autodesk 360 that lets customers use the programs over the Internet.

The new package include design, engineering and entertainment software, the San Rafael, California-based company said today. It connects to Autodesk 360, letting users store, edit and share their designs. The system also enables customers to tap as much computing power as they need, Autodesk said…

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

Autonomic Resources announced that it has joined the Red Hat Cloud ecosystem as a Certified Cloud Provider in the federal community. Red Hat Certified Cloud Providers have to meet business, operational, and technical requirements to be able to offer Red Hat solutions under cloud-appropriate business models and are backed by Red Hat support relationships.

Autonomic Resources Cloud Platform (ARC-P) is a government-only elastic compute environment that meets the NIST criteria for what is considered "cloud computing." The combination of shifting budgetary targets, conditional funding streams, and cloud first / future first policy initiatives has driven the need for utility based computing. One of the key benefits identified in the governments cloud computing initiative is the reduced overhaul of software and hardware every few years, removing political, budgetary and integration headaches…

Grazed from Computer Technology Review.  Author: 

Equinix Inc., a provider of global data center services, and Tier 3, the enterprise cloud platform provider, announced Tuesday a partnership to create an enterprise-ready gateway to the cloud by offering Tier 3’s Enterprise Cloud Platform through Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers. The partnership enables enterprise customers to take advantage of the business agility and cost efficiency of cloud technologies by using Tier 3’s distinctive enterprise-grade Infrastructure as a Service coupled with the geographic breadth, network density and application performance optimization of Platform Equinix.

Tier 3 addresses the enterprise market with a public cloud platform known for its business-grade high availability, built-in business continuity and security features that enable isolated environments for each customer. Leveraging secure, high performance direct connections from Platform Equinix, customers inside Equinix data centers will be able to tap into a Virtual Private Cloud solution from Tier 3. This solution creates a virtual extension of the customer’s enterprise, transforming the public cloud into a virtual private environment that meets IT’s stringent requirements for security and compliance…

Grazed from PR NewsWire.  Author: PR Announcement.

T-Systems, a global provider of information and communication technology systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions, today announced that T-Systems Senior Vice President of Sales for the Americas Region Paul Warrenfelt and Head of Portfolio and Solution Design, Dr. Gregory O. Smith, will participate at the CIO magazine Executive Roundtable in Chicago on Wednesday, March 28th.

The roundtable discussion is titled "Pervasive Doesn’t Always Equal Productive: The Business Case For Cloud Technology" and will focus on how the cloud is evolving from a technology enabler into a true business tool of demonstrable top-line and bottom-line value…

 

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

RightScale(R) Inc., the leader in cloud computing management, today announced that 87 percent of its customer cloud usage comes from customers using more than one cloud provider and cloud type. This confirms the growing trend to leverage multiple clouds — public, private and hybrid — to meet IT needs such as high availability, business continuity, disaster recovery, application performance and reduced cost.

Over the past year, RightScale customers have been accelerating their multi-cloud usage, not only accessing more than one public cloud but increasingly building private clouds to complement public cloud usage. In an analysis of aggregate customer cloud usage, RightScale found that 87 percent of compute power managed through the RightScale platform comes from companies that utilize multiple clouds…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Pat Romanski.

CiRBA Inc. on Tuesday announced it has raised $15 million in its third round of institutional funding led by Tandem Expansion Fund.  Existing investors Sigma Partners and Edgestone Capital Partners also participated in the deal. The growth round of financing follows a series of enterprise-wide sales to some of the largest financial institutions in the world. These enterprise customers helped CiRBA achieve record software bookings in 2011.

Chris Legg, Managing Partner, Tandem Expansion Fund, noted that "CiRBA is far ahead of other software products both in terms of capability and customers with enterprise deals of up to 100,000 servers. We feel we have made a great investment and look forward to supporting their growth."…