Grazed from Ecommerce Times.  Author: John K. Higgins.

Information technology leaders in the U.S. government have been promoting cloud technologies for more than a year. In December 2010, the federal chief information officer launched an IT reform plan that required agencies to start adopting cloud technologies. At the time, some agencies had already implemented cloud solutions, and since then many others have initiated cloud programs.

It’s still early days in the federal cloud revolution, and a key challenge in adopting the technology involves federal contracting procedures…

Grazed from ChannelPro.  Author:  Editorial Staff.

Many companies in Europe are yet to adopt cloud computing because of reliability and safety issues, according to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.  “The relative newness and underdevelopment of the cloud computing market is the primary reason that public sector organisations delay adoption,” says Frost & Sullivan research analyst, Jayashree Rajagopal. “Several high-profile service outages in 2011 – such as serious technical difficulties that struck Amazon Web Services and affected a public cloud that serves thousands of businesses – resulted in more reliability questions.”

With organisations worrying that a datacentre problem could result in hacking or the loss of citizens’ sensitive personal information, the research firm says organisations are considering two options: private clouds that would either be managed internally or by a third-party and hosted internally or externally; and hybrid clouds, in which the organisation provides and manages some resources in-house and has others provided externally…

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

Microsoft Corp has adopted CarbonSystems’ Environmental Sustainability Platform (ESP) cloud application as its new global standard for managing its energy, efficiency and environmental-performance reporting, underpinning its commitment to the environment and a sustainable low-carbon economy.

CarbonSystems, a global provider of environmental and energy management solutions, was selected based on its ability to use cloud computing to simplify and streamline Microsoft’s global greenhouse gas management and reporting to stakeholders…

Grazed from TechZone360.  Author: Erin Harrison.

There are three main business modes that organizations are following as they harness the capabilities of cloud – optimizers, innovators and disruptors; this is based on a recent study by IBM, which found that recent technology and social media trends have created a “perfect storm” of opportunity for companies to embrace the power of cloud.

More businesses are embracing cloud as a way to reduce the complexity and costs associated with traditional IT approaches, according to the study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit, which surveyed 572 business and technology executives across the globe…

Grazed from TechEye.net.  Author: Matthew Finnegan.

The personal cloud will help bring about the move into a post PC age by 2014 according to a report from Gartner.

Cloud computing is hardly a new concept, in fact marketing departments seem to have been wailing about it for ages now.  But if analysts at Garnter are to be believed we are still waiting to see the full impact of the person cloud which will bring about the death of the PC as the centre of our affections.

Of course it could be argued that this is aready in the offing with a move to more mobile, accesible devices.  Just ask Tim Cook…

Grazed from Fox Business.  Author: Tom Taulli.

A few years ago, cloud computing was considered an experimental technology. No one knew whether big companies eventually would use Internet-based technologies to access and store their corporate data. But clearly, customers have been voting in the affirmative — with their wallets.

During the past six months or so, traditional software companies like Oracle (ORCL: 29.71, -0.42, -1.39%) and SAP (SAP: 69.45, +0.46, +0.67%) have plunked down billions for cloud operators like SuccessFactors, Taleo and RightNow. And there also have been a variety of successful IPOs in the space, such as Guidewire(GWRE: 22.55, +0.12, +0.54%), Brightcove (BCOV: 16.81, +0.71, +4.41%), Jive (JIVE: 24.65, +0.72, +3.01%) and Bazaarvoice(BV: 16.58, +0.87, +5.52%).

But the glut of offerings is far from over. The Wall Street Journal has a short list, but here’s a closer look at some of the likely players (many of whom I’ve gotten to sit down with):…

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

THINKstrategies today announced that executives from Deloitte, Google, Splunk, and Zynga have agreed to present at the Cloud Analytics Summit hosted by THINKstrategies, the Cloud Computing Showplace and Rising Tide Media on Wednesday, April 25 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

The purpose of the Cloud Analytics Summit is to provide a forum for corporate decision-makers to learn about the latest cloud solutions aimed at addressing their business intelligence (BI) and analytics needs, so they can harness their big data sources and integrate their systems and applications into a more productive enterprise-wide resource to satisfy their business requirements…

Grazed from UAB.edu.  Author: Matt Windsor.

Imagine you are a security guard, charged with protecting a diamond necklace. Unfortunately, the necklace has been broken into a few million pieces—and they’re scattered from Seattle to Singapore and everywhere in between.

That’s the essence of the problem facing UAB computer security expert Ragib Hasan, Ph.D. Hasan is searching for ways to safeguard the far-flung packets of data created when companies entrust their information to “the cloud.” He is also preparing students for a new wave of technological change by getting them up to speed on one of the hottest topics in tech.

Apple and Google have invested heavily in cloud computing in recent years, offering users the chance to store their music and other files on computer servers rather than on their personal machines. The advantage: instant access to songs, documents, and other data from any device, whether it’s a cell phone, the office laptop, or a home computer…

Grazed from FierceTelecom.  Author: Michael Kennedy.

Cloud computing service delivery has a strong business case that includes cost reduction, service acceleration, and improved service delivery quality and reliability. Before developing the business case, however, it is necessary to define cloud services because the term cloud has been overused.

One simple definition is that cloud computing provides computation, software, data access, and storage resources without requiring cloud users to know the location and other details of the computing infrastructure. Unfortunately, this definition is inadequate as it applies equally well to the time share services of the 1970s. In my view a cloud services definition must necessarily include services accessed via the Internet and a Web browser, minimal IT skills required for implementation, use of underlying virtualization technologies, and Web services APIs. Even with these additional qualifications an argument can be made that the definition encompasses many legacy managed service and hosting offerings…

Grazed from BusinessCloud9.  Author: John Stokdyk.

Cloud Computing doesn’t just pose a challenge to IT managers. Moving an organisation’s technology infrastructure on to the internet also raises interesting tax implications that have attracted the attention of tax boffins at KPMG.

In a recent paper entitled Tax in the Cloud, the Big Four firm grappled with the fundamental principles involved and practical implications for businesses and their advisers.  Mike Camburn, indirect tax partner at KPMG in the UK, comments:…