Grazed from VentureBeat.  Author:  Dean Takahashi.

Network virtualization start-up Nicira is coming out of stealth mode today and it has an impressive set of customers who evidently believe that it can disrupt the likes of Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks. The idea is to become a company that can offload data networking demand as needed in the age of cloud computing.

If it lives up to its billing, as some of its customers say it does, it can save tens of million of dollars in spending on data centers and network infrastructure.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Nicira has secured $50 million in investments from Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and NEA, as well as VMware founder Diane Greene and venture capitalist Andy Rachleff…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Dustin Amarhein.

One of the first things I learned when I started talking with clients about their plans for platform-based clouds is that there is no such thing as a ‘simple application environment.’ Even for the most basic, CRUD-style applications, you can count on there being numerous different components involved in the overall solution. While one may immediately identify application servers, web servers, and databases, it quickly becomes clear that LDAP servers, identify management components, data grids, load balancers, and more are equally important. Indeed, the enterprise application ecosystem is not one where the word ‘simple’ is often tossed about.

The inherent complexity of enterprise application environments has had, and will continue to have a significant impact on the design and implementation of many PaaS solutions. In fact, one could argue that the preeminent design point in many PaaS solutions on the market today is rooted in eliminating this complexity. To do this, PaaS solutions attempt to abstract all the way up to the application level. In other words, users supply application artifacts and possibly define application characteristics. From there, it is the job of the PaaS system to handle the underlying application infrastructure, completely absolving the deployer from having to get into the nitty-gritty of the application serving environment…

Grazed from Voice and Data.  Author: Graham Schultz.

With technologies like cloud computing and virtualisation becoming more prevalent, the network is coming under greater pressure than ever before. Despite these demands, the network is not getting the attention it deserves.

If a business has more than two computer terminals, it more than likely has a network. The network enables an organisation to easily share, communicate, interact, perform transactions – the list is endless. In fact, many organisations rely entirely on the network to operate. While some small businesses have little more than a modest local area network (LAN), perhaps connecting a small server to a handful of terminals, the largest enterprises are capable of handling networks of massive data centres, as well as regional LANs and a multitude of components, linked to locations around the world…

Grazed from GigaOM.  Author: James Urquhart.

I’ve spoken quite a bit to date about the application-centric nature of cloud computing, and how this changes the nature of operations for the enterprise. That’s all well and good, but it should be quickly apparent that there are some constraints out there that limit what options a team has in where to place and run cloud applications.

Sure, we can talk about virtualization platforms, supported operating systems and SLAs (if SLAs even matter). However, I would argue that one of the most critical determinations of the placement of cloud workloads is also one of the weightiest: the law. I’ve called this out before, but I think there are some new elements worth exploring given recent controversy over applicable laws in the European Union and the United States…

Grazed from DailyFinance.   Author: Alex Planes.

There aren’t a lot of companies scrambling for the top of the hardware mountain, but the companies that use server hardware seem to grow like weeds. Cloud startups have been popping up all over the place, and there are plenty of established companies looking to expand their presence. Who will win in the long term? If history is any guide, whoever makes the best use of scale — and pairs that scale with the most accessible options — will win the day.

Which cloud companies offer their wares utility-style, whether bare-bones fashion or on top of a platform? Let’s look at the biggest, best, and brightest competitors in this cloudy arena…

Grazed from PRWeb.  Author: PR Announcement.

The Cloud Accounting Institute (CAI), a clearinghouse of information on cloud computing dedicated to the needs of accounting and finance professionals, invites participation in it’s Benchmark Survey on Software as a Service for Accounting. The survey will relate adoption decisions to company size, perceived benefits, perceived concerns, and experiences with installed software packages. Interested parties are invited to take the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/J8BHKYP.

Lindy Antonelli, Chairman and Executive Director of the Cloud Accounting Institute says, “Whether you have already adopted cloud financials or are just considering that move, we hope that you will contribute your views to this important study.  Not only will you will help us understand the phenomenon that is cloud accounting, but more importantly as a participant, you can access the results of this historic research to guide your own decisions…

Grazed from DailyFinance.com.  Author: Alex Planes.

Without hardware, there would be no cloud. But cloud-centric hardware isn’t always the same as the box you use to surf the Web. Maintaining constant uptime, speedy data transfers, and always-on connectivity aren’t optional when providing service to thousands of demanding businesses.

I’ve put together a list of some cloud-serving hardware manufacturers that might be worth your time. You’ll find a few familiar faces (paired with some not-so-familiar numbers), and you might be surprised by who’s taking the pole position in this explosive market….

Cloud computing technology would allow new social gaming network to offer console-quality games without hardware limitations. Even mobile phones look set to be able to use GFACE’s cloud computing technology.Mr. Faruk Yerli, founder of Crytek, is shown speaking in Beijing in 2010. Crytek is backing a new social gaming network, called GFACE, that uses cloud computing streaming to allow lots of devices to interact in multiplayer games.

Crytek, the developer behind Crysis and Far Cry, is backing a new social gaming network called GFACE. Created by a “small team with big ideas”, GFACE promises to deliver high quality free to play multiplayer games directly to your browser, while also offering Facebook-like social network features…

Grazed from Deseret News.  Author: Blaze Bullock.