Grazed from CloudTweaks.  Author: Rick Blaisdell.

There has been much talk about the cloud and about how it can help businesses and how cloud computing is one of the top technologies of the future.  Although, at this point it is probably more appropriate to say cloud computing is the present and the future.  But starting with the name, cloud computing, and also looking at the vast majority of articles written about the cloud, one may think that it is an incorporeal thing, floating out there somewhere and providing services. The truth is, cloud computing as it is today has been made possible by technological advances in the data center industry.  Yes, data center, a term slightly less glamorous than cloud computing, that lays at the foundation of cloud computing.

The infrastructure serving the cloud may not be glamorous, but it is, nonetheless, essential.  There are a few key issues the infrastructure underlying the cloud has to provide for: scalability, flexibility, reliability, virtualization, and security…

Grazed from PR NewsWire.  Author: PR Announcement.

MuleSoft, provider of the #1 integration platform for the cloud and enterprise, today announced that it has been named a winner of the 2012 Cloud Awards. The annual Cloud Awards program, open internationally across the US and EMEA regions, recognizes and celebrates industry leaders and pioneers in the field of cloud computing. MuleSoft’s iON, a cloud-based integration platform as a service (iPaaS), won the Best Platform as a Service category.

Cloud Awards organizer Larry Johnson said, “Almost 200 organizations entered the program, which is among the first of its kind. We were swamped by entries, and the standard was remarkably high. Judging the submissions was a challenging task. But we’re happy to endorse MuleSoft as among the best of the best in their field.”…

Grazed from PRWeb.  Author: PR Announcement.

eUKhost Ltd. a UK based company offering fully managed web hosting services, announced a public launch of their new cloud platform eNlight. The new Cloud Platform offers users’ privileges such as rapid deployment of VMs, VM management through an easy to use web based interface and an auto-scalable multi-server cluster architecture. eNlight focuses on a true pay-as-you-go payment model.

“eNlight offers an altogether different approach to instant vertical scaling capabilities of a Cloud. With eNlight, users can avail flexibility, economy and security at the same time, unlike any other company in the industry.” claims a senior representative from eUKhost Ltd. eUKhost’s ten years of experience offers them the capability to serve a robust environment for eNlight servers as a service product. The web-based GUI powered by AJAX, helps customers with real-time deployment of new VMs as well as real time monitoring of the already created VMs. eNlight offers an on-demand intelligent auto-scalable service created on a cluster of high configuration dedicated servers…

Grazed from TechWorld.  Author:  Sophie Curtis.

The move to cloud computing is undoing a lot of the good work that IT managers have done over the past decade to enable solutions based on open standards that can be built, supported and replaced, regardless of vendor.

According to Ed English, Dell’s EMEA marketing director for next-generation computing solutions, cloud is allowing some enterprise IT vendors to shoehorn their proprietary technology back into the data centre.

“Companies and IT managers alike have worked very hard to drive more flexibility and more interoperability into the data centre. It started at the desktop level, but it’s now permeating the data centre as well. There is this big shift from proprietary to open,” said English…

Grazed from Forbes.  Author: Joe McKendrick.

Grazed from EON.  Author:  PR Announcement.

ScaleXtreme, the leading provider of server automation for the distributed datacenter, is presenting a joint webinar with Rackspace® Hosting (NYSE: RAX), the world’s leading specialist in the hosting and cloud computing industry.

“Our service helps people get their servers provisioned faster and their basic server tasks automated so they can spend more time working on what matters most.”

The webinar will show how Rackspace customers can use ScaleXtreme’s server management products to launch, manage and control Rackspace servers. Attendees will learn how to launch multiple servers using ScaleXtreme’s powerful Dynamic Server Assembly™ technology, run automation scripts to help with routine server management and create a bridge between your on-premise servers and your cloud-hosted machines…

Grazed from PR NewsWire.  Author: PR Announcement.

Cloud Connect, the premier technology event for cloud computing produced by UBM TechWeb, presents the top 12 predictions in cloud computing for 2012.  In five years, cloud computing has evolved from a novelty to information technology’s growth area.  As Cloud Connect works to drive the adoption of cloud computing, these predictions speak to the latest technologies, platforms, strategies, and innovations that will drive business objectives forward.  Cloud Connect will take place February 13-16, 2012 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA. For more information, visit http://cloudconnectevent.com/santaclara.  

Entering into the new year, Alistair Croll, Conference Chair, Cloud Connect and Principal Analyst, Bitcurrent offers the top 12 predictions in cloud computing for 2012:…

Grazed from Information Week.  Author: Nicole Lewis.

Healthcare IT managers understand that cloud computing has its benefits, but many are concerned about privacy and security issues and are delaying plans to move their critical patient data onto cloud-based systems, according to a recent KLAS study.

The recently published study–Path to Cloud Computing Foggy: Perception Study–which interviewed 97 healthcare CIOs and other executives at health organizations, found that while 58% of respondents are considering using cloud computing, only 35% who expressed interest in cloud technology said they have any concrete plans to implement it.

Weighing heavily on the minds of CIOs is how to manage the exponential growth of data that has come with the move to digitized medical records, as well as the growth of digitized medical images. With tighter budgets and a need to do more with less, healthcare delivery organizations are evaluating cloud computing as a way to cut costs and create greater efficiency, but the thought of putting sensitive patient data in a cloud environment is still a worry for many health IT managers…

Grazed from Information Week.  Author: Robert Mullins.

Virtualization and the server consolidation that it delivers will be the top priority for chief information officers in 2012, according to a survey by the research firm IDC. Savings from server consolidation will be invested in new IT initiatives such as cloud computing, mobility, data analytics, and use of social media for business purposes.

When CIOs were asked by IDC to name their top three IT priorities for this year, nearly 40 percent of them picked virtualization and server consolidation, more than any other area of IT. After virtualization, investment in cloud services came in second, followed by collaboration tools, business analytics, and the consolidation of application portfolios.

While IDC ranks CIO priorities, another research firm, Gartner, scaled back its IT spending increase forecast for 2012 to 3.7% growth, down from an earlier forecast of 4.6%…

Grazed from EON.  Author: PR Announcement.

Rackspace Hosting®, the service leader in cloud computing, today announced that Suaad Sait has been named Chief Marketing Officer. In the newly created role, Sait will oversee global marketing.

“Having worked in the technology industry for more than 20 years, I am honored to be a member of the leadership team at a market leading company like Rackspace”

“Having worked in the technology industry for more than 20 years, I am honored to be a member of the leadership team at a market leading company like Rackspace,” Sait said. “Cloud computing is the future, and Rackspace has the advantage of being on bleeding edge. I look forward to strengthening our presence in the marketplace, based on our longstanding commitment to Fanatical Support.”…