As Cloud Demands More Of Networks, Expect HP-Cisco Rivalry To Intensify
Across IT, many observers have identified three broad trends going forward — mobility, cloud computing and the consumerization of IT. When it comes to networking, these trends are expected to drive demand for more bandwidth capacity and, increasingly, wireless network architecture. In addition, 2012 is expected to see a continuation of the intense rivalry between industry leaders Cisco Systems and HP, as the latter tries to chip away market share from the former.
The combined trends of mobility and consumerization will force network administrators to invest more in wireless networks and less in wired networks because of the simple fact that tablet computers don’t have Ethernet ports, noted Saar Gillai, chief technology officer of HP’s networking business. “Tablets don’t have cable,” Gillai said, adding that younger workers, in particular, are increasingly bringing their tablets, to work with them. “A tablet is something they expect, not something that’s new and exciting. If their primary tool is something they can’t connect to the network, it’s going to be a problem for them.”…
Enterprise IT cloud wish list for 2012
For the past two years, enterprises have been asking themselves one of the most important questions in IT: “What role can cloud computing play in my business?” While most enterprises believe they’ve come to better understand cloud, few can confidently answer the question of its role.
With surveys showing that enterprises have rejected more cloud installments than they’ve accepted, it seems that more IT admins can more easily explain what cloud can’t do.
It’s not that enterprises want the cloud to fail; evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. However, cloud hasn’t met expectations in several areas and enterprises still don’t have all the answers they need…
Kaspersky introduces new cloud edition of Hosted Security
Grazed from Computer Business Review. Author: Editorial Staff.
Kaspersky Lab is inroducing a new edition of Kaspersky Hosted Security, its cloud-based security for web and email, to help channel partners support smaller firms in addressing the security implications of trends such as consumerisation, the increased use of mobile devices and social media, cloud computing and virtualisation.
Kaspersky Hosted Security doesn’t require any investments in IT infrastructure or equipment, no specialist security skills and can be easily scaled up or down to meet changing business needs…
Cloud Force In The Data Center
In the year that has just gone by, cloud computing seems to have made a huge impact in the data center world. One of the more noteworthy impacts was that of OpenStack. Rackspace and NASA launched OpenStack towards the end of 2010. The open source project is assembling a private cloud operating system for data center and one of the biggest deliverableS from this project is increased operational efficiency. Big names like Dell, Intel, Citrix and Cisco have thrown their weight behind the project.
OpenStack follows a Linux like open source model. It has three components – compute, object storage and image service…
Red Hat to hire 1,000 more employees in 2012
According to Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst, the biggest commercial Linux vendor is planning on hiring at least 1,000 new employees in 2012–increasing the size of its staff by 24 percent.
This interesting data was revealed in a recent interview in Investor’s Business Daily, where Whitehurst cites cloud computing as the big reason for Red Hat’s explosive growth.
Ironically, Whitehurst sees the success of Red Hat and companies like Amazon in the cloud as a factor in actually slowing overall economic growth:…
Internap Acquires Cloud Hoster Voxel
Internap Network Services has acquired hosting provider Voxel Holdings in a deal that will boost the company’s cloud computing offerings and expand its base of small business customers. The all-cash transaction, which closed Dec. 30, is valued at $30 million, with an additional $5 million in sweeteners tied to the delivery of specific objectives during the next two years.
Voxel is backed by Seaport Capital, which invested $5.5 million in the company earlier this year. Voxel is based in New York and offers hosting services atop an automation platform called VoxSTRUCTURE. Its services include on-demand physical and virtual cloud servers, a global content delivery network (CDN), and a full suite of managed services. The company hass more than 1,000 customers and 50 employees…
2012: The Year of Cloud Consumption?
Many years ago, Sun Microsystems coined the phrase “the network is the computer.” Sun was way ahead of its time in making this call, and despite being right in its vision didn’t survive to be a part of what we now know as cloud computing. Increasingly, it appears that we’re transitioning to a world where, to use a somewhat clumsy analogy, the network is the consumer.
A couple of pieces served as inspiration for this. First, Leigh Drogen had a post a year ago titled Social Capital and Collaborative Consumption with which I generally agree. But it was this New Year’s resolution from Leah Culver to “live in the cloud” that made the connection for me. Because while cloud computing companies like Salesforce.com (CRM), VMware (VMW), and Citrix Systems (CTXS) are changing the lives of IT professionals and systems administrators everywhere, cloud consumption has the potential to change the lives of everyone…
10 Things to Remember When Reaching for the Cloud
Cloud computing represents a powerful shift in how your company deploys applications, stores data, implements security and adheres to industry regulations. Cloud architectures can give your company the flexibility to scale resources as the business requires. And you can do so without incurring unnecessary capital expenses.
Whether your organization is actively looking at cloud computing options or just thinking about it, there are some important business, legal and security issues to consider about cloud computing before taking the plunge. Weighing these issues at the onset will help you avoid potential problems once you select a vendor and begin deployment.
You should also bring some key stakeholders into the conversion to ensure you’re looking at the benefits and potential risks from every possible angle…
Survey Finds That Cloud Computing Buyers Demand More
Use of cloud computing services continues to creep upward among those responding to the second InformationWeek Reports State of Cloud Computing Survey. But in the data we can see what will be the dominating cloud trend in 2012: IT teams looking to run more sophisticated services on top of basic x86 infrastructure.
One data point to look at is projected new uses of the different types of cloud computing. We see fewer new adopters of infrastructure as a service over the next 12 months. However, new users of platform as a service, software as a service, and the cloud computing services provided by virtualization vendors all show continued high or increasing percentages…
Mobility, cloud, analytics to reshape IT in 2012
Despite some hopeful fits and starts, the U.S. economy didn’t escape the doldrums in 2011. Unemployment remained stubbornly high, the U.S. debt-ceiling crisis and budget scuffles spurred more economic uncertainty, and Europe’s ongoing financial problems threatened global markets. If there’s an upside, at least it’s familiar territory.
"Back in 2008, nobody knew what was going to happen as a result of the global financial crisis and IT spending almost stopped overnight," says Richard Gordon, a research vice president at Gartner. "We’re not in that kind of situation now. The solutions to the problems [in the U.S. and Europe] are understood and known. The question is now, is there a political way to execute and make them happen?"…