Grazed from Information World.  Author: Judith Hurwitz.

Cloud computing is no longer the curiosity it was a few years ago. Today companies are increasingly looking to cloud computing as an integral component of their computing strategy. The rationale is clear. Companies now understand that cloud computing offers the possibility of being able to more to seamlessly change IT without having the time and expense of setting up, configuring, and deploying new systems. Many companies are discovering that it is much easier to experiment and innovate with cloud computing than with traditional computing models.

But as with any emerging area it is too soon to declare victory. Cloud computing is complicated in many ways. While 2011 was the year when cloud computing took its place as a legitimate strategy, 2012 will be the year when companies need to tackle operational issues of cloud computing. Therefore, I am predicting five big trends for cloud in 2012…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Bob Gourley.

At first glance, cloud computing may seem to be distinct from the austere world of special operations forces (SOF). But Special Operations Technology‘s Eric Marks has a very interesting piece on how SOF can use the cloud to gain the tactical advantage.

Some highlights:

• Cloud to the edge tactical mobile computing, which would feature the re-engineering of mission threads and processes so they could be executed by mobile devices. “This could include controlling a UAV via a smartphone, or having map, radio, and GPS capabilities all in one small pocket-sized device.” Hear that, al-Qaeda? These dudes might be flying a drone with an iPhone! Of course, this makes me feel bad since all I do with my iPhone is browse icanhazcheezburger.com…

Grazed from InfoWorld.  Author: David Linthicum.

‘ve already voiced my take on the key trends shaping the future of cloud computing. But what should you expect in the near term? Here’s what I think will happen in cloud computing next year.

Rapid rise of data living in the cloud. I’ve called 2013 the year of data in the cloud, and I stand behind that. What about 2012? Consider the data problems faced by most enterprises, as well as the availability of newer technology such as Hadoop and cloud-based relational database systems. We will see this space explode next year, and the momentum will hit in 2013.

The rise of the "consumer cloud." Also called "retail clouds," offerings such as iCloud, Box.net, Dropbox, Office 365, and Google Apps will dominate much of the spending in 2012 as the at-home market finds that cloud computing is both convenient and cheap…

Grazed from Proformative.  Author: Mark Richards.

he most dramatic advantages of cloud computing are often seen in the enterprise segment. But for large corporate IT departments to prosper in their use of the innovative technology, business managers may have to reexamine and redesign their organizational structures.

Although the majority of organizations are aware of the benefits afforded by the cloud, few are currently positioned to take advantage, according to Forbes. As IT becomes a central component of business strategies, interdepartmental collaboration and cooperation will be essential.

"Business executive involvement will be especially helpful when outsourcing IT processes, such as cloud computing," Association of Enterprise Architects spokesmen Steve Nunn told the news source. "The business architect will be called upon to ensure the strategic relevancy of transformation in a repeatable fashion as cycle times and rollouts happen faster."…

Grazed from IT Business Net.  Author: Tim Kridel.

For enterprises, the cloud can be as much of a problem as an opportunity. If employees can’t access the cloud, or if the data centers and other cloud infrastructure suffer an outage, productivity and sales can grind to a halt. Wireless is the latest wild card: By 2016, 70 percent of cloud users will access those applications and services via wireless, Ericsson predicts. Wireless is even more unpredictable than fiber and copper, so how can enterprises ensure that wireless doesn’t jeopardize their cloud-based systems?

Bernard Golden — author of Virtualization for Dummies and CEO of HyperStratus, a cloud computing consultancy — recently spoke with Intelligence in Software about the top pitfalls and best practices that CIOs and IT managers need to consider when it comes to maximizing cloud uptime...

Grazed from San Antonio News.  Author: Valentino Lucio.

Grazed from SDTimes.  Author:  Raja Bavani.

Our industry has seen significant developments in the cloud-computing arena over the past four years. We do have an adequate understanding of the context and applications of this emerging paradigm. Also, several conferences and Internet forums have demonstrated the benefits of cloud computing over the past few years.

With all these developments, CTOs and CIOs have come to terms with this evolution and become curious to see ‘Optimization through cloud computing’ (in short, “Clouptimization”). Irrefutably, Clouptimization is going to be the strategic force of 2012 in our industry. Let me share my opinion on how product engineering businesses, enterprise IT departments and other entities can leverage the benefits of the cloud during 2012 and future years…

Grazed from Forbes.  Author:  Kevin L. Jackson.

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

OpenLogic, Inc., provider of enterprise open source solutions for the cloud and the data center, today announced that CloudSwing can now deploy to the Rackspace Cloud and that they have entered into the Cloud Tools program with Rackspace(R) Hosting, RAX +1.39% , the world’s leading specialist in the hosting and cloud computing industry. Rackspace Cloud Tools is a showcase site for leading technologies that work with the Rackspace Cloud.

OpenLogic CloudSwing is a fully flexible Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) cloud solution offering cost-tracking and complete customization of technology stacks. CloudSwing users can also leverage OpenLogic’s support of over 600 different open source packages…

Grazed from Geek System.  Author:  Max Eddy.

When we think of supercomputers, the image that generally comes to mind is one of racks and racks of specially built machinery kept in super-clean fluorescent rooms. While that may be true for the most powerful computers in the world, Amazon may be changing things. The online bookseller has apparently harnessed the power of its massive cloud computing platform called Elastic Cloud Computer (EC2) to create the 42nd fastest supercomputer in the world, which — strictly speaking — doesn’t exist here in meatspace.