February 25, 2011 Off

Google Apps plug-in injects the cloud into Office

By David
Grazed from ZDNet.  Author: Sam Diaz.

Google’s latest effort to lure business customers away from Microsoft Office to Google Apps comes in the form of a plug-in for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The plug-in essentially syncs Office files with an online counterpart that lives in Google Docs, which allows users to always see the most recent version of a file, whether they’re viewing it in a browser, in an Office app or even on a mobile device.

February 24, 2011 Off

Microsoft strikes 14 new cloud services deals with state, local organizations

By David
Grazed from Government Computer News.  Author: Paul McCloskey.

Microsoft said it has signed new contracts with 14 state and local government organizations for cloud computing services, including the cities of Alexandria, Va.; Chicago; and Virginia Beach, Va.; and the state departments of labor in Colorado and Idaho.

The new deals, signed in the past several weeks, bring the total to 190 state and local government organizations now using Microsoft cloud solutions, company officials said. Altogether, more than 3 million government employees are using the company’s online business services, they added.

February 24, 2011 Off

Software Licensing Is Sticking Point for Cloud Adoption

By David
Grazed from IT Business Edge.  Author: Ann All.

Ask folks about barriers to the cloud and you’ll get a very familiar list: security concerns, performance issues and a niggling fear of giving up control. What you don’t often hear about is licensing costs, which could prove to be a pretty big hurdle.

 

February 24, 2011 Off

The Chinese Dragon And Cloud Computing

By David
Grazed from CloudTweaks.  Author: Sourya Biswas.

China may not have India’s expertise in software, but it does have expertise in the other half of the cloud computing equation – hardware. With a state-controlled economy that determines whether the nation’s resources are to be directed, it is not surprising that China will dedicate itself towards its area of expertise – manufacturing – and proceed towards building a “city-sized” cloud computing complex in the Hebei province in northern China.

February 23, 2011 Off

Businesses assured they can trust cloud computing

By David
Grazed from Experian QAS.  Author: James Glass.

Businesses and public sector bodies can put their faith in cloud computing, an industry expert has insisted.

Art Coviello, chief executive of data security firm RSA, insisted it is possible to use virtualisation to make the cloud a safer place, although he acknowledged this may at first appear to be "counter-intuitive".

He went on to state the importance of businesses putting security measures in place, explaining: "We now know a criminal ecosystem has developed.