Grazed from TechTarget.  Author:  Bill Claybrook.

With a few exceptions, discussions around private clouds do not include IT Infrastructure Libraries (ITILs), configuration management databases (CMDBs) and service catalogs, but that is quickly changing. Steve Todd, in particular, has noted that when designing the software architecture for a private cloud implementation, one architectural component becomes central: the CMDB.

Grazed from IT Business Edge.  Author: John Storts.

Thinking of moving your application development platform offsite and into the cloud? Before making that decision, you’ll want to determine if such a move is right for the your organization’s business needs. You’ll need to know if your development team is ready and if the applications being produced are appropriate for the cloud.

 

Grazed from eWeek.  Author: Darryl K. Taft.

According to a new report from the Yankee Group, enterprise adoption of infrastructure as a service is growing rapidly.

Grazed from IT Wire.  Author:  Stephen Withers.

New research from Forrester shows that 50% of Australian online retailers are planning to change their eCommerce platforms within two years. But mobile access is not a priority for most of the companies responding to the survey.

The main problem cited by Forrester is that retailers have tended to choose an eCommerce platform without realising how much sales growth would occur, and they are now running into the limitations of the originally selected software.

Grazed from Wall Street & Technology.  Author: Ivan Schneider.

As the popularity of cloud computing is taking off, so have questions and complaints from IT professionals who are using — or considering moving to — the cloud. Industry leaders answer some of the main concerns that they hear from IT staff about the cloud.

Gripe #1: "Wait, this isn’t really infinite, is it?"

 

One of the big draws of cloud computing is the ability to start small and then go big at a moment’s notice. But this elasticity should not be mistaken for infinity.

Grazed from BBC.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Computer maker Hewlett Packard (HP) has launched a $1.6bn (£1bn) bid for data storage firm 3PAR, trumping a $1.2bn offer made by rival Dell last week.

Along with IBM, the two firms are looking into more profitable business areas outside of making computers.

The bids come as part of a glut of merger and acquisitions activity in the technology sector, including last week’s $7.8bn bid for McAfee by Intel.

The HP bid pushed Wall Street higher in early trade, before shares lost ground.

Grazed from IT Business Edge.  Author:  Arthur Cole.

It’s been nearly two years since the term "cloud computing" leaked into the IT lexicon and still many leading experts in the field are struggling to come up with a definition.

That has to be a testament to either the cloud’s broad impact on all manner of enterprise functions or the fact that it is a nebulous term signifying everything, or nothing at all.

Either way, the hunt is still on for an exact, or at least a satisfactory, definition of what the cloud is and what it isn’t.

Grazed from eWeek.  Author: Ellen Rubin.

Before moving enterprise applications to the cloud, you need to be sure that your expectations are realistic and your objectives match what the cloud can deliver. The following are five best practices based on my experiences working with enterprise customers—from their initial exploration of cloud possibilities to the deployment of specific applications they’ve migrated to the cloud.

Best practice No. 1: Determine your cloud objectives

Grazed from ChannelPro SMB.  Author: Editorial Staff.

IT industry trade association CompTIA has announced that it will begin working closely with industry business coaches in an effort to provide members with their counsel, mentoring, and services.
 

During its recent Breakaway 2010 trade event in San Antonio, CompTIA convened a summit of leading business coaches from across the IT channel. Summit participants discussed ways to make coaching more accessible to solution providers. They also addressed training in the channel and shared ideas for future development.

Grazed from Destination CRM.  Author: Koa Beck.

XTuple, a provider of commercial open-source business management software, has announced the release of a new version of its flagship product along with an expansion of the xTuple cloud service. The new features of the open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) software include a Quickstart Wizard for setup and an xTuple desktop, with graphical, customizable workflows for sales, CRM, accounting, and manufacturing. The xTuple desktop also allows users to create their own favorite places in the application and set up summary dashboards of key business metrics.

Three new editions of xTuple’s open source ERP software are available: