Grazed from TheRegister. Author: Editorial Staff.

Security and privacy issues are holding back "the cloudification of governmental services" in the EU, according to a new report. The European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) said concerns about how sensitive data is protected in a cloud computing environment have not been resolved. It said data security and privacy issues were the main reasons that "deployment of governmental cloud computing is in general at a very early stage (click through for 40-page/3.03MB PDF)" in the EU.

"Security and privacy issues are considered as key factors to take into account for migration, and at the same time are the main barriers for adoption," ENISA said. "Protection of sensitive data is still an issue seeking solution, spanning from the SLA provisions to the actual technological mechanisms i.e encryption etc…

Grazed from CloudWedge. Author: Jesse Bird.

It’s no secret that adults who live with a disability frequently struggle to find their place in the workforce – not because of their impairment, but frequently because of the lack of jobs that can accommodate their challenges. Over the past several years a significant amount of money, time and resources has been dedicated to developing technologies that improve the quality of life for disabled individuals, from the ibot stair climbing wheel chair to Apple’s VoiceOver.

Yet beyond improving just quality of life, finding a ‘home’ in the workplace for this demographic, where they can be accepted and thrive, has remained a challenge. Luckily the gaining popularity of cloud-based technologies and applications is opening up new opportunities of employment for the disabled…

Grazed from BusinessInsider. Author: Matt Weinberger.

Pivotal has just hired engineer Benjamin Black — the regular Amazon employee who co-wrote the paper that would become cloud titan Amazon Web Services all the way back in 2003. Black most recently worked at Microsoft, where he helped build Office 365, its answer to Google Apps, and prior to that founded a startup called Boundary, which monitored computer networks. Wired first reported the news last week.

Black becomes the third such cloud pioneer to join Pivotal recently, joining OpenStack co-founder Joshua McKenty and Puppet Labs co-founder Andrew Shafer. These are important people in the world of cloud computing — a major movement that is reshaping how companies spend money on technology…

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/aws-creator-benjamin-black-joins-pivotal-2015-3#ixzz3TMi6PtQi

Grazed from ReadWrite. Author: Matt Asay.

You can’t really blame your IT staff for inflicting a private cloud—actually just a corporate data center with a fancy new name—on you. In some ways, their jobs depend upon it. Self-preservation is a powerful incentive. Of course, your CIO’s job is only truly threatened by the public cloud if she chooses to fight it, or mindlessly continues to believe she can build a better cloud than Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

For 99.999% of enterprises, building your own cloud or data center may be a comforting way to stick with old habits, but it’s generally going to be the wrong decision. While there are certainly workloads that will perform better or need to be secured within the four walls of your firewall, the reality is that most infrastructure belongs in the cloud…

Read more from the source @ http://readwrite.com/2015/03/03/public-cloud-trumps-private

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: CJ Arlotta.

There’s a way of thinking about cloud computing that the channel needs to throw out the window faster than IBM can lay off employees — and that’s the "all or nothing" approach. Not everything needs to live in the cloud, even though almost every partner conference points you in this direction.

There are times when businesses will want to keep sensitive data on the ground, and their needs — not a vendor’s solutions roadmap — are what keep you in business, don’t you agree? Going all in with cloud isn’t always the best route for every channel partner. Some business models leave room for opportunity in the cloud while others don’t…

Grazed from V3.co.uk. Author: Daniel Robinson.

HP has announced a refresh of its Helion cloud computing portfolio, updating not only its Helion OpenStack build but also a new release of the Eucalyptus platform it gained when it acquired the firm of the same name last year. Available immediately, the new releases raise interesting questions about HP’s cloud strategy, following the firm’s commitment to the OpenStack platform when it launched Helion last year.

Since then, the firm has acquired Eucalyptus Systems, a developer of private cloud solutions that are API compatible with Amazon’s AWS public cloud services. This enabled enterprise users to operate a hybrid cloud deployment, where workloads could run on their own infrastructure or AWS, and move between the two…

Grazed from ComputerWorld. Author: Stephen Lawson.

U.S. net neutrality rules will help Europe take the lead in broadband, Cisco CEO John Chambers says. The regulations approved last week by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission will slow down broadband deployment, Chambers said at Mobile World Congress on Tuesday. Instead of focusing on net neutrality, the government should aim for more available broadband, he said.

"Sometimes, if you’re not careful, your regulatory goals can slow down your end goals," Chambers said. He praised German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying she’s kept Germany focused on fast Internet access for every citizen. The U.S. led in the Internet era until about 2010 but in a few years will be behind the major European countries, India and China, he said…

Grazed from ITWorldCanada. Author: Don Sheppard.

Cloud computing seems to have become a roller coaster of technology advancement – everyday there’s something new and improved, and every other day something fades away. There is certainly no shortage of new terms, acronyms and venture-backed products. Also, cloud computing is no longer a simple concept or a single solution – it has rapidly evolved into a new and significantly expanded IT ecosystem.

Competition among cloud providers is intense on many fronts, and yet many of the innovations seem to be older ideas re-visited. Perhaps you’ve been wondering – what really is “the next big thing” in cloud computing? Application containerization, as popularized by Docker, may just be the answer!…

Grazed from TechCrunch. Author: Sarah Perez.

Imagine never having to buy new and expensive hardware to upgrade your personal computer with more speed and storage space. That’s the vision behind Y Combinator-backed Paperspace, a new company launching today, which is building a full, personal computer that lives in the cloud, which you access from any web browser. Similar, to some extent, to enterprise-grade solutions like VMWare, Citrix or Amazon Workspaces, but aimed also at a consumer or “prosumer” audience, the company is selling a small hardware device that plugs into any older desktop or laptop in order to provide you with the computing power you need on demand.

Called Paperweight, this low-cost hardware device connects you with your own remote machine on Paperspace’s servers, where you can choose from either a “basic” or “pro” option based on your computing needs. The device is considered a “zero client,” because unlike thin client technology, there’s only a small microprocessor on the inside – all the processing is taking place on the cloud…

Read more from the source @ http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/03/paperspace-lets-anyone-access-a-better-personal-computer-that-lives-in-the-cloud/

Grazed from TopTechNews. Author: Dan Heilman.

Canada-based smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that it was releasing a cloud Relevant Products/Services version of its mobile Relevant Products/Services security Relevant Products/Services software Relevant Products/Services. The release marks BlackBerry’s latest move to win business Relevant Products/Services from its traditional government and business customers.

BlackBerry designed the software, BES12, to work across mobile operating platforms to help it generate sales. The company’s share of the smartphone market has fallen to less than 1 percent. The mobile-device management software, which was released last November, allows companies to securely manage employee BlackBerry devices, iPhones and Android-powered devices among others used on corporate networks…