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…

Grazed from StorageReview. Author: Lyle Smith.

Google has added status update functionality to their Status Dashboard of the Google Cloud Platform, acknowledging that even small interruptions can cause issues with users and businesses and lack of information pertaining to what’s going on only adds to the problem. This new transparency helps to improve their current tools and services, such as Google Cloud Monitoring, which monitors the health of a service.

As such, Google hopes that these augmented services will help to make disruptions more manageable by presenting users with the latest information on all issues as well as the ability to help find workarounds to these issues. Launched in May of 2010, the Google Cloud Platform is a paid cloud computing platform designed to offer businesses the same supporting infrastructure that Google uses for products such as Google Search…

Grazed from NetworkWorld. Author: Brandon Butler.

Last week was a busy one for HP, and specifically its cloud. Multiple media outlets reported that the company’s cloud chief – Marten Mickos – will no longer lead cloud efforts at HP. Mickos will stay on, but the company has three new executives heading up its Helion cloud platform.

Mickos came over to HP with the acquisition of Eucalyptus, an open source private cloud platform that has high fidelity with Amazon Web Services APIs. According to an internal memo cited by multiple media outlets, Mickos stepped down and will instead focus on what he says is his passion: “Identifying disruptive companies that transform the technology landscape."…

Grazed from SecurityMagazine. Author: Diane Ritchey.

Want happy employees? It’s more than the occasional catered office lunch. It’s providing an environment where employees can be productive, collaborate with colleagues and find creative ways to power through their to-do lists. Mobile devices play a primary role in this movement, but so have the widespread adoption of public and private cloud applications, which have provided workers access to their files, and each other, anywhere, anytime and from any device.

According to research by Softchoice, an IT and managed services provider, technology – specifically, access to and use of cloud apps – makes employees happier at work, more satisfied with their work-life balance and more willing to stay with their current employers. Softchoice research reveals that 74 percent of employees who use up to five cloud apps say they are happy at work, compared to just 19 percent of non-app users, and that 85 percent of employees who use six or more cloud apps for work feel that they have an optimal work-life balance, compared to 59 percent of non-app users…

Read more from the source @ http://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/86133-catering-to-happy-employees-with-cloud-computing

Grazed from Whir. Author: Cheryl Kemp.

Nearly all organizations would use hybrid cloud if the public Internet structure could be made more secure, yet most of them (57 percent) are migrating back to private clouds due to security and data protection concerns. According to 1,000 interviews with senior IT decision-makers conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Tata Communications, cloud computing has been widely adopted yet concerns over security remain an obstacle to wider use.

Although most of organizations have some type of cloud, not all the data is stored there. Even though most companies would move to the cloud tomorrow if it were possible, only 28 percent of data is stored in the cloud and only 42 percent of infrastructure is virtualized. One of the barriers to more widespread cloud adoption and use is application readiness…

Grazed from ZDNet. Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols.

When you think spy agencies and the cloud, you probably think about the National Security Agency (NSA) snooping on the cloud. Well, guess what? Intelligence agencies use the cloud for their own IT as well. Or, at least the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), aka the Company, does with its own private Amazon cloud.

Why would the CIA do this? Well, as Michael McConnell, former director of the National Security Agency, said in 2012, "The economics of the cloud are so compelling they can’t be denied. [But,] we have to get the security aspects right." So while I’m sure the CIA’s cloud takes the notion of a private cloud to new levels, it’s not going to share its cloud security secrets…