Grazed from ITProPortal.  Author: Ian Barker.

It’s no surprise that more and more organisations are using the cloud, but the latest State of the Cloud report from RightScale throws up some interesting trends.  The company surveyed 930 technical professionals across a broad cross-section of organisations about their adoption of cloud computing.

Among the findings are that a vast majority, 93 per cent, of organisations surveyed are running applications in the cloud or experimenting with infrastructure-as-a-service. In addition 82 per cent of enterprises now have a hybrid cloud strategy, up from 74 per cent in 2014…

Grazed from CloudIntelligence.  Author: Editorial Staff.

The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) today announced that Cobweb Solutions, one of the largest independent cloud solutions providers in Europe, has become the latest Cloud Service Provider (CSP) to join the growing roster of members.

Established in 2009, the Cloud Industry Forum is the industry body that aims to improve standards and education in the cloud industry. CIF provides transparency through certification via a Code of Practice to endorse credible online CSPs, and assists end users in determining the information to enable them to adopt cloud services…

Grazed from USA Today.  Author: Marc Saltzman.

If you’re reading this article – perhaps on a smartphone, tablet or laptop — chances are you’ve wrestled with how to best protect your digital information on those devices.  That is, with all the important files you likely have, you might be unsure whether to rely on one of the many "cloud" services available today or an external hard drive?

The answer? Both.  Consider an online and offline solution — to protect all the documents, photos and other files on all your computing devices — as they each have their distinct benefits and drawbacks…

Grazed from TechTarget.  Author: Robert Sheldon.

With all the licensing troubles that can come with hosting Windows desktops in the cloud, some companies — and vendors — are looking to Linux operating systems instead.

VMware plans to offer a Horizon View client for Linux, and Horizon DaaS, formerly Desktone, has had a hosted Linux option for years. Citrix is planning a similar strategy for XenDesktop and XenApp with Linux Virtual Apps and Desktops. These two big-name virtualization vendors putting attention on Linux shines a spotlight on the OS…

Grazed from Bloomberg.  Author:  Katie Benner.

Activist investors — you know, the guys with pitchforks and torches — have attacked enough tech companies recently that both sides have found it more efficient to settle into an uneasy co-existence: Corporate watchdogs and businesses in transition, or, depending on whom you ask, carpetbaggers and prey.

Activists are pretty open about the levers they’ll pull to make a stock move higher. They’ll fight for goals that include some combination of new management, stock buybacks, dividends and divestitures. Companies saddled with entrenched leadership and a slew of poorly-paired businesses under a single corporate umbrella — but sitting atop piles of cash — have spent the last few quarters pow-wowing with lawyers, crisis PR firms and consultants to prepare for activist broadsides…

Grazed from Emerald-Technology.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Inforgraphic covers topics such as Cloud Computing Industry Valuation, Storage Trends, Customer Profiles, Data Center Sizing, Cloud Computing Job Creation by Industry, and much more…

To view the cloud computing and datacenter infographic, visit http://emerald-technology.com/blog/cloud-computing-data-center-infographic/

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Amit Chowdhry.

Microsoft has been giving away a lot of freebies through their cloud computing storage service OneDrive lately. Last week, Microsoft gave away 100GB of free storage for two years to create a Bing Rewards account. And now Microsoft OneDrive is offering 100GB of free storage for one year to Dropbox users.

The offer is limited to current Dropbox users and the first 10 million people to redeem it. The OneDrive bonus storage is not available to customers with OneDrive for Business either. You can receive 100GB of free OneDrive storage for a year by visiting the OneDrive bonus website and logging in with your Microsoft account…

Grazed from DataCenterDynamics. Author: Hawkins Hua.

As IT infrastructure and operations have become more complex, technologies such as cloud and virtualization have been implemented to adapt to various business needs. Over the past decade, server virtualization has redefined the deployment, management and optimization of computing resources, transforming the data center into a more adaptable and efficient platform for business applications. Application loads that once ran on static, dedicated servers are now hosted in dynamic, virtualized server environments that can be scaled and shaped on demand.

While virtualization reshapes data center operations, enabling enterprises to deploy affordable, rack-based servers that can be pooled and allocated to shifting application demands, the transformation is incomplete. Network and storage assets in data centers remain tightly siloed and statically configured. Few facilities are capable of automating and orchestrating the management of pooled network and storage hardware…

Grazed from InfoSecurity. Author: Amit Cohen.

Cloud computing, with its promise of reduced CAPEX and OPEX, presents a compelling business case. In IaaS, computation resources are rented from a cloud service provider (CSP). There is no server hardware or software to purchase and maintain, and organizations benefit from reduced IT expenses and improved flexibility. Enterprises have fewer IT headaches to deal with and can focus on their core business.

However, the possibility of security breaches has made the public cloud model risky. Here’s the problem: If I can access my virtual servers remotely, anyone else can access them, too. Threats include denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, whereby a bombardment of messages takes down the virtual server; data theft, whereby sensitive data is accessed through a security breach; and hijacking, whereby intruders use your virtual server to attack third parties…

Grazed from ITBusinessEdge.  Author: Arthur Cole.

Everyone in IT is anxious to see how the cloud shakes out. When all is said and done, what will the enterprise look like when cloud computing becomes the established model for IT infrastructure?  And some are looking even farther into the future, wondering what, if anything, will come after the cloud?

To be sure, there is no shortage of predictions over how the cloud will evolve over time. IDC’s most recent assessment has hybrid infrastructure heading into 65 percent of enterprises within the year and that by 2017, 20 percent of the industry will be using the public cloud as a strategic resource. As well, more than three quarters of IaaS offerings will be redesigned, rebranded or phased out over the next two years as providers concentrate on more lucrative services higher up the stack…