Grazed from Forbes. Author: Ben Kepes.

I’ve written in the past about Banking 2.0, a general term that is used to describe a new way of banking that takes all of the advances in connectivity, cloud computing, social networking and ease of use and applies them to the generally backwards world of banking. I’ve also done a bunch of consulting work within banks and have often been frustrated that many banks idea of innovation is to redesign the layout of their retail banking space, or build a new marketing website.

Real banking disruption totally changes the way customers interact with the banking service. To use a metaphor, Banking 2.0 wraps the entire banking lifecycle with connectors that can then be used to build new and interesting services and touch points. In technology speak, it wraps the entire banking experience with an API that allows third parties to use different parts of a bank’s services in new ways…

Grazed from FierceTelecom. Author: Sean Buckley.

Verizon Enterprise Solutions (NYSE: VZ) has expanded its agreement with group-purchasing organization MiCTA, enhancing the reach of its service portfolio to state and local government agencies, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, libraries and nonprofits. Through this new agreement, Verizon is expanding the suite of solutions it will offer MiCTA to include cloud computing, managed hosting, mobile device management and content delivery capabilities through Verizon Digital Media Services, as well as expanded network and desktop security and professional consulting services.

What’s more, schools and libraries that work with MiCTA could qualify for the FCC’s e-rate funding program, which helps schools and libraries obtain affordable broadband. Schools and libraries have until March 26 to apply. Running through 2016, the new agreement between MiCTA and Verizon replaces an existing one that was set to expire in August 2015. The original MiCTA-Verizon agreement was signed in October 2010…

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Beth Pariseau.

IT pros considering IBM SoftLayer and Amazon Web Services will find solid security in both clouds, though true cloud security should ultimately be something the user controls, experts say. IBM SoftLayer and Amazon Web Services (AWS) both cater to enterprises with extensive cloud security features, as well as marketplaces full of third-party products to secure the customer’s side of the cloud.

Much of AWS cloud security revolves around encryption. It encrypts data at rest in the Simple Storage Service (S3) and Elastic Block Store (EBS). With the AWS Key Management Service, Amazon offers customers a choice of using master keys managed by AWS for encryption or controlling their own keys…

Grazed from eWeek. Author: Darryl K. Taft.

IBM announced a major cloud deal with Marriott along with three other hybrid cloud wins today. IBM said Marriott will use IBM’s cloud to power its IT operations for its more than 4,000 properties across the globe. Marriott will migrate a significant portion of its core IT systems and applications to IBM’s open cloud platform over the next few years. IBM did not disclose the value of the deal.

Big Blue will also provide managed DevOps services to enable the development of “born on the cloud” capabilities using the cloud solution. And Marriott will be deploying IBM’s Big Insights analytics software. “Marriott continually transforms its technology to ensure we provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for guests throughout their entire stay,” said Bruce Hoffmeister, global chief information officer at Marriott International, in a statement…

Grazed from NetworkWorld. Author: Brandon Butler.

Red Hat cloud strategy general manager Bryan Che is out with a blog post today that takes some harsh shots at rival VMware. For background, VMware this week announced a new “one cloud, any app, any device” strategy. Read more about that here and check out our conversation with VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger here. Here’s Red Hat’s take on that news. Surprise, surprise they think they can do better:

“VMware’s vision for One Cloud and OpenStack sounds appealing–one unified cloud for running both cloud-native and traditional applications–but it is fundamentally flawed in implementation because these two classes of workloads have quite different requirements for infrastructure. And, by attempting to mash these two worlds together, all One Cloud provides is one limited cloud that is not optimized to run any workload.” Read the whole critique here…

Grazed from ComputerWorld. Author: Joe Clabby.

In recent discussions with several professional service providers including ViON (a Washington-based systems integrator), BRUNS-PAK (a data center deployment firm), Google (the search engine/cloud services provider), as well as conversations with former employees of professional services firms, I have developed some interesting new insights – particularly with respect to cloud security.

I’m finding that these firms and individuals possess a wealth of information on industry trends – as well as deep insights into why information technology (IT) buyers are making certain decisions while discarding other ideas…

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

eFolder, a leading supplier of business continuity and cloud file sync services for the IT channel, today announced that it has earned recognition on The Channel Company’s CRN 20 Coolest Cloud Storage Vendors of 2015 and 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors of 2015. These annual lists recognize some of the most innovative cloud companies supporting the IT channel today.

The 20 Coolest Cloud Storage Vendors and 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors honors are presented to companies based on their approach to creating innovative products, services or partner programs that have helped channel partners transform into true solution providers, ultimately helping customers take advantage of the ease of use, flexibility, scalability and savings that cloud computing offers…

Grazed from MidsizeInsider. Author: Kelley Katsanos.

For many midsize firms, the introduction of hybrid cloud computing into the business complicates initiatives. To complicate this further, the "canned" service-level agreement (SLA) currently offered by many MSPs may not work for every business. Many organizations have a need for customized hybrid cloud computing SLAs to ensure a better fit with their unique requirements.

Customized SLAs in 2015

According to MSPmentor, the hybrid cloud is now the "new normal." It is common for MSPs to take a one-size-fits-all approach when offering SLAs, but customers are increasingly expecting customized hybrid cloud computing service-level agreements. "Customers will demand a service provider that is willing and able to customize the service-level agreement to meet those unique needs of their organization so that they can take advantage of the flexibility, scalability, cost reductions, and resiliency that cloud computing offers," MSPmentor reports…

Grazed from DataCloudCongress. Author: PR Announcement.

Datacloud 2015 creates the largest European platform for datacentre and cloud IT infrastructure end users and business leaders. The conference June 3 and 4, aims to explore the very latest in technologies and markets, to inspire through rich content and hosts 2,000 senior executives to meet, connect, collaborate and do deals.

Extensively covering data and cyber security, cost, application management and performance, scalability of cloud technologies, enterprise IT control, and energy management, the datacentre remains at the epicentre of both the event and today’s businesses, enabling and securing the applications and services that are critical to operations and poised to transform radically through the explosive levels of new demand…

Grazed from SysCon Media. Author: Leo Reiter.

When it comes to cloud computing, there is no "one size fits all" platform for getting work done. High Performance Computing (HPC) workloads are not web applications. Thankfully, there are clouds specifically designed for running HPC workloads rather than web applications. An HPC cloud is very different to a commodity web services cloud. Before we discuss how an HPC Cloud is architected, we need to examine HPC workloads themselves to really understand how they differ from other applications:

• HPC jobs process data – most often enormous amounts of data (Big Data) and return results. In other types of clouds, "instances" (virtual servers) run when launched and listen for requests. HPC workloads typically run in "batch" mode, where the data and the parameters are queued together with the application for execution. Other types of cloud workloads offer services that often require further interaction to do any processing…