Grazed from InformationWeek.  Author: Kelly Sheridan.

Microsoft’s most recent earnings report indicates a fall in quarterly profit due to restructuring expenses and tax adjustments. While revenue increased 8% from the same quarter a year ago, net income fell by 10%. However, sales of its Surface tablet and the company’s cloud computing business offered some bright spots.

The tech giant reported revenue of $26.47 billion during its quarterly earnings calls on Jan. 26. Microsoft’s profit had fallen from the previous year, with numbers clocking in at $5.86 billion, or $0.71 per share, compared with $6.56 billion during the same quarter the previous year…

Grazed from BusinessWire.  Author: PR Announcement.

NAKIVO Inc., the fastest growing virtualization and cloud backup software company for VMware environments, today announced it has earned recognition on The Channel Company’s CRN 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors of 2015. This annual list recognizes some of the most innovative cloud companies supporting the IT channel today.



The 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors honor is 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 InformationWeek.  Author: Joe Stangenelli.

Going to the cloud makes things easier, right?  Then why is it so complicated?  Cloud computing contracts are often full of traps for the unsuspecting customer — traps that can compromise data and expose said customer to fines, lawsuits, and other problems.

These traps hurt not just cloud customers but the entire cloud industry. Organizations in highly regulated industries (such as healthcare and finance) are notoriously nephophobic because of the massive legal liabilities they face for data compromises. They fear handing control of their data (let alone encryption keys) to cloud providers — and often for good reason, unfortunately…

Grazed from CloudComputingInfo.  Author: Paola Cornacchiola.

Cloud computing startup called Ravello Systems announces to have secured $28 million funding and to have boost a total of $54 million capital led by Qualcomm Incorporated, through its venture investment group, Qualcomm Ventures, and SanDisk Corporation through SanDisk Ventures. Among the investors that participated in this funding round: Sequoia Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Vintage Investment Partners.

Ravello Systems Founded in 2011 by the team that created the KVM hypervisor at Qumranet (now part of Red Hat) which is now emerging among enterprises as the third virtualization platform of choice. The company went into public beta in February 2013 and GA in August 2013…

Grazed from FedWeek.  Author: Editorial Staff.

The Defense Information Services Agency has released new cloud computing security requirements for DoD and contractors to follow.  The DoD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (SRG), Version 1 supersedes the Cloud Security Model (CSM) V2.1.

The new SRG includes details on how to transition from the CSM for cloud service providers that are currently being assessed, or that have a provisional authorization. It also applies to all CSP offerings, regardless of who owns or operates the environments, according to DISA…

Grazed from MidsizeInsider. Author: Marissa Tejada.

Keeping sensitive data and information safe is top of mind for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The agency’s new cloud computing security requirements are relevant for cloud computing vendors seeking to help midsize firms secure their data.

What the Guidelines Mean

The DoD’s new Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide, released by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), replaces their previous Cloud Security Model. According to WHIR, the guide outlines an overall "security posture" that helps guide cloud service providers seeking to work with the DoD. These new guidelines were designed with agency security in mind, outlining how the public cloud can be utilized without compromising proprietary data…

Grazed from DataCenterKnowledge. Author: Tom Bice.

Shadow IT has been lurking in the dark corners of organizations for years now, but as BYOD and public cloud computing gain traction in the workplace more and more employees are stealthily adopting their own software and hardware without telling IT. When IT is left in the dark it makes it nearly impossible to mitigate potential risks, and in light of the recent barrage of data breaches executives are becoming increasingly concerned about the issue.

So what can you do? First and foremost, accept that shadow IT is here to stay. IDC found that the majority of information workers share files via email and other unsecure methods while only a small group, about 10 percent, use a service provided by their company. Rather than trying to squash all instances of shadow IT that pop up in your organization, put a plan in place to help manage it. The following tips can help get you started…

Read more from the source @ http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2015/01/26/shedding-light-shadow-management/

Grazed from Bloomberg. Author: Aaron Ricadela.

SAP SE is trying to marshal business technology’s biggest suppliers to gather hacker-fighting intelligence following a spate of security problems with open-source software. The biggest maker of business applications has contacted companies including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) about sharing information on analyses of the weaknesses in open-source code, which is generally free to run and available for the user community to improve, according to Gordon Muehl, chief technology officer for security at Walldorf, Germany-based SAP.

More cooperation among the business-software makers could help stanch security flaws found in the open-source programs, which increasingly touch online services and devices used by billions of people. A flaw called Heartbleed, discovered last spring, left hundreds of thousands of servers and routers vulnerable to attack. Another one, Shellshock, emerged in September…

Grazed from DataCenterDynamics. Author: Paul Mah.

Lenovo Group and the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport) have entered into a collaboration to establish the region’s first cloud service and product development center, as reported by Laura Luo on Datacenter Dynamic’s Chinese website. Paul Chow, chairman of Cyberport and Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Under the agreement, the two parties will cooperate in a number of areas, including research and development (R&D), personnel training and employment, cloud computing, assisting start-ups, big data, and Internet industry development. Cyberport runs a sprawling business campus of the same name that is designed to serve as a giant incubator to help develop start-ups, as well as firms involved in the digital or tech field. Run as a private business that is fully owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government, Cyberport encompasses a million square feet of office space that located a stone’s throw away from central Hong Kong…

Read more from the source @ http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/focus/archive/2015/01/lenovo-establish-cloud-rd-center-hong-kong