Grazed from VirtualizationSoftware.  Author: Webinar Announcement.

Attention VMware Admins… How would you like to find out what the top 5 virtual machine problems are, how to find them and the steps you need to take to fix them permanently (with GUI and PowerCLI instructions)?

If you haven’t had these virtual machine problems yet – trust me, you will.  These VM problems and their solutions have been selected based on the real-world feedback from thousands of VMware Admins and you’ll have two VMware vExperts live on the Webinar to offer insight and remedies…

Grazed from CIOToday.  Author: Dan Heilman.

Building on its previous work in electronic collaboration forms that include audio and video conferencing, Cisco Relevant Products/Services Systems is now offering ways to manage workers’ day-to-day interactions and tasks. The networking giant this week announced the availability of Project Squared, a service aimed at offering an online gathering place for getting work done.

Project Squared is delivered via an app or the Web. It is the latest response to changes in the way people work in 2014, which often involves being on the move with smartphones and tablets instead of in front of computers, according to Cisco. These mobile Relevant Products/Services workers are more at home using instant messaging and find e-mail cumbersome. That development has encouraged a wave of next-generation collaboration tools…

Read more from the source @ http://www.cio-today.com/article/index.php?story_id=111001U9EEK3

Grazed from Wired.  Author: Daniel Burrus.

When people talk about “the next big thing,” they’re never thinking big enough. It’s not a lack of imagination; it’s a lack of observation. I’ve maintained that the future is always within sight, and you don’t need to imagine what’s already there.  Case in point: The buzz surrounding the Internet of Things.

What’s the buzz? The Internet of Things revolves around increased machine-to-machine communication; it’s built on cloud computing and networks of data-gathering sensors; it’s mobile, virtual, and instantaneous connection; and they say it’s going to make everything in our lives from streetlights to seaports “smart.”…

Grazed from TechWeekEurope.  Author: Duncan Macrae.

ShapeBlue, an independent global CloudStack integrator, has forged a new strategic partnership with solid-state array SolidFire to deliver next-generation storage solutions to organisations running IaaS cloud environments.  ShapeBlue historically has been storage vendor agnostic, citing a lack of clear differentiation in block storage solutions for implementing public and private cloud environments.

New partnership

With the new partnership, ShapeBlue now intends to leverage SolidFire’s full enterprise feature set including guaranteed quality of service (QoS), complete system automation and scale-out storage design to bring its customers radical increases in functionality and efficiency in delivering cloud-based services…

Grazed from TalkinCloud.  Author: Dan Kobialka.

Sophos this week announced Cloud Server Protection, a cloud-managed security
solution that is designed to help channel partners protect customer servers against cyber threats and data loss.

The U.K.-based computer security hardware and software provider said its new Cloud Server Protection solution delivers host intrusion, malware and web protection by expanding Sophos Cloud’s capabilities and giving users better visibility into the current security status of all of their managed servers via a web-based interface…

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

If your office is like mine, you already have a lot of storage. Over the years, it’s probably become quite a mix of storage-area networks (SAN), network-attached storage (NAS), and servers. More recently, your staff has started to use tablets, smartphones, and Chromebooks instead of PCs for work. A cloud would make sharing your files with your mobile staff much easier So, what’s a CIO to do?

Dump all your old gear and move to a new cloud-based storage system? I don’t think so!  One possible good alternative to making the most of your existing storage infrastructure while providing a cloud-friendly, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) approach is the new ownCloud 7 Enterprise Edition…

 Grazed from WebHostReview.  Author: PR Announcement.

ProfitBricks, the price/performance leader in cloud computing IaaS, has once again raised the bar for cloud computing infrastructure and data center management by releasing a completely new version of its unique Data Center Designer.

In response to today’s increasingly complex cloud infrastructure provisioning and deployment processes, the new Data Center Designer (DCD) is a complete rewrite of ProfitBricks’ game-changing visual management tool, enabling even easier design and management of cloud computing infrastructures. Included with all ProfitBricks cloud computing Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) accounts, the new DCD further reduces design and management overhead with faster performance, streamlined tools, more intuitive visual representations and comprehensive account information…

Grazed from FastCompany.  Author: Om Malik.

The disruption that cloud computing has had on business is so profound that it’s hard to believe the concept came about only eight years ago, when Amazon announced a rudimentary on-demand storage service called S3. It took me another three years to truly understand the size and scope of the cloud, and why everyone from large technology companies to investors routinely underestimate its influence.

That’s when I asked Werner Vogels, Amazon’s chief technology officer and the public face of Amazon Web Services, "What is the cloud?" His answer has always stayed with me. The cloud, Vogels explained, is the freedom to tinker, a license to experiment…

 Grazed from MidsizeInsider.  Author: Marissa Tejada.

New research has found that public cloud computing services are set to reach outstanding levels within the next five years. The growth of the public cloud market presents a big opportunity for midsize IT.

Toppling the Market

IDC’s latest report featured in Network World found that public cloud computing spending will topple $56.6 billion this year. By 2018, the market is set to reach more than $127 billion. This five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 23 percent is calculated to be six times the overall IT market rate. The report also pointed out that public cloud will consist of more than 50 percent of the world’s software, server and storage services spending…

 Grazed from CloudTech.  Author: James Bourne.

Verizon Enterprise Solutions has announced the official launch of its Verizon Cloud Marketplace, a store for software certified to operate in the Verizon cloud.  The communications provider has been aggressive in its cloud push in recent months, and is opening up this one-stop shop with a variety of partners, including AppDynamics, Hitachi and Juniper Networks.

“The launch of Verizon Cloud Marketplace is an important milestone in the ongoing evolution of our cloud ecosystem,” said SVP cloud services Siki Giunta.  “Verizon Cloud Marketplace is all about simplifying and streamlining migration to the cloud, and enterprises using Verizon Cloud will now have access to a growing number of industry-leading cloud-based applications required to power their businesses in the digital age,” he added…

Read more from the source @ http://www.cloudcomputing-news.net/news/2014/nov/19/verizon-announces-its-cloud-marketplace-open-business/