Grazed from TechTarget.  Author:  Amy Reichert.

The similarities between Web services and cloud services have become an age-old concern. The short answer is, "no," they are not the same. However, they are increasingly dependent on each other if users want the full speed and ease of use effect that such services offer. Technically, organizations can have a Web service without a cloud service or vice versa, but one gets greater business efficiency when the services are combined.

Web servicesare the tools that allow users to interact with software over the Internet.Cloud services are the servers that store the data, security and other infrastructure pieces needed to allow Web services to provide unique value as Web-accessible applications. The two services are currently mingling, intertwining and becoming nearly inseparable…

Grazed from Nasdaq.  Author: Editorial Staff.

If you were to ask anyone what Amazon.com ‘s core business was, I’d wager that 10 out of 10 times the answer would be "e-commerce." That’s undoubtedly true today, but it might not be true forever.  It turns out that the company’s Amazon Web Services division, which is currently the No. 1 cloud computing vendor by a healthy margin, could very well become Amazon’s most important business.

It depends on how you define "largest"

To be clear, Amazon will most certainly always be an e-commerce heavyweight; but at a recent media event in Las Vegas, AWS chief Andy Jassy outlined Amazon’s future plans for its cloud computing business. Amazon wants to take over the cloud world…

Read more from the source @ http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/11/18/amazoncom-wont-rely-on-e-commerce-forever.aspx#ixzz3JTzV5uLA

Grazed from FedScoop.  Author: Billy Mitchell.

The emergence of cloud computing as a high-demand IT solution hasn’t been the clearest in terms of procurement. But now that it appears the technology is here to stay, the General Services Administration wants to create a cloud category in the federal government’s largest acquisition vehicle to make it easier to find and buy.

GSA hosted an onsite industry day Tuesday soliciting feedback from vendors on its proposed addition of a special item number (SIN) for cloud computing to its IT Schedule 70 acquisition vehicle…

Grazed from NetworkWorld.  Author: Alan Shimel.

There is no denying that the cloud and cloud computing have changed the way many of us are doing business. You only had to attend last week’s sold out AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas to see the cloud out in force.

But as the cloud matures, we are seeing another layer of cloud computing that promises to shake the foundation of our IT infrastructure to its core – the advent of IT-as-a-Service, which will be perhaps the cloud’s highest calling…

Grazed from The Guardian.  Author: Editorial Staff.

The cloud has created a paradigm shift that’s every bit as important as the industrial revolution for businesses and consumers, says Gary Turner, managing director, Xero UK. For firms that haven’t already made the most of it, the opportunity to re-imagine services and create innovate new ways to add real value for clients is beckoning.

The year 2014 has heralded a real turning point in the maturity of digital. Almost three billion people – 40% of the world’s population – are using the Internet according to thelatest figures from the United Nations. Facebook has 1.35 billion active monthly users, which is incredible when you consider the site has only been around for ten years…

Grazed from ABCNews. Author: Brandon Bailey.

Federal regulators said a respected Internet privacy company gave its seal of approval to commercial websites and mobile apps but failed to check whether they were indeed meeting standards for safeguarding customers’ data. The company known as TRUSTe describes itself as a leading independent authority on consumer privacy.

But the Federal Trade Commission said it deceived consumers by not following through on annual reviews of websites and apps that carried its privacy seal. The FTC also said the San Francisco-based company let websites describe TRUSTe as a nonprofit service, even after it became a for-profit business in 2008…

Grazed from TechCrunch. Author: Frederic Lardinois.

Google continues to build out its cloud computing platform and today the company announced that its autoscaling service for Compute Engine, its infrastructure-as-a-service platform, is now available in beta. Using this new feature, developers can now have Compute Engine automatically spin up new machines based on demand.

If your CPU utilization goes above a certain value or your HTTP load balancer notices a spike in incoming traffic, for example, you can now have Google start a new machine to distribute that load. You can also connect the autoscaler to Google’s Cloud Monitoring API to select custom metrics that’s important for your application. This also means you don’t need to have machines on standby to take care of unexpected demand. Instead, they only spin up if needed, which could save you quite a bit of money…

Grazed from Stuff.co.nz. Author: Editorial Staff

Your business may use various IT infrastructures to store, access and manage data and IT resources – perhaps a primary common server in combination with some web-based services and cloud-based storage. You may not be aware, however, that a new generation of cloud-based platforms can integrate these services.

According to the IBM Centre for Applied Insights, it’s estimated that around 61 per cent of businesses will be using a ‘hybrid cloud’ environment to facilitate their data needs by the end of 2014. Essentially, a hybrid cloud combines internal and external cloud solutions with your traditional environment, giving your business the flexibility to move quickly, while also making full use of the IT resources you already have…

Grazed from FinancialBuzz. Author: Editorial Staff.

Amazon is gearing up to take on business technology solution providers like Oracle (NYSE: ORCL). At its recent conference, it announced a database designed to take Oracle head on. The move is a step towards offering more sophisticated solutions, not just basic computing. This would include software to manage user behavior and compliance solutions for clients in regulatory driven sectors.

Lofty goals

Amazon is already a dominant player in the global cloud infrastructure space. According to a report by Synergy Research Group, Amazon currently holds a significant 27 percent market share. However, recent pricing wars and fierce competition have put pressure on Amazon’s revenues. With growth stalling in recent quarters, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is looking for opportunities. Specifically, how to deliver database and software-like solutions via the internet. The idea is to get clients to trade in their servers, software and networking equipment for a cleaner cloud based solution…

Grazed from BusinessCloudNews. Author: Editorial Staff.

Research published this week by outsourcing and system integration specialist Infosys suggests four in five large enterprises plan to move mission-critical applications and workloads into the cloud over the next two years. Vishnu Bhat, the company’s senior vice president & global head, cloud & infrastructure services told BCN enterprises need to develop a consolidated approach to cloud service procurement and management if they are to overcome key inhibitors to adoption.

The research published this week suggests cloud has reached a tipping point in the enterprise. A survey of over 300 internationally-based senior IT decision makers administered by Forrester and Infosys suggests 81 per cent of large organisations plan to move mission critical apps over to the cloud in the next two years…

Read more from the source @ http://www.businesscloudnews.com/2014/11/17/enterprises-need-consolidated-approach-to-cloud/