Grazed from MarketWire. Author: PR Announcement.

PanTerra Networks, the leading provider of unified cloud services for mid-market enterprises, today announced that TMC, a global, integrated media company, has named SmartBox as its 2014 Cloud Computing Storage Excellence Award winner presented by TMC’s Cloud Computing Magazine. The Cloud Storage Excellence Award recognizes companies that have introduced or improved cloud storage solutions for their customer base. Previous winners of the Storage Excellence Award have included Citrix and Accellion.

"More and more companies today are transitioning their data into the cloud and are increasing the use of cloud communication services in the workforce," said Arthur Chang, CEO of PanTerra Networks. "Having a dependable service that allows you not only to securely store and share your data in the cloud, but also to instantly communicate with the people you’ve shared content to is a must-have for today’s mid-market enterprise. It’s an honor to receive this award from TMC; this continues to validate the need for a comprehensive unified cloud solution."…

Grazed from HSToday. Author: Amada Vicinanzo.

Although federal agencies continue to increase the percentage of their IT budgets allocated to cloud services, only 2 percent of government agency IT budgets go to cloud spending, resulting in agencies capturing only a fraction of potential cost savings. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of seven government agencies indicated the total number of cloud computing services implemented increased by 80 services, from 21 to 101, a 1 percent overall increase in cloud investments since 2012.

GAO found that the relatively small increase in cloud spending arose, in part, because the agencies had not considered cloud computing services for about 67 percent of IT investments. Most agencies said they only consider cloud options at times when the legacy technology needs to be modernized or replaced—a decision that is inconsistent with the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) “Cloud First” policy…

Grazed from ZDNet. Author: Larry Dignan.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 has been portrayed as way to placate the enterprise, create one platform for multiple screens and meld the interfaces of Windows 8, which had a rocky launch, and Windows 7, a hit. The reality is that Windows 10, which is expected to be the last of the traditional big bang launches, is likely to complete Microsoft’s transition from a software licensing model to a cloud computing one.

Windows 10 will be built around continual upgrades and stable releases on a schedule. There won’t be a Windows 11, 12 and 13, but the platform will evolve over time. In theory, enterprises will be able to consume innovation easier. For Microsoft, enterprise customers will become subscribers…

Grazed from HostReview. Author: Tomas Cohen.

The utilization of cloud services for organizations presents a wide range of efficiencies, but there are many misunderstood requirements that are beginning to place new burdens on organizations. The customization, management and integration of a proprietary cloud storage infrastructure can become complex, and this complexity can add costs that might prevent an organization from utilizing all of the advantages that cloud services can offer. Many opportunities can be missed including the integration of various cloud services and associated features.

Cloud service providers exist to help an organization in the formation of a cloud-based infrastructure, but these service providers are not always the best approach for an organization. The latest type of service to help in establishing a viable cloud infrastructure is known as a Cloud Services Broker (CSB)…

Grazed from NewYorkTimes. Author: Editorial Staff.

Seeking a place for itself in a digital world increasingly dominated by mobile technology, Hewlett-Packard is on the verge of a sweeping reorganization, according to executives close to HP’s leadership. The company would be split into two entities – one focused on HP’s traditional business in personal computers and printers, and the other consisting of computer servers, data storage devices, networking, software and services aimed at businesses, according to the individuals, who requested anonymity to preserve relations with HP.

"The split is upon us," said one of the executive familiar with the HP board?s discussions. HP is considered the foundational Silicon Valley company, originating in a garage and then serving as a training ground for several generations of technology leaders. Its changing fortunes are a mark of how much the technology industry, which has reordered many areas of the business world, is now doing the same to itself…

Grazed from TheJournal.  Author: Robert Gibson.

Traditional IT is on the verge of death.  At least that’s the view of Pete Watson, who argues that while risk-adverse companies might cling to the old ways of working for a while, all will eventually get swept up in the tide of progress represented by cloud computing.

Pete should know.  As chief executive of the Newcastle-based Atlas Cloud, he’s responsible for growing a business that depends on breaking new territory with a digital solution still treated with skepticism by “scare-mongering” IT managers…

Grazed from GigaOM.  Author: Barb Darrow.

At Oracle OpenWorld last week, Oracle CEO — er  CTO and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison — once again vowed that his company will be king of cloud — in SaaS, Paas, IaaS — you name it.

That’s a tall order but one coming from a company flush in resources which has shown itself willing to buy into new markets. And Ellison and co-CEOs Safra Catz and Mark Hurd trotted out news that Oracle now offers its flagship Database as a Service. Ditto Java as a Service. As for those resources, over the past 12 months, Oracle logged $35.8 billion in revenue and gross profit of $31.4 billion. See what I mean?…

Grazed from VentureBeat.  Author: Ilya Golubovich.

In 2018, a group of organizations from all of the world will begin construction of the largest radio telescope ever built, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).  With one million square meters of collecting area and enough optical fiber to wrap around the Earth twice, this marvel of modern engineering will be sensitive enough to detect airport radar on a planet 50 light years away.

SKA will also generate 700 terabytes of data every second, equivalent to roughly 35 times the data stored in the Library of Congress. At full capacity, the SKA’s aperture arrays are expected to produce 100 times more data than the entire Internet. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that such a deluge of information creates a big data problem, perhaps the biggest we have ever encountered…

Grazed from Economic Times.  Author: Dharmesh Godha.

The role of IT is not just limited to keeping the lights on. IT is also responsible to continuously provide solutions to enhance the business capabilities and to support business processes.

With the evolution of mobile devices and cloud computing the solution architects/ designers now need to expand their thought process and at the same time take care of new factors. The cloud computing provides new possibilities of capabilities that business solutions can provide.   The mobile devices can now be end points and part of the solutions to make it more available and convenient to use.  Before jumping in to create various solutions in the new evolving paradigm the solution architect/designer should consider the following:…

Grazed from Technology.co.uk.  Author:  Editorial Staff.

Cloud adoption has moved beyond the tipping point, and enterprises are driving the trend. By 2017, enterprises will spend £142billion globally on infrastructure and cloud-related services, predicts market research firm IHS. According to a Frost and Sullivan survey of CIOs, a cloud-ready network is the biggest infrastructure element needed for further deployment of cloud-based services.

A fundamental requirement for realising the benefits of cloud computing is high performance network connectivity.  CIOs should consider three key elements when evaluating potential network-connectivity solutions and partners…