Grazed from NetworkComputing. Author: Scott S. Lowe.

Managing virtual machines in the cloud doesn’t mean interpreting the pets vs. cattle meme literally. It requires automating systems and processes to care for the herd. In the cloud world, the "pets vs. cattle" meme is everywhere. It’s almost universally used as the means to differentiate cloud implementations from so-called traditional virtualization environments. For those who aren’t familiar with this analogy, here’s the short version:

In traditional virtualization, VMs are like pets. Administrators give them unique names and care for them if they get "sick." In other words, administrators or application owners get attached to their VMs. In cloud environments, instances are like cattle. They are given generic names like instance-048, and they are a dime a dozen. If an instance gets "sick," then you just shoot it in the head (destroy the instance and spin up a new one). In other words, instances are disposable and replaceable, so don’t get attached…

Grazed from CloudComputing. Author: Lori MacVittie.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard the statement that cloud can be too expensive and I doubt it will be the last. This latest episode comes from Alexei Rodriguez, Head of Ops at Evernote by way of Structure 2014: https://twitter.com/joeweinman/status/479769276027379712. It is important to note that this admission – like those in the past – have come from what we call "web monsters."

Web monsters are, as the name implies, web-first (and usually only) organizations who have millions (or billions) of users. Modern web monsters generally have only one application for which they are responsible, a la Evernote, Netflix, Facebook, etc…
It is unlikely that most enterprises will encounter this same conundrum – that of the cloud actually costing more than a DIY approach – for short-lived projects…

Grazed from CloudTech. Author: David H Deans.

What if you could deploy a new IT service shortly after you defined the requirements? And, just imagine the bliss, if your IT spend could directly translate into a competitive advantage. Predicting the ROI would be relatively easy. You would be the envy of your peer group. Unfortunately, as most senior executives already know, it’s never that simple.

Typically, you perform the technology assessment due diligence up-front, you place your bets based upon the most compelling guidance, and then you closely monitor the results. It’s an iterative process, where confidence builds over time. Maybe that’s why new business technology spending tends to be aligned with a past success. But this procurement model doesn’t adapt very well in response to unanticipated significant market events or the rapid acceleration of unplanned technology migrations. Moreover, tight budgets and other resource constraints can severely limit an organisation’s ability to react quickly to changing environments…

Grazed from SmartDataCollective. Author: Paul Barsch.

Look around at global economic conditions. More than skirmishes—near flat out war—in Ukraine, Gaza, Iraq and Syria. China pushing up GDP numbers by loading local provinces with more debt. European economies are on the mend, but not yet turning the corner. Fickle western consumers more pre-occupied with the latest smartphone app than the new product you’re selling. It’s in stressful economic conditions that you need to make sure your business has the ability to cycle capacity up or down when needed. You need cloud computing.

According to an article in the Financial Times, during the World Cup, Ghana’s authorities had to “import 50 megawatts of energy from neighboring Ivory Coast” just to keep televisions on during Ghana’s National Soccer team’s games. Fortunately, Ivory Coast had enough spare electricity to sell to Ghana, because there might have been riots in the streets had Ghanaian authorities not figured out a way to meet the demands of thousands of televisions…

Grazed from TheRegister. Author: Trevor Pott.

Public cloud computing has finally started to make sense to me now. A recent conversation with a fellow sysadmin had me rocking back and forth in a corner muttering "that’s illogical". When I emerged from my nervous breakdown I realised that capitalising on the irrationality of the decision-making process within most companies is what makes public cloud computing financially viable.

For certain niche applications, cloud computing makes perfect sense. "You can spin up your workloads and then spin them down when you don’t need them" is the traditional line of tripe trotted out by the faithful. The problem is that you can’t actually do this in the real world: the overwhelming majority of companies have quite a few workloads that aren’t particularly dynamic. We have these lovely legacy static workloads that sit there and make the meter tick by…

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: Matt Asay.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) may be the cloud leader, but Microsoft Azure is gaining fast and should surpass AWS revenues by the end of 2014 — at least, according to Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund. Still, as well as Microsoft may be doing, Sherlund’s $5.7 billion revenue target for Azure doesn’t stand up to serious scrutiny.

Azure on fire

Let’s be clear: Microsoft Azure is doing well — really, really well. Though neither Microsoft nor Amazon break out their cloud services revenues, Microsoft noted in its last earnings call that cloud revenue grew 147 percent year-over-year. This led Nomura analyst Sherlund to predict Microsoft will hold the crown as top cloud by revenue by the end of 2014…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Sue Poremba.

For many small and midsize businesses (SMB), cloud-based services like software-as-a-service (SaaS) have been budget-friendly time-savers, meaning that IT staff can focus on computing concerns beyond updating software and managing servers. However, there is still the issue of managing all of those desktop computers and making sure they are kept up-to-date with the most recent operating systems and security platforms.

Enter Desktop-as-a-Service

A virtual desktop may be the solution for SMBs. According to Drew Robb in Small Business Computing, desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) addresses budget-related problems. It eliminates the need for a traditional IT infrastructure, "because a DaaS provider already has it set up using economies of scale that small businesses can never achieve." It also allows IT departments to purchase only the services they need, when they need them, because DaaS adapts to changes in the SMB’s growth…

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: Joab Jackson.

Hoping to lure more enterprises to its cloud, Hewlett-Packard is offering a trimmed-down basic infrastructure service for lighter workloads. Called HP Helion Managed Virtual Private Cloud Lean, the service can be put to use on things like development jobs or running collaboration software.

"We’re targeting this for enterprise and medium businesses that are just now starting to get comfortable putting workloads in the cloud," said Jim Fanella, HP vice president for workload and cloud enterprise services. For its entry into the cloud services market in 2012, HP crafted a set of standard infrastructure services best suited for running heavier workloads, such as ERP and CRM…

Grazed from TechPageOne. Author: Scott Koegler.

Enterprise employees understand how to use external consumer resources available as cloud or software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, and they often take advantage of the simplicity of these services without consulting IT. But using systems without company approval, a practice known as “shadow IT,” can eventually become liabilities for businesses in terms of management, costs and security.

Organizations that help executives address IT-related challenges, such as the MIT Center for Information Systems Research, caution against leaving shadow IT unchecked. “Local innovation is great,” says Jeanne Ross, director at the center, “but only if IT has gained control of shared infrastructure and common enterprise systems. Otherwise, shadow IT can spell disaster.” To understand the practice and risks of shadow IT, and to help you learn how to corral it to meet employee needs, take these seven steps:…

Grazed from BizTech. Author: Alexander Slagg.

When the leading influencers within an industry have difficulty agreeing on the right label to slap on something, you know it’s a real phenomenon and not just another product push. Such is the case with the Internet of Things (IoT). Cisco Systems calls it the Internet of Everything. Data analytics firms Gartner and IDC use the terms Nexus of Forces and the Third Platform, respectively. And GE calls IoT the Industrial Internet.

All of these terms refer to the same technology development, the growing digital connectivity of everything. This includes everything from inanimate personal objects (such as a fitness band or a car) to business systems (warehouse operations or mining equipment) to municipal resources (street lighting or water treatment operations)…