Grazed from IT Pro Portal. Author: Editorial Staff.

According to research from the European Commission, on-demand cloud computing could generate up to €250 billion (£197 billion) to European Union GDP in 2020, as well as 3.8 million jobs. This HP whitepaper charts the development of the cloud on-demand computing concept and shows how important it is for addressing the demand for business agility and growth.

The generally accepted definition of cloud computing comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which says that the cloud model should enable convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources – such as networks, servers, storage, applications and services…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Doug Bonderud.

Own something valuable? Then it should be insured. Homes, cars and even office equipment is typically insured against destruction or theft. But what about data? For many midsize companies, mission-critical data does not reside on a single stack or even with a single cloud provider. Often, data of varying importance is distributed across multiple networks to help lower cost and improve efficiency. If information goes missing, however, or is accidentally destroyed or stolen by malicious actors, are companies simply out of luck? Maybe not. Cloud computing insurance offers the promise of a new safety net for IT.

High Risk

According to a recent Information Journal article, Swiss Re’s new SONAR report "New Emerging Risk Insights" describes cloud computing security as an emerging high-risk theme. The global reinsurance company contends that the shared access inherent in cloud computing deployments "fuels risks such as data leakage, data loss and hijacking of computer resources"…

Software piracy in business is a major issue — one that is costing both software developers and businesses millions of dollars in losses and fines every year. According to the Business Software Alliance, an astonishing 43 percent of all software installed on business computers worldwide is pirated or not properly licensed. In some cases, that pirated software is simply the result of a poor purchase; often, users install pirated software without even realizing it, having purchased the software from an unauthorized retailer. 

Grazed from ITBusinessEdge. Author: Arthur Cole.

Of all the benefits that cloud computing brings to knowledge workers, none is more intriguing than self service. Sure, scalability, flexibility and lower costs are great for the enterprise, but if you are a data consumer, nothing compares to the feeling that you can get whatever you want, whenever you want it, with no questions asked other than “What is your credit card number?”

For DevOps teams in particular, self-service is one of the primary drivers of both public and private cloud infrastructure, say Red Hat’s Malcolm Herbert and Roger Nunn. Under the old regime, resource provisioning was slow, complicated and rarely met project requirements…

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Ben Kepes.

As infrastructure becomes more and more commoditized by cloud computing vendors like Amazon Web Services and DigitalOcean, those legacy vendors whose bread and butter relates to infrastructure provision are scrambling to find product offerings to fill the revenue gap left by dwindling sales. I’ve written at length about Cisco’s attempts to staunch the flow but another company in a similar situation is VMware. Long the king of virtualization, VMware VMW -0.73% still has great revenues, but these are being threatened as more and more organizations forego virtualization to move “up the stack”.

VMware hasn’t stood still however, it has invested in other solutions – from its hybrid cloud offering, VCHS, to multiple end user tools rolled out by its end user computing group – VMware has been full throttle on innovative revenue streams. It is this same quest for new and interesting products that has led the virtualization juggernaut to invest in JFrog, the bizarrely named startup that delivers tools to ease software management and distribution…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Editorial Staff.

It’s no secret that Cloud Computing is more than just a buzz term as that ship has sailed off a long time ago. More and more companies are adopting and accepting the uses and benefits of cloud computing and aggressively factoring cloud services spending into their budget. Included is an excellent infographic discovered over at Flexiant, which provides a number of interesting cloud-related fast facts.

To see infographic and read more from the source, visit http://cloudtweaks.com/2014/07/cloud-infographic-cloud-fast-facts/

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Robert Sheldon.

As I’ve already noted, rumors abound regarding Windows 9 development at Microsoft. There are Windows 9 features to consider beyond the possible release date, subscription cost and whether the older Start menu will be fully restored. What kind of apps will Windows 9 run, and how much will it integrate with cloud computing?

Windows 9 applications

Microsoft has great hopes for Windows 9 applications. The company is aiming for a common development platform, which enables a developer to create a single app that can run on Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox One. These unified apps would rely on a common Windows runtime that spans all devices to deliver a consistent experience on each device, while still accounting for the differences in the devices themselves, just like the operating system is supposed to do…

Grazed from FierceGovernmentIT. Author: Henry Kenyon.

The FBI is seeking commercial cloud-computing options that can store vast amounts of criminal justice data. In a recent request for information, the bureau said it wants an on-site, infrastructure-as-a-service, "cloud in a box" system to support the Criminal Justice Information Services division in Clarksburg, W.Va., at multiple locations across the country.

In the request, the FBI said the system capabilities should include rent processing, storage, networks and other computing resources such as operating systems and applications. The cloud infrastructure would be run by a commercial provider, but its physical components such as servers would reside at FBI facilities. The bureau would also retain control over any "operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and networking components such as firewalls and load balancers."…

Grazed from BusinessWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Moka5, the leading provider of next generation end-user computing solutions, today announced new cloud enhancements to its core infrastructure – Moka5 Enterprise AnyWare – enabling the widest range of deployment options for secure, client-side container management: on-premises (on-prem), cloud, or anywhere in between.

“While there’s been a lot of discussion about cloud computing and its impact on enterprise IT, most enterprise organizations aren’t ready for cloud-only infrastructure management,” said Dave Robbins, CEO of Moka5. “IT needs a flexible, intelligent architecture for container management that enables them to deploy wherever they need based on their requirements…

Grazed from CloudNewsDaily. Author: Editorial Staff.

Of the numerous platforms available, cloud computing is slowly becoming the next big wave to hit industries and computing professionals around the globe, after Android applications. The cloud computing platform is one of the only ways in which that companies can reach new levels within their industry. One of the growing trends in the world is the rise in open-source cloud computing. Although very handy and easily available, there are factors that one needs to consider before implementing it across the company. We discuss the various problems associated with cloud computing compliance issues.

Plugging the holes in the cloud while you can

Open source cloud has rapidly increased as a mode of communication and storage for most companies around the world. Yet, due to the fact they are open source, there are certain regulatory factors that need come into the purview. Although, open source cloud computing is a conducive and a viable option compared to existing facilities, there are several factors that should be taken care of while on the cloud…