Author: David

Grazed from BankSecurityInfo. Author: Peter Spier.

The fact of the matter is that when you and I say "cloud," we may be thinking of two very different things. Partly this stems from the adage "what’s old is new again" (welcome back, centralized computing) and partly from a lack of common definition or standards to provide a ready frame of reference.

Thankfully, the National Institute of Standards and Technology is on the case. With its release of Special Publication 800-146 [see NIST Issues Long-Awaited Cloud Guidance], the term "cloud" is defined as a service that maintains a pool of hardware resources to maximize service and minimize cost while providing a resource efficiency that permits hardware refresh without impact to its users…

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

The Cloud Standards Customer Council (CSCC) will be holding a webinar to introduce a new whitepaper, “Security for Cloud Computing: 10 Steps to Ensure Success,” on September 18, 2012 at 11am EDT. The whitepaper itself has been published and is available for free download. Anyone interested in learning more about the “Security for Cloud Computing” whitepaper should attend this free webinar and download a free copy of the document. Visit http://www.cloud-council.org/security-pr to register and download the whitepaper.

The “Security for Cloud Computing: 10 Steps to Ensure Success” whitepaper provides a practical reference to help enterprise information technology (IT) and business decision makers as they analyze and consider the security implications of cloud computing on their business. The paper includes a list of steps, along with guidance and strategies, designed to help these decision makers evaluate and compare security offerings in key areas from different cloud providers. The paper discusses the threats, technology risks, and safeguards for cloud computing environments, and provides the insight needed to make informed IT decisions on their treatment…

Grazed from Fox Business. Author: Claes Bell.

Does every cloud have a scammy lining?

Even if you don’t know what cloud computing is, it’s likely that "the cloud" is playing an ever-increasing role in your financial life. Whether it’s a company storing your sensitive financial information on remote computers owned by a third party or you storing financial information on cloud-based money management or tax software, cloud computing means more of your key data are stored beyond your physical reach.

ManageEngine, the real-time IT management company, today announced its performance monitoring software package, Applications Manager, now supports monitoring of the Microsoft Windows Azure cloud platform and applications running on the platform as well as monitoring of transactions in .NET environments. The company also introduced the Applications Manager Cloud Starter Edition for organizations looking to quickly leverage a proven, cost-effective solution for monitoring their cloud services.

With more revenue-critical applications on PaaS systems such as Windows Azure, organizations need to proactively and cost-effectively monitor the performance of their cloud-based applications to maximize uptime and to optimize capacity planning. Meanwhile, the success of .NET means that more IT departments have growing numbers of .NET applications running in both traditional and cloud environments, requiring the extension of performance monitoring to include the Microsoft framework.

As casual and core gamers increasingly rely on digital distribution to get their gaming content and experiences, CiiNOW is the first to build a world-class, innovative cloud gaming solution that is architected for scale, cost and ease of service deployment. The platform makes it easier than ever for game publishers and service providers to meet consumer demand for high-quality online multimedia services and entertainment.

Ms. Cureton will speak on the opportunities and threats on the horizon for cloud, cyber and mobile technologies during her keynote address, titled “Cloud, Mobility and Security, Oh My!” opening the conferences. On day two of the joint conferences, Ms. Meyerriecks will discuss the intelligence community’s (IC) direction with cloud and mobility in the keynote session, “Cloud Apotheosis.” Robert Carey, Principal Deputy Chief information Officer at the Department of Defense (DoD), will be presenting in conjunction with Debora Plunkett, Information Assurance Director at the National Security Agency (NSA) on the second day of the conference series. The two will discuss the current threats surrounding cloud and mobility, and suggest solutions to these problems in the session, “Security Policy Changes for Today’s Threat Environment.”

Grazed from Citrix.  Author: PR Announcement

Citrix Startup Accelerator, a corporate initiative investing in early stage startups, today announced an investment in CumuLogic, an innovative new Cloud Application Platform software provider that enables enterprises, cloud providers and ISVs to develop and deploy Java applications in public, private and hybrid cloud environments.

Focused on entrepreneur-led innovation, the Citrix Startup Accelerator program provides seed investments, office space, and mentorship to select startups from around the world, enabling them to benefit from the global Citrix presence, its entrepreneur-friendly environment, large customer base and seasoned go-to-market strategies. The IT landscape is in a period of dramatic change, shifting expectations, and transformational new computing capabilities. As mobile workstyles and cloud services redefine the technology landscape, many of the best ideas will come from innovative startups with the flexibility to approach programs in entirely new ways. The Citrix Startup Accelerator is designed to tap into the innovation of most promising of these entrepreneurs, while helping them come to market successfully.

Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Barb Darrow.

ComodIT, a tiny startup out of Liege, Belgium, has big plans to help you manage your IT infrastructure in the cloud. The company’s new Synapse Agent, a step towards that goal, lets you manage multiple hosts or instances from a single command-line interface.

ComodIT, a Belgian startup, just released Synapse Agent a new open source tool that promises to make it easier for IT to manage multiple cloud instances — wherever they reside…

Grazed from HPCWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Super Micro Computer, Inc., a global leader in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology and green computing, will showcase its latest Earth friendly FatTwin server platforms developed by its strong USA design team at IDF 2012 in San Francisco, CA, September 11-13. The FatTwin is an evolutionary Twin architecture optimized for Data Center, Cloud Computing and Enterprise IT offering the industry’s best capacity and efficiency with 8/4 hot-plug node configurations in an industry standard 4U rack mount chassis (29.5" depth).

These systems feature high-density computing power with support for dual Intel Xeon E5-2600 processors (up to 135W) and up to 512GB of memory per node with greater storage capacity up to 8x 3.5" hot-swap HDDs in 1U or 6x 2.5" hot-swap HDDs per 0.5U and are powered by redundant Platinum-level, high-efficiency (95%) digital switching power supplies. Also remarkable is the simplicity of its efficient design, featuring free-air cooling and the most effective use of shared, hot-swap resources to dramatically reduce TCO across infrastructure from space requirements to cooling costs and ease of maintenance…