Author: David

Grazed from ZDNet. Author: Zach Whittacker.

VMware is to buy analytics platform Log Insight as part of an ongoing spending spree to bolster its offerings in the cloud and virtualization space.

Currently owned by Pattern Insight, the team and technology will make a move to VMware headquarters, the seller said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Log Insight gives a looking-glass view at cloud computing services by supplying providers with monitoring data on cloud and virtualized environments. It helps cloud operators examine the vast data that gets kicked out from such processes. It analyzes data in real-time and discovers patterns that can lead administrators to the root of problems as and when they arise…

Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: PR Announcement.

PerspecSys Inc., the leader in cloud data protection and residency solutions for the enterprise, today announced the results of an independent technical, architectural, and compliance assessment on its Cloud Data Protection Gateway. The report highlights the ability of the solution to secure highly sensitive information of any type, using encryption or tokenization, paving the way for cloud computing to be adopted for mission-critical applications in business and government.

Coalfire, a Payment Card Industry (PCI) Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and a FedRAMP Third Party Assessor (3PAO), recently completed the assessment, which included technical testing, architectural assessment, and compliance validation of the PerspecSys PRS Proxy Server and related components. The assessment was conducted in the company’s technical assessment laboratories using Coalfire’s industry best-practice testing methodologies and its widely respected security and IT audit standards. A summary copy of the report is available at http://www.perspecsys.com/coalfire-assessment-summary-report …

Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Abdul Salaam.

Cloud computing is quickly becoming a standard for business organizations, big or small. Everywhere you look in the industry cloud computing is being praised as the go to solution for companies trying to save money on IT costs and leverage their business processes to increase profits and probably save time too. But it is seldom shown how cloud computing benefits companies in terms of return on investment (ROI).

Well let us explore some ways to calculate ROI from cloud computing and maybe convince more people to consider this new computing paradigm. Cloud computing may give returns in the following areas:…

Grazed from ExtremeTech. Author: Paul Lilly.

Like it or not, technology is becoming ever more reliant on the cloud, and that has both positive and negative ramifications. On the positive side, cloud computing has opened up a whole new world of productivity that didn’t fully exist before services like Google Docs and Office 365 came into view. On a more personal scale, the cloud flipped the entertainment industry on its head with online music lockers that make it possible to access playlists and rock out to your ZZ Top albums wherever there’s an internet connection. Whether for work or play, living in the cloud can be truly awesome, but what happens when the sky starts falling?

Unfortunately, playing in the cloud isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, a point recently underscored when Mat Honan over at Wired fell victim to a band of hackers who weaseled their way into his Apple’s iCloud account. Honan recounted in frightening and fascinating detail how the cyber scoundrels took advantage of iCloud’s lack of a two-factor authentication process to access his account and remotely delete the data on his MacBook, iPad, and iPhone. Childhood pictures of his daughter and everything else he had stored on his mobile devices were wiped clean…

Grazed from Sys Con Media. Author: Maureen O’Gara.

BMC just bought Varalogix, a two-year-old self-funded start-up and near neighbor located in Austin, Texas, where BMC has acquired a couple of other DevOps companies in the last couple of years that mesh with its latest prize.

Varalogix and its purpose-built VaraLogix Q widgetry does automated application deployment and configuration management for Java and .NET applications and just about everything they might need (think plug-ins) ‘cause it’s got "application awareness" ensuring that the app’s dependencies are covered.

It says "applications don’t exist in a vacuum – databases, web front-ends, networks, external appliances, local support libraries and operating systems – all need to share configuration information and work as a unit for correct application deployment. Systems that only deal with one component of this application ecosystem add just another disparate piece to an already complex puzzle."…

Grazed from ITWeb. Author: Admire Moyo.

Despite the growing demand for cloud services, many government IT managers are unsure of their organisation’s overall cloud strategy and the resources available to purchase and implement cloud services, a survey of top IT officials across US federal, state and local government revealed, GCN reports.

Government organisations that are spending on cloud computing tend to be those that have first dealt with foundation issues such as enterprise and services-oriented architectures, according to the new IDC Government Insights report.

The study measured the progress of cloud solutions at government agencies while also examining the related enterprise architecture needs…

Grazed from Sys Con Media. Author: Elizabeth White.

TwinStrata on Tuesday announced that TwinStrata CloudArray is now available as an in-cloud gateway to support progressive organizations with cloud-based infrastructures. By enabling CloudArray to run on a growing number of cloud computing environments – IBM SmartCloud Enterprise, Rackspace, Amazon EC2 and Google (availability late Q3) – TwinStrata delivers a solution ideal for both enhancing storage infrastructures already deployed in the cloud, as well as sophisticated disaster recovery efforts.

Nicos Vekiarides, chief executive officer at TwinStrata, stated: "Whether you want to avoid the impact of cloud outages or local outages, easily and flexibly grow capacity without limits, or benefit from a centralized SAN in the cloud, CloudArray delivers trademark simplicity and enterprise-class data protection."…

Grazed from BusinessWeek. Author: Verne Kopytoff.

Your company has enthusiastically embraced cloud computing. All its website data, customer records, and payroll information sit in the cloud—that is, on servers managed by third parties. Life is easier, right? Probably. But cloud services aren’t free. Bills can balloon if no one pays attention.

Enter Cloudability, one of several startups that help customers track spending across multiple cloud services and identify waste and potential cost savings. With so many business departments using so many cloud services, it’s common for a company’s accountants to confront unpleasant surprises at the end of the month.

Jason Fuller, head of cloud service delivery for Pega Systems, a business software company based in Cambridge, Mass., says it took two employees two or three days each month to find and organize dozens of cloud service bills. Since becoming a Cloudability customer earlier this year, managers now receive automatic e-mails with updates on spending, along with alerts regarding individual accounts deemed likely to exceed budget…

Grazed from BusinessWeek. Author: Verne Kopytoff.

Scribbling customer orders on small slips of pink paper was no way for a thriving business such as Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, N.J., to operate. Some orders disappeared. Others were filled twice or written in such harried handwriting as to be illegible. Eventually, the bakery’s management decided enough was enough and adopted Salesforce’s (CRM) computerized system for logging orders and tracking customers. Because the service is in the cloud, the bakery avoids the headache of operating a mini-data center and installing regular security updates.

It’s all handled from Salesforce’s servers. All Carlo’s has to do is to bake cakes. “I’m not in the business of maintaining that kind of infrastructure,” says Leo Minervini, Carlo’s chief information officer. “It was basically pen and paper up until two months ago.”…