Author: David

August 8, 2012 Off

CloudFuzion Manages Big Data To And From The Cloud

By David

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

The CloudFuzion team, leaders in high performance cloud computing solutions for computational grids, private and public cloud environments announced today that it now has released it’s CloudFuzion Rapid Transit module to significantly accelerate Big Data feeds to and from cloud based compute clusters and render farms.

Big Data is one of the obstacles to the widespread deployment of cloud based render farms and computational clusters. It takes time to move the Gigabytes of data required to execute a scene render in the 3D animation arena, or to complete the analysis of a section of the electric grid for electic power management. As the business demand for compute power steadily increases so do the constraints of improving the productivity, reliability and usability of these cloud based solutions, while at the same time reducing costs. CloudFuzion proves that such high demands placed on cloud providers from external factors like Big Data can not only be met but far surpass expectations…

August 8, 2012 Off

Apple, Amazon prove the “cloud” isn’t safe

By David

Grazed from CBSNews. Author: Erik Sherman.

Everyone in the high-tech industry, along with the usual ardent early-adopters, is betting heavily on the emerging Internet "cloud." What often gets overlooked are the drawbacks, as tech writer Mat Honan learned when hackers destroyed his digital life. Not inconvenienced; not interrupted. Destroyed. He lost all the photos he had of his daughter, as well as many documents and emails that were presumably important to him.

Honan had trusted heavily in the convenience and seeming ubiquitous nature of cloud computing. That approach calls for storing all your content on the cloud, tying all your devices together with grand and expansive systems, and using uber-sophisticated software to control and protect everything. The payback: You always have access to everything you want when you need it.

However, systems and machines ultimately rely on human beings, and getting people to always do what is prescribed is a losing battle…

August 8, 2012 Off

Cloud Computing: VMware snaps up big data analytics tool Log Insight

By 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…

August 8, 2012 Off

Coalfire Validates PerspecSys Cloud Data Protection Gateway’s Ability to Minimize Risk, Protect Cloud Data

By David

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 …

August 8, 2012 Off

5 Ways To Compute Cloud Computing ROI

By David

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:…

August 8, 2012 Off

Is ‘cloud security’ an oxymoron?

By David

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…

August 8, 2012 Off

Cloud Computing: BMC Buys Another DevOps Start-Up

By David

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."…

August 8, 2012 Off

Cloud strategy baffles govt IT managers

By David

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…

August 8, 2012 Off

The IT world’s love-hate relationship with OpenStack

By David

Grazed from GigaOM.  Author: Derrick Harris.

OpenStack is a strange beast. The open-source cloud computing platform is a darling of IT vendors and some major end-users clamoring for an open cloud ecosystem, yet it generates a lot of criticism. Some folks question its governance model, while others question its technological maturity against more-established alternatives such as Amazon Web Services and VMware. So, what’s with the schizophrenia around OpenStack as the cloud’s open source savior?

Why the hate

The project provides plenty of fuel to feed the critical fires. Initially, founding member Rackspace dominated OpenStack and drew complaints that it had disproportionate influence over direction. The company has since released the project to an independent foundation, but governance drama remains. Currently in the process of electing a new board, the OpenStack Foundation has had to investigate allegations that an employee with one of its corporate members tried to intimidate a newly nominated candidate from what he perceived to be a company that’s competitive with OpenStack…

August 7, 2012 Off

TwinStrata Releases New In-Cloud Storage Gateways

By David

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."…