Author: 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…

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.”…

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

“We cannot be more pleased with the technology and performance of the CenturyLink network and the advantages it is bringing our clients,” commented Dan Cullen, CoSentry Vice President and general manager of network operations. He continued, “We have since upgraded to full Tera-PoP facilities in order to have 10GB to 100GB services available to our clients.”

The project allows clients to purchase integrated cloud and network services at a significant discount and to take advantage of CoSentry’s VBlock systems, backup cloud services, as well as archiving and virtual data center platforms…

Grazed from Computer Technology Review. Author: Editorial Staff.

Logicworks, provider of cloud computing and managed hosting, announced Tuesday new updates to its public cloud platform that will bring enhanced management capabilities and cost savings to customers. Integrated with Logicworks’ array of managed services, the public cloud is built to seamlessly sync with existing enterprise IT infrastructures and deliver the performance needed to power mission-critical applications.

Logicworks has taken an enterprise approach to its public cloud offering, integrating functionality previously available exclusively to private cloud and managed service customers. These updates incorporate a management interface, giving clients increased control and ease of use under one dashboard. Further updates include enterprise-level support, multi-cloud manageability, RightScale-supported configuration management and lower pricing…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Douglas Bonderud.

As cloud computing has evolved into an adolescent technology, so too has its market, with competitors large and small fighting for their piece of the virtual pie. But the expanding options for companies means greater pressure from providers outside American borders, and other nations are now playing up U.S. cloud privacy issues—both real and embellished—to convince small and midsize business IT admins that local isn’t always better.

Scare and Scare Alike

According to a July 26, 2012, article at PCWorld, technology experts are now warning government officials about the challenges of overseas cloud expansion. In a panel warning on July 25, tech experts told members of the House of Representatives that foreign nations are raising concerns about both US security and privacy to convince businesses on their own soil to stay local and to woo American companies that aren’t yet certain how to proceed in the cloud…