Author: David

June 16, 2012 Off

Esri rolls out ArcGIS map services for the cloud

By David
Grazed from ComputerWorld.  Author: Sharon Machlis.

Esri today rolled out an ambitious cloud offering for government and enterprise customers that allows users to create data-driven maps and map services without ArcGIS servers or desktop software.

ArcGIS Online organizational subscriptions, in beta since December, also provide:

  • Tools for application development using geospatial data;
  • An open API for integration with software such as Microsoft Office, Salesforce and Cognos;
  • Mapping of data within Excel as long as that data has a street address or city name (geocoding will be automatic);
  • Cataloging of GIS assets, making such data easier to find (and less likely to be duplicated by others in an organization who don’t know it’s there);
  • Private sharing among internal groups;
  • Maps that display across numerous mobile devices as well as in Web browsers;
  • And hosting on either public or private cloud infrastructure…

June 16, 2012 Off

Are Your Software Licenses Cloud-Friendly?

By David
Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Jason Bloomberg.

Whether you’re buying new products or building your own, what must you do differently now that Cloud is the new IT reality?

The last time, we discussed how private Clouds weakened the enterprise value proposition for Cloud Computing, eliciting consternation far and wide, not from enterprises implementing such Clouds, but from consultants and vendors in the business of building and outfitting them. To which we say: well, duh! Cloud Computing is a paradigm shift precisely because we won’t need to hire pricey consultants or buy a lot of gear to use them!

In fact, enterprise software vendors are running scared. Cloud Computing represents an enormous threat to their entire business model, and they’re fighting it every step of the way. Of course, if you ask them, they’ll sing a different tune: they’ll talk about how Cloud-ready they are, how you can get their stuff via a pay-as-you-go SaaS or PaaS model, or if you like, install it yourself in your own IaaS Cloud. Yeah, right. Just as they crossed off the word “Web” from their software boxes and wrote in “SOA” back in 2004, now that word has gotten the axe, and “Cloud” is the mantra of the day…

June 16, 2012 Off

The state of Hadoop: Big Data – Strong and poised to explode

By David
Grazed from GigaOM.  Author: Derrick Harris.

Now six years old, the Apache Hadoop platform for storing and processing huge amounts of data — perhaps the catalyst of the current big data movement — appears ready for its closeup. According to the companies leading the Hadoop charge, they’re already beating away customers with a stick. Continual improvements to make Hadoop consumable by mainstream business users and applications are only going to make things better.
 

As with any new technology, the big question surrounding Hadoop as a viable market is whether enterprises will adopt it. The answer seems to be a resounding “Yes.” Already, Hortonworks CEO Rob Bearden told me, “We are seeing Hadoop in almost every Fortune 500 in either a proof of concept or a pilot.” Bearden doesn’t mean that his company has accounts with everyone in the Fortune 500, though, just that the majority of those companies are looking into Hadoop…

 
June 16, 2012 Off

KPMG Compares Taxes on Cloud Computing

By David
Grazed from Accounting Today.  Author: Michael Cohn.

KPMG has introduced an online resource that examines how tax authorities in 18 different countries are dealing with the challenge of taxing cloud computing services.

The new resource, Country Perspectives on Taxing the Cloud, at www.kpmg.com/taxingthecloud, is designed to help users and providers of cloud computing services as they plan their operations and activities and work to manage their tax exposure while gaining the desired benefits from this new technology.

In the new online tool, KPMG member firms worldwide offer insights into how tax authorities across the globe are approaching the challenge of analyzing cloud computing from a tax perspective by examining the local country provisions in place, the likely interpretations under such provisions, and the potential taxes associated with cloud transactions…

June 16, 2012 Off

AMD Announces Cloudera-Certified Colfax Server Cluster to Handle Big Data at Significantly Lower Cost

By David
Grazed from MarketWire.  Author: PR Announcement.

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced Cloudera certification for an AMD-based Colfax server cluster, bringing more value to big data without an unnecessary price premium. The cluster consists of six Colfax 2U CX2270-N4 servers — each with two AMD Opteron™ 6200 Series processors — running the popular Cloudera Distribution including Apache Hadoop(2). The 192-core cluster costs up to 40 percent less than similarly configured Intel-based solutions(1), enabling required scale-out capabilities at the best price and value for Hadoop on x86 processors.

Cloudera offers enterprise a powerful data platform built on the popular Apache Hadoop open-source software without proprietary vendor lock-in. Hadoop is designed to enable effective distributed parallel processing of huge amounts of data across inexpensive, commodity servers. The AMD Opteron processor-based cluster on Colfax makes it easy for any business to leverage the analytical power of big data…

June 16, 2012 Off

Green House Data’s Public Cloud Service Attains VMware vCloud Powered Validation

By David
Grazed from PR Web.  Author: PR Announcement.

Green House Data, a leading provider of sustainable cloud hosting and colocation services, today announced that its Green House Data Cloud service has achieved VMware vCloud Powered status, illustrating to customers that the company’s cloud services are underpinned by VMware’s leading virtualization and cloud computing technology, namely VMware vSphere® and VMware vCloud Director™. A member of the VMware Service Provider Program (VSPP), Green House Data provides its VMware vCloud Powered service as a set of cloud computing services across a common platform, supporting the largest set of existing applications and offering distinctive application mobility uniquely available from VMware.

"We are excited to join the VMware vCloud Powered program and are committed to providing our clients with simplified management of all their IT needs,” shared Shawn Mills, President, Green House Data. “The Green House Data vCloud Powered service is just another way for our customers to manage and customize their infrastructure on-demand.”…

June 16, 2012 Off

Cloud Computing And Hosted Technology Innovation Take Center Stage At HostingCon 2012

By David
Grazed from HostReview.  Author: PR Announcement.

Cloud computing and hosted technology services are enabling a massive shift in the business landscape, both in the USA and worldwide, bringing commerce online and enabling small businesses to compete with the largest enterprises. Likewise, small businesses from software start-ups to old-school storefronts are driving the adoption of the cloud, and according to a recent Parallels SMB Cloud Insights report, accounting for more than $15 billion in cloud spending in the US in 2011. The symbiotic relationship between small business entrepreneurs and hosted service providers is central to HostingCon, the hosted services industry’s premier conference and trade show.

On July 16-18 at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts, more than 1,800 hosted services professionals from all over the world will meet at HostingCon 2012. A hotbed of technology start-up activity and the heart of business academia, Boston, Massachusetts, offers a vibrant environment for small business entrepreneurs and hosted service providers to learn, network and grow…

 
June 16, 2012 Off

Cloud 2012: What to Expect in the Latter Six Months

By David
Grazed from Cloud Tweaks.  Author: Jeff Norman.

Don’t blink — it’s already mid-June. Indeed, 2012 has flown by, but not without cloud computing extending its reach and fame, both in the IT community and with the general public. The increased ease with which cloud is regarded by businesses and everyday folk from Boise to Ashtabula has led to a noticeable change in the trends and fashions emerging within the technology. Three of the most promising areas for change via cloud computing include ERPs, mobile technology, and optimization, each concept elucidated below.

For those not in the know, enterprise resource planning (or ERP) entails an IT system that manages the influx and outpouring of critical information throughout the entirety of an organization — a Big Concept Idea upon which Wikipedia thankfully elaborates with clarity. Suffice it to say that ERP systems are the current rage with IT-mindful businesses of every size, and cloud computing ensures that the concept reaches beyond just marketing strategy, influencing every department of a corporation, from finance to customer service and project management. The cloud’s seminal emphasis on simplicity and efficiency is just now beginning to be appreciated in the ERP conversation, and we can expect for its impact to be felt with increasing profundity as the year progresses…

June 16, 2012 Off

Computex: Asus Cloud Solution Touted, but Windows 8 Devices Draw Buzz

By David
Grazed from Midsize Insider.  Author: Doug Bonderud.

At a pre-Computex press release event, technology developer Asus announced their version of a unified cloud-computing solution, called Asus Open Cloud Computing (AOCC). Described as a "total solution for the ubiquitous cloud computing era," the Asus cloud offering appears to be a mashup of existing solutions into a more cohesive total package. But while those in attendance were curious enough about Asus’ supposedly next-gen solution, it was the company’s rollout of devices that drew the most buzz.

What’s on Display?

Several of new Asus offerings are described in a June 4, 2012 CNET article, including the Taichi hybrid, which is a combination laptop and tablet. While it looks like a notebook at first glance, the device comes with full-HD screens on both sides of the lid. The inside screen functions like a typical laptop display, while the outer screen is touch and stylus-capable. The screens are independent and can be used for different applications at the same time – something that requires Windows 8 to work…

 
June 16, 2012 Off

Cloud Computing Forecast Not Quite So Certain, Recent Research Shows

By David
Grazed from Midsize Insider.  Author: Doug Bonderud.

The cloud is inevitable, or at least that’s what you hear if you are a midsize business looking to beef up current IT options. Providers across the globe will tell you that the cloud computing forecast not only calls for a massive, global overcast but also private pockets of deepening rain; if you’re still working on a mainframe, they warn, you’ll be left behind. But new research from analyst firm Forrester says that it’s commoditization, not cloud computing that will dominate the IT landscape, and companies need to be prepared for such a shift.

Ring the Bell

There are a number of cloud computing IPOs hoping to make a strong impact on the market in the near future, according to a Jun 8, 2012, article at the Financial Post. Companies like analysis provider Tableau Software, virtualization developer AppSense, and security software maker Rally Software all hope that the current upward trend of cloud computing will help shield their fledgling IPOs from the kind of trouble that has hounded Mark Zuckerberg and his social media site…