Author: David

Grazed from Computer World.  Author: Chris Poelker.

As I travel around the country meeting with IT professionals and attending or speaking at industry events, I am amazed by how many different versions there are of "cloud computing."

As the guy who wrote the Storage Area Networks for Dummies book, I have decided to take a stand and make known my simple view of what cloud computing really means to IT folks.

In this blog, let’s first start with the official geek version as a baseline. (My next post will provide insight into the actual financial and technology characterization.)

NIST definition of cloud computing:

The formal definition of cloud computing comes from the smart folks who make standards for a living.  The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) definition contained within special publications number 800-145 states, "Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models." …

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

IDG Enterprise — the media company comprising CFOworld, CIO, CIO Executive Council, Computerworld, CSO, DEMO, InfoWorld, ITworld and Network World — releases the results from the 2012 Cloud Computing survey examining cloud computing implementation, usage, investment plans and vendor requirements.

The survey, completed by more than 1,650 IT and security decision-makers from a range of industries, highlights the growth in cloud computing investments, demonstrating the value cloud computing provides to organizations. Respondents state that 34% of their current IT budget is allocated to cloud computing solutions and more than half (63%) expect to increase spending in the next 12 months. On average, organizations will increase cloud computing spending by 16%…

Grazed from The Network.  Author: Jason Deign.

Martin Campbell won’t forget December 26, 2004. The UK managing director of cloud computing outfit Convio was all set to enjoy Boxing Day when word came that a massive tsunami had devastated coastal areas across South East Asia.

As details of one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history began to unfold, Campbell, who at the time was in charge of a hosted website platform for the British Red Cross, battled for two days to bring new servers online in time to deal with a flood of donations…

Grazed from PRWeb.com.  Author: PR Announcement.

B2B lead generation services firm emedia introduces Cloud Computing Insights, a content destination site for developers, systems & applications specialists, and CTOs. Parties involved in the developer, platform, and client areas of the cloud market can access a range of relevant collateral and articles on the new site.

On the other hand, marketers targeting cloud audiences will generate demand, and sales leads in particular, with their offers…

Grazed from InformationWeek.  Author: Charles Babcock.

Terremark is offering "single-tenant cloud computing," which until recently was known as dedicated hosted services–or some other name for outsourced system operation. But the times they are a changin’ and the formerly distinct lines of service providers are blurring.

Terremark will offer Enterprise Cloud, Private Edition, a cookie-cutter copy of its public infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), except it has additional isolation and security features. Amazon Web Services, Rackspace Cloud, and the Savvis unit of CenturyLink have already launched versions of "private" cloud operation as an auxiliary service of the public IaaS…

Grazed from BizTech2.com.   Author: Editorial Staff.

Continual monitoring of cloud computing trends, with regular updates to the enterprise’s cloud strategy, will be essential to avoid costly mistakes or miss market opportunities over the next few years, according to Gartner, Inc. Although the potential for cloud computing is significant, the breadth and depth of the impact, as well as the level of adoption over time, are uncertain and will require frequent review.

"Cloud computing is a major technology trend that has permeated the market over the last two years. It sets the stage for a new approach to IT that enables individuals and businesses to choose how they’ll acquire or deliver IT services, with reduced emphasis on the constraints of traditional software and hardware licensing models," said David Cearley, vice president and Gartner Fellow. "Cloud computing has a significant potential impact on every aspect of IT and how users access applications, information and business services."…

Grazed from The Register.  Author: Gavin Clarke.

Red Hat won’t spin up its own public cloud service but is getting serious with Amazon on OpenShift.

That’s according to Red Hat’s vice-president for cloud computing Scott Crenshaw who last week said the open-source biz has “no plans” to become a cloud provider.

“Red Hat wants to focus its resources in areas where can add the most value and we don’t think we add the most value in the operation of a data centre. We have hard skills in helping people do that but where we put our resources are on things that matter to developers and operations people.”…

Grazed from Computer Business Review.  Author: Steve Evans.

Analyst house Gartner has outlined five key trends that will shape cloud computing strategies between now and 2015.

Included in Gartner’s list is the growing importance of the hybrid cloud model and cloud-centric design. David Cearley, vice president and Gartner Fellow, who put the list together, said cloud will signal a fundamental shift in IT.

"Cloud computing is a major technology trend that has permeated the market over the last two years," he said. "It sets the stage for a new approach to IT that enables individuals and businesses to choose how they’ll acquire or deliver IT services, with reduced emphasis on the constraints of traditional software and hardware licensing models."…

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

Cisco today announced it is joining forces with EMC to offer comprehensive technical education solutions in the areas of cloud architecture, virtualization, storage, data center networking and data science. The joint education solutions from Cisco and EMC, which also incorporate courseware from VMware, will offer advanced training and certifications to help organizations acquire the skills required to successfully architect, build, and transform their IT infrastructures, adopt cloud computing, and realize the promise of big data and data science…

Grazed from Wired.  Author: Dustin Amrhein.

The basic building block of many cloud computing environments is the virtual image. Most IT departments have been using virtualization for quite some time and are comfortable with the technology. This level of comfort is why I believe it is often overlooked as a crucial element of many cloud-based services. And trust me, what may seem like a minor oversight can have significant impacts that reverberate for the life of your cloud environment.

Put simply, poorly designed virtual images are far more likely to increase management overhead, decrease agility, and hamper an enterprise than they are to contribute to achieving the benefits we often associate with the use of cloud computing…