Author: David

Whatever your view of Cloud computing, there’s no denying the fact that it’s a game changer for the IT industry, enabling companies to be more flexible, reduce costs and save time. Conservative estimates from IDC predict that the global market will reach about $55billion by 2014. However a recent survey by the Cloud Industry Forum spells out a different picture, and found that Cloud adoption rates in the UK is currently only around 53 per cent. With the clear advantages of using the Cloud, it’s difficult to understand why more UK companies have not joined the Cloud Computing revolution and sent adoption into the mainstream. 

Many people speak of cloud computing as if it’s been around for decades. In a way, it has. But today’s use of the phrase is more specific than simply a great big network in the sky. Understanding the cloud will determine whether it helps organizations realize the efficiencies and cost savings it promises or the opportunities that float on by.

In its simplest form, cloud computing enables organizations to purchase computing power and data storage services from third-party providers who offer these products via the Internet. Rather than investing in their own data centers or servers, businesses and agencies can pay as they go, which allows them to expand—or contract—as needed…

DynaSis, Atlanta’s premier provider of IT services and support for small and medium businesses (SMBs), announced today it will offer Cloud Readiness Assessments as a service to new and existing customers. A Cloud Readiness Assessment is a powerful tool that provides insight into where cloud computing is most appropriate and valuable for a business.

“Leading technology experts including General Keith Alexander, head of both the National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command, have stated that when properly implemented, cloud computing is more secure and offers greater business benefits than on-premise infrastructure,” said Ried Theil, Director of CIO Services for DynaSis. “It’s that ‘getting it right’ challenge that stymies many implementations. That’s what our Cloud Readiness Assessment is designed to overcome.”…

In a few short years the cloud has gone from an IT buzzword to a legitimate way to cut costs, boost agility, ease operational headaches and future-proof the business. As a result, sifting through the rapidly growing number of cloud vendors out there can be dizzying for solution providers and their customers.

The aim of CRN’s annual 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors list is to sift through the who’s who in the cloud market and identify the most innovative companies across the five major cloud categories: cloud platforms, cloud infrastructure, cloud storage, cloud security and cloud software…

Analyst Firm To Examine How Cloud Is Driving IT Transformation; Offers a Big Data Survival Guide; and Help Unravelling EU Data Protection.

451 Research, a global research and data company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation, today revealed its latest thinking about how cloud computing is driving IT business transformation as it sheds its punk roots and evolves into a ‘new wave’ of enterprise IT.

“In 1977, The Sex Pistols went to number one and were honoured as ‘Young Businessmen of the Year’ by Investors Review. At this point punk went mainstream, becoming the ‘new wave’.  In this diamond jubilee year the upstarts of the cloud and hosting sector are now discussed in board rooms and are positioned as the catalyst for business IT transformation,” said William Fellows, Vice President at 451 Research…

Salesforce.com, the enterprise cloud computing company ( http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/ ), today announced Salesforce Rypple and Salesforce Site.com – two new products that extend the social enterprise to reach every employee and every customer. The next generation of the social enterprise leverages salesforce.com’s social, mobile and open cloud technologies to develop social profiles of customers, create employee and customer social networks, and connect with public social networks.

Salesforce Rypple will enable companies to engage and align people and teams with social performance management, extending the employee social network to reach every employee. New Salesforce Site.com delivers a consistent brand experience to every customer by empowering marketers to deliver fresh, relevant content across websites, portals, landing pages and public social networks. Now companies can transform the way they collaborate, communicate and share information with employees and customers to stay competitive in today’s social world…

Appirio, which is taking an innovative approach to cloud computing services, on Thursday announced it had completed a $60 million round of funding.

The lead investor is private equity investment firm General Atlantic, with participation from existing investors that include Sequoia Capital and GGV Capital. Appirio says it’s now secured a total of $80 million in funding overall.

Founded in 2006, San Mateo, Calif.-based Appirio calls itself a "cloud brokerage solutions provider." It works with cloud platform providers such as Google (GOOG), Salesforce.com (CRM), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Workday, and tailors specific products and services for customers…

The cloud computing wave stirred up by strong demand for tablet PCs and smartphones will also spread to the Internet of Things (IoT) in the future, creating new business opportunities that everyone will crave a share of. But many small- to medium-size businesses (SMBs), particularly those from the embedded industry, will find it unaffordable to build up their own private cloud architecture because of limitations in terms of operational scale, funding and human resources. Leading embedded platform developer Advantech, eyeing such business opportunities, has launched its industrial cloud services to address the market.

With the services, embedded devices that are difficult to manage because of their scattered locations – such as digital signage and monitors – can be controlled, switched on and off, installed and upgraded through cloud computing. This can improve efficiency and lower maintenance cost…