Virtualization’s Limits, and Optimal Use in the Cloud
Virtualization has been increasingly used for leveraging underutilized compute resources, but there are questions about whether we are trying to use virtual machines (VMs) in situations for which they were not intended. Virtual computing has a much longer history than most imagine. Like many technological approaches that have been repurposed over time (Tag Switching/Multiprotocol Label Switching, or MPLS, comes to mind), virtual computing initially had a different value proposition, enabling legacy applications to execute on modern systems.
Today as we use VMs more extensively we tend to gloss over the fact that from a systems engineering perspective, regardless of how much we abstract the virtual from the physical we are still left with physical system constraints. In cloud computing architectures one of the key factors that will distinguish between successful — even viable — cloud computing architectures and those that are unsuccessful or unreliable, will be the degree to which these virtualization implementations map to the physical world…
Flow Corporation Launches Groundbreaking Cloud-based Real-time Data Platform
Flow Corporation today announced the Flow Platform, a cloud-based platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that greatly simplifies the development of real-time applications, while enabling powerful stream-processing, data routing, and information interoperability between mobile, web and enterprise applications. The Flow Platform provides developers of all skill levels unprecedented capabilities to quickly and affordably create, aggregate, filter, process, route and share real-time data streams with minimal coding effort.
"This is the beginning of something big — not just for Flow Corporation, but for a range of applications that have yet to be imagined," said Paul Burns, President of IT industry analyst firm Neovise. "The Flow Platform provides all the plumbing developers require to get the right streams of information to the right application and ultimately to the right people."
NEXThink Lands $5.5 Million Funding, Opens US Headquarters After Its Customer Base Grows by 50 Percent Last Quarter
NEXThink, whose real-time user-centric analytics make it possible for the Global 5000 and cloud service providers to rethink and transform their IT infrastructure, today announced that it has closed $5.5 million in Series C funding, bringing the total capital raised by the company to $13.1 million. This round – led by the company’s current investors, Auriga Partners and Venture Incubator, and new investor Mannai Corporation – will be used to expand its global presence and to develop new products that accelerate its business around cloud computing and mobility.
“We believe that in a world of dynamic, multi-platform infrastructure and empowered employees, it is extremely important to provide a global real-time view of IT systems from the user’s point of view,” said Pedro Bados, CEO of NEXThink. “We are building a world class team to create and bring to market the most powerful set of solutions to deal with the next generation of IT infrastructures – physical, virtual and mobile – that truly change the game.”…
Google Reduces Cloud Storage Price: Only the Beginning?
Google is cutting prices on its Cloud Storage hosted service. Needless to say this is good news for firms looking for a deal on their cloud computing needs. And it might presage more price cutting to come. The cloud is becoming a commodity good.
It’s not only cloud vendors fighting for market share. A cloud alternative, in the form of less expensive and more easily managed server capacity, is being touted by hardware firms. It all adds up to a buyer’s market for data storage and storage-related services, which could be good news for an IT department close to you…
Cloud Computing: How smart computing is fueling the next wave of IT growth
In 2009, my research team here at Forrester published a report on what we called "smart computing," a new generation of hardware, software, and networks that connects physical infrastructure with analytic computing systems.
Next month we will publish an update to that research, outlining why we continue to think that smart is the next wave of IT industry growth, likely to outstrip cloud and mobile computing in its eventual impact…
Cloud Computing: It’s ASP All Over Again
One of my favorite Mark Twain quotes is, "History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes."
I thought of it again last week when I read about the price war going on in the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) space. Larry Dignon made the clever observation that he paid more for electricity in January than it cost to get IT infrastructure now that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) have decided to double down on the infrastructure game…
Estimate: Amazon Cloud Backed by 450,000 Servers
How many servers does it take to power Amazon’s huge cloud computing operation? Like many large Internet companies, Amazon doesn’t disclose details of its infrastructure, including how many servers it uses. But a researcher estimates that Amazon Web Services is using at least 454,400 servers in seven data center hubs around the globe.
Huan Liu, a research manager at Accenture Technology Labs, analyzed Amazon’s EC2 compute service using internal and external IP addresses, which he extrapolated to come up with estimates for the number of racks in each data center location. Liu then applied an assumption of 64 blade servers per rack – four 10U chassis, each holding eight blades – to arrive at the estimate…
Cloud Computing: Oracle v Google Android Trial Set for April 16
The District Court for the Northern District of California has officially scheduled the Android trial weighing Oracle’s infringement claims against Google for April 16. It should run eight glorious weeks.
Unless something happens, like the Patent and Trademark validating the claims of other Oracle patents during the trial – which could happen – Android will be in the dock for infringing only two Java patents held by Oracle plus – and now more importantly – Oracle’s API-related copyright claims. Google wanted the trial to wait until fall as originally scheduled. So Oracle got what it wanted…
Intacct Named One of the Top 20 Coolest Cloud Software Vendors
Intacct, a leading provider of cloud financial management and accounting software, today announced it was named one of the "20 Coolest Cloud Software Vendors of 2012" as part of the list of the "100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors" by Everything Channel’s CRN. This is the third year in a row Intacct has made this list.
In the listing, CRN editors noted: "Accounting software just got cool again. Intacct’s cloud-based accounting and financial management offerings eliminate the need for businesses to support their own financial management software, hardware, backup and disaster recovery to let a business’ focus return to where it should be: on the business."…
Cloud Computing: Are Small Businesses Embracing The Technology?
Almost two decades ago, the advent of Internet and Information Technology has revolutionized the world and now Cloud Computing has radically transformed the way companies conduct business. Cloud computing is a game changer for the next decade and the day is not far away when on-premise, traditionally licensed apps will become a thing of the past.
According to CDW’s Cloud Computing Tracking Poll, 84% of organizations are using at least one cloud application and 76% of small business cloud users say they have reduced the cost of applications moved to the cloud, saving an average of 24% annually. The company has prepared a mini-deck that summarizes small business findings from the tracking poll survey…