Author: David

January 28, 2012 Off

Amazon’s Expanding Ventures in Cloud Computing

By David
Grazed from Investing.com.  Author:  Brandy Betz.

Goldman Sachs assigned a “neutral” rating to Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) this week after previewing the fourth-quarter report due for release on January 31. Analyst concerns include European sales potential and the investments that Amazon will need to make into its services, notably including cloud storage. Amazon has released two new cloud storage products in as many weeks that expand the data backup and recovery options available to businesses.

Cloud storage – which has been prominent in the news lately as the industry assesses potential fallout from the shutdown of storage site Megaupload, whose operators have been accused of digital piracy — provides users with a third-party-facilitated online storage network that charges customers only for the space they use. This setup is designed to take potentially costly backup and storage responsibilities out of the hands of business owners, allowing them to focus more on data production than its upkeep…

January 28, 2012 Off

Heads in the cloud: Part 1

By David
Grazed from The Journal of Accountancy.  Author:  Jeff Drew.

Cloud computing creates unprecedented opportunities for CPA firms to do more chargeable work faster and with better client communications. But transitioning to the cloud and having confidential information accessible over the Internet raises implementation and security concerns that CPA firms must address.

To help CPAs better understand the benefits and challenges of the cloud, the JofA invited five CPAs to share their cloud experiences in a round-table discussion…

January 28, 2012 Off

Aryaka Wins TMC Cloud Computing Excellence Award as the World’s First ‘Optimized Network’ in the Cloud

By David
Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

Aryaka, provider of the world’s first cloud-based WAN optimization and application acceleration solution, today announced TMC has named Aryaka a winner of the Cloud Computing Excellence Award as one of the companies that most effectively completes the cloud story by providing the ‘network’ in the cloud.

"The cloud delivery model has fueled a competitive spirit within the vendor, developer and provider communities that has resulted in a wave of new products, services and applications being introduced at an unprecedented rate," said Erik Linask, Group Editorial Director at TMC. "I am pleased to recognize Aryaka as one of the companies that have exemplified innovation and excellence in the market by leveraging the latest technology trends to create an enriched user experience."…

January 28, 2012 Off

Cloud Computing: Facebook to File for Massive IPO according to WSJ

By David
Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Maureen O’Gara.

Facebook will put in its papers to IPO next week, according to the Wall Street Journal Friday, maybe by Wednesday February 1. Apparently the timing is still a bit up in the air but it’s in the works.

The offering, looking to raise $10 billion, is supposed to value the company at somewhere between $75 billion and $100 billion.

Britain’s Telegraph said PrivCo claimed Thursday night that Facebook was targeting an IPO price of $38-$40 for its shares, with a target value for the company of $90 billion-$95 billion because Facebook was "reluctant to aim for the full $100 billion valuation in the hope of leaving some value for investors following the listing."…

January 27, 2012 Off

Nutanix Mad Men Spoof: Build Your Private Cloud

By David
Grazed from YouTube.  Author: Nutanix
 
We’re always looking to share things that are interesting, funny or educational in the Cloud Computing space.  And this one fits the bill.  Check out this recent video, Mad Men Meets High-Tech Virtualization Private Clouds, from Nutanix, created for the company’s Sales Kickoff 2012.   
 
Watch the video:

January 27, 2012 Off

Five Reasons to Move to the Cloud in 2012

By David
Contributed Article.  Author: Herb Hamblen, Director of Sales, Mosaic Technology

CloudCow Contributed Article

Gartner, Inc. recently highlighted the top 10 technologies and trends that they feel will be strategic for most organizations in 2012. Things like in-memory computing, next-generation analytics and app stores are all extremely relevant, but at Mosaic, we think that cloud computing is the real forerunner here.

Interestingly enough, many companies have still not made the move to the cloud. In a 2009 survey of IT and business executives, many expressed concern about moving to the cloud, citing security, availability and performance as some of their main reasons. The facts, according to Gartner, show that the cloud is a disruptive force and has the potential for broad long-term impact in most industries.

We believe that while the cloud offers a lot of business opportunities, what will happen first is the move to the private cloud otherwise known as virtualization. Throughout 2011, we talked a lot about the benefits of migrating to a virtual environment. There are also a number of Mosaic customers that were willing to provide a behind-the-scenes look at what virtualization did for their business. All that said – while cloud computing is what every marketing person wants to discuss, it is virtualization that many businesses are seriously considering in 2012…

January 27, 2012 Off

Cloud Computing: Intel to Buy RealNetworks IP

By David
Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Maureen O’Gara.

Intel last year bid billions trying to get the Nortel patents. Thursday RealNetworks said Intel was paying it $120 million cash for 190 "foundational media" patents, 170 patent applications and next-generation video codec software good for stuff like streaming.  The IP is apparently supposed to brace Intel’s Ultrabook, smartphone, tablet and digital media interests.

Intel’s also picking up Real’s video codec engineering team.

Real retains "certain rights to continue to use the patents in current and future products."…

January 27, 2012 Off

VMware Simplifies, Automates Virtual/Cloud Management

By David
Grazed from Computer Networking.  Author: Chris Talbot.

VMware is expanding its management portfolio with vCenter Operations Management Suite by integrating with VMware vCenter Capacity IQ and VMware vCenter Configuration Manager for improved performance, capacity and configuration management. VMware revamped its virtualization management suite last October adding the VMware vFabric Application Management and VMware IT Business Management tools. The new enhancements focus on embedding and integrating management tools into the platform streamlining processes and applying analytics so customers can achieve better economics with their cloud computing deployments.

With VMware virtualization becoming increasingly pervasive within enterprise data centers, vCenter Operations Management Suite provides customers with detailed views into their infrastructures while also providing standardized methodologies for more effectively managing virtualized systems, said Charles King, principal analyst Pund-IT. He noted there are two main elements to the product’s value proposition…

January 27, 2012 Off

Evolving Your Managed Service Business to a Cloud Hosting Model

By David

Grazed from MSPNews.  Author: Laura Stotler.

Managed service providers (MSPs) are constantly trying to come up with new and innovative offerings and differentiators to avoid getting stuck in the cloud. TMC (News – Alert) recently held a webinar discussing some of the challenges service providers face and how to meet them head on to make the most of the promise of cloud computing.

According to an audience poll, more than half of webinar participants said they were already delivering cloud services in 2012. Around 22 percent said they were planning to introduce services this year, and another 14 percent were not sure, while 11 percent were not planning to offer services. Presenter Antonio Piraino, CTO of ScienceLogic (News – Alert), said that while many MSPs are telling the market they’re offering cloud services, they’re actually still transitioning to the cloud model and facing challenges each day…

January 27, 2012 Off

Pixar Animates Cloud Computing

By David
Grazed from IT Business Edge.  Author: Michael Vizard.

One of the more interesting attributes of cloud computing is the ability to invoke compute-intensive resources as a service. Rather than having to acquire and deploy IT infrastructure to handle peak loads or processing requirements, IT organizations can “rightsize” their IT investments to handle their average workload requirements. Any time their computing requirements exceed those average workload limits, they can invoke additional compute capacity in the cloud using a process known as “cloudbursting.”

It’s still early days in terms of the mainstream adoption of “cloudbursting,” but the concept is already leading to the creation of some new business models. For example, Pixar has announced that it is partnering with GreenButton and Microsoft to deliver a new rendering service in the cloud that will be managed by GreenButton using its namesake cloud management software running on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform…