White House Moves To Future-Proof Government IT
The White House plans to require agencies to future-proof information technology decisions through the use of some mix of agile development, machine readable data, Web services and modular procurement techniques, federal CIO Steven VanRoekel said in an interview with InformationWeek.
The details do not appear to be set in stone, but the requirements, which VanRoekel calls "Future First" (short for "future-ready first," he says), will come in guidance to be issued some time next year. "When we solve a problem to meet some mission need, it should be ready for the future, it should be expandable" he said. "This is about taking big mission solutions and breaking them down into small components."
In government today, procurements often take too long, project requirements are over-prescribed, and development takes place in a long waterfall process, which VanRoekel admits too often leaves federal IT projects "outdated or too inflexible in the end."…
Microsoft: The $71 Billion Cloud Underdog
If I say “cloud computing,” what companies come to mind? Amazon’s innovative Amazon Web Services Cloud? Google’s cloud-based collaboration tools, Google Apps? Salesforce.com, the pioneer in moving business applications to the Web? Facebook because, well, it’s Facebook? How about Microsoft? Before you laugh and close your Chrome browser, hear me out. While perhaps lacking the sex appeal (and stock price appreciation) of the other companies I mentioned, Microsoft is the dark horse that will bring the benefits of the cloud to mainstream businesses. How can I make that claim? Well, if it pleases this jury, Microsoft has the motive, means and opportunity to win the enterprise cloud.
Motive
As the saying goes, people are motivated by either greed or fear. I think for many big companies, it’s more the latter. And Microsoft has a lot to be scared about…
The History and Future of Cloud Computing
Though many people tout cloud computing as the next big thing, the idea is almost as old as the computer itself.
The concept was born in the 1960s from the ideas of pioneers like J.C.R. Licklider (instrumental in the development of ARPANET) envisioning computation in the form of a global network and John McCarthy (who coined the term “artificial intelligence”) framing computation as a public utility. Some of the first uses included the processing of financial transactions and census data.
Flash forward to 1997, when the term “cloud computing” was first used by information systems professor Ramnath Chellappa…
Cloud à la Carte: 6 Ways to Order Off the Cloud
Everyone is talking about “the cloud” these days, but most small business owners think virtualization is a one-size-fits-all service that’s more aptly suited to Fortune 500s with big IT budgets than smaller shops with limited means. The reality is far different – the growth of the cloud computing service market has created a smorgasbord of cloud options for businesses of any size and budget who want to capitalize on virtualized services in their own way.
It’s important for business owners, particularly in small or medium sized companies, to realize that the cloud doesn’t refer to one large umbrella service, but instead can be sliced up into smaller pieces that fit the unique needs of the individual business. The decision to go cloud is not all or nothing; a business can choose components of their infrastructure to put in the cloud, keeping other components in-house. By breaking it up this way, it also makes it easier for a company to transition its operations and employees and test the benefits of virtualization…
Top cloud computing news even the Mayans couldn’t predict
This past year saw a lot of frenetic activity in the cloud computing market, a good chunk of which was caused by major players such as IBM and HP that finally started to “get it.”
IBM, which has never articulated a clear, strategic direction for its dizzying array of products, got it this past April when it released its comprehensive Smart Business Cloud initiative. The company woke from its slumber to deliver a family of integrated cloud-based products.
Meanwhile, one of the earliest and most trusted cloud services purveyors — can you spell “Amazon”? — demonstrated that not only can a simple human screw up things for a whole bunch of users, but also that a lack of attention to customer service at a crucial time can affect user perceptions about the entire cloud industry…
RobotShop Launches MyRobots, Cloud Robotics for All
RobotShop.com, the world’s most visited e-commerce site specializing in service robotics, announces today the launch of a new cloud computing service specifically designed for robots as well as all “smart objects.”
MyRobots is a portal where robot owners and builders can connect their robots, monitor their status, and control them. All Internet-enabled robots can be readily connected to MyRobots, thanks to the open API in place. Robots which cannot access the Internet directly can use the “MyRobots Connect,” a physical device which allows any robot capable of serial communication to be easily connected to MyRobots. The new portal will soon offer downloadable and cloud-based robotic applications and the roboticist community will have the opportunity to participate in developing their own. Developers can then sell their applications in the "Robot App Store" soon to be launched. Furthermore, all information about compatible hardware and the communication API are available on the site to allow robot owners and builders to develop applications freely. In addition, manufacturers and OEMs can use the MyRobots platform to improve the capabilities of their robotic products and provide better service to their customers. It is important to note that for an undetermined period of time, all data plans on MyRobots will be offered free of charge…
LiveOps Makes Shortlist for International 2012 Cloud Awards
LiveOps announced today that it has been named a finalist in the inaugural 2012 Cloud Awards program in the "Best Platform as a Service" category.
The Cloud Awards is a premier international cloud computing awards program that recognizes and celebrates industry leaders and pioneers in the field of cloud computing. The awards program is open internationally across the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Entries are accepted from organizations of any size, whether they are start-ups or established vendors.
"The organizations which have taken part in the 2012 Cloud Awards program demonstrate exactly what cloud computing has to give," said Larry Johnson, Cloud Awards organizer. "We’ve seen world-leading organizations spring up literally overnight to offer faster, more capable and cost-effective solutions than previously imagined. We’ve seen markets become so disrupted they’re unrecognizable. And we’ve seen all of this while cloud computing is still in its infancy."…
Buy the Dip in Cloud Computing Stocks
With Europe on a fiscal austerity program, virtualization companies have come under pressure. This might be a good buying opportunity, several analysts say.
There has been no trend among European companies that they are cutting back in information technology spending, and overseas revenue has been strong, says Rajesh Ghai of Think Equity. Virtualization has an extremely compelling economic argument, and Europe has held steady.
Riverbed (RVBD) previously experienced some slowing in Europe, but bounced back in the third quarter, Ghai said. Europe has held steady, according to VMware‘s (VMW) latest earnings, and the fear that European companies are slowing just has not been realized yet. Ghai rates shares of VMware buy, with a $110 price target…
Top five cloud outages of 2011
The public cloud has many benefits. The instant access to extra storage and compute helps in times of need. The pay as you go model means you only splash out for what you use. The lack of license keeps you free and easy to move your data.
But, the one thing we all worry about is an outage. It doesn’t matter how good the service is if you cannot access it and it still prevents numerous companies from putting mission critical data or applications out there.
We take a look at the top five cloud outages this year and keep our fingers crossed the offenders learn from their mistakes…
Public clouds call IT’s bluff
Google announced last week the end of the "experimental" availability of its high-replication data store; it’s now a "real" part of the Google App Engine SDK. This is part of a key 2012 trend: Cloud providers will rush to address cloud computing concerns from enterprise IT — including security, performance, and availability — through the addition of features taken from existing private enterprise computing environments.
In the past, many cloud providers dismissed requests that features be added to replicate what existed in enterprise data centers. Typically, they referred to traditional enterprise computing methods as overly complex, convoluted, and costly. Indeed, many even gave this criticism a name: "enterprisey."
Now, Google App Engine can replicate data across multiple data centers, and thus work around availability issues in the case of maintenance and outages that affect a single instance. This offering is a result of businesses demanding such features before they move to the public cloud…