Why DoD Wants Cloud Computing
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been engaged in a series of discussions that have really highlighted to me the critical issue around why our defense and intelligence agencies are moving so quickly to adopt cloud computing. While the easy answer focuses on cost savings and higher efficiency, the most important explanation is grounded squarely in our need to exploit information faster than our adversaries. Please let me explain.
Information is often the decisive discriminator in modern conflict. Studies of recent mission failures highlighted this fact finding that many of these failures were caused by:
Validating your contact data may help to improve customer service
Businesses around New Zealand are reeling from the news that at least 60 per cent of consumers have had poor experiences in dealing with companies in recent years, with many considering businesses to be nothing more than a necessary evil.
The news has sparked many companies into worrying about how to improve their customer service so they are on the right side of this statistic, NZ Herald reported.
Dick Brunton, the co-founder of market research company Colmar Brunton, told the news provider that customer service should come from the heart.
Watching Social Networks for Clues about Promotions
Before people began making their lives public on social networks, retailers had to figure out their likes more indirectly. Companies like Oracle and Siebel provided huge database programs that analyzed individual sales and consumer demographics in search of patterns that might lead to more sales—say, by targeting groups of customers who might be likely to respond to special offers. But the retailers couldn’t directly observe the connections between individual consumers, or watch them chat online with each other about products.
Bring on the Hybrids: CIOs Make Staffing Shifts
Like writers at most technology trade publications, I and my colleagues here at IT Business Edge tend to focus on in-demand technical skills when we write about IT careers. While the right kinds of technical skills can certainly land folks a job (mobile development, anyone?), employers are increasingly looking for a somewhat fuzzier blend of IT and business skills.
SuiteWorld 2011: Manufacturers explain benefits of cloud applications
Manufacturers are using NetSuite’s on-demand enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to cut IT costs and grow business. Jenny Williams reports.
During this week’s NetSuite SuiteWorld 2011 conference, several companies explained why they switched to NetSuite from Salesforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics.
Good data quality could help you keep customers
s a survey shows that consumers in New Zealand are not afraid to take their service elsewhere if they have a bad customer experience, businesses should be thinking of ways to improve their service.
The iStart Customer Experience Survey showed that 80 per cent of people would withdraw loyalty from a company following a bad experience, and three-quarters of customers would tell at least one friend about their bad experience.
Add telephony to your applications with Aculab Cloud
Ubuntu switches to OpenStack’s cloud software
Canonical has switched its cloud software stack to the open-source OpenStack, the company announced Tuesday. The current version of its Ubuntu Server, version 11.04, uses the Eucalyptus platform.
Ubuntu Server 11.10 will include the OpenStack stack as the core of the company’s Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) package. The server release will also include a set of tools to help users move their cloud deployments from Eucalyptus to OpenStack.
First-generation firewalls do not cut the mustard
In the wake of the InfoSec information security exhibition in London last month, I think I finally have Part II to my blog written to coincide with the event: Infosec 2011: application (development) appetisers Part I.
What I was looking for was some insight into how the mechanics of security technologies work, so I spoke to Florian Malecki who is EMEA enterprise marketing and product marketing manager at SonicWALL — a company that describes itself as a purveyor of intelligent network security and data protection solutions.
Google I/O 2011: in, out, shake it all about
Google labels its annual developer conference Google I/O, as you probably know. Before penning (keying) this blog I asked Google’s PR people twice to clarify what the I/O stands for these days as I have read three different definitions.
• Input/Output
• "Innovation in the Open"
• Binary code 11111000110100111 etc.
Google did not reply — and the company has very limited press access to its event, but to ignore its recent developer shindig would be a shame. So let’s march on.