Government Bodies Embrace Cloud Computing
Ed Bugnion, CTO for the Server Access and Virtualization Business Unit at Cisco, certainly got it right when he predicted that the adoption of cloud computing within the enterprise could well be led by the government and not the corporate sector.
"Complex, process-driven environments like government have been used to inflexible IT infrastructures," he said. "The cloud’s flexibility is so appealing that it will drive the creation of a private government cloud."
That statement was made a year ago at EMC World. Today, many government entities are leading the way in cloud adoption.
Cloud Caution Still Common
As someone who writes about technology rather than actually deploying it, I admit I sometimes succumb to vendor-fueled hype. The good news is, it rarely takes long for someone to set me straight. Before I interviewed vendors, analysts and other experts for a story on cloud computing in 2009, I had the idea that virtually any enterprise application could run in the cloud, though some certainly might be better candidates than others.
Tackling the Potential Problem of SaaS Silos
Much of the discussion with cloud integration focuses on integrating with on-premise, even legacy, applications. But with more companies moving into SaaS, there’s another integration question worth considering: How do you integrate between these cloud-based companies so you avoid SaaS silos?
How Cloud Computing Is Changing the Video Game Industry
According to the PC Games Digital Downloads Analyst Report, during the first six months of 2010, more video games were purchased online and downloaded digitally than were bought at retail stores.
This marks the first time that digital downloads comprised the majority of total PC game sales. And although retails sales still make up a greater share of dollar revenue, it was simply because games that come with a CD or DVD in a box sell for a higher price…
More join HP, Intel and Yahoo in Open Cirrus cloud computing test bed
HP, Intel and Yahoo have announced that four organisations are to join the existing group already participating in Open Cirrus, the global open-source test bed organised to fuel advancements in cloud computing research.
Cloud computing test bed
These four organisations – Georgia Tech University’s Center for Experimental Research in Computer Systems (CERCS), China Telecom Corporation, the China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI), and the Supercomputing Center of Galicia (CESGA) – have brought the number of locations participating in Open Cirrus to 14, thus making Open Cirrus the most widespread and diverse cloud computing test bed.
Cloud Computing Key To Power and Energy Management
Cloud computing will be a necessary component as power and energy management systems continue to converge.
"When you think of this space and energy management, you have to think about what’s going on in the cloud," said Barry Coflan, senior vice president of offer development in Schneider Electric’s Buildings Business. Coflan was speaking at Schneider’s EcoStruxure In Action event in Chicago on Tuesday.
Orange, Cisco, EMC and VMware form cloud alliance
The alliance will offer a private cloud that can be deployed either on customers’ sites or on Orange Business Services’s (OBS) network, along with data backup, security-as-a-service and unified communications services. Cisco, EMC and VMware already have links as part of their tripartite Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) coalition, which offers Vblock infrastructure services and products to enterprises.
HP completes 3PAR takeover
HP announced earlier this month that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 3PAR following a bidding war with Dell.
At the time, HP expected the transaction to be completed by the end of the year, but it took less than a month.
Almost 88% of 3PAR’s shares were tendered to HP, and the takeover was completed by exercising the ‘top-up’ provision in the agreement. 3PAR is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of HP.
Cisco, EMC and VMware Going Orange
The cloud is getting an infusion of color thanks to a new global alliance among Cisco, EMC, VMware and Orange Business Services. Orange, a global IT service provider, is a unit of France Telecom.
With the new alliance, Orange is aiming to deliver a turnkey managed private cloud approach to users around the world, leveraging technologies from Cisco, EMC and VMware. The new Flexible 4 Business alliance builds on the Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) coalition that Cisco, EMC and VMware forged in 2009.