Category: News

Grazed from Business2Community. Author: Daniel Burrus.

Most technologies aren’t really "tools," as many people call them. They’re "enablers." Let’s take the Internet, for example. The Internet doesn’t do anything by itself. It’s what’s connected to it – what you do with it – that makes it powerful. In that same way, the cloud is really an enabler. The cloud itself has no value. It’s what you do with the cloud that makes it valuable. As I like to say, "It’s not the tool that matters; it’s how you use it."

The cloud, which refers to companies using remote servers that store data and allow users to access information from anywhere, takes three different evolutionary forms. Most of us first started using a public cloud provided by companies such as Microsoft, Google, or Apple, where we stored documents remotely on their servers, or we used a cloud service like Flickr to store and share photos…

Grazed from IBM. Author: PR Announcement.

IBM has launched new architecture for its x86-based servers to improve availability in cloud computing and data analytics. The architecture named sixth generation enterprise X6 Architecture integrates eXFlash memory-channel storage, a DIMM-based storage providing up to 12.8 terabytes of ultrafast flash storage close to the processor to reduce write latency which helps in improving processing performance in analytics software applications.

IBM says for memory-hungry applications, X6 delivers three times the scalable memory of current competitors’ and IBM x86-based systems to support cloud and analytics. The X6 architecture eliminates the need for external SAN/NAS storage units. X6 architecture supports multiple generations of CPUs. Server models supported by this new architecture currently include the System x3850 X6 four-socket system, System x3950 X6 eight-socket system, and the IBM Flex System x880 scalable compute nodes.

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Logicalis US, an international IT solutions and managed services provider (www.us.logicalis.com), today announced an agreement with IO, a global leader in software-defined data centers, to build a Logicalis data center presence in IO’s Dayton, Ohio, data center operations facility.

Logicalis already had existing deployments in the IO Phoenix and IO New Jersey data centers, extending the cost, agility, security and efficiency benefits of the IO Intelligent Control? platform to Logicalis’ clients on both the east and west coasts. Today’s announcement expands these offerings with additional compute resources strategically located in the central United States, an important expansion for Logicalis’ clients…

Grazed from DataCenter Knowledge. Author: Shawn Mills.

Cloud computing brings a certain set of risks. By nature customers put their faith in service providers to protect their data and keep it readily available. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are meant to protect the customer in case of downtime, allowing them to sue if data is inaccessible. Part of an SLA is generally a degree of redundancy, guaranteeing that every server and piece of infrastructure is backed up with an equivalent version. Customers often had their own data backups as well. An SLA, however, doesn?t protect anyone once a company is bankrupt.

In September, Nirvanix, a cloud storage company founded in 2007, suddenly revealed they were declaring bankruptcy. Users had two weeks?later extended until mid-October?to migrate their data, or lose it forever. With large customers storing 10 to 20 petabytes of data, those few weeks suddenly seemed like a few days. These types of shutdowns happen infrequently, but they do occur…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Editorial Staff.

"Introduction to Cloud Computing For Startups" Wondering what all of the hype is around cloud computing? Cloud computing has been a popular topic lately, including the discussion of various cloud computing solutions such as Amazon AWS, Google App Engine, and Salesforce.com. Many of the discussions revolve around the enterprise world, but few are talking about what this means for startups and small business.

You will find out how your startup may be able to take advantage of cloud computing as a new approach to launching your startup quickly, and stay up-to-date with their latest news!…

Grazed from DroidReport. Author: Jennifer Lynn.

Android startups and companies have been embracing cloud trends. Dropbox, Instagram, Spotify, Pinterest and companies such as Samsung have been leveraging cloud computing technologies to provide innovation. According to a recent article by The Guardian, it is predicted cloud will power exciting innovations that will touch every area of our lives. The article also highlights key four cloud computing trends that are set to become big in 2014.

Cloud will enable your content to follow you wherever you go

Cloud has changed how we interact with mobile devices. In the past content would be moved to the device, now devices are just a window to content and services that live in the cloud. This started with our smartphones and tablets, where regardless of which device we use, or the location, we have access to our content and subscriptions…

Grazed from ZDNet. Author: Colin Barker.

Malware makers are increasingly turning to the cloud to host their adware and other malicious code. According to a report by research firm Solutionary, malware distributors are rapidly and widely adopting cloud computing. They do so by either buying services directly from legitimate domains or by compromising them in other ways, the report said.

"The cloud has become a preferred mode for malicious actors who are using cloud computing for many of the same reasons that legitimate customers are," the report said. Rob Kraus, the research director for Solutionary said: "Malware and, more specifically, its distributors are using the technologies and services that make processes, application deployment and website creation easier."…

Grazed from Biztech2. Author: Editorial Staff.

Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and Verizon Enterprise Solutions today announced an agreement to develop a software-defined storage solution based on Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) and Hitachi Content Platform Anywhere (HCP Anywhere) for the new Verizon Cloud.

Verizon is focused on developing an ecosystem of enterprise technologies built to run on Verizon Cloud, the company’s new infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and object-based storage offering. HCP and HCP Anywhere are the latest enterprise-class technologies to be added to the Verizon Cloud, offering tools that enterprises can use to move their businesses forward as cloud-based services…

Grazed from Techopedia. Author: Robert Springer.

While it’s not quite a chicken-or-the-egg conundrum, Software as a Service (SaaS) couldn’t exist without the cloud. Even so, if there are two terms people tend to confuse, it’s SaaS and cloud computing. They do have a lot in common, but they aren’t the same. Here we’ll take a look at their differences.

The Cloud Vs. SaaS

Loosely defined, the cloud could be used as a synonym for the Internet, if the Internet is defined as the worldwide internetwork of computers. Connections to the Internet (cable television, fiber-optic cables, DSL or wireless) that connect businesses and consumers to resources (email, websites, Twitter feeds) stored on servers are what make up the cloud…

Grazed from CIO. Author: Ed Tittel.

OpenStack is an open source cloud computing platform. Designed as an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) environment, this project describes itself as seeking to produce a "ubiquitous open source cloud computing platform for public and private clouds." OpenStack is also something of a computing industry phenomenon, as more than 200 software, hardware and service companies are involved.

OpenStack emerged from a joint initiative undertaken by Rackspace Hosting and NASA in mid-2010, with a primary aim to permit organizations to offer (or consume) cloud computing services running on standard hardware elements. Early code was a combination of the NASA Nebula cloud computing platform and the Cloud Files platform from Rackspace. Since mid-2010, the project has maintained a regular six-month release cycle and a detailed schedule of release milestones, orchestrated through a semi-annual planning meeting called the OpenStack Design Summit…