Remember when there were just two or three cloud computing platforms to choose from, and just about as many cloud databases? Well, as clouds have proliferated, so have the database services built on top of them. In fact, it’s getting hard to keep up with what’s actually available.

Here’s a primer highlighting the available services (note, we’re talking managed database services, not database instances that users still need to manage and administer) and where they’re running. It’s intended to be thorough, but that can be easier said than done, so please note any omissions in the comments…

Dell has set up a $60 million Fluid Data Storage Fund to back early-stage storage start-ups, a combination of build and buy. Jim Lussier, managing director of Dell’s venture capital business, says it is looking for mid-level widgetry hoping to find the "next big thing." Apparently that means cloud storage, memory-based storage and next-generation-storage architectures.

It figures to put a modest $3 million-$5 million per round in five to 10 promising start-ups in exchange for equity and access to the IP.

Of course they’d have to play to Dell architecture…

The Defense Department has released a cloud computing  strategy all its own, aimed at moving current network applications from a duplicative, cumbersome and costly set of application silos to an end state designed to create a more agile, secure, and cost-effective service environment that can rapidly respond to changing needs.

Teri Takai, CIO at the Defense Department, said the government agency is moving to an enterprise cloud environment that provides tangible benefits across the department by supporting the delivery of the joint information environment, from the continental United States to the warfighter at the tactical edge…

Microsoft’s announcement of Office 2013 is another linchpin in the company’s effort to assume a leadership role as a cloud-computing services provider.

The new version of Office will be tightly coupled to the company’s SkyDrive cloud-storage service. SkyDrive, in turn, is one of the key built-in features of Windows 8.

Microsoft has yet to announce pricing for the new Office. But with Windows 8 Pro upgrades costing just $40 if you upgrade online directly from Microsoft, the software giant has already signaled a willingness to change its upgrade models.

That’s the most aggressive pricing yet for the company’s flagship operating system, and it could be a harbinger of Microsoft’s approach to Office upgrades. One clear message that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer delivered at the Office 2013 announcement is the shift from packaged goods to services. Ballmer noted that the new Office was “the first round of Office designed from the get-go as a service.”…

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) today announced the establishment of the new CSA corporate headquarters in Singapore, under an effort led by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), and founding APAC sponsor Trend Micro (tyo:4704) . The CSA will undertake a three-year strategic private-public partnership with support from the Singapore government to further the security of cloud computing. As part of the agreement, the CSA will establish a Global Research Centre, Global Standards Secretariat, and Global Centre of Excellence for CCSK training and education in Singapore.

"After a highly competitive process, with interest from many candidates in the region, we are pleased to have selected Singapore as the key hub for CSA activities in the APAC region," said Aloysius Cheang, Managing Director Asia Pacific for the CSA. "EDB and IDA have demonstrated a great commitment to the CSA presence in APAC, which will be highly beneficial to our members in the region, and elevate Singapore as a global hub for cloud computing security."…

Will the cloud push business intelligence and analytics to a whole new level? Since cloud-based services can support massive amounts of data and provide it in a consistent manner across enterprises, there’s reason to believe that even the most technology-averse organizations will have a way to compete on analytics, just as the big players do.

To be sure, we’re still only in the early stages cloud-based BI and analytics. A new survey report from Saugatuck Technology concludes that, as of year-end 2011, only about 13% of enterprises worldwide – including all industries and all sizes of enterprises – indicated that they had cloud-based BI/advanced analytics solutions in place and in use.

But this is about to change. Saugatuck’s survey also shows that cloud-based BI and analytics will be among the fastest-growing cloud-based business management solution types through the next two years. Cloud-based BI and analytics will see an 84% compound annual growth rate over this period. This is based on a survey sample of 200 user enterprise IT and business leaders, along with input from about 30 vendors…

Grazed from GreenPages.    Author: Trevor Williamson, Director of Solutions Architecture @ GreenPages Technology Solutions.