Category: News

Grazed from Channel Pro.  Author: Steve Hughes.

Though the concept of “cloud computing” is not new, it is undisputable that it has captured the imagination of the IT industry and will play a large part in the ICT domain over the next decade and beyond.

One critical component of cloud computing which is seldom mentioned, and goes a long way to addressing concerns over the performance / reliability issues, is the role of the network. As applications become virtualised and are transferred at will between data centres, more and more cloud implementations will require lower latency to continue to function. One method of solving this problem will be to use faster, more reliable networks which in turn help customers address questions around service levels. After all, how can any cloud service level agreement (SLA) be worth anything if the performance and availability of the network is not an integral part of it?…

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

A survey of information technology (IT) decision makers around the globe found that the shift to cloud computing is driven primarily by a desire to connect employees through the multitude of computing devices in use today. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, 33 percent of survey respondents cited accessibility to information through multiple devices as the most important reason for their decision to adopt cloud computing.

Rounding out the top motivating factors of cloud adoption within the enterprise were accelerating the speed of business, which was the choice of 21 percent of respondents, and cutting costs, with 17 percent citing it as most important. In the United States, the trend among small businesses was even more pronounced, as nearly half, or 46 percent, of small businesses cited information access through a multitude of devices as the most important reason for adopting the cloud, while 10 percent of small businesses cited cutting costs…

Grazed from Cloud Ventures.  Author: Neil Mcevoy.

One of the most powerful areas for Cloud Computing is where you can harness key technologies like Identity, cost effectively and in a manner that provides real benefits quickly.

For example if you are the HR Manager for an organization then social networks like Linkedin are a great source of talent, so advertising there may be one step you take.

If you want to increase the response rates you enjoy from these adverts one technology you can use is ‘Cloud Logins’. This means that your HR application, where you capture the candidate’s resume, can be connected to Linkedin so that they don’t to repeat the sign-on process to your site too when they make the application…

Grazed from ComputerWorld.  Author:   Bob Violino.

Most experts agree: The cloud is moving past the hype stage and starting to deliver tangible benefits, primarily increased flexibility and agility.

But moving to the cloud can also mean added costs, some of which are unexpected, according to IT executives whose organizations have implemented or are considering cloud services.

While these costs wouldn’t necessarily prevent companies from getting real business value out of cloud computing, they could have an impact on the overall cost-benefit analysis of cloud services…

Grazed from MarketWatch.  Author: PR Announcement.

Insight Enterprises, Inc., a leading global provider of technology solutions, has exceeded a significant milestone in the emerging area of cloud computing, having now sold more than 1 million seats in various cloud offerings. Insight offers a collection of Cloud solutions including messaging, security, infrastructure and collaboration.

"Industry trends continue to point to cloud adoption as part of the overall IT strategy for businesses. We anticipate this shift will accelerate growth in all client segments including public, private and hybrid clouds, as clients migrate their selected workloads away from traditional on-premise IT infrastructure and into the cloud," said Ken Lamneck, Insight President and CEO…

Grazed from CIO.  Author: Christine Burns.

If you think cloud computing is a disruptive force within the enterprise, just imagine what the cloud is doing to the vendor landscape.

The sheer number of cloud players – or companies that claim to be cloud players — is staggering. By some estimates there are more than 2,000 software as a service (SaaS) companies alone. At this early point in the cloud revolution, there are certainly front runners, but the field is wide open.

For example, the marquee SaaS player, Salesforce.com, owned a paltry 8.7% of the total SaaS market, according to a 2010 IDC report that tracked 84 vendors. Other big names –Intuit, Cisco, Microsoft, Google and Symantec – were all below 5% each. That leaves scores of other competitors with tiny market shares today, and no place to go but up…

There’s so much happening in the cloud computing area nowadays, and Windows Azure just seems like Microsoft’s version of Amazon Web Services. I notice that Azure is coined as “platform as a service”. Can you walk us through the differences?

Amazon Web Services are generally considered “infrastructure as a service”. Both Infrastructure and platform as a service are public cloud offerings to deliver computing resources. The difference lies in the level of abstraction provided by each…

Grazed from Wall Street Journal.  Author: Jack Hough.

For a way to invest in "cloud computing" without paying a stratospheric price, take a cue from Wall Street’s newest tech enthusiast: Warren Buffett.

Mr. Buffett, who has long avoided computing stocks while favoring railroads, soft drinks and insurance, announced this week that his Berkshire Hathaway has amassed a $10.7 billion stake in International Business Machines, making it the second-largest shareholder.

Last year, the century-old tech giant announced a goal to boost yearly cloud-computing revenues by $3 billion by 2015, to $7 billion. That is a sliver relative to its current total revenues of $106 billion, but it is an important source of growth…

Grazed from ComputerWorld.  Author: Stephen Bell.

New Zealand could be leading most of the world in the evolution of a code of practice for cloud computing.

Looking around the world, says project coordinator Joy Cottle, it appears there is only one fully-fledged code, in the UK. The US National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) has developed terms of reference towards a code, a process that took two-and-a-half years. New Zealand’s code, scheduled to be issued in version 1.0 by the end of March next year, could well arrive before the NIST code is finalised, Cottle told a consultation meeting in Wellington. There is interest in the New Zealand code of practice effort from Australian parties with a stake in the cloud…

Grazed from SFGate.  Author: PR Announcement.

CloudAccess, the leading provider of cloud-based security solutions and services, received a coveted Golden Bridge Award for Innovation in Technology at the 3rd Annual Golden Bridge Awards ceremony in New York. The award for best cloud security solution was presented to CloudAccess for its SingleSource platform.

Cloud Access has been an innovator in developing high-performance security solutions that make cloud computing viable for organizations with critical operational, compliance and regulatory issues. Its robust SingleSource platform offers organizations an array of cost-effective solutions to meet their unique security needs, including: software as a service (SaaS) applications, identity management, log management, security information and event management and single sign on (SSO) web security solutions. CloudAccess provides enterprise security in a SaaS application for amazing dependability, scalability and affordability. Each component of the SingleSource platform can be configured to meet the specific business requirements of an organization…