Category: News

Grazed from CFO.  Author: Keith Button.

The cloud computing bandwagon continues to pick up speed, with software-as-a-service (SaaS) arrangements now outselling licensed software. Moreover, cloud computing is winning corporate converts to infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), which offers virtual hardware, storage capacity, network connections, and so on; and platform-as-a-service (PaaS), which enables users to build software applications over the Internet.

It’s not surprising that so many companies have migrated to the cloud, given its promise of cost savings, increased flexibility, and greater ease of use. But they still face choices among public, private, and hybrid public-private cloud arrangements. Moreover, there are a number of cost-benefit considerations and risks to address. And for certain applications, on-premises software may still be the best bet…

Grazed from Bloomberg.  Author: Alex Barinka.

International Business Machines Corp. formed a partnership with Juniper Networks Inc. to create networks with built-in analytics, harnessing big data to improve mobile and other applications.

IBM and Juniper will design and sell tools to help businesses analyze information, update operations, reduce costs and improve how applications run, according to a statement Tuesday. This could involve customizing experiences for watching videos, running business apps or managing Web-connected devices…

Grazed from MarketWire.  Author: PR Announcement.

SingleHop, a leading provider of on-demand hosted private clouds and managed hosting, today introduced storage-agnostic backup-as-a-service (BaaS) capabilities through Veeam Cloud Connect©, enabling enterprises to efficiently backup data to the cloud. Veeam Availability Suite v8 users can immediately take advantage of SingleHop BaaS with no additional hardware, software, or upfront costs and without the cost and complexity of managing an offsite infrastructure. SingleHop is among a small handful of companies to offer Veeam-powered backup to extend customer data protection outside of the data center.

Cloud-based backup has emerged as the choice alternative or complementary method to tape, disk, on-premise, and 3rd party co-location scenarios because of the reduced risk, lower costs and improved business continuity the cloud model delivers…

Grazed from MSPHub.  Author: Editorial Staff.

According to a recent article from CIO, “many companies contain workstations with software that is not approved by the Information Technology (IT) department; instead, it has been adopted and installed by individuals or even, in some cases, entire departments.” Simply put, not just employees but entire business units are now willing to circumvent IT policies they find too restrictive, and the open nature of public cloud services makes this a simple task.

Of course, such unsanctioned use comes with real risk. For example, DevOps work done with unapproved services puts sensitive data beyond the reach of corporate firewalls and other securitymeasures. E-discovery requests also become problematic, since IT professionals do not have knowledge of data use from start to finish. In addition, asset management is an issue, since productivity may spike without a definitive cause, making budgetary discussions more complicated. Ultimately, ignoring shadow cloud services is not an option, but controlling them can prove difficult…

Grazed from Reuters.  Author:  Editorial Staff.

The FASB agreed to amend U.S. GAAP to clarify how cloud computing clients report fees they pay to suppliers. Cloud computing customers are expected to use the amended guidance to determine whether they have a license to use the software or a service contract.

The FASB agreed on February 18, 2015, to finalize amendments to U.S. GAAP to clarify how cloud computing clients report fees they pay to suppliers.  A draft of the amendments was published in August in Proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-230,Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement…

Grazed from NetworkWorld.  Author: Brandon Butler.

It’s a busy time for container technology in the cloud computing market: IBM this week at its InterConnect conference in Las Vegas announced broad support for containers in its hybrid cloud computing software, while Google partnered with OpenStack distributor Mirantis to enable container technology capabilities in the open source cloud platform.  Forrester storage analyst Henry Balatzar reported from IBM InterConnect that: “Everyone is going container crazy.”

Perhaps all the hype is for good reason. Containers are shaping up as breakthrough technology that some believe could rival the impact that virtual machines (VMs) have had in corporate data centers…

Grazed from V3.co.uk.  Author: Daniel Robinson.

IBM has added a series of technologies and services to its cloud computing offerings, including support for Docker containers and the extension of the Bluemix developer platform into a customer’s data centre, among others.

Announced at the IBM InterConnect 2015 conference, the additions are aimed at delivering the same level of control, visibility, security and governance in a hybrid cloud environment as an organisation has over its internal private cloud or traditional IT systems…

Grazed from TechRadar.  Author: Anthony Poh.

Making the switch to cloud systems can be a daunting task for CIOs, for whom the various different systems and processes on offer can be overwhelming. The range of definitions and standards applied to cloud computing complicates the task further, as does pressure from other C-level executives who may be keen to deploy a system they may not be familiar with.

It is vital to understand the different options on the market, and find the right solution for the right business…

Grazed from MidsizeInsider.  Author: Kelly Katsanos.

Recent research shows that SMBs’ usage of cloud computing for marketing and collaboration will significantly increase within the next three years. Cloud solutions in these areas can help SMBs realize the cost reductions, scalability and flexibility necessary to sustain their businesses.

SMB Cloud Usage on the Rise

SMBs are increasingly accepting and implementing cloud services, a recent article featured in Cloud Tech revealed. A BCSG survey of 600 European participants across all stages of small business, from micro businesses to pre-startups, found that "64 percent of SMBs are already using cloud-based software, while the average number of applications in use is three." Further, according to Cloud Tech, cloud usage should increase over the next two to three years, potentially driving the average number of applications in use by SMBs from three to seven…

Grazed from CIOToday.  Author: Dan Heilman.

As it gets under way at the MGM Grand & Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, IBM’s InterConnect 2015 corporate convention will touch on cloud, mobile, DevOps, security, asset management, Internet of Things, application integration, and smarter processes. But a main area of focus is expected to be hybrid cloud technology, which gives IBM’s individual businesses a chance to discuss and demonstrate how they can better leverage each other’s technologies and capabilities. The convention runs through Thursday.

Many of the new services and software that IBM is unveiling at the Interconnect conference are designed to ease the work involved with linking the public cloud to internal operations. For instance, the company will release software to run IBM’s BlueMix platform services from within an organization’s own data centers…