Category: News

2014’s Top Cloud IT Pitfalls – and 2015’s Key Risks

As even more companies embrace the cloud in 2015 (IDC has predicted that businesses will spend $127 billion on public cloud services by 2018), the risks associated with the cloud will also grow and evolve.

To help businesses arm themselves for the dangers ahead, it will be important to look back at the valuable lessons they can learn from the notable cloud IT downfalls of 2014, and to consider the growing trends that are certain to make headlines in 2015.

Grazed from ComputerWorldUK. Author: Jenny Hotchin.

For the first time in 25 years, following the adoption of cloud computing, next-generation IT outsourcing models are developing (cloudsourcing). IT provisioning and the associated decisions around outsourcing have dominated the discussions of IT decision makers since the first landmark outsourcing deal between Kodak and IBM. Since this deal in 1989, there have been multiple shifts in focus (selective v total; onshore v offshore), however, the traditional IT outsourcing model, has remained broadly unchallenged.

Cloudsourcing is similar to traditional outsourcing, in that an organisation employs a third party to provide certain infrastructure, platforms, applications and the associated processes and services. However, the rise of cloud computing means that organisations can now procure, implement and integrate infrastructure, platform and application requirements from cloud providers on a utility basis…

Grazed from SysConMedia. Author: John Savageau.

Cloud Computing has helped us understand both the opportunity, and the need, to decouple physical IT infrastructure from the requirements of business. In theory cloud computing greatly enhances an organization’s ability to not only decommission inefficient data center resources, but even more importantly eases the process an organization needs to develop when moving to integration and service-orientation within supporting IT systems.

Current cloud computing standards, such as published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have provided very good definitions, and solid reference architecture for understanding at a high level a vision of cloud computing. However these definitions, while good for addressing the vision of cloud computing, are not at a level of detail needed to really understand the potential impact of cloud computing within an existing organization, nor the potential of enabling data and systems resources to meet a need for interoperability of data in a 2020 or 2025 IT world…

Grazed from WSJ. Author: Clint Boulton.

Incumbent technology vendors, including Oracle Corp., SAP SE, and Microsoft Corp., have become better at supporting new cloud computing and analytics technology, but their payment and functionality options remain rooted in an earlier age, CIOs say. “These big tech companies must move much faster than they have before and they’re struggling to catch up,” said Stuart Appley, CIO of Shorenstein Realty Services LP. ”But at least their headed in the right direction.”

Pressured by startups, big information-technology sellers are scrambling to offer cloud software, mobile applications and advanced data-analysis tools, the Wall Street Journal’s Shira Ovide noted Sunday. Although CIOs say they are encouraged that the vendors are engaging in the shift, they say the vendors are showing signs of growing pains along the way…

Read more from the source @ http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/01/05/big-vendors-must-move-much-faster-on-cloud-features-pricing-models-cios-say/

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Dan Kobialka.

New research suggests that cloud computing, mobile technologies and virtualization tools will help the federal IT market grow over the next few years. Conducted by TechNavio, the study revealed that this market will expand at a 1.67 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2014 and 2019.

"The federal information technology [sector] has evolved rapidly to provide a new platform with the advances in virtualization technology, cloud computing and mobile devices to enhance IT infrastructure and security aspects," TechNavio said. "Such developments offer opportunities to increase the value and accessibility of government resources and encourage greater internal and external collaboration…

Grazed from TechCrunch. Author: Ron Miller.

I spent a good good part of my weekend clearing my office of a couple of decades of accumulated software. As I discarded dozens of 3.5 floppies and CDs, and recycled piles of boxes and documentation — the flotsam and jetsam of an earlier computing age — I realized just how much easier computing is in 2015.

Not all that long ago, there were no app stores and software came in paper boxes. Upgrades didn’t happen automatically or with the simple click of a button. Instead, every couple of years, people paid hefty fees for the latest and greatest advancements in computing, and everyone had to experience the pain of installing new software for themselves, and trust me, it was often a mind-numbing process…

Grazed from FederalTimes. Author: Kirk Kern.

Cloud deployments by federal agencies have been accelerating, albeit slowly. IDC Government Insights forecasts that US agencies will spend approximately $3 billion on cloud projects in FY2014, a healthy $800 million jump from what had been predicted in 2013. There are several reasons that agencies are turning to cloud deployments, including improved agility, reduced IT complexity and IT spend, and greater collaboration.

Yet it is increasingly clear that obstacles are capping broader adoption of cloud services. federal budget officials predict federal cloud spending for FY2015 will come in at $2.9 billion, indicating that cloud migrations will continue to move forward, but that agencies are gently pumping the brakes as opposed to gunning the engine…

Grazed from MidsizeInsider. Author: Doug Bonderud.

Right now, there are no hard-and-fast rules governing ideal cloud computing standards. To address this issue, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is drafting a guide to help businesses choose the best cloud for their needs, and it wants public opinion on what metrics matter most. How will this push for improved standards impact cloud service providers?

Confusion Abounds

With no set standards for cloud computing, businesses often face an uphill battle when it comes to finding the right combination of price and performance. According to a press release from NIST, "Different organizations and groups often use the same cloud computing terms with slightly different, or even contradictory meanings, leading to confusion among cloud service providers, customer and carriers…

Grazed from ChannelPartnersOnline. Author: Kelly Teal.

As cloud computing, big data and mobility services grow more popular, you can bet that you, Mr./Ms. MSP, will see an increase in business, and it’s time to plan accordingly. MarketsandMarkets makes this prediction in a new report devoted to the indirect channel, noting that MSPs will see demand soar between 2015 and 2019 – by how much, however, the research firm did not say.

What is clear is that MSPs and the partners they team with, including VARs, ISVs and systems integrators, all stand to profit, as long as they offer vendor-neutral services and cater to customers’ specific needs, MarketsandMarkets said. That good news – albeit not new news – for MSPs and their associates comes as many enterprises and SMBs don’t want to take on the hassle of understanding, procuring and overseeing the technology that drives their organizations…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Lori MacVittie.

DevOps, it seems, is popping up everywhere. Sometimes it isn’t called out as DevOps, but when you read the details, it certainly sounds like DevOps. The drivers of software-defined data center (SDDC) was clearly one of those "DevOps by any other name" moments, as was a recent KPMG report on cloud in which "successful cloud" strategies included the avoidance of silos:

"Avoid silos. Cloud transformations succeed when organizations are able to embed change into every aspect of the business. As such, silos hamper transformation. In contrast, collaboration powers it. For example, business and IT professionals should work side by side as cloud is adopted into the enterprise."…