Category: News

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: David S. Linthicum.

A common misconception among cloud consumers is that private cloud architecture doesn’t have the same issues that arise with public cloud services. Due to its private nature, some believe that security is a given and failure is not an option. Those users learn the hard way that is not the case. But why do private clouds fail?

The core reasons that private clouds fail include a lack of planning on the part of IT and a failure to understand that cloud security requires attention and maintenance. Private cloud architecture is typically much more dense and intense than traditional systems, with processing and storage concentrated within a small cluster of servers. Most patterns of failure link back to three problems during private cloud builds. There are two types of clouds: clouds that are managed properly, and clouds that don’t work…

Grazed from eWeek. Author: Eric Lundquist.

Google’s big tent strategy was in clear evidence this week at the Google I/O developers conference. The company with roots in linking ads to Internet searches now wants to own your wrist, your auto, your television and your whereabouts as you travel along in the Google cloud.

The big tech tent outlined by keynoter and Android boss Sundar Pichai is by far more comprehensive than any other single competitor or even groups of competitors. What does it mean? Remember that Google is fundamentally a media platform connecting the whereabouts and interests of users with advertiser products and services…

Grazed from Xconomy. Author: Curt Woodward.

After the U.S. Supreme Court smacked down online TV service Aereo for violating copyright law, worries instantly sprung up that the justices were putting a huge array of Internet and cloud-computing services at risk of similar treatment. That torch was carried highest by Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote for the court’s three-person minority that the Aereo ruling would “sow confusion for years to come.”

But Scalia was complaining mostly about the court’s decision to forgo a detailed legal test for determining a specific kind of copyright infringement. Media outlets—and some enterprising lawyers they’ve interviewed—have been more than happy go further, trumpeting the supposed fear and confusion that Aereo’s loss is heaping on Internet distribution technologies of all kinds…

Grazed from TalkinCloud. Author: Mike Vizard.

In a world where cloud computing has already become a commodity, solution providers need to find a way to add value. Given the abundance of capital, there is no shortage of infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) options. For solution providers to succeed in the age of the cloud they need to find a way to add value above the infrastructure level.

With that issue in mind Joyent this week announced that it is making the SmartDataCenter software the power its public cloud service available for deployment on private cloud. Faced with many of the same issues that plague solution providers, Joyent developed SmartDataCenter to differentiate its services from all the IaaS offerings in the market, said company CTO Bryan Cantrill…

Grazed from ITWeb. Author: Fay Humphries.

Many organisations are paying an ‘opportunity cost’ by overestimating the risk inherent in certain forms of cloud computing, while an equal number are taking unrecognised and inappropriately high levels of risk by placing sensitive data in cloud services that are not designed for it.

This was among the key findings listed in Gartner’s ‘Predicts 2014: Cloud computing affects all aspects of IT’ report, and indicates a significant disparity in how the survey’s respondents are tackling the move to the cloud. "A look at the local market shows a similar disparity, although for a different reason. While some progressive CIOs have successfully moved in to the cloud, other senior decision-makers are being somewhat risk-adverse here. Which is a real pity because, if approached the right way, cloud computing can make a real difference to the bottom line – without exposing the business to any increased risk," says Jon Tullett, senior editor: news analysis at ITWeb. "For a lot of South African companies, cloud right now means hosting."…

Grazed from SecureKey. Author: Editorial Staff.

When looking at the modern IT market, many trends will likely appear to hold equal importance for organizations in a wide range of industries and regions, including big data and mobility. However, cloud computing is likely the most critical one because of its ability to facilitate the deployment of other advanced solutions and capabilities, and this is evidenced by the fact that a majority of technology spending is already beginning to center around these services.

Cloud computing’s single biggest obstacle standing in the way of more widespread adoption has been security, and this has been the case since the industry first took off a few years ago. Regardless of concerns, though, businesses that handle sensitive information have already begun to leverage these tools to bolster productivity and technological power, working to implement modern access management controls alongside cloud deployments for safe outcomes…

Grazed from Cordis. Author: Editorial Staff.

Cloud computing – where storage facilities are provided on demand over the internet from shared data centres – enables effective research collaboration to blossom. Rather than having to purchase a cluster of computers or struggle to find space at the lab, researchers can outsource their computing storage needs to remote facilities in the cloud and make this data accessible to colleagues.

In order to facilitate closer research collaboration, an EU-funded project entitled HELIX NEBULA (HNX) has created an online platform where customers can choose between various cloud service suppliers. The ultimate objective of the project, which was completed in May 2014, is to enable researchers and scientists to buy, use and manage cloud services as seamlessly as possible…

Grazed from CloudComputingAdmin. Author: Ricky M. & Monique L. Magalhaes.

In this two part article we will look at contractual terms in cloud services contracts and issues for consideration, to reduce risk. If you would like to be notified of when Ricky & Monique Magalhaes release the next part in this article series please sign up to our CloudComputingAdmin.com Real Time Article Update newsletter.

Due diligence procedures should not be overlooked when selecting a cloud provider. Cloud computing risks can be identified, managed and even reduced through thorough scrutiny of the services contracts to ensure the appropriate contract assurances and operations best practices are in place. Contracts for cloud services vary, from ‘one-fit-all’ solution contract or a multi-layered services agreement…

Grazed from Utilizer. Author: JP Morgenthal.

North Bridge in partnership with GigaOm Research released their 2014 Future of Cloud Computing – 4th Annual Survey Results. As you examine the 124 slides, one thing is obvious that the greatest growth in cloud computing is coming from Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Market research like this is very important because it provides tangible proof for our anecdotal hypotheses. That said, the report does not extrapolate what is the most interesting facet of SaaS hyper growth—59% in three years—the model for commoditization of business function is market validated.

Like all things that get commoditized, differentiation or uniqueness that keeps economic value high becomes less important than the common, undifferentiated features driving costs down. The interesting thing is that lower costs is a side-effect of commoditization as commoditization can only occur when businesses identify that they can achieve the same goals with the commodity item as they can with the unique one…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Doug Bonderud.

While many midsize companies see the value in moving away from local stacks and physical mainframes, overall efficiency is often crippled by existing static networks. Software-defined networks (SDNs) and network edge virtualization may not be as flashy as the cloud or as disruptive as bring-your-own-device (BYOD), but could have a significant impact on the utility of virtualized resources.

Better Network, Better Net Worth

A June 18 piece from MSPAlliance examines the Nemertes Report "Application Delivery for Virtualized Infrastructures." According to the report, "Virtualized infrastructures are highly dynamic and increasingly automated. By comparison, the network delivering applications to users tends to still be static, fragile and manually configured." In other words, while businesses have learned the value of virtualization in the "center," edge functions remain largely unchanged. As a result, efficient use of resources in virtualized containers is countermanded by transmission through legacy systems…