Category: News

Grazed from Forbes.  Author: Ben Kepes.

The cloud computing industry awaits each new version of Gartner ’s Magic Quadrant. Gartner’s reports are a detailed look at the marketplace, and go a long way to driving buyer behavior.

No enterprise wants to be betting on a cloud provider that is deemed to be behind the eight ball. Unfortunately the tool is so valuable that Gartner protects it carefully – the report is available for $1995 and it’d be a brave publication that ignored Gartner’s copyright and published a copy of the diagram itself…

Grazed from Midsize Insider.  Author: Doug Bonderud.

By 2017, over half of large enterprises will use some form of hybrid cloud computing, according to research firm Gartner. This cloud "middle ground" has become a major factor in IT discussions over the last few years as a viable alternative to purely public or entirely private options; but does walking the line really offer benefits to midsize businesses?

The Debate Is Over

A May 27 article from VentureBeat predicts a speedy end to the public vs. private debate thanks to the development of robust hybrid alternatives. Writer Sharon Wagner makes the case for security and workload: By keeping sensitive data behind firewalled private servers, companies do not risk accidental exposure, and by utilizing public resources for peak loads, businesses maximize workload capacity without breaking the bank…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Mojgan Afshari.

Nowadays, access to reliable high-performance hardware and software resources without large capital outlays, easier access to applications and services, capability of handling large amounts of information have encouraged managers of companies to migrate to cloud computing.

Cloud computing is a service-oriented technology that use both hardware and software to provide services through a network regardless of time and location. Cloud computing consists of three different service models and a company should cover all three distinctive service models in order to adopt cloud computing. These three cloud service models are: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service ( SaaS). (Infographic Source: Horn Group)…

Read more from the source @ http://cloudtweaks.com/2014/05/basic-service-deployment-models-cloud-computing/

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Ben Gallo.

Just as you wouldn’t walk into a car dealership and say, “I just want a car,” you also wouldn’t walk into a cloud computing service provider and say, “I just need a cloud.” In the car scenario, your car salesman (or saleswoman) needs to know what you plan to do with the car. You could need a four-door sedan, a VW bug, a minivan, a Lotus, or a Lada.

Similarly, you’ll need to provide more information to cloud computing providers in order to get what you need. You can’t just wade in with, “I want to move my applications to the cloud!” (as many people do). What many people don’t realize is that clouds can be as different as a VW bug vs. a minivan…

Grazed from eWeek. Author: Darryl K. Taft.

Last month IBM formally launched new POWER8-based Power Systems servers—the first generation of Power servers built on an open server platform. IBM’s open strategy for its Power Systems lineup does not come as a surprise to those who have followed this space closely over the last year. From the launch of the first Power Systems Linux Center in Beijing in May 2013 to the formal launch of the OpenPOWER Foundation, IBM has been active on a number of fronts preparing to introduce its POWER8 systems as the world’s first open server platform.

IBM’s first Power Systems Linux center was followed in short order by others in New York City; Austin, Texas; Montpellier, France; and Tokyo. The centers make it simpler for software developers to build and deploy new applications for big data, cloud, mobile and social business computing on open technology building blocks using Linux and the latest IBM POWER processor technology…

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

Technology Business Research’s new Hyperscale Server Customer Landscape Report estimates that the market for hyperscale servers at U.S. organizations with at least 500 employees represents a $1.7 billion opportunity over the next 12 months. As cloud computing continues to shape the market for IT infrastructure, data center customers increasingly require simplicity, flexibility and high levels of scalability in their on-premises hardware ecosystems.

“Cloud services are driving a massive market for hyperscale server technology, but we’re now starting to see the trickle-down effect into the enterprise space,” said Christian Perry, senior analyst and content manager in TBR’s data center practice. “We see data centers moving toward server infrastructure that’s easy to purchase, easy to deploy and relatively simple to manage. These are customers that are not afraid to consider change to obtain the business outcomes they seek.”…

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Marissa Tejada.

A well-planned digital strategy is important for any firm looking to get ahead. There is ample opportunity for companies, especially midsize firms, to apply technologies such as cloud computing, social media, mobile and numerous other business analytics into their data infrastructures for long-term success. But are enough businesses thinking this way?

Understanding Convergence

An executive at Ovum recently suggested that firms do not sufficiently understand the importance of converged IT. This deficiency, reports TechDay, causes business leaders to make shortsighted decisions when planning their IT strategies, and ignore opportunities to improve the efficiency with which they manage and interpret information…

Grazed from InformationWeek. Author: Joe Masters Emison.

Systems administrators and software engineers have spent the past five years facing down the problem of whether and how to use software to automate application life cycles. As an industry, we’ve agreed to call this process of defining an application life cycle in software "orchestration."

Brian Adler, an architect at cloud management platform provider RightScale, defines orchestration as automating "short- or long-running, event-driven, or schedule-based tasks across a deployment of servers." Luke Kanies, CEO at IT configuration management developer Puppet Labs, defines it as "making ordered changes to multipart services across a wide range of hosts, in an even or progressive manner."…

Grazed from Forbes. Author: Mike Kavis.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Microsoft have been consistently dropping their prices in the battle to become the low cost provider of compute, network, and storage cloud services. You can bet that if one of them drops their price, the other two will announce price reductions within days. The reality is that the consumption of these core cloud services has become commoditized. The real differentiator is the features that provide agility to developers. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) public cloud providers are in a war to create the best platform for developers to quickly build and launch applications. There are two key categories of features that they are focusing on to win the hearts and minds of enterprises: hybrid clouds and PaaS (Platform as a Service) capabilities.

Building the bridge between public and private clouds

For startups and small or midsized companies, public clouds are a no brainer. These companies don’t have large investments in data centers or the people needed to run them. SMBs also have more limited IT budgets. Enterprises, on the other hand, have complex heterogeneous environments with years of legacy, tons of existing infrastructure, and cultures that are used to owning and controlling infrastructure…

Grazed from CRN. Author: Joseph Tsidulko.

Toshiba is a household name when it comes to personal computers, but it’s certainly not the first company that pops into mind when people think of cloud computing. But earlier this year, the Japanese consumer electronics giant launched a new cloud service, one targeting the virtual desktop market and focusing on distribution exclusively through the channel.

Today, Toshiba Cloud Services and Solutions, a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, announced a new partner program that reaffirms this commitment to the channel. The Toshiba Solutions Partner Program offers managed service providers recurring monthly revenue, extensive marketing support, custom product configurations, and the ability to fully white-label the entire product that they offer their customers…