http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAuxPuB9Qw
In this video, I talk about the benefits of using vCenter Operations Management Suite. If you’ve used the suite, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on it.
Archivo mensual: mayo 2013
Big data must become a first-class citizen in the enterprise
Tony Baer, Principal Analyst, Software – Enterprise Solutions
Few topics have lately drawn more hype and scrutiny than Big Data. Having originated with Internet firms, Big Data has captured enterprise attention with examples that show how organizations, from public sector to financial services firms, telcos, and media derived insights that improved customer retention, operational efficiency, and risk mitigation.
Big Data has drawn media attention with examples that touch people’s lives, such as the massive data hunt that occurred in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. Yet few technology trends have also drawn so many myths – such as that Big Data is a special project that can only be undertaken by uniquely skilled professionals, requiring its own dedicated infrastructure.
Although that was the model for early Big Data projects among Internet firms, that model is not sustainable for the enterprise. To hit the enterprise mainstream, Big Data must become a …
Kim Dotcom fights back at US government in new whitepaper
After a raid at his New Zealand mansion in January last year, the larger than life Kim Dotcom has released a whitepaper taking direct aim at the US government.
The paper goes into detail how the raid wasn’t enough for “The Government Communications Security Bureau” who continued to illegally spy on Kim Dotcom for ten days after the raid on his home, according to his lawyers.
These very lawyers, US lawyer Ira Rothken and international lawyer Robert Amsterdam, have accused the Government of using “dirty tricks” to create a “black media campaign” against Kim.
Backing up this theory is the release of a 72-page indictment document to journalists by US prosecutors.
As a result of this media campaign, prosecutors attempted to create a “pitchfork mob” scenario towards the Megaupload founder, through taking aim at his high financial status and extravagant lifestyle.
Everything didn’t turn out quite to plan …
PaaS market to hit $6.5bn by 2016, says new report
The platform as a service (PaaS) market is expected to reach $6.45bn by 2016 and grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 50%, with application infrastructure and middleware PaaS expected to grow the fastest.
That’s the big takeaway from analysts TechNavio, having published the latest industry report entitled Global Platform as a Service Market 2012-2016.
According to the researchers, the market currently stands at $1.31bn, with that number expecting to rise to $1.85bn by the end of this year.
These figures correspond similarly with Gartner’s predictions, saying that PaaS revenue was on target to hit $1.2bn by the end of 2012 – yet TechNavio notes some difficulties in the current market, particularly the lack of best use practices and universally recognised standards.
PaaS, whilst remaining the smallest cloud market, is generally recognised as the fastest growing. Informatica’s Juan Carlos Soto, speaking …
Achieving Scale and Performance in the Cloud
New breakthroughs in cloud-based data management empower databases with the necessary elasticity they need to be truly responsive to the ebbs and tides of supply and demand.
Cloud computing allows all capital assets – computing power, memory and storage for example – to be exchanged at the best price, giving everyone the best value for their money. Like any free market, it will only deliver its full benefits to buyers and sellers if the right conditions are available. There can be no barriers to entry, and assets in the cloud must be capable of free movement.
Unfortunately, the unsuitability of traditional relational database management systems (RDBMS) has created such a blockage. Their lack of elasticity or liquidity demobilizes computing resources. However, new developments in cloud database technology (like database bursting and hibernating functions) show how the database component can have the necessary fluidity to bring cloud-computing closer to ‘perfect market’ conditions and begin to deliver its full benefits.
Cloud Expo | IBM & OpenStack Together: Accelerating Cloud Adoption & ROI
Speed-to-market and improving ROI for new cloud services are an important element for adopting cloud computing. Open source technology translates into savings for clients in terms of flexibility and interoperability. OpenStack is leading the way in open source for IaaS, capturing the attention of the cloud customers, business partners and vendors alike, and producing the ubiquitous open source cloud computing platform for public and private clouds.
In his session at the 12th International Cloud Expo, Andrew Trossman, Distinguished Engineer, IBM Common Cloud Stack at IBM, will discuss IBM’s role in OpenStack including key contributions to strengthen OpenStack, ending with a wrap up of an overview of IBM’s plans for the adoption of OpenStack as part of the IBM SmartCloud portfolio.
Intel Buys Stonesoft for McAfee
Intel security unit McAfee, the semiconductor’s largest acquisition ever, is buying Stonesoft Oyi, a Finnish company founded in 1990 that’s got next-generation network firewalls. It’s paying $389 million cash.
That’s a 128% premium to the outfit’s closing price on May 3 or $5.90 (€4.5) a share.
Intel, which says it’s been looking for a better firewall solution and evasion-prevention widgetry for some time to ward off cyber-attacks, expects the market to be worth over $4 billion by 2016.
CEO Ilkka Hiidenheimo, who owns 16.3% of the company and will make $61.5 million on the deal, claims Stonesoft+McAfee will offer “a 360-degree solution.”
Is Adobe embracing the cloud a sign of the times?
Recent headlines are full of companies moving towards SaaS (software as a service) models.
Many of these are perky start-ups utilising new opportunities, whilst others are high-profile players like Adobe, which has announced going forward that its “Creative Suite” products will exist solely in the cloud.
Adobe, at the annual “MAX” event, has completely re-branded the companies most well-known Creative products which consists of Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Premiere Pro. Each will now gain a CC moniker (e.g. Photoshop CC) which represents “Creative Cloud”.
The blog post announcing the changes quotes: “As the world changes, so must the tools and services we use to create. This presents a unique opportunity to re-imagine the creative process.”
Interestingly, Adobe has also made the decision to kill off web-design tool ‘Fireworks’. The product was only used by a small subset of users, but very diehard fans.
Adobe says in a post …
TWD & Associates, IP Data Solutions Partner For Compliant Cloud-based eDiscovery
TWD & Associates, Inc. (TWD), a communication and collaboration solutions provider for the public sector, today announced it has partnered with IP Data Solutions (IPDS), a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, to provide electronic discovery (eDiscovery) solutions for archived content systems. Archived content, including legacy email and data files, are migrated to a secure, cloud-based environment with sophisticated, integrated software search tools, allowing users to quickly and easily locate documentation for litigation, research, Inspector General (IG),General Counsel, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Congressional Budget Office (CBO) requests.
“Government agencies must comply with data retention and email archival legislation to ensure information is available and accessible,” said Larry Besterman, President and CEO, TWD. “A normal eDiscovery process could require weeks to cull through existing archives. Our solution allows a search to be performed in seconds.”
The eDiscovery solution works with customers’ current cloud strategies and is compliant with all federal mandates. By placing archived email and files in the cloud, users have infinite scalability, allowing their data to grow or reduce in accordance with their retention policies. It also has synergy with existing discovery systems, if current systems are in place across an organization. The solution requires no hardware or software and is provided as a managed service, improving efficiencies, increasing cost savings and allowing accessibility from any location by an authorized user. It allows agencies to integrate their storage, archiving and eDiscovery needs into one solution, reducing the requirements for duplicative data storage.
“Electronic discovery has traditionally been a very expensive and reactive activity,” said Gary Thompson, President, IPDS. “Given these times of intense budgetary constraints, a solution like ours is valuable because it helps clients implement a more proactive, cost-effective and efficient approach to what is normally a complicated process.”
The cloud-based infrastructure is Statement on Accounting Standards (SAS) 70 Type II, PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Level 1, International Organization of Standards (ISO) 27001 and Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) compliant. Additionally all client data resides within the continental United States (CONUS).
To learn more about the joint TWD and IPDS eDiscovery solution, call IPDS at (301) 519-8015.
Certifiably Cloud: AWS Announces Accreditation
Are you AWS certified?
Last week several reporters, including Gathering Clouds friend in the field Barb Darrow, analyzed Amazon’s recent announcement of its cloud certification program. Widely seen as a positive move for the company, the announcement does raise some questions.
While the practice of certification is well established, AWS’ announcement is of particular note, as it both solidifies the company from the perspective of it’s platform and tools becoming trainable skills (and therefore more applicable to enterprise standards of usage) and positions the service as becoming far more self-supporting (since it will require those specific trainable skills). If we thought AWS was a sticky service before (in terms of its proprietary functionalities, third party tool sets, and APIs, this move certainly makes that notion even clearer.