One of the biggest misconceptions in cloud security is the perception that identity management (IDaaS) and access management (SSO) are the same thing.

They’re not.

And it took a viewing of the famous Star Trek episode called Mirror Mirror for me to best illustrate and articulate the difference between the creation and management of a user account and credentialed rights and the funneled applications that entity is allowed to see. For those unfamiliar with the episode, it’s the one where Kirk is transported into an alternate universe and meets evil Spock (the one with the beard)…but more about that soon.

Simply, IDaaS is the administrative function that creates and maintains a user’s network identity. It segments their privileges by roles and rules. This is called provisioning. Your starship just hired a new lieutenant to communicate with new life and new civilizations as you boldly go places—in this world we call it inside sales, but you get the idea. In the organizational hierarchy, this officer needs access to certain functions and applications-but not others. So when her “enterprise” identity is created, she is assigned certain access rights. She needs to see the languages database, but not the weapons console.

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VMware describes the model effectively via a few blogs, and for our Enterprise Cloud Computing series we will also look at these kinds of important vendors, who are pretty much the champion of the internal virtualization market / Private Cloud.
With Paul Maritz leading their Pivotal Initiative to pursue what we described as the Private PaaS segment, it’s clear this is where the principle mind share for Enterprise Cloud is to be fought for and we can expect to see VMware continue a dominant role.
In a nutshell the primary itch these new technologies are scratching is legacy modernization, referring to how old technology systems like mainframes are upgraded for today’s IT. In some cases these go back many tens of years.

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VMware describes the model effectively via a few blogs, and for our Enterprise Cloud Computing series we will also look at these kinds of important vendors, who are pretty much the champion of the internal virtualization market / Private Cloud.
With Paul Maritz leading their Pivotal Initiative to pursue what we described as the Private PaaS segment, it’s clear this is where the principle mind share for Enterprise Cloud is to be fought for and we can expect to see VMware continue a dominant role.
In a nutshell the primary itch these new technologies are scratching is legacy modernization, referring to how old technology systems like mainframes are upgraded for today’s IT. In some cases these go back many tens of years.

read more

Rackspace continues to expand its educational initiatives around the open cloud. This week, it launches a new network operations class as a part of the curriculum at the Open Cloud Academy, a key part of the company’s efforts to train the next generation of IT professionals for the cloud.
The class is an eight-week training program that grants certifications for network administrators, network operators and network engineers. It’s the newest addition to the lineup of professional training options available at the Open Cloud Academy, which also offers instruction in Linux system administration, software development and cyber security, according to an article on TheVarGuy.com.
The new network operations class reflects growing interest within the channel as a whole in tighter network security and enhanced network efficiency around cloud computing. It’s also evidence of Rackspace’s interest in creating a well-rounded workforce of programmers, administrators and technicians who can build and maintain the virtual servers and cloud computing infrastructure that constitute the bread and butter of Rackspace’s business.

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A new study commissioned by Cloud Expo Silicon Valley 2013 Platinum Plus sponsor Rackspace Hosting suggests that while the public cloud remains important to IT decision-makers at UK and US enterprises involved in the research, the limitations of using this type of platform as a one-size-fits-all solution are becoming more apparent.

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Synchronising new product development, supply chain, production and Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) strategies across Aerospace and Defense (A&D) manufacturers while reducing costs continues to make cloud platforms a viable option in A&D.

With sequestration having an impact on these industries from both a budget and merger & acquisition (M&A) perspective, the economics of cloud computing are becoming even more attractive.

Teri Takai, CIO of the Department of Defense (DoD) published the DoD Cloud Computing Strategy in July of last year and many of its findings are reflected in the current state of cloud adoption in A&D.  She recently published the presentation DoD CIO’s 10-Point Plan for IT Modernization, which is available for download from the department’s website.  The following is a summary of key DoD IT Modernization initiatives.

It’s ironic that two industries who are highly reliant on collaboration often have the most siloed …

A new and innovative computing platform has arrived – the ARM Server, often referred to as a «Microserver».

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A new study commissioned by Cloud Expo Silicon Valley 2013 Platinum Plus sponsor Rackspace Hosting suggests that while the public cloud remains important to IT decision-makers at UK and US enterprises involved in the research, the limitations of using this type of platform as a one-size-fits-all solution are becoming more apparent.

read more

Today it is generally accepted that businesses large and small are actively embracing cloud computing. Speculation is over and today companies are getting down to the real business of incorporating cloud services and platforms into formal IT portfolios.

Cloud is no longer seen as just a nice to have; it’s considered an enabler of business transformation – with even Gartner predicting most enterprises will have adopted cloud by the end of 2013.

Tasked with looking beyond IT that will simply get the job done, the CIO is the person driving this transformation and making decisions with the wider business context in mind. In fact, by 2015, IDC estimates that 90% of IT investments will be evaluated based on the strategic goals of a business, which means that the role of the CIO is set to become not only very challenging but much more strategically important than it is already.

Today …

Company execs have long since worked out that the cloud can be beneficial for all manner of industries, from the faster moving technological sector to the more glacial banking and healthcare divisions.

The charity, or Third Sector, is no different, according to a report from exponential-e entitled “Third sector reaches for the cloud”.

Yet it needs to be pointed out that the revolution has still got a long way to go. Whilst 42% of respondents said their companies had used software as a service (SaaS) based applications over the past 12 months, 39% admitted they hadn’t considered cloud as a solution at all.

30% said they were using infrastructure as a service (IaaS), whilst 15% were using platform as a service (PaaS).

In the majority of cases, budgetary constraints were the reason behind lack of deployment. Given charities are traditionally not the most cash-rich of companies, this may not …