Until recently, many organizations required specialized departments to perform mapping and geospatial analysis, and they used Esri on-premise solutions for that work.
In his session at 15th Cloud Expo, Dave Peters, author of the Esri Press book Building a GIS, System Architecture Design Strategies for Managers, will discuss how Esri has successfully included the cloud as a fully integrated SaaS expansion of the ArcGIS mapping platform. Organizations that have incorporated Esri cloud-based applications and content within their business models are reaping huge benefits by directly leveraging cloud-based mapping and analysis capabilities within their existing enterprise investments. The ArcGIS mapping platform includes cloud-based content management and information resources to more widely, efficiently, and affordably deliver real-time actionable information and analysis capabilities to your organization.
Archivo mensual: agosto 2014
@CloudExpo | Data Security for #Cloud and #BigData [@SolCates of @Vormetric]
Cloud and Big Data present unique dilemmas: embracing the benefits of these new technologies while maintaining the security of your organization’s assets. When an outside party owns, controls and manages your infrastructure and computational resources, how can you be assured that sensitive data remains private and secure? How do you best protect data in mixed use cloud and Big Data infrastructure sets? Can you still satisfy the full range of reporting, compliance and regulatory requirements?
New report asserts how cloud and mobility will change legal landscape
A new report from legal IT provider Accesspoint Technologies and cloud vendor Databarracks has argued how cloud computing is “a great leveller” for law firms of all sizes.
The report, written by Accesspoint managing director Richard Roebuck, draws parallels with the banking industry – even going into the semantics of the word ‘industry’ – and argues the legal industry is in danger of falling behind unless it falls into line with modernisation. This includes adopting ABS, or alternative business structures.
“This is an ideal opportunity to stand back and reassess the new market space,” Roebuck writes. “We need to ask ourselves what we’re doing now and how we need to adapt to execute on future opportunities.”
Roebuck argues that law firms need a smoothly running IT operation for three main reasons: case management on a day-to-day basis; better ability to predict future events; and being a greater repository of information for client or customer-based intelligence. He admits smaller law firms should have the advantage, observing that “big ships turn far more slowly.”
“Whilst nearly all readers will have some form of internal practice management system already in place, the smaller firms will be able to review both the technologies and processes that feed them more quickly and effectively,” he argues.
And so it comes to the ‘levelling field’ of cloud computing and “the iPad era”, according to Roebuck. The paper argues about the huge impact social media has made, and contrasts it with the “air of awkwardness” apparent when discussing how to improve the sales and marketing strategy of a law firm.
Specifically, Roebuck pointed at being able to do work outside the office as a major productivity gainer, with only a lack of cheap, quality internet connectivity the only prohibiting factor. “While this might not signal the death of the large scale central office, we’ll almost certainly see a shift towards the virtual firm,” he writes.
As for cloud, Roebuck argues the trick is “to think ahead and plan now.”
“Cloud, or a hosted and managed server solution, is a great leveller,” he writes. “It allows the small and medium sizes enterprise access to hardware and latest release software platforms that were previously the preserve of the more corporate or top-100 organisations.”
Naturally, as has been reported in various pages on CloudTech over recent months, there’s a major issue with security of data for law firms moving to the cloud. After all, all data is equal, but some data – legal, financial, medical – is more equal than others.
Roebuck, however, wishes to quell those fears, saying he finds it “hard to reconcile many of the arguments put against hosted solutions.”
“Few people think about the quality of hosted services in real terms,” he says. “Providers invest tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of pounds in their product, because without it, they don’t exist.”
Next Generation Data CEO Nick Razey had an alternate viewpoint of the ‘inverted pyramid’ of IT infrastructure, explaining that you get what you pay for. Good data centre providers offer a trustworthy service, but if you’re happy with the cheapest option – no security, cheap infrastructure and support 9 to 5 rather than 24/7 – then whatever happens, happens.
“In short, cloud is an ideal way forward for firms who have ageing infrastructure,” Roebuck concludes. “The way forward is to investigate – it is worth going to look at the physical facilities on offer.”
The full report can be found here (subscription required). What do you make of the findings?
CenturyLink launches new private cloud, aims for public cloud capability
Everyone knows that if something looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck – or at least we have to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family Anatidae.
Thus according to the duck test if it looks and feels like a private cloud, it should be a private cloud. Yet CenturyLink aims to turn that on its head with its latest private cloud launch, which aims to offer the agility of a public cloud but with the security of a private cloud.
Isn’t this essentially a hybrid cloud? Well, yes and no. Each private cloud instance is plugged in to CenturyLink’s public cloud nodes, thus running off the same platform and providing what IDC research vice president Melanie Posey describes as “a frictionless hybrid cloud option.”
“Hybrid cloud is the enterprise IT operational model of the future,” she adds. “CenturyLink Private Cloud provides a frictionless hybrid cloud option for organisatons that want to source private and public cloud services from a single provider and connect cloud with other IT services through an extensive Tier 1 IP network.”
The reasoning behind the public-cloud-looking private cloud is straightforward enough: you wouldn’t want to put all applications in a public cloud, so delivering the compute, storage and network of private cloud on public cloud nodes aims to be the solution.
The company says its main target base is large enterprise. Enterprises can deploy the private cloud across all CenturyLink’s data centres, spanning 57 in total and across 34 cities worldwide.
“CenturyLink Private Cloud delivers the best of private cloud – from dedicated hardware and physical isolation to enterprise-level security and service level agreements – along with our truly innovative public cloud experience, featuring advanced self-service automation and a fast pace of feature innovation,” said CenturyLink SVP cloud and technology Andrew Higginbotham.
“We spare customers from the drudgery of infrastructure management, while offering more control over what truly matters: everything that happens from the platform up,” added CenturyLink product management Jared Ruckle in a blog post.
The competition at the top of the cloud vendor race is stiff, yet with this offering CenturyLink hopes to have a stab at disrupting the top three of Google, Microsoft and Amazon. The firm slashed its prices on virtual machines and storage back in May in response to the other vendors.
Find out more about the CenturyLink Private Cloud here.
@ThingsExpo | Internet of Things (#IoT) Companies to Watch
Getting one’s arms around the Internet of Things is a daunting task. In addition to big IoT commitments from all of the big players in computing and telco, there are a number of smaller companies and startups working on devices and services to enable the future of enterprise IT and personal accoutrements.
A recent article in IoT Journal from InfoChimps CEO Jim Kaskade mentioned six of these (the first two owned by PTC): Axeda, ThingWorx, SmartThings, Exosite, Numerex, and Xively.
Chad Jones from Xively is a faculty member of our @ThingsExpo, and we’ve gotten some great input from him before. The others are new ground for me.
So I’ll be reaching out to interview key people at those five companies, to get an understanding of their vision, customers, and products and services. I’ll also contact James Kaskade and Chad Jones to get their current views of the IoT and what they’re doing about it.
Meanwhile, please contact me via Twitter with other suggestions. A little crowdsourcing might go a long way as we continue to cover the big picture and small details of this quickly emerging, hugely dynamic Internet of Things.
@CiRBA Presentation By Andrew Hillier At @CloudExpo New York
The world’s largest and most successful private cloud operations are revolutionizing their approach to demand management. These organizations have recognized that while self-service portals are a component in the overall cloud architecture, these tools do not enable demand management. In fact, in many cases the portals and end-user interfaces don’t actually capture anything to do with demand, but instead force the user to enter the capacity «supply» requirements that they think will meet their demands. This is very different. Large enterprises have recognized the need to look beyond immediate requests to also model the «pipeline» of new demands that will be coming down the road. It is only by capturing new immediate requirements, an understanding of the pipeline and what is running in environments that organizations can possibly hope to accurately model demand and properly allocate compute, storage and network resources.
@ThingsExpo | How Code Halos Are Unlocking the Possibilities of the #IoT
Code Halos – aka “digital fingerprints” – are the key organizing principle to understand a) how dumb things become smart and b) how to monetize this dynamic.
In his session at Internet of @ThingsExpo, Ben Pring, Co-Director (AVP), Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant Technology Solutions, will outline research, analysis and recommendations from his recently published book on this phenomena on the way leading edge organizations like GE and Disney are unlocking the IoT opportunity and what steps your organization should be taking to position itself for the next platform of digital competition.
@ThingsExpo | Is Internet of Things (#IoT) the New #BigData? [@Infochimps]
My favorite writer, Gil Press, sums it up with, “It’s Official: The Internet Of Things Takes Over Big Data As The Most Hyped Technology” where he talks about how Gartner released its latest Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, and how big data has moved down the “trough of disillusionment,” replaced by the Internet of Things at the top of the hype cycle.
The term Internet of Things was coined by the British technologist Kevin Ashton in 1999, to describe a system where the Internet is connected to the physical world via ubiquitous sensors.
@Cisco Named «Gold Sponsor» of @CloudExpo Silicon Valley
SYS-CON Events, Inc. named Cisco «Gold Sponsor» of upcoming Cloud Expo, co-located with 3rd International Internet of @ThingsExpo, the largest IoT event in the world. 15th International Cloud Expo will take place November 4-6, 2014 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California. Cisco will present a number of technical sessions, including a general session which will be announced next week.
@EdgeCast Networks Named «Gold Sponsor» of @CoudExpo Silicon Valley
Delivering any data, anywhere, anytime, EdgeCast is the world’s fastest and most reliable content delivery network. The company was founded in 2006 by technology entrepreneurs with years of experience building companies in the infrastructure, web services, and application delivery spaces. EdgeCast built its global delivery network to provide the fastest, smartest content delivery on the planet. And, according to the independent experts, they did exactly that – they consistently rank among the very best-performing CDNs in the industry.