The security landscape is evolving more than ever before – not only must chief information security officers (CISOs) deal with constant increasing cyber-attack threats and security breaches but they must keep up with mobility trends and concerns about access to data and protecting identities. Mobility is growing at a fast pace, and though it may be easy to construct more barriers to data access, there are much more effective approaches.
Archivo mensual: febrero 2015
Agile Is Not the Absence of ITIL By @JodiKohut | @DevOpsSummit [#DevOps]
ITIL (formerly known as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library) has been the best management practices framework of choice for world class IT Operations organizations. The 5 stage framework: Service Strategy, Design, Transition, Operation, and Continual Service improvement allows for structured processes that support Enterprise Architecture, Service Delivery, and Security initiatives. Structured and controlled planning and change are the bywords here.
New @CommVault Partnership with @NaviSite | @CloudExpo [#Cloud]
CommVault has announced an arrangement with NaviSite, Inc., to extend the data protection capabilities of Simpana® software to NaviSite’s NaviCloud® portfolio.
CommVault will provide data protection and management capabilities for customers using NaviCloud Director, an enterprise-class cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution offered directly to customers via an intuitive self-service portal, and also delivered in conjunction with NaviSite’s broad portfolio of managed services.
«Our clients come to us for solutions that can readily scale to meet their enterprise level requirements, while reducing risk and providing value back to the business,» said David Grimes, chief technology officer, NaviSite. «Simpana software satisfies our requirements and provides the capabilities of multiple point products we were evaluating within a single solution — providing a great degree of flexibility for our clients, while resulting in less complexity and costs for our internal organizations.»
Microsoft offers 100GB of OneDrive storage for US Bing Rewards users
(c)iStock.com/RonBailey
It seems Microsoft can’t give away enough cloud storage at the minute: US-based users of Bing Rewards can grab 100GB of free OneDrive storage for two years.
Bing Rewards, as you’d expect, is an incentive-based service that allows users to collect points the more they use Microsoft’s search engine which can then be exchanged for rewards such as e-gift cards. However according to Windows Central, the OneDrive offer is completely free and is not linked to any incentive-based usage.
This continues to play into the market of commoditisation of storage; giant tech vendors being able to offer storage at extremely low prices alongside other services, putting pressure on standalone players.
Back in October Microsoft offered unlimited OneDrive storage for Office 365 customers, expanding on its June offer of 1 terabyte per customer. At the same time, storage provider Bitcasa stopped its unlimited offerings, putting the landscape into intriguing perspective. The lowest Office price plan, Office 365 Personal, amounts to approximately $7 a month, with cloud storage, while Bitcasa’s previous unlimited offer was at $10.
This isn’t to mention Microsoft’s partnership with Dropbox for cloud storage, which at the time raised eyebrows given the position of OneDrive, but it makes sense. Dropbox is in need of a more enterprise-centric focus, while analysts argued that Microsoft needed to further assure the industry it could “play nicely” with competitors; CEO Satya Nadella, building upon the availability of Office for iPads and Android tablets, has made it quite clear he wants to go as far away as possible from the previous walled garden approach Microsoft employed.
Aaron Levie, the CEO of Box, told CNBC on the advent of his company’s IPO that the cost of storage going down over time benefits Box’s infrastructure costs, rather than affecting profits in an adverse way.
The move towards a service-based economy and storage as a feature, not a product, is continuing apace. You can visit here to claim your free 100GB of OneDrive storage (US only).
What questions do you need to ask about connectivity when considering a data centre?
(c)iStock.com/baranozdemir
Whether the requirement is Internet connectivity for cloud based applications or links to a private WAN, most organisations now recognise the importance of a carrier neutral data centre. However, while the list of possible connections available may look compelling – some data centres boast hundreds of carriers – it is important to look beyond the top line promises.
When it comes to data centre connectivity organisations have diverse requirements, from cost to Quality of Service, and choice is key. But what does that choice actually mean? Telcos routinely route traffic over each other’s physical networks – indeed, often just reselling each other’s services. So if a company opts for a connection from a given provider, the chances are that the traffic is routed over networks belonging to a variety of other telcos.
This is a great model for creating competition and offering choice, with Tier 2 providers aggregating services from different Tier 1 providers to offer different Service Level Agreements (SLA) and cost models. It is not, however, so good for resilience – especially if a company opts for primary and secondary connections from different carriers that are actually routed over the same physical infrastructure from a Tier 1 provider such as BT or Level 3. If anything happens to damage that physical cable – from road works onwards – both connections will fail.
While the list of possible connections may look promising, it’s important to look beyond the top line promises
Before making the data centre decision, therefore, it is essential to ask some pertinent questions, from the number of different entry points into the building to the number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 carriers that are providing connections within that data centre.
Digging deeper
So what are the questions you need to ask?
- The first question for most organisations is whether the data centre has a relationship with its incumbent WAN provider. If so, it will be easy to connect into the network and get operational quickly. If not, there will be a number of challenges facing that carrier in creating a link to the data centre that could add significantly to the cost.
- How many diverse entry points are there into the data centre building? Don’t just assume that because a data centre provider boasts hundreds of carrier relationships that there are many different physical connection points: indeed, many data centres have just two. As a result, choice is limited and the carriers will be constrained in the SLAs they can offer simply due to the limitations of the infrastructure.
- How many Tier 1 providers & how many Tier 2 providers are there – and which is the underpinning carrier network being used by each?
a) To ensure resilience an organisation needs to use different infrastructure coming into the building at different entry points.
b) To ensure choice a data centre should have not only multiple entry points but also lots of Tier 2 carrier relationships – this will enable both competition and the creation of different cost/quality of service packages to meet diverse business requirements. - How much will it cost to get a connection from your office location to the data centre? For example, to get a 10Gb connection from a central London office to an office outside the M25 will cost significantly more, than connecting to a central London data centre that is located just around the corner.
- What are the options for connectivity outside the UK – to Europe, the US and/or Asia Pacific? Depending on both current and predicted business requirements, access to a carrier with excellent international connectivity capacity could be an important consideration.
Planning ahead
While organisations typically only review the WAN provider every three to five years, it is important to remember that the data centre relationship is likely to last even longer. What happens in three years’ time if the company decides to change carrier for the WAN and the new provider does not have a relationship with the data centre? While it will be possible for the new carrier to connect to an existing service within the data centre, the process will not be straightforward and the company is likely to incur additional costs – costs that may undermine the business case associated with the carrier decision. Ensuring the data centre has a broad range of Tier 1 and Tier 2 providers on board is key to avoiding either additional costs or constraining carrier options further down the line.
Hoping a data centre will add carrier relationships during your tenure with them is a little risky
Indeed, during the typical life of a data centre relationship an organisation’s connectivity requirements will evolve in line with business changes – from the company looking to add cloud services to the managed services provider expanding into new markets. Hoping that a data centre will add carrier relationships during this time may be a little risky – especially when it comes to those critical Tier 1 relationships that add resilience.
The truth is that once a data centre is in place, adding new physical connections is far from easy: it incurs all the cost, complexity and legal ramifications of digging up roads to lay fibre. So, if a data centre today only offers two physical connections into the building, the likelihood is that two is all it will ever offer. And that may be fine; it will still enable a number of Tier 2 carriers to offer a variety of services across the infrastructure – but it does limit a company’s options in the longer term.
From resiliency to cost, choice to quality of service, accurately ascertaining the true quality of the carrier relationships on offer with a data centre today should be an essential component of any decision making process.
Business Intelligence Is Focus of @Cisco Ad Campaign | @CloudExpo [#Cloud]
SYS-CON Media announced that Cisco, a worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow, has launched a new ad campaign in Cloud Computing Journal.
The ad campaign, a webcast titled Business Intelligence Through Location Services, focuses on where customers go, and what they do, inside your offices, stores, and branches. It discusses the network design and solutions that can help you transform your location-based insights into real business intelligence.
Can IT Standards Facilitate Innovation? By @JohnSavageau | @CloudExpo [#Cloud]
IT professionals continue to debate the benefits of standardization versus the benefits of innovation, and the potential of standards inhibiting engineer and software developer ability to develop creative solutions to business opportunities and challenges. At the Open Group Conference in San Diego last week (3~5 February) the topic of standards and innovation popped up not only in presentations, but also in sidebar conversations surrounding the conference venue.
‘WebRTC + Internet of Things’ By @LiveOps | @ThingsExpo [#IoT #WebRTC]
Can call centers hang up the phones for good? Intuitive Solutions did. WebRTC enabled this contact center provider to eliminate antiquated telephony and desktop phone infrastructure with a pure web-based solution, allowing them to expand beyond brick-and-mortar confines to a home-based agent model. It also ensured scalability and better service for customers, including MUY! Companies, one of the country’s largest franchise restaurant companies with 232 Pizza Hut locations. This is one example of WebRTC adoption today, but the potential is limitless when powered by IoT.
Internet of Things and Internet of Everything By @CiscoGovt | @ThingsExpo [#IoE #IoT]
The Internet of Everything (IoE) brings together people, process, data and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before – transforming information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. IoE creates new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented opportunities to improve business and government operations, decision making and mission support capabilities.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Gary Hall, Chief Technology Officer, Federal Defense at Cisco Systems, will break down the core capabilities of IoT in multiple settings and expand upon IoE for both technical and non-technical audiences.
‘DevOps Done Right’ By @st0rmz | @DevOpsSummit [#DevOps]
DevOps is the hottest moving target when it comes to software development methodologies. Many people fear that this fast-paced, barrier-breaking movement will leave information security best practices in the dust. Analysts provide recommendations to security professionals using bingo-laden terms like «moving security to the left» or «get a seat at the table.» What we need are real-world examples and tactics for security practitioners to be part of DevOps.
In his session at DevOps Summit, Andrew Storms, a DevOps and Information Security professional, discussed how DevOps done right with the inclusion of Information Security, produces products and processes with the potential to be even more secure.