How to Optimize ERP/CRM with Cloud and Big Data | @CloudExpo [#Cloud #BigData]

Trends indicate that enterprise solutions, particularly enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) software are still largely hosted on-premises. A 2014 study by Gartner found that only 2% of respondents ran their core ERP systems on the cloud. More enterprises are looking to shift to the cloud, with half of those surveyed indicating the intention to move to a cloud-based platform within the next five years.
The role of big data in ERPs until now, has been largely separate. Most of the time, Big Data becomes an input for ERPs, but data from an ERP can also become inputs for big data analytics.

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Red Queen or Dystopia? By @TheEbizWizard | @CloudExpo [#Cloud]

The clamor surrounding enterprise cybersecurity is to be expected, of course, with all the breaches – ahem, “incidents” – over the last year or so. Home Depot. Target. Anthem. The list goes on and on. And with breaches come enterprise dollars, frantically swirling over the proverbial barn door after the horse is long gone, having fallen victim to some central Asian DDoS attack, no doubt.
Warning: if you like a manageable inbox, then whatever you do, don’t get a press pass to the RSA Conference. I’ve had such passes to conferences before, even quite large ones, but nothing prepared me for the onslaught of PR pitches for this venerable enterprise security shindig.
To make matters worse, all the pitches sounded alike. Apparently there are only about a dozen or so buzzwords in the security industry, and it’s the role of each vendor – and especially their PR wonks – to put said buzzwords into a unique order, thus differentiating their products from the hundreds of other widgets and gewgaws looking to rise above the noise.

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Docker Load Balancing in @Rancher_Labs 0.16 By @LemonJet | @CloudExpo [#DevOps]

One of the most frequently requested Rancher features, load balancers are used to distribute traffic between docker containers. Now Rancher users can configure, update and scale up an integrated load balancing service to meet their application needs, using either Rancher’s UI or API. To implement our load balancing functionality we decided to use HAproxy, which is deployed as a contianer, and managed by the Rancher orchestration functionality.

With Rancher’s Load Balancing capability, users are now able to use a consistent, portable load balancing service on any infrastructure where they can run Docker. Whether it is running in a public cloud, private cloud, lab, cluster, or even on a laptop, any container can be a target for the load balancer.

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Taking Cloud Databases to the Edge By @Cloudant | @CloudExpo [#Cloud]

Database apps on mobile devices shouldn’t stop working when there’s limited or no network connectivity.
In his session at 16th Cloud Expo, Bradley Holt, a Developer Advocate for IBM Cloudant, will discuss how to bring data stored in a cloud database to the edge of the network (and back again), whenever an Internet connection is available.
He will demonstrate techniques for replicating cloud databases with mobile devices in order to build offline-enabled mobile apps that can provide a better, faster user experience, both offline and online. The focus of this talk will be on Apache CouchDB and related open source tools and open standards.

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The Transforming Fax Server Industry By @IanKhanLive | @CloudExpo [#Cloud]

For those of us who know how fax technology evolved and reached a stage where it completely transformed communications, we know fax played a key role in the growth we have seen in the last 50 years. No fax, no cross border trade, no communications, no way to make things faster, better speedier and so on. Over the years though, the fax industry has definitely changed. In some areas it has seen a decline from being the de-facto communication platform with the outside world while being overridden by email and in other areas by the proliferation of changing business needs where internet-driven collaboration technologies have created a huge gap.

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Accenture, Oracle form business unit to accelerate cloud uptake

Accenture and Oracle are forming a business unit to accelerate cloud  uptake

Accenture and Oracle are forming a business unit to accelerate cloud uptake

Oracle and Accenture are teaming up to create a joint business unit that will help mutual customers move more quickly onto (mostly Oracle) cloud platforms.

According to the companies the Accenture Oracle Business Group will bring together technologies and consulting power in order to help customers implement cloud-based services, which includes helping those clients tailor their business processes to those technologies.

Thomas Kurian, president, product development at Oracle said: “By providing a single process to implement end-to-end mission- critical services, the Accenture Oracle Business Group is ideally positioned to help our customers realize the true benefits of cloud computing.”

The group will offer vertically-integrated solutions built using Oracle’s software-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service offerings, supported by fleets of Accenture consultants skilled in Oracle and Java tech – who will also help implement cloud readiness and data migration strategies for clients.

“Building on our 23-year alliance relationship, the Accenture Oracle Business Group combines Accenture’s deep industry and technology experience with Oracle’s expansive set of cloud solutions to deliver client value not found elsewhere in the market today,” said Stephen Rohleder, group chief executive for North America, Accenture.

“This is part of our strategy to take advantage of Oracle’s leading technologies and build our business together for the future. It is a game-changer for our clients, Oracle, and Accenture,” Rohleder said.

Announcing @BlueBox “Bronze Sponsor” of @DevOpsSummit NY [#DevOps]

SYS-CON Events announced today that Blue Box has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON’s DevOps Summit New York, which will take place June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Blue Box delivers Private Cloud as a Service (PCaaS) to a worldwide customer base. Built on a technology platform leveraging decades of operational expertise in cloud and distributed systems, Blue Box Cloud is a managed private cloud product available in both hosted and on-prem versions. Each Blue Box Cloud is run on dedicated hardware, powered by OpenStack and fully managed by our global team of infrastructure experts. Blue Box Cloud delivers the core benefits of both public and private clouds in one offering and provides the control, performance and security customers need in a wide range of industries, including healthcare & life sciences, financial services, digital media & entertainment, gaming, technology and retail.

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Datacastle, 21Vianet partner on cloud data protection, backup in China

Datacastle is partnering with 21Vianet to deploy its cloud backup solutions in China

Datacastle is partnering with 21Vianet to deploy its cloud backup solutions in China

Backup provider Datacastle has partnered with 21Vianet in a deal that will see it resell its cloud-based backup and data protection solutions to customers in China.

The solution is being deployed on Microsoft Azure, which partners with 21Vianet to host its infrastructure-as-a-service in the region.

“21Vianet is committed to bringing the worldwide best-in-class cloud solutions on Microsoft Azure in China,” said Wing Ker, president of Microsoft Cloud Operations at 21Vianet. “Enterprises in China will now have endpoint data protection option to protect against ransomware, data loss, and data breach through our partnership with Datacastle.”

Ron Faith, chief executive officer of Datacastle said: “Given 21Vianet’s expertise operating Microsoft Azure in China and their trusted status as a datacentre service provider, customers in China will get the best performance, reliability and security.”

Microsoft and 21Vianet announced general availability of Microsoft Azure Services in China just over a year ago, which launched amid much fanfare. The service launched with about 3,000 clients signed up to use it, and Ralph Haupter, corporate vice-president and chief executive of Microsoft Greater China recently said Azure has accumulated more than 50,000 customers, mainly SMEs.

Synergy Research: AWS still larger than four biggest rivals combined

AWS is larger than its four top rivals combined

AWS is larger than its four top rivals combined

Amazon pulled the curtain back from its AWS business last week, announcing its cloud services now rakes in over $5bn annually. John Dinsdale, chief analyst and research director at Synergy Research Group said that now puts the e-commerce giant ahead of most of its largest competitors.

Amazon recently reported its cloud business took in revenues of $1.57bn in the first quarter of 2015, and enjoyed close to 50 per cent growth year on year. This is the first time the e-commerce giant has publicly disclosed AWS revenues.

Following on from that, some vendors which shall remain nameless (AWS competitors) worked behind the scenes to remind press off how much more profitable their cloud businesses are by comparison. But Synergy Research data suggests AWS is far larger than most of its competitors combined, at least in the infrastructure services market specifically.

Microsoft enjoys the highest revenue growth rate and IBM is leading private & hybrid services segment, but according to Synergy AWS continues to grow faster than the market as a whole, and that its market share approached 30 per cent in the most recently reported quarter.

Google is quietly gaining share though it remains just half the size of Microsoft in this market, the firm said.

“Across the full and varied spectrum of cloud activities there are now six companies that can lay a valid claim to having annual cloud revenue run rates in excess of $5 billion – AWS, IBM, Microsoft, HP, Cisco and salesforce – and all are able to claim leadership in different parts of the cloud market,” Dinsdale said.

“However, on a strict like-for-like basis AWS remains streets ahead of the competition in cloud infrastructure services. Furthermore, this part of the cloud market is growing much more rapidly than SaaS or cloud infrastructure hardware and software.”

Like-for-like comparisons seems scarce in cloud revenue reporting, not the least of which because it’s such a nascent sector. Considering the market leader in cloud only just started publicly disclosing revenues tacked onto that business, it may be some time before vendors and service providers come up with standard definitions for what can be reported as ‘cloud’ (for instance, IBM recently reported its annual cloud revenues now exceed $7.7bn).

Synergy estimates quarterly cloud infrastructure service revenues (which includes IaaS, PaaS and private & hybrid cloud) now total exceed $5bn.

5 Common Misconceptions About Working Remotely

Despite the rise of the remote workforce, there are still a host of misconceptions and outright myths surrounding workers who work from, well, anywhere. But believe it or not, working remotely is not a chokehold on a company’s productivity or growth. In fact, energizing and investing in a work-from-home policy for employees often has the […]

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