Identity is in everything and customers are looking to their providers to ensure the security of their identities, transactions and data. With the increased reliance on cloud-based services, service providers must build security and trust into their offerings, adding value to customers and improving the user experience. Making identity, security and privacy easy for customers provides a unique advantage over the competition.
Archivo mensual: julio 2016
AT&T expands NFV and SDN offering worldwide
AT&T has expanded its Network on Demand solutions to now include 76 countries around the world, reports Telecoms.com.
The new service is built on the company’s software-defined network technology, and claimed to help businesses deploy a single universal piece of equipment, choose virtualized functions and set them up in different countries. The service would appear to be designed to simplify the process of buying and adding network functions, reducing the reliance customers have on hardware.
“Building networks by deploying network functions in software is a major shift in network design,” said Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T Business Solutions and International. “We’ve broken through traditional, cost-prohibitive barriers. Our software platform delivers a simple, flexible and efficient experience for any business, virtually anywhere and anytime they need it.”
The service was initially launched in 2015, with AT&T claiming it now has more than 1,200 businesses signed up to the service. 76 countries are now supported by the service, with capabilities including Juniper Networks virtual routing, Cisco virtual router, Fortinet virtual security, and Riverbed virtual WAN optimisation. The service is the third the company has launched on the SDN platform.
The launch builds on wider trends within the industry as telcos aim to utilize the flexibility and speed of SDN and NFV to recoup lost revenues. Traditional revenues streams of voice calls and text messaging have been slowly eroded in recent years, as more customer switch to OTT services such as WhatsApp. Creating new services for business customers is generally regarded as critical if the industry is to avoid being relegated to the likes of utilities.
It would appear to have been a busy couple of weeks for the AT&T team who also made a couple of new announcements last week. On the enterprise side of things, the team it was adding faster internet speeds, up to 1 Gbps, for business customers using the AT&T Business Fiber service. On the consumer side, AT&T also announced it has reached the trial phase of its national drone programme, which focuses on how AT&T customers can benefit from drone-based solutions, including providing enhanced LTE wireless coverage.
Are cyber attacks covering up server inadequacies at Pokémon Go?
Pokémon Go users have continued to struggle as the app’s developer Niantic Labs recovers from hacker attacks and unprecedented demand for the game, reports Telecoms.com.
Claimed attacks from various hacker groups would have appeared to cover up server inadequacies at Niantec Labs, as the team seemingly struggles to meet capacity demands following the games launch in 27 countries worldwide.
Over the course of the weekend, various hacker groups including PoodleCorp and OurMine have claimed responsibility for a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, causing a slow and clunky experience for many players around the world. Although the Niantec Labs team has played down the incidents, disruptions have continued into Monday morning with the Telecoms.com editorial team unable to access the game effectively. Whether this can be attributed to the claimed attacks or a lack of server capacity is unclear for the moment.
The hacker saga would have appeared to have started over the weekend, with OurMine stating on its website, “Today We will attack “Pokemon Go” Login Servers! so no one will be able to play this game till Pokemon Go contact us on our website to teach them how to protect it! We will attack it after 3-4 hours! Be ready! We will update you!” This was followed by another statement declaring the servers were down. PoodleCorp claimed the day before (June 16), it had caused an outage, though also said to expect a larger attack in the near future.
While both of these attacks have attracted headlines, it would also appear to have covered up shortcomings on the company’s infrastructure and its ability to deal with high demand. The launch of Pokémon Go has been well documented over the last few weeks as it has been lauded by numerous sources as the biggest mobile game in US history. Even before its official release in the UK, EE announced it saw 350,000 unique users of Pokémon GO on its network.
“This is the fastest take up of an app or game we’ve ever seen – and that’s before it’s officially launched! People across the country are going to be relying on a mobile data network that’s everywhere they go,” said Matt Stagg, EE head of video and content strategy.
Despite claims the server problems have been addressed, complaints have continued to be voiced. Server status tracking website Downdetector stated 39,013 complaints were registered at 22.00 (EST) on July 17. The Niantic Labs team are seemingly underestimating demand for Pokémon Go with each launch, which would be a nice problem to have.
While Telecoms.com was unable to identify Niantic Labs specific cloud set-up, other reports have identified Google as the chosen platform. Although there are no specific announcements linking the two organizations, Niantec was spun out of Google in October last year, and currently has John Hanke at the helm, who was previous VP of Product Management for Google’s Geo division, which includes Google Earth, Google Maps and StreetView. A job vacancy is also on the company’s website which asks for experience in dealing with Google Cloud or AWS.
Although AWS has been listed on the job vacancy, it would be fair to assume it is not involved currently as CTO Werner Vogels couldn’t resist making a joke at the affair stating “Dear cool folks at @NianticLabs please let us know if there is anything we can do to help!” on his twitter account. This could imply some insider knowledge from Vogels as it would be most likely the company would take a swipe at its closest rivals in the public cloud market segment, namely Google or Microsoft Azure.
The claims of the DDoS attacks would appear to have come at an adequate time, as it has taken the heat off the cloud infrastructure inadequacies. According to Business Insider, Hanke said the international roll-out of the game would be “paused until we’re comfortable”, with relation to the server capacity issues. It would seem the company is prepared to ride the wave of demand, as well as complaints, and fix the server problem later, as launches and server issues continued following that interview.
ISO compliance in the cloud: Why should you care, and what do you need to know?
(c)iStock.com/hh5800
More and more organisations are looking to move to cloud to benefit from scalability, cost reduction and the ability to launch new service offerings fast.
The dynamic nature of cloud however necessitates security and compliance controls that frankly can be daunting. Issues around mobility and multi-tenancy, identity and access management, data protection and incident response and assessment all need to be addressed. And with multiple modes – SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, public, private, hybrid – creating added complexity in how security and compliance is carried out and by whom, this can lead IT leaders to think twice about leveraging cloud.
Organisations already in the processes of implementing ISO 27001 to audit and report on the state of controls within their environment will know the immense amount of work required. However, while addressing compliance in the cloud is undoubtedly tough, it doesn’t have to be an obstacle.
What is ISO 27001 and why is it important?
ISO 27001 is a widely adopted global security standard and framework that sets out requirements and best practices for a comprehensive approach to managing company and customer information. Proving IT security practices is an important element of achieving ISO 27001. The business benefits of ISO 27001 certification are many. ISO 27001 is an effective way to reduce the risk of your organisation suffering a data breach, satisfies audit requirements and establishes trust both internally and externally that security controls are properly managed, providing customers with greater confidence in doing business with you.
What does it take to implement ISO 27001 successfully?
As companies race to combat security threats and address evolving compliance requirements they often struggle to implement and demonstrate the consistent security management that is core to ISO 27001. ISO 27001 is not for the feint of heart and does require significant organisational commitment.
Here are six key recommendations to help you achieve successful accreditation and maintain compliance in the cloud with ISO ISO27001:
- Engage with senior management from the outset and work with your leaders to drive standards. Buy-in is essential – and it’s not just directors and VPs – CFOs, CEOs and business owners all need to be on board. Clear communication from the top is key as the whole organisation will need to align to make the initiative a success.
- Review the standards that need to be put in place – think beyond process. Many organisations will attempt to put policies and procedures in place without realising that cultural changes need to happen to make those policies and procedures stick. Without the proper alignment it can be difficult to make the changes needed to achieve on-going compliance.
- Perform a gap analysis to understand any deficiencies. Conduct an honest assessment of where you are today and where the organisation needs to get to.
- Aggressively work to educate your employees. Put a plan in place and communicate with staff that ISO is a full organisation activity and is in everyone’s job description going forward. It’s not a one off.
- Always be cognitive of risk. The organisation needs to objectively evaluate all levels of risk as you go through the process, including the risk that you generate yourself. A successful outcome is dependent on this and may well change the way you operate and structure your services.
- Document, document, document. As you go through you’ll find that there are many pieces that need to be secured be that patching, remediation of events or incident controls. If you don’t leave a record it becomes difficult to prove the path you took to compliance. Your customers will also want to know what you’ve been doing and how you’ve been doing it.
How to ensure your cloud service provider supports ISO compliance
When working with third party cloud providers it’s your responsibility to ensure that all parties involved are compliant. Don’t just take a certificate at face value, you must validate an organisation’s claims when reviewing their ISO certifications, otherwise you are putting your organisation at risk.
Questions to ask include: What does the certification actually cover in terms of services and geo-locations? Is the certification for the entire company or only a segment of their operation? Who issued the certification and do they have an online database for validation? Is the issuer accredited to issue an ISO certification? Is the vendor willing to show you the auditor report behind the certification?
With the right people, processes and technology in place, IT leaders can actually leverage cloud service providers to help achieve ISO 27001 compliance – even more easily than they could achieve it with on-premise infrastructure. IT needs to ensure their cloud service provider has the security capability in place as well as the compliance reporting capabilities and, even more importantly, the willingness to help them maintain ISO compliance for their cloud workloads.
In conclusion, organisations should care a great deal about ISO compliance in the cloud and ensure their partners and providers care as well. ISO compliance in the cloud doesn’t have to be a nightmare, but you do need to approach the process with the level of rigour that the standard demands.
Fleetcorp Turkey benefits from stability and ease of use of Parallels Remote Application Server
“After switching to Parallels RAS, the product has matured. RAS is easy to use and end users experienced stable performance. Universal printing works flawlessly.” Muthu Valamarthi Enterprise Architect FleetCorp Turkey FleetCorp chose Parallels Remote Application Server to seamlessly deliver applications to remote users. Parallels Remote Application Server provided an easy and stable user experience that […]
The post Fleetcorp Turkey benefits from stability and ease of use of Parallels Remote Application Server appeared first on Parallels Blog.
IoT’s Back-End Data Platform | @ThingsExpo #IoT #IIoT #M2M #API #BigData
A critical component of any IoT project is what to do with all the data being generated. This data needs to be captured, processed, structured, and stored in a way to facilitate different kinds of queries. Traditional data warehouse and analytical systems are mature technologies that can be used to handle certain kinds of queries, but they are not always well suited to many problems, particularly when there is a need for real-time insights.
Tigo, Microsoft Partner to Bring Cloud Services to Latin America
Millicom has recently announced that its Tigo Business Brand and Microsoft will collaborate to bring cloud computing services to businesses in Latin America through Microsoft Cloud OS Network. This partnership will allow companies in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Paraguay to access data services and increased security provided by the two companies.
Tigo Business and Microsoft’s Azure Cloud will provide a plethora of services and solutions while enabling customers to regulate their infrastructure needs efficiently. The combination of the two companies infrastructure will allow large businesses access to many services such as Disaster Recovery and added security. Virtual Desktop and Data Base are among many services listed under the as-a-service model that will also be provided.
The two companies has also established a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program that will allow Tigo Business to sell MIcrosoft CSP license aimed at targeting small and medium businesses. Tigo will also provide support for cloud-based Microsoft products including Office 365.
About Tigo:
Operating under international telecommunications company Millicom, Tigo provides a multitude of services to Latin America. Launched in 2004, Tigo now provides services to over 60 million customers and is one of the largest mobile operators in Latin America.
Comments:
Marcelo Benitez, VP Tigo Business: “The Tigo Business and Microsoft partnership offers a significant opportunity to bring cost, service and security benefits to businesses across the Latam region. Tigo Business is known for its fast delivery, and for supporting its business partners in executing cloud strategies efficiently and reliably. Now we can also offer truly innovative packages to our clients. Small and medium sized businesses are the engines of the economy in the region, and this partnership will help businesses to continue their digital transformations and capture the growth ahead.”
The post Tigo, Microsoft Partner to Bring Cloud Services to Latin America appeared first on Cloud News Daily.
Better User Experience Interfaces | @CloudExpo #API #Cloud #DigitalTransformation
As more emphasis is placed on user experiences and the application of consumer-like processes in business-to-business (B2B) commerce, a softer side of software seems to be emerging.
The next BriefingsDirect technology innovation thought leadership discussion focuses on new user experience demands for applications, and the impact that self-service and consumer habits are having on the new user experience design.
As more emphasis is placed on user experiences and the application of consumer-like processes in business-to-business (B2B) commerce, a softer side of software seems to be emerging. We’ll now explore a new approach to design that emphasizes simple and intuitive process flows.
Virtual Storage | @CloudExpo @FormationDS #SDS #IoT #DataCenter #Storage
«We formed Formation several years ago to really address the need for bring complete modernization and software-defined storage to the more classic private cloud marketplace,» stated Mark Lewis, Chairman and CEO of Formation Data Systems, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Bringing Clarity to the ERP Selection Process | @CloudExpo #ERP #Cloud #DataCenter
Most business people only select enterprise grade software once or twice during their entire lifetimes, if at all. Companies hire consultants to help with the Request for Proposal (RFP) and to guide them through the search process. Selection teams create extensive RFPs that cover the most minute details of functionality. They consider a multitude of other factors, both tangible and intangible. The final choice can make or break a career, so people take it very seriously and ensure they cover every detail. The ERP selection process is rigorous. There are thousands of search consultants vying for the chance to help. The process has given rise to more than 10,000 books on the topic available on Amazon. The process is well defined. And it’s all wrong.
The ERP selection process described above focuses on minutia, and it skips over some of the most important factors that contribute to long term success.