Gamification (the use of game-thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts) continues to gain interest among enterprises and the public sector. Regardless of whether you approve of the buzzword itself, there is little doubt that the practices gamification embodies and promotes can be beneficial to a wide array of organizations in achieving overarching business strategies and tactical objectives. To reach a nirvana state with any gamification initiative, organizations need to consider the key factors discussed below.
It must benefit the business
Gamification can help enhance customer engagement and manage employee behaviors and productivity levels, but there must be clear understanding of how such an initiative will directly benefit the business. Ideally, a mapping of the value that any gamified activity, process, or technology will deliver in better supporting business goals and desired outcomes will be developed as part of the planning stage. It …
Hurricanes in Vermont. Earthquakes in Washington, D.C. Tornadoes in Missouri. Natural disasters seem to be all over the news lately. Would your firm be able to recover in a reasonable amount of time and resume operations?
Many risks exist – even for firms far away from earthquake fault lines, tornado alleys and hurricane zones. Consider the risk of water damage.
Every law firm is at risk from broken pipes, too much rain or even a sink overflowing on the floor above you. There’s nothing to stop a flood. As some experts point out, “Water always wins.”
Most law firms understand the importance of such a plan, but actually implementing one can be extremely challenging. Cost and logistics have been major barriers for many firms. Firms need to rent space at an off-site data center to secure data. They must purchase servers for the off-site …
How do we connect clouds and improve SLA control? As the internet has no SLA many organizations are concerned of being exposed to the vagaries of the internet. There are only a few options for concrete quality of service (QoS) when accessing public clouds. Identifying a need for connectivity solution that enables clouds to be connected, Jelle Frank van der Zwet will show in this session how to enable cloud providers to extend their coverage and offer hybrid cloud solutions. The session includes a market overview and multiple use cases.
Bank News recently published an article written by cNico’s CEO, Pierre Naudé. He notes that while it is commonplace for many financial institutions to incorporate cloud technology into their operations, there are still some that continue to question the security of storing information remotely. Rather than just saying no to the idea of cloud-based solutions, […]
By Justin Fielder, Easynet Chief Technology Officer
If I was to suggest businesses move IT services to the cloud to improve security, there’s a strong possibility I would be laughed out of town. Despite businesses clearly seeing the benefits of migrating to the cloud, research shows that, for 61% of European CIOs, security is still the biggest concern when considering such a move.
For many network professionals, there is a clear comfort factor which derives from having a virtual boundary fence built around their network, within which sits corporate data and applications. 45% of IT professionals surveyed by CIO.com in the US said their biggest cloud security concern is a lack of perimeter defences and/or control of the corporate network.
When we drill down further into the inhibitors to cloud migration, the concerns very specifically relate to the storage of data and its privacy. Historically CIOs have …
Did you know that 6 million SMBs worldwide entered the cloud for the first time last year? Results for the 2013 Parallels 2013 SMB Cloud Insights reports were unveiled at Parallels Summit 2013 during the session, Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ for 2013. During this session some of the top trends in the SMB cloud market were shared along with insight into how to best compete in the cloud.
If you were unable to attend Parallels Summit and this valuable session, don’t worry! We are hosting a webinar on March 26at 8 AM (PDT) that will cover the top trends you need to know to compete in the cloud.Register today for this informative webinar and start to grow your cloud services portfolio in 2013!
NetApp filers are versatile and high-performance storage appliances. They’re so reliable that it’s easy to forget things can go wrong – like a fire, theft, or major storm. The potential for an unknown disaster is what makes offsite backup a necessity, even for NetApp filers with internal redundancy.i>
The traditional methods of backing up a NetApp – an NDMP dump of the WAFL file system – works, but it has a number of shortcomings:
You Need a Second NetApp to Recover – since the NDMP dump is a binary image of the WAFL file system, the only device that can parse and utilize this image is another NetApp
“The myriad of compliance requirements nowadays present a complex matrix of challenges for cloud adoptees,” said Greg Rusu, General Manager of Public Cloud at PEER 1 Hosting, in this exclusive Q&A with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan. “Clients should look for recognized certifications from their cloud provider,” Rusu continued, “as well as to longevity in serving clients in the industry for which the certifications are required.”
Cloud Computing Journal: The move to cloud isn’t about saving money, it is about saving time. – Agree or disagree?
Greg Rusu: It’s about both. Cloud saves money because clients can pay for just what they use. Cloud also saves time by allowing quick spin-up of infrastructure with today’s automation capabilities.
Move to the cloud, save some cash. So says a pair of recent surveys from CDW and Rackspace.
Companies that move IT capabilities to the cloud are saving money and growing profits, which are then put back into the business to increase headcount, boost wages and drive innovation, according to an article on CIO.com.
Many companies are making the jump to the cloud, at least for select capabilities. A recent study by CDW of 1,242 IT professionals found that more than half of organizations are moving a variety of capabilities to the cloud. And a majority of them are recognizing cost savings and increased profits, according to another study by Rackspace, the open cloud company.
“The findings were pretty telling in terms of the adoption of cloud computing and the benefits of cloud computing,” said John Engates, CTO of Rackspace Hosting. “The bottom line is cloud saves companies money and increases their profits.”
Traditional file sharing protocols, such as Server Message Block ( SMB ) in Windows Server 2012, are primarily designed for low-latency, high-bandwidth scenarios commonly found in Local Area Networks ( LANs ). When attempting to move file server workloads to the cloud, many IT Pros find that the unpredictable latency and limited bandwidth related to most Internet connections can make it challenging to deliver file services from the cloud in a reliable manner.
In this article, I’ll step through a configuration that leverages the BranchCache feature available in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 Enterprise. Once implemented, BranchCache can solve cloud networking challenges by implementing a Wide Area File Services ( WAFS ) solution that caches frequently accessed data locally, either in a Distributed Cache across local clients or on a local Hosted Cache Server.