The major strides achieved in IT in 2013 are possibly a hint of what to expect in 2014. The leading players are expected to introduce new and advanced cloud-based solutions, and at the same time keep testing, improving the efficiency of the existing services. Here are some of our top predictions for cloud services in 2014:
The raging debate over which cloud service – private vs. public – is superior and/or suitable for enterprise IT architecture might finally be settled. The rapid growth in hybrid cloud solutions, which are essentially a combination of the two main architectures, is expected to provide an answer for businesses that have hitherto been reluctant to adopt cloud computing. On the one hand, hybrid cloud services offer the same cost-effective, scalable and powerful benefits as public cloud services. On the other, the hybrid architecture offers the high level of security similar to that of private clouds. As such, we foresee a significant growth in the use of hybrid clouds in enterprise IT since they enable businesses to implement a wide range of customizable solutions without sacrificing the security of their data and/or networks.
Monthly Archives: January 2014
2014 Cloud Predictions: Enterprise IT Makes a Comeback
Enterprise IT organizations today often are bypassed as employees and LoBs use cloud services; in fact cloud computing is considered the revenge of the business unit. 2014 will be year that the Enterprise IT organizations move from role of helpless bystander to role of strategic partner to the business unit. It will be the year that the CIO carves out a new role of strategic importance, namely the enabler of cloud apps that drive agility, productivity and competitive advantage for their business units. In 2014, CIOs and IT departments will use rapidly emerging cloud security solutions to accelerate the adoption of SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) within the enterprise and will embark on security transformation.
Prevention Not Detection Is the Key to Better Security
Savvy organizations, HP among them, are turning to preventing attacks, rather than just detecting them and remediating them.
The high cost of unwanted intrusion and malware across corporate networks is well known. Less talked-about are the successful ways that organizations are thwarting ongoing, adaptive and often-insider-driven security breaches.
Companies are understandably reluctant to readily discuss either their defenses or mishaps. Yet HP, one of the world’s largest companies, is both a provider and a practitioner of enterprise intrusion detection systems (IDS). And so we asked HP to explain how it is both building and using such technologies, along with seeking some insider tips on best practices.
Nimble Storage Leverages Big Data & Cloud
Big-data processing helps to make the best use of dynamic storage resources by taking in all the relevant storage activities data, analyzing it and then making the best choices for dynamic hybrid storage optimization.
If, as the adage goes, you should fight fire with fire then perhaps its equally justified to fight big data optimization requirements with — big data.
It turns out that high-performing, cost-effective big-data processing helps to make the best use of dynamic storage resources by taking in all the relevant storage activities data, analyzing it and then making the best real-time choices for dynamic hybrid storage optimization.
In other words, big data can be exploited to better manage complex data and storage. The concept, while tricky at first, is powerful and, I believe, a harbinger of what we’re going to see more of, which is to bring high intelligence to bear on many more services, products and machines.
Verizon teams up with Oracle, offers middleware for beta cloud
Tech giants Verizon and Oracle have announced a partnership whereby customers can use Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware on Verizon’s cloud.
“This deal represents two market leaders coming together to create a compelling cloud offering that will help enterprises succeed in a highly competitive market environment,” Oracle president Mark Hurd trumpeted in a statement.
He added: “Combining Verizon’s unique enterprise experience and capabilities with Oracle’s best in class cloud products will provide customers another easy and cost-effective choice for embracing the cloud.”
Big words, yes, but what are the facts behind it? It’s worth noting that Verizon Cloud is currently in beta, with the service announced only in October. There’s also no information on when Verizon’s solution will hit full release, but with the latest announcement covering software as a service via Oracle, it’s certainly an interesting proposition.
More than anything, this …
Cloud Expo Names Cloud Computing Industry Leader Larry Carvalho Tech Chair
Cloud Expo, Inc. has announced today that Larry Carvalho has been named Tech Chair of Cloud Expo® 2014.
14th International Cloud Expo will take place on June 10–12, 2014, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, and 15th International Cloud Expo® will take place on November 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
“We are excited that Larry Carvalho is joining us as Cloud Expo Tech Chair. Our upcoming event in June will offer the best sessions and faculty to date,” said Carmen Gonzalez, co-founder and CEO of Cloud Expo, Inc. “Since the 13th international conference in November we have received the highest number of sponsorship and exhibit inquiries for Cloud Expo 2014.”
AppZero 2013 State of Readiness for WS03 End of Support Survey Results
Microsoft has announced that Windows Server 2003 will hit End of Support (EOS) on July 14, 2015. Over the course of 2013, AppZero undertook the first “State of Readiness for Windows Server 2003 End of Support” Survey in an effort to assess how serious this event is to enterprise IT pros.
AppZero surveyed Fortune 1000 IT professionals at a series of industry events to assess their readiness for the impending end of support of Windows Server 2003. Results show that IT pros are evaluating their options which range from accepting the risks of running on an unsupported operating system to upgrading all of their servers to moving to the Cloud, and lots of other choices in between.
2014: Customers Rejoice in the Year of Service Personalization
As we enter a new year, it is time to look back over the past year and resolve to improve upon it. In 2014, we will see more service providers resolve to add more personalization in enterprise technology. Below are seven predictions about what will drive this trend toward personalization.
The Internet of Things turns into the Internet of Agents. M2M connections and multi-agent systems will result in an increasing number of highly personalized, value-added branded services. The latest Gartner forecast for the Internet of Things (IoT) predicts that by 2020, there will be $309 billion in incremental revenue opportunity for IoT suppliers, mostly in services. Everything-as-a service (XaaS) will lead us toward more complex services, more bundles and more options. Individual users will use agents whose sole job is to create functional services for individuals, out of everything available in the connected service universe. As we move closer toward XaaS, we will become familiar with the concept of “agents” in the delivery of those everything services via SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. Agents can reside as modules within SaaS service offerings or they can be tools embedded in the service provider infrastructure or operating systems. Agents can exist in cloud-connected devices, or in the management software within the evolving smart device ecosystem. Any service delivery platform (SDP) can contain agents that add functionality to the supported services by collaborating with other agents on other platforms.
The Future of Cloud Computing
Cloud computing continues to transform the way organization are doing business, proving to be a transformative innovation for many enterprises. Considering how far the cloud has come in recent years spurs questions of what the future will look like and what types of changes we can expect. Many are speculating about the pace of cloud adoption and what services and capabilities will become available in the future.
Some believe recent reports of online surveillance and data breaches at popular cloud applications resulting from hacking could impede the growth rate of cloud adoption. But we believe recent events will lead to further innovations that will bolster security and corporate control and this will allow more companies to confidently move important processes online, ensuring the cloud continues its path of fundamentally transforming corporate IT. Broadly, the future for cloud computing will include clearly defined and standards-based security solutions and technology that will enable enterprises to retain full control of their sensitive information assets while continuing to move more business functions online (thereby reducing IT and other costs). This year’s The Future of Cloud Computing survey by North Bridge gave some great insights into what might be coming for the cloud and I’ve added a couple of additional ideas below.
Book Excerpt: Systems Performance: Enterprise and the Cloud | Part 1
CPUs drive all software and are often the first target for systems performance analysis. Modern systems typically have many CPUs, which are shared among all running software by the kernel scheduler. When there is more demand for CPU resources than there are resources available, process threads (or tasks) will queue, waiting their turn. Waiting can add significant latency during the runtime of applications, degrading performance.
The usage of the CPUs can be examined in detail to look for performance improvements, including eliminating unnecessary work. At a high level, CPU usage by process, thread, or task can be examined. At a lower level, the code path within applications and the kernel can be profiled and studied. At the lowest level, CPU instruction execution and cycle behavior can be studied.