Picture credit: SeniorLiving.Org

Three quarters of businesses in the financial sector are still concerned about adopting cloud-based applications, according to survey data from the NCC Group.

The research, which surveyed CIOs from financial services firms with more than 1000 employees, saw that 72% of respondents fear the cloud because of concerns over data not being backed up, and issues of disaster recovery.

Two in five (40%) respondents aren’t currently using cloud because they fear sudden data loss on a mass scale, while three quarters (74%) of firms would need at least a week to implement a disaster recovery plan – 5% said it would take two to three months.

This is a particularly interesting admission given some of the scare stories from cloud computing firms over the past several months. These have ranged from the likes of Joyent and Autotask, which went down for a matter of hours, to vendors such as CodeSpaces, which was forced to cease trading altogether after what it described as a “well-orchestrated” DDoS attack.

“Without a proper disaster recovery plan, a company can quickly fall to its knees,” said Daniel Liptrott, managing director of NCC Group’s escrow division. “However, there are comprehensive backup solutions available to those using cloud applications, so businesses needn’t shy away from cloud adoption due to fear of data loss.”

Liptrott added that business spend an awful lot on cloud services, but comparatively little in keeping operations afloat. It’s an important point to make, and a part of the IT infrastructure companies seem to forget. As Gartner analyst Kyle Hilgendorf wrote, cloud exits are not nearly as sexy as cloud deployments – and your business can be brutally exposed when the proverbial excrement hits the air oscillating machine.

Recent figures from cloud provider Databarracks found that only 30% of smaller businesses had a business continuity plan in place, compared to 54% of medium organisations and 73% of large businesses.

Picture credit: Max Anderson/Flickr

The latest draft of Australia’s federal cloud computing policy insists that agencies “must” adopt cloud so long as it’s fit for purpose, protects user data and represents value for money.

The 14 page paper, signed by minister for finance Mathias Cormann and minister for communications Malcolm Turnbull, aims to “reduce the cost of government ICT by eliminating duplication and fragmentation, and will lead by example in using cloud services to reduce costs, lift productivity and develop better services.”

Cloud services will have their value for money determined as per the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and security of data assesses by the Protective Security Policy Framework. The government has issued a six step outline as a ‘high level approach to the process of evaluating cloud services’:

• Assess information against legislative and regulatory requirements
• Evaluate the market for cloud services including existing initiatives by other agencies
• Determine the suitability of the cloud service against the information requirements
• Procure and implement the cloud service
• Monitor the cloud service for performance and compliance
• Review the cloud service for ongoing benefits realisation

Adoption figures show a slow uptake, according to the report. Cloud procurements in AusTender – the centralised hub for business opportunities, cloud or otherwise – have only totalled $4.7m since July 2010. The Australian government spends approximately $6bn a year on IT.

As a result the report discusses key plans going forward, including evaluation of cloud services for new IT services, and the establishment of a Cloud Services Panel by January 2015. The key recommendation, however, is to move AusTender to a cloud based service, after an options analysis by the Department of Finance.

“Agencies have made limited progress in adopting cloud,” the report warns. “A significant opportunity exists for agencies to increase their use of cloud services through the Australian Government Cloud Computing Policy.”

Despite a few teething snags, the UK government’s G-Cloud programme is making steady progress, replacing the CloudStore with the Digital Marketplace for cloud procurements. Australia currently ranks third in the latest Asia Pacific cloud readiness survey, behind Japan and New Zealand, according to ACCA – an increase of four places from the previous year.

Read the full report here.

The trend of virtual currencies is likely not a fad; we’re merely seeing the beginning of what will likely turn into a common practice. Network security revolving around virtual currency exchanges still needs to improve, but once that happens, those improvements may even solve network security problems in other industries as well. Whatever the future holds, the likes of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies will surely be a major part of it.

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It’s time to face reality: “Americans are from Mars, Europeans are from Venus,” and in today’s increasingly connected world, understanding “inter-planetary” alignments and deviations is mission-critical for cloud. In her session at 15th Cloud Expo, Evelyn de Souza, Data Privacy and Compliance Strategy Leader at Cisco Systems, will discuss cultural expectations of privacy based on new research across these elements.

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Join both SAP and Channel Cloud Consulting for a webcast on October 29 at 11 am EST and uncover how you can extend your reach to capture a piece of the US$17 billion cloud application services market with SAP. Moderated by Roger Strukhoff, @ThingsExpo and Cloud Expo Conference Chair, this webinar will discuss SAP’s market-leading SAP HANA Cloud Platform and the exciting opportunity to join SAP’s growing ecosystem of Application Development partners.

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Appcore automates the business of cloud computing by delivering cloud automation management platforms for enterprise private clouds and service provider public clouds. Appcore AMP™ is cloud automation designed to simplify cloud environments through a single management and monitoring interface; delivered in three deployment methods as cloud appliance, converged infrastructure or white label, in under 30 days.

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SYS-CON Events announced today that Connected Data, the creator of Transporter, the world’s first peer-to-peer private cloud storage device, will exhibit at SYS-CON’s 15th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Connected Data is the creator of Transporter, the world’s first peer-to-peer private cloud storage device. Connected Data is focused on providing elegantly designed solutions for consumers, professionals and businesses. Transporter devices allow customers to privately share and protect data at a fraction of the cost of fee based cloud services. The Connected Data team consists of the same professionals responsible for the popular Drobo storage array and the creation of the high performance BlueArc Silicon Server. Connected Data is privately funded and based in San Jose, California.
For more information, visit www.connecteddata.com.

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Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are increasing at an unprecedented rate. The threat landscape of today is drastically different than just a few years ago. Attacks are much more organized and sophisticated. They are harder to detect and even harder to anticipate. In the foreseeable future it’s going to get a whole lot harder. Everything you know today will change. Keeping up with this changing landscape is already a daunting task. Your organization needs to use the latest tools, methods and expertise to guard against those threats. But will that be enough? In the foreseeable future attacks will originate from entirely new attack platforms. The tools and methods you use today will not protect you from the threats you will face tomorrow. Your security experts will be no match for this new threat. Where will these attacks come from? It isn’t where you think.

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Cloud Expo 2014 TV commercials will feature @ThingsExpo, which was launched in June, 2014 at New York City’s Javits Center as the largest ‘Internet of Things’ event in the world.

The next @ThingsExpo will take place November 4-6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center, in Santa Clara, California.

Since its launch in 2008, Cloud Expo TV commercials have been aired and CNBC, Fox News Network, and Bloomberg TV.

Please enjoy our 2014 commercial.

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What do a firewall and a fortress have in common? They are no longer strong enough to protect the valuables housed inside. Like the walls of an old fortress, the cracks in the firewall are allowing the bad guys to slip in – unannounced and unnoticed. By the time these thieves get in, the damage is already done and the network is already compromised. Intellectual property is easily slipped out the back door leaving no trace of forced entry. If we want to reign in on these cybercriminals, it’s high time we start thinking the way these thieves think. If we don’t, malware, rootkits, AETs and other nefarious threats will continue to undermine our sense of security.

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