The best way to leverage your Cloud Expo presence as a sponsor and exhibitor is to plan your news announcements around our events. The press covering Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo will have access to these releases and will amplify your news announcements. More than two dozen Cloud companies either set deals at our shows or have announced their mergers and acquisitions at Cloud Expo. Product announcements during our show provide your company with the most reach through our targeted audiences.
Monthly Archives: February 2017
Everything You Need to Know About ITSM Analytics | @CloudExpo #Cloud #BigData #Analytics
Service desk managers and CIOs are key decision makers who need insight from their data to formulate better strategies. For instance, by tracking including technician performance, service desk responsiveness, IT user preferences, customer satisfaction, SLA violation rate, and other critical metrics, they can better analyze costs, trends, manage resources, and improve overall service quality.
Service Cloud Einstein to Power Salesforce CRM
In a bid to take on competition and to boost its own marketshare in the cloud CRM market, Salesforce has decided to add Service Cloud Einstein to its portfolio. Dubbed as the world’s best intelligent customer service platform, Service Cloud Einstein helps companies to better manage the complexities of customer service with the help of artificial intelligence. Released during Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference last year, this product is the summation of all artificial intelligence efforts from the company.
Service Cloud Einstein create an intuitive experience for customer service agents and their managers, and in the process, improves their overall efficiency and productivity. For a customer service agent using Service Cloud Einstein, it routes the call to the correct agent using a feature called Einstein Case Management. This feature uses machine learning to automatically escalate calls if needed. In other cases, it classifies them into different categories, and brings up the case resolution management for the agent, thereby making it easy for him/her to handle customer requests and queries.
In addition to providing case resolutions, these platforms collect initial information through chatbots, and pulls up any relevant information about the customer. Obviously, such prior information can prepare agents to better handle customer calls. It also gives the necessary background information to add a personal touch to customers.
Service Cloud Einstein works great for customers too, as every case is prioritized and handled efficiently. It evaluates a case based on its level of emergency, and in the case of high priority cases, it automatically routes them to the best agent within the shortest time possible. As a result, customers can get their issue handled quickly and efficiently.
Such a system is sure to add many layers of business value to any organization. Firstly, when customers get quick and personalized service, they tend to be happy. This translates to good satisfaction levels, and that customer is likely to stay with the company. This factor alone can save thousands of dollars for companies, as it is estimated that any marketing campaign spends almost ten times to attract a new customer than to retain an existing customer.
Secondly, this system works well for agents, as they have all the information required to handle a customer’s call. This is sure to keep them engaged and satisfied, which translates to a low attrition rate. Again, companies get to save money as they don’t have to spend often on finding the right candidates and training them. Experienced employees will tend to stay back, and this is sure to increase the overall productivity and bottom line revenues of the company.
Lastly, Service Cloud Einstein collects information and provides an intelligent analysis of the same. In other words, this will give more insights into customer call patterns, nature of problems and customers’ behavior. Armed with such information, managers can offer a higher quality of service to customers in the future.
In all, the addition of Service Cloud Einstein can boost the productivity of clients in a big way, and in the process, will improve the marketshare of Salesforce too.
The post Service Cloud Einstein to Power Salesforce CRM appeared first on Cloud News Daily.
Is hybrid cloud in danger of becoming lost in translation?
(c)iStock.com/DundStock
In the last year hybrid cloud adoption has ramped up as both cloud users and cloud vendors have matured. Yet there is still confusion in the market about what it means to go truly hybrid with many CIOs unable to agree when it comes to the true definition of hybrid cloud.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Commerce, “[Hybrid] cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more distinct cloud infrastructures (private, community or public) that remain unique entities, but that are bound together by standardised or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g. cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds).” This original definition seems to have been lost in vendor marketing jargon. Why? Because the ability to manage and move data and applications across cloud and non-cloud infrastructure environments is complicated.
If data is batch, static or archival it is relatively easy to move that data between on-premises and the cloud. A much harder problem is how to move active data, data which is continually changing, across different storage environments. In a hybrid cloud model the remote application’s transactions must stay in sync with on-premises one while avoiding any inconsistencies in the transaction processing. As a result, many companies find they have some workloads running against data in the cloud and others that run against data on-premises as they can’t guarantee complete consistency between the two.
Yet in today’s market there is an answer to this problem. Active Data Replication™ gives continuous consistent connectivity to data as it changes wherever that data is located. It ensures access to data anytime and anywhere with no downtime and no disruption. This matters because those with active data simply cannot afford the downtime traditionally associated with moving their changing data to the cloud.
Yet they still need to be able to take advantage of the economies, elasticity and efficiencies a hybrid cloud infrastructure can offer: the ability to retain sensitive data behind the firewall while exploiting the lower cost and flexibility of cloud; improved scalability and provisioning at a decreased cost; the ability to allocate short-term projects at a much lower cost than upgrading on-premises infrastructure and the important advantage of being able to undertake burst-out processing on demand for real-time analytics by using the a wide range of applications available in the cloud that would be impossible to deploy and maintain on-premises without additional hardware and staff.
The benefits of running a hybrid cloud infrastructure using Active Data Replication™ are tangible. For instance, with continuous access to the latest information across multiple geographies, a bank is able to effectively detect credit card fraud and undertake timely business and consumer loan risk analysis. Similarly, a utility company can improve its engineering operations and sell data related products to its partners with continuous access to smart meter data. In the field of healthcare, where real-time access to data can be a matter of life and death, Active Data Replication™ can enable patients to be monitored remotely whether they are at home, in hospital or on the move. IDC estimates that by 2020 organisations able to analyse all relevant data and deliver actionable information will achieve an extra $430 billion in productivity benefits over their less analytically oriented peers.
Vendors need to stop hiding the fact they can’t guarantee complete consistency between on-premises and the cloud. Their distortion of the hybrid cloud definition results in many companies having to buy more cloud hardware and software expecting both efficiency and cost savings but in reality ending up with little added value.
Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and Google offer a solution which not only guarantees complete consistency between on-premises and the cloud but also enables their customers to avoid any vendor lock-in. For a successful hybrid cloud infrastructure CIOs need to remember what was at the heart of the original definition – exactly the same data on-premises and on the cloud with guaranteed consistency, no downtime and no disruption – something that is only possible with Active Data Replication™.
Is hybrid cloud in danger of becoming lost in translation?
(c)iStock.com/DundStock
In the last year hybrid cloud adoption has ramped up as both cloud users and cloud vendors have matured. Yet there is still confusion in the market about what it means to go truly hybrid with many CIOs unable to agree when it comes to the true definition of hybrid cloud.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Commerce, “[Hybrid] cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more distinct cloud infrastructures (private, community or public) that remain unique entities, but that are bound together by standardised or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g. cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds).” This original definition seems to have been lost in vendor marketing jargon. Why? Because the ability to manage and move data and applications across cloud and non-cloud infrastructure environments is complicated.
If data is batch, static or archival it is relatively easy to move that data between on-premises and the cloud. A much harder problem is how to move active data, data which is continually changing, across different storage environments. In a hybrid cloud model the remote application’s transactions must stay in sync with on-premises one while avoiding any inconsistencies in the transaction processing. As a result, many companies find they have some workloads running against data in the cloud and others that run against data on-premises as they can’t guarantee complete consistency between the two.
Yet in today’s market there is an answer to this problem. Active Data Replication™ gives continuous consistent connectivity to data as it changes wherever that data is located. It ensures access to data anytime and anywhere with no downtime and no disruption. This matters because those with active data simply cannot afford the downtime traditionally associated with moving their changing data to the cloud.
Yet they still need to be able to take advantage of the economies, elasticity and efficiencies a hybrid cloud infrastructure can offer: the ability to retain sensitive data behind the firewall while exploiting the lower cost and flexibility of cloud; improved scalability and provisioning at a decreased cost; the ability to allocate short-term projects at a much lower cost than upgrading on-premises infrastructure and the important advantage of being able to undertake burst-out processing on demand for real-time analytics by using the a wide range of applications available in the cloud that would be impossible to deploy and maintain on-premises without additional hardware and staff.
The benefits of running a hybrid cloud infrastructure using Active Data Replication™ are tangible. For instance, with continuous access to the latest information across multiple geographies, a bank is able to effectively detect credit card fraud and undertake timely business and consumer loan risk analysis. Similarly, a utility company can improve its engineering operations and sell data related products to its partners with continuous access to smart meter data. In the field of healthcare, where real-time access to data can be a matter of life and death, Active Data Replication™ can enable patients to be monitored remotely whether they are at home, in hospital or on the move. IDC estimates that by 2020 organisations able to analyse all relevant data and deliver actionable information will achieve an extra $430 billion in productivity benefits over their less analytically oriented peers.
Vendors need to stop hiding the fact they can’t guarantee complete consistency between on-premises and the cloud. Their distortion of the hybrid cloud definition results in many companies having to buy more cloud hardware and software expecting both efficiency and cost savings but in reality ending up with little added value.
Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and Google offer a solution which not only guarantees complete consistency between on-premises and the cloud but also enables their customers to avoid any vendor lock-in. For a successful hybrid cloud infrastructure CIOs need to remember what was at the heart of the original definition – exactly the same data on-premises and on the cloud with guaranteed consistency, no downtime and no disruption – something that is only possible with Active Data Replication™.
Finance industry leading the way in DevOps implementations, research says
(c)iStock.com/RyanKing999
Financial services firms are embracing DevOps approaches and best practices more quickly than other industries, according to new research from managed services provider Claranet.
The study, put together in conjunction with Vanson Bourne and polling 900 end user IT leaders across European mid-market businesses, found almost half (45%) of finance companies polled had already developed a DevOps approach. This compared favourably against other industries, such as retail, software, and media, for whom the highest figure was only one third (32%).
The report’s findings also indicated financial firms were not done with their implementations; only 12% of those in finance said they were either not planning to implement DevOps or had not made a decision, compared with 25% of the overall sample.
Michel Robert, Claranet UK managing director, said other industries should look to finance’s lead. “Fintech startups are using technology to shake things up in the financial services industry with a customer-centric, agile approach,” said Robert. “For the big incumbents in the industry, the adoption of DevOps suggests a change in mindset and is likely being used as a way of taking on these startups and learning from their innovations.
“Despite being encumbered by legacy IT approaches and siloed data, as well as strict regulatory and security necessities, the financial services industry is ahead in the DevOps game,” Robert added. “This demonstrates that DevOps is not only capable of speeding up development time, but is also an approach that prioritises application and data security – a factor that is closely monitored in financial services.”
Plenty of research has taken place in recent weeks to dissect the current landscape, with a variety of opinions being proffered. A study from F5 Networks last month argued that while numbers go up across the board, only one in five respondents said DevOps had a strategic impact on their organisation, while a similar study from Clutch found that while 95% of respondents were looking at using DevOps methodologies, agreeing on a specific definition proved more difficult.
Finance industry leading the way in DevOps implementations, research says
(c)iStock.com/RyanKing999
Financial services firms are embracing DevOps approaches and best practices more quickly than other industries, according to new research from managed services provider Claranet.
The study, put together in conjunction with Vanson Bourne and polling 900 end user IT leaders across European mid-market businesses, found almost half (45%) of finance companies polled had already developed a DevOps approach. This compared favourably against other industries, such as retail, software, and media, for whom the highest figure was only one third (32%).
The report’s findings also indicated financial firms were not done with their implementations; only 12% of those in finance said they were either not planning to implement DevOps or had not made a decision, compared with 25% of the overall sample.
Michel Robert, Claranet UK managing director, said other industries should look to finance’s lead. “Fintech startups are using technology to shake things up in the financial services industry with a customer-centric, agile approach,” said Robert. “For the big incumbents in the industry, the adoption of DevOps suggests a change in mindset and is likely being used as a way of taking on these startups and learning from their innovations.
“Despite being encumbered by legacy IT approaches and siloed data, as well as strict regulatory and security necessities, the financial services industry is ahead in the DevOps game,” Robert added. “This demonstrates that DevOps is not only capable of speeding up development time, but is also an approach that prioritises application and data security – a factor that is closely monitored in financial services.”
Plenty of research has taken place in recent weeks to dissect the current landscape, with a variety of opinions being proffered. A study from F5 Networks last month argued that while numbers go up across the board, only one in five respondents said DevOps had a strategic impact on their organisation, while a similar study from Clutch found that while 95% of respondents were looking at using DevOps methodologies, agreeing on a specific definition proved more difficult.
This Valentine’s Day – You can love more than one
Being in love means staying loyal and committed to the one. But when it comes to your favorite devices why choose only one when you can share the love with all. This Valentine’s Day, tear down the walls between Mac and Windows and spread your love for all your devices with a little help from Parallels. […]
The post This Valentine’s Day – You can love more than one appeared first on Parallels Blog.
#1 Mac Usage in the Workplace
As enablers of Mac integration into traditional Windows networks, Parallels often surveys Windows IT professionals to understand the trends associated with supporting a dual-platform environment. In our latest research, we wanted to understand the usage and growth of incoming Mac devices, the advantages of incorporating Mac, and how IT pros perceive support and management of […]
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[session] @Intel to Present #Kubernetes at @DevOpsSummit NY | #DevOps #AI
Given the popularity of the containers, further investment in the telco/cable industry is needed to transition existing VM-based solutions to containerized cloud native deployments. The networking architecture of the solution isolates the network traffic into different network planes (e.g., management, control, and media). This naturally makes support for multiple interfaces in container orchestration engines an indispensable requirement.