All posts by Business Cloud News

Big Data, Enterprise IT, Huawei, News & Analysis, Open Source, SAP HANA, Telco Cloud

Huawei shows how FusionSphere runs SAP HANA

SAP HANA VoraSAP partner and telecoms equipment maker Huawei used the SAP TechEd conference in Barcelona to demonstrate how its FusionSphere operating system handles SAP’s HANA big data processing platform on Huawei hardware.

Huawei’s FusionSphere is an open, enterprise-level cloud operating system based on OpenStack architecture. The telecoms equipment maker says it integrates software-defined computing, storage, networking and cloud management components into one system that can support private, public, and hybrid clouds. Delegates at the SAP conference were invited to see demonstrations of how the ‘open and agile’ operating system could handle running enterprise software.

Huawei argued that since FusionSphere can run business applications that have traditionally been run ‘on premise’, it will create new opportunities for mass processing of big data on the cloud. With the economies of scale and greater choice over resources that cloud gives the managers of IT operations, purchasers of IT services will have much greater buying power, according to Huawei.

Consequently, it argued, cloud based HANA projects could be run at much lower capital and operating costs, with more efficiency and service quality.

Huawei became a SAP global technology partner in 2012. Since then it has supported the SAP HANA platform and associated applications via a series of other products alongside FusionServer, with one, the Huawei Appliance for SAP HANA, currently being used in China, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Huawei used the Linux-oriented OPNFV Summit to unveil its new inventions for OPNFV Mobile Networking.

Huawei Chief Technology Officer Pang Kang told the conference the next generation of mobile architecture will be built on an open source version of NFV (network functions virtualisation).

“The OPNFV platform will be a significant step in the move to a new mobile architecture that scales, is elastic, resilient and agile,” said Pang Kang. “A carrier grade virtual infrastructure will help Huawei deliver the next-generation in mobile networking to our customers.”

Among the projects that Huawei is contributing to, within the OPNFV organisation, is Pinpoint – a big data system for failure prediction and Multi-site Virtualized Infrastructure, a distributed architecture for OPNFV.

During the OPNFV Summit, Huawei will demonstrate three OPNFV-based solutions that are targeted for commercial deployment, VNFs over OPNFV, VTN of ONOS (a carrier grade open source SDN controller) for OPNFV and Compass for OPNFV, a DevOps tool.

Azure, Datacentre, Enterprise IT, Microsoft, News & Analysis, Red Hat, Virtualisation

Red Hat launches Cloud Access on Microsoft Azure

redhat office logoRed Hat has followed its recent declaration of a partnership with Microsoft by announcing the availability of Red Hat Cloud Access on Microsoft Azure.

The Access service will make it easier for subscribers to move any eligible, unused Red Hat subscriptions from their data centre to the Azure cloud. Red Hat Cloud Access will give them the support relationship they enjoy with Red Hat with the cloud computing powers of Azure, the software vendor said on its official blog. Cloud Access extends to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat JBoss Middleware, Red Hat Gluster Storage and OpenShift Enterprise. The blog hints that more collaborations with Microsoft are to come.

Meanwhile, in his company blog Azure CTO Mark Russinovich gave a public preview of the coming Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets offering. VM Scale Sets are an Azure Compute resource that allow users to create and manage a collection of virtual machines as a set. These scale sets are designed for building large-scale services targeting big computing, big data and containerized workloads, all of which are increasing in significance as cloud computing evolves, said Russinovich.

By integrating with Azure Insights Autoscale, they provide the capacity to expand and contract to fit requirements with no need to pre-provision virtual machines. This allows users to match their consumption of computing resources to their application needs more accurately.

VM Scale Sets can be controlled within Azure Resource Manager templates and they will support Windows and Linux platform images, as well as custom images and extensions. “When you define a VM Scale Set, you only define the resources you need, so besides making it easier to define your Azure infrastructure, this also allows Azure to optimize calls to the underlying fabric, providing greater efficiency,” said Russinovich. “To deploy a scale set, all you need is an Azure subscription.”

Example Virtual Machine Scale Set templates are available on the GitHub repository.

acqusition, Dell, EMC, M&A, News & Analysis

Funding of Dell EMC acquisition could scupper deal – report

Dell office logoDell’s $67 billion merger with storage giant EMC could raise a tax challenge that would make their integration unfeasible, according to a re/code report. But the difficulties may be reflected across the industry as cloud drives future convergence, according to one analyst.

Deal’s funding of the EMC takeover, by using a new type of stock share, is under regulatory review and could lead to a $9 billion tax bill. The tax logic is built on the success enjoyed by EMC’s investment in the software vendor VMware, whose value rose by ‘tens of billions of dollars’ after EMC acquired it in 2003.

Dell plans to offer EMC shareholders $33.15 a share for the company, with $24.05 in cash and the balance from tracking stock linked to VMware. EMC owns an 81% stake in VMware. The tracking stock would offset the debt Dell would otherwise be burdened with and help Dell avoid tax.

But the scheme is likely to be reviewed by federal regulators who may revise he tax burden as high as $9 billion, according to the report’s sources.

It reports that Dell management are trying to ensure that key aspects of the deal don’t qualify for the level of transaction tax that would make the merger fail. Dell has reportedly hired the New York firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett to influence events in Dell’s favour.

The deal isn’t off, yet, but Dell’s funding options are a bit brazen, said analyst Clive Longbottom at Quocrica. “Dell would do better to sell 61% of the VMware shares direct to the market instead,” said Longbottom.

Making VMware a totally separate business would bring in $20 billion, would be totally legal and result in a much lower tax bill,” said Longbottom. The wider issue for the cloud industry, he said, is the scale of consolidation that is being driven by the cloud and the measures to which companies are big forced to finance them. “These tracking shares worry me. It seems to be a case of smoke and mirrors,” said Longbottom.

“This was never going to be an easy deal and Michael Dell has already stated that it will be a minimum of 9 months before it can close. It then comes down to whether the US government decides that having EMC and Dell survive is a good thing and whether other vendors are also happy for the government to allow this to happen.”

Bitcoin, blockchain, consensys, Database, Microsoft, News & Analysis

Microsoft launches cloud based Blockchain tech for would be bitcoin traders

bitcoin logo2Microsoft has launched a cloud-based ledger system for would-be bitcoin traders. The Azure service provider aims to ease traditional bankers and financial service companies into a new increasingly legitimised market as it gains currency in the world’s finance centres.

The system uses blockchain technology provided by New York based financial technology start up ConsensYs. It will give financial institutions the means to create affordable testing and proof of concept models as they examine the feasibility of bitcoin trading.

Blockchain technology’s ability to secure and validate any exchange of data will help convince compliance constrained finance institutes that this form of trading is no more dangerous than any other high speed automated trading environment, according to Microsoft. In a bitcoin system the ConsenYs blockchain will be used as a large decentralized ledger which keeps track of every bitcoin transaction.

Cloud technology could aggregate sufficient processing power to cater for all fluctuations demand for capacity in online trading. In turn this means that the IT service provider, whether internal or external, can guarantee that every transaction is verified and shared across a global computer network. The omnipresence of the blockchain reporting system makes it impossible for outside interference to go unmonitored.

The Microsoft blockchain service, launched on November 10th, also uses Ethereum’s programmable blockchain technology which will be delivered to existing banks and insurance clients already using Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. According to Microsoft four global financial institutions have already subscribed to the service.

Until now blockchain has been the ‘major pain point’ in bitcoin trading, according to Marley Gray, Microsoft’s director of tech strategy for financial services. Gray told Reuters that the cloud technology had made the technology affordable and easy enough to adopt. According to Gray it now only takes 20 minutes and no previous experience to spin up a private blockchain. Microsoft said it has simplified the system with templates it created, used in combination with its cloud-based flexible computing model.

The new testing systems made possible by ConsensYs create a ‘fail fast, fail cheap’ model that allows finance companies to explore the full range of possibilities of this new type of trading, said Gray.

Enterprise Cloud, Enterprise IT, HANA, News & Analysis, SAP

SAP claims to have simplified its Business Suite for all enterprise cloud users

SAP HANA VoraSAP has updated its suite of on-premise and cloud editions included in its Business Suite 4 SAP HANA range, which it promised will simplify processes in a range of functions and lines of business.

The announcement of improvements to its SAP S/4HANA Enterprise Management system was made at SAP TechEd in Barcelona.

SAP claimed it has invented new, simpler and faster ways of using its systems in eight major areas that affect users working in finance, sales, service, marketing, commerce, procurement and sourcing, manufacturing, supply chain, asset management, research and development and human resources.

Finance, sales and purchasing staff will benefit from a new method of optimized working capital with new accounts payable and receivable cockpits. In the supply chain, workers can benefit from a new system with fewer stock buffers and a simplified data model for inventory management. This, says SAP, will speed things up by catering for more real-time, high-volume processing. In other departments, procurement, sourcing and supply chain management professionals will benefit from new levels of instant insight into stock and material flow.

Meanwhile, in other part of the enterprise, cloud users in Production Departments will benefit from shorter manufacturing cycles, as a result of streamlined material flow for internal requirements and for material requirements planning. Project managers and supervisors will become more productive, claims SAP, thanks to its new augmented reactivity with real-time monitoring of production orders for flow and critical issues.

Operations managers, on the other hand, will make better operational decisions with easier simulation of supply alternatives. Buyers will be able to lower their procurement costs as a result of the advances on standard integration to the Ariba Network. Meanwhile, at the shop floor, enterprises will be able to offer better customer service thanks to a new sales order fulfilment cockpit that could identify and clear bottlenecks instantly.

These line of business improvements will be found across the SAP portfolio in applications such as SAP Cash Management, SAP SuccessFactor, the Ariba Network in procurement and SAP hybris systems for marketing and commerce.

“We worked together closely to identify where digitized operations can provide the most value,” said Bernd Leukert, member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, Products & Innovation.

Datacentre, Enterprise IT, Microsoft, News & Analysis

Microsoft to invest $2bn in Euro cloud infrastructure

datacentre cloudMicrosoft has announced plans to invest $2bn on building the infrastructure across Europe to support nationally-based data centres supporting national cloud services. It means that commercial cloud services can be run from the UK and other major European countries, allaying some data sovereignty and Safe Harbour fears.

From late 2016 Microsoft Azure and Office 365 will be generally available from local UK-based data centres, CEO Satya Nadella said at an event in London. A locally supported service for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online will follow in 2017. Microsoft will also offer Azure ExpressRoute to provide customers with the option of a private connection to the cloud.

The new local Microsoft cloud regions are designed to ally fears over data residency for customers in the UK. Once the infrastructure is in place Microsoft will be able to replicate data within the UK for backup and recovery.

Services delivered from these UK data centres will not only improve sovereignty and cut latency but create new opportunities for Microsoft UK’s 25,000 channel partners, said Michel Van der Bel, the general manager of Microsoft UK. The UK is a global leader in using cloud-based systems with an adoption rate of 84% claimed Van der Bel.

“Our commitment to run our cloud services from local data centres will help meet demand from those who want their cloud systems based in the UK,” said Van der Bel. Customers and partners who can innovate will grow with the power of the cloud, he said, and now they can meet the strict regulations of the banking, financial services and public sectors.

Microsoft also announced completion of the latest phase of data centre facility expansion in Ireland and the Netherlands, which serve as cloud computing hubs for European customers.

One channel partner said the local data centres for local people plan is an overdue step in the right direction.

“This is great news for the UK and the technology sector as a whole,” said Avanade UK’s General Manager Julian Tomison, “questions around data residency aren’t new, but at least now we have a new solution.”

It’s good for the channel and the cloud industry said Tomison. “The investment validates the sector and will have a positive impact on the cloud industry as collectively customers will feel they have more control. Having data centres in the UK helps us stay competitive when prices and services are becoming uniform. I predict more investments like this as legislation like last month’s Safe Harbour ruling shape the legal situation here.”

Enterprise IT, News & Analysis, Verizon

Enterprise no longer fears cloud as adoption hits tipping point – Verizon report

VerizonCloud computing is on the verge of becoming the de facto method of buying business systems, according to a new study into adoption and attitudes towards the new generation of technology.

The number of enterprises that are not adopting cloud computing are a small minority, according to Verizon Enterprise Solutions’ 2016 State of the Market: Enterprise Cloud report. As the majority have run mission critical applications over the cloud, and there is near universal recognition of better performance, usability and lower cost of ownership, the fear of adopting cloud and abandon old expensive computing models has disappeared, according to the report.

The lean toward the cloud has reached the tipping point, according to Ryan Shuttleworth, cloud CTO for Verizon Enterprise Solutions and he predicts that companies will push on to look for ‘new opportunities to grow’.

The enterprise user feedback came from a mixture of Verizon’s own cloud customers, anonymised cloud customer usage data and data supplied by analysts such as Forrester and Gartner. This year the highest ever number of enterprises (69%) said they had re-engineered at least one business process using cloud computing, almost double the numbers from the previous year. An overwhelming majority (88%) said it was an improvement on their old computing model and improved responsiveness to the business, while 65% said it improved overall operations.

Having proved the concept of cloud computing, cloud phobia has disappeared, according to Verizon, as 87% of businesses think the cloud at least matches on-premise computing and 80% say they feel as secure or more secure than they do with an internally run IT service. As a result, 87% of businesses are now using the cloud for mission-critical workloads, up from 71% last year and 60% in 2013. By 2016, according to Verizon’s figures, the mission critical penetration of cloud computing could reach 98%.

Last year, it was news when a cloud was used for mission-critical workloads, according to Shuttleworth, but now it’s the de facto standard. “Companies are now using cloud technologies to create new customer experiences, business processes and new opportunities to grow,” said Shuttleworth.

There was some positive news for enterprise IT departments, however, with the revelation that private cloud on the rise with 44% of enterprises using, or planning to use, a private cloud system.

5G, Datacentre, Intel, News & Analysis

Intel announces new infrastructure to support 5G cloud development

Tablet PC with 5GIntel has announced new infrastructure products for the cloud-based 5G networks that it claims will run tomorrow’s telecoms and data centre services.

The 5G cloud will be built on its new offerings in the Xeon Processor D-1500 product family, according to Intel, which says processors are the key to extending intelligence from the network core to the edge. By doing so, the new 5G cloud will perform better and interactions will be subject to less delay and lower levels of latency.

Nine new processors will pave the way for the migration of intelligence from the core to the edge of the network of the future. In order to be stationed at the edge of the network, the new processors must characteristically be high performers but low users of power and with twice the maximum memory of previous generations in an integrated System-on-a-Chip, says Intel. This means they can

network, store cloud and enterprise data and run IoT applications in dense, rugged environments. Intel said 50 networking, cloud storage, enterprise storage and IoT systems that use the new additions to the Intel Xeon Processor D-1500 product family are in development.

Among the new inventions are a new Ethernet Multi-host Controller FM10000 range for use in high performance comms network applications and dense server platforms. It has up to 200Gbps of high-bandwidth multi-host connectivity and multiple 100GbE ports for packet processing and the mass movement of data traffic. The new Intel Ethernet Controller X550 family, on the other hand, is a cheap, low power, 10 Gigabit Ethernet connector for data centre servers and network appliances.

Meanwhile, Intel said it is actively driving a networking ecosystem and has grown the Intel Network Builders program to more than 180 companies. Red Hat has become the first ISV to actively contribute to all key focus areas of the Intel Network Builders Fast Track.

“Networks are facing extraordinary demands as more devices become connected and new digital services are offered,” said Sandra Rivera, Intel Data Center Group VP. “Building cloud ready networks calls for more intelligence.”

Avnet, AWS, Channel, cloud marketplace, distribution, IBM, News & Analysis

Avnet launches Cloud Marketplace with AWS and IBM as key clients

Money cloudGlobal distributor Avnet has launched a cloud shop and unveiled both IBM and AWS as headline partners.

The Avnet Cloud Marketplace is described as ‘the latest evolution’ in Avnet’s cloud offering. Avnet said it is incorporating all the insight gained from running 900,000 workloads in public, private and hybrid clouds in the past two years and making that wisdom available to its partners.

The shop offers top brands like AWS and IBM, with flexible payment models and a cloud management toolset. Avnet said its unique angle is that it allows partners in the US and Canada to offer cloud-based services to their customers through both consumption and subscription-based models. Channel partners will be able to create branded storefronts to offer complete solutions to their customers. Avnet’s Cloud Marketplace customers include VARs, ISVs, MSPs, systems integrators (SI), technology manufacturers and end users. The Marketplace will help them rollout services quicker, according to Sergio Farache, senior vice president of Avnet’s Solutions and Strategy business unit in the Americas.

“This is how Avnet helps partners use next-generation technologies and evolve,” said Farache.

The Avnet Cloud Marketplace is based on Avnet’s digital distribution strategy, where a combination of digital tools, processes and services can simplify the cloud and service provisioning.

Meanwhile, Avnet has announced that IBM’s cloud services Softlayer and Bluemix will be provided through its portal. IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) will help developers integrate applications more rapidly while its Software-as-a Service (SaaS) offering will make cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security applications available to Avnet’s channel partners.

Avnet will also offer IBM Business Partners some educational and training resources to further expand their cloud expertise. On November 6th Avnet revealed that packaged solutions powered by AWS, such as backup and disaster recovery solutions that integrate NetApp and Veritas software with Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and Amazon Glacier, will be offered to its channel. These offerings will make it easier for Avnet’s US and Canadian resellers, AR and service provider partners to sell the full range of AWS.

5G, NEC, News & Analysis, Telco Cloud

NEC and partners in Europe to develop converged cloud-based 5G network

5G - 1A new consortium of technology vendors and academics is collaborating on a project to build future 5G mobile networks on superfluid (AKA cloud) principles.

The Superfluidity Project is part of the European H2020 5G Public-Private Partnership (5G PPP) initiative. The stated aim of the project is to define and develop a converged, cloud-based 5G virtual network and service platform. According to a statement, the network will be distributed over the mobile edge and core of 5G networks extending up to data centres.

The collaborators in the project include a number of top IT brands, including NEC, Citrix, Intel, OnApp and Red Hat. Telecoms equipment maker Alcatel Lucent is to act as a technical coordinator. Among the telcos taking part in the project are British Telecom, PT Inovação e Sistemas and Telefónica. A number of research and academic bodies across Europe are also joining the consortium, including CNIT (which will be project coordinator), the University of Ben Gurion, the University of Liège, the University of Technology in Dresden and the University Politehnica of Bucharest.

There will also be input from a trio of small and medium sized enterprises. EBlink, Telcaria Ideas and Unified Streaming will all help shape the development of the superfluid 5G network of the future.

The goal is to create a superfluid set of properties for the network, which would have location, time, scale and hardware independence. These properties would be exemplified through unlimited growth potential, instant service migration and complete transparency of services.

The work, which will have a planned 30 month project lifecycle, began on the 1st of July 2015.

If successful the Superfluidity project will tackle crucial shortcomings in today’s networks and improve on the long and wasteful provisioning processes that are employed today to meet demand for mobile operator networks, according to a statement from NEC.