All posts by Richard

Hardware, IdeaPad, Lenovo, Windows 8

Lenovo Calls it “PC Plus” Era, Releases PCs Primed for Windows 8

Today at the IFA consumer electronics show, Lenovo introduced a comprehensive update of its Idea-branded consumer PCs, including a new IdeaPad® U Series Ultrabook, IdeaPad Y and Z Series laptops, and IdeaCentre® A and B Series all-in-one (AIO) desktops. Powered by third generation Intel® Core™ processors or AMD A-Series processors, Lenovo’s new PCs offer consumers a variety of style, color and performance options, designed for the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

“Our latest Idea-branded products offer more comfort, simplicity and responsiveness than ever before,” said Wei Jun, vice president, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. “Designed for an optimal Windows 8 experience, users can enjoy up to 10-finger multi-touch for versatile computing; Intelligent TouchPad for easy scrolling, zooming and rotating; Lenovo Cloud for media sharing between devices; and the Windows Store for access to thousands of entertaining and useful apps. These new Idea PCs embody our commitment to deliver products that reflect the style and energy of the user.”

The IdeaPad U510 will be available September 2012 starting at US$679.

The IdeaPad Y400 and Y500 will be available October 2012 starting at US$649.

The IdeaPad Z400 will be available November 2012 starting at US$549.

The IdeaPad Z500 will be available September 2012 starting at US$549.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre A520 will be available October 2012 starting at US$999.

The IdeaCentre B340 and B345 will be available October 2012 starting at US$599.

The IdeaCentre B545 was available in April starting at US$699.


Data center, IBM, Research, Workload automation

Research and Markets: IBM IBM SmartCloud Workload Automation and TWS Fix Pack 1

On June 14, 2012, IBM released Fix Pack 1 (FP1) for Tivoli Workload Scheduler (TWS). On the same day, the company also launched SmartCloud Workload Automation (SCWA). SCWA combines TWS and TWS for Applications into one platform, belonging to IBM SmartCloud Foundation. At the same time, IBM announced a fundamental change of its pricing structure, away from its traditional resource-based approach and toward a per-job pricing model. This new usage-based pricing scheme was launched to make SCWA more attractive for today’s cloud-centric data center.

In this impact brief, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) will evaluate the importance of TWS FP1, SCWA, and the new pricing model for the overall workload automation marketplace, as well as for the market for cloud platforms. For more details on IBM Tivoli SmartCloud’s ability to provide the necessary management capabilities for multi-hypervisor cloud deployments, please review EMA’s whitepaper on this topic.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ltjk95/ibm_releases_ibm_s


Cloud Security Alliance, Distributed Management Task Force, Object Management Group, Open Data Center Alliance, Open Grid Forum, Open Group, Standards, Storage Networking Industry Association

DMTF Releases Specification for Simplifying Cloud Infrastructure Management

The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), the organization bringing the IT industry together to collaborate on systems management standards development, validation, promotion and adoption, today announced the release of the new Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface (CIMI) specification. The new specification standardizes interactions between cloud environments to achieve interoperable cloud infrastructure management between service providers and their consumers and developers, enabling users to manage their cloud infrastructure use easily and without complexity.

Cloud computing allows customers to improve the efficiency, availability and flexibility of their IT systems over time. As companies have adopted cloud computing, vendors have embraced the need to provide interoperability between enterprise computing and cloud services. DMTF developed CIMI as a self-service interface for infrastructure clouds, allowing users to dynamically provision, configure and administer their cloud usage with a high-level interface that greatly simplifies cloud systems management.

“The CIMI standard is a critical piece for cloud infrastructure management because it alleviates complexity while improving flexibility, portability and security,” said Winston Bumpus, Chairman of the Board, DMTF. “With the release of the CIMI v1.0 specification, DMTF offers a well-rounded, industry-wide solution for simplifying cloud infrastructure management.”

Today’s release includes two components:

  • Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface – (CIMI) Model and REST
    Interface over HTTP Specification
  • Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface – (CIMI) Primer

The CIMI specification is the centerpiece of DMTF’s Cloud Management Initiative, and is the first standard created by the Cloud Management Working Group (CMWG). DMTF’s Cloud Management Initiative includes contributions from additional working groups including the Cloud Auditing Data Federation Working Group (CADF WG), the Network Services Management Working Group (NSM WG), the Software License Management (SLM) Incubator and the System Virtualization, Partitioning, and Clustering Working Group (SVPC WG). Additional announcements are expected from DMTF cloud-related working groups early next year.

DMTF working groups and incubators collaborate with a number of industry organizations in an effort to unify their cloud management initiatives. These organizations include the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the China Communications Standards Association (CCSA), the China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI), the Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA), the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), the Open Grid Forum (OGF), the Object Management Group (OMG), The Open Group (TOG), the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF), the Global Inter-Cloud Technology Forum (GICTF) and the TeleManagement Forum (TMF).

For additional information on DMTF’s cloud efforts, including specifications, whitepapers and charters, visit www.dmtf.org/cloud.

 


Bessemer Venture Partners, ClearSlide, Felicis Ventures, Greylock Partners, Venture Funding

ClearSlide Get $28 Million for Cloud Sales Platform

ClearSlide today announced that it has raised $28 million in Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), with participation from existing investors Greylock Partners and Felicis Ventures. Byron Deeter, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and John M. Jack, former Chief Executive Officer and President of Fortify Software, have joined ClearSlide’s board of directors.

ClearSlide transforms enterprise sales teams by giving them a single, modern, cloud-based platform on which to communicate with their customers and prospects, whether in-person, over the phone, or via email. Companies use ClearSlide’s analytics to keep their sales teams on message, identify and standardize best practices, and optimize collateral. For sales reps, ClearSlide removes technology friction, encourages teamwork, and highlights customer interest. ClearSlide is 100% focused on providing a broad, integrated product platform that helps enterprise sales teams drive more revenue.

“At BVP, we’ve been fortunate to work with and help nurture some of the largest businesses in the SaaS industry, which has given us strong insight into the key growth drivers and metrics of leading cloud companies,” said Byron Deeter. “I was really impressed by ClearSlide’s team, as well as their operating metrics and rate of market adoption. There is extremely strong customer demand for their offering and we’re thrilled to work closely with ClearSlide in their next stage of hyper growth.”

ClearSlide will use the new funding to rapidly expand the team, invest in new products and technologies, open new offices, and expand marketing. The company has quickly grown to more than 100 employees with plans to more than double headcount in San Francisco and New York.

“We see a huge opportunity before us. I’m excited that our latest round of funding gives us the resources to expand even faster,” said Al Lieb, CEO and co-founder of ClearSlide. “I’m truly proud of what our team has built to date, honored by the passion and loyalty from our customers, and look forward to the size and scope of what we will build in the coming year.”

ClearSlide’s customer base is expanding rapidly and includes companies from a wide range of verticals, including media, technology, business and financial services. Industry-leading companies such as CareerBuilder, Expedia, Gannett, Rackspace, Shazam and The Weather Channel rely on ClearSlide daily for customer communications across their sales team.

“We ran a detailed study on the impact of using ClearSlide within our sales team,” said Andrew Garcia, Media Sales & Marketing Manager at Wayfair. “In Q2, we saw a 60% higher close rate for the companies we pitched using ClearSlide, compared to our traditional average. We also clearly saw that the reps that used ClearSlide the most also closed the most business.”

More information on the ClearSlide platform and innovative new product features that are helping sales professionals win more deals can be found at: http://clearslide.com/public/content/company/blog


Amazon AWS, Amazon S3, Amazon Web Services, Azure, Cloud & IT Management, Cloud Storage, CloudBerry Lab, Microsoft Windows, Rackspace, Storage

Cloud Migrator Transfers Files between Amazon S3, Azure, Rackspace

CloudBerry Lab today announced the beta version of its new CloudBerry Cloud Migrator service that allows users to transfer files from one cloud storage to another. The service supports data migration between Amazon S3, Windows Azure Blob Storage, Rackspace Cloud Files and FTP servers.

Cloud Migrator service by CloudBerry Lab is a web application that lets users transfer their files across different cloud storage services without installing any additional software. All copy operations executes inside a cloud and managed through the web interface.

The service allows users to copy files between different locations or accounts within one cloud storage provider as well as between different. It’s a perfect solution to painlessly migrate data from one Amazon S3 bucket to another or from Amazon S3 to Azure Blob Storage or Rackspace Cloud Files and vice versa.

Finally, Cloud Migrator supports FTP so it can also be used to easily copy/move files from an FTP server to any of the supported cloud storage accounts with no need to implement complicated scripts.

In the Cloud Migrator future releases, the new low-cost Glacier storage by Amazon AWS will be added to the list of supported cloud storage accounts.

CloudBerry Cloud Migrator is available at http://sync.cloudberrylab.com/


Accounting, Business Processes, FreshBooks, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Mobile

Freshbooks Takes SMB Accounting Mobile with new iPhone, iPad App

FreshBooks  today launched a new mobile accounting app designed to fit the lifestyle of today’s small businesses owners, giving them the freedom to run their business anytime, anywhere.

Following their recent re-positioning as cloud accounting, the free mobile app further demonstrates the FreshBooks commitment to being in the corner of service-based businesses. The mobile app strengthens existing features like expense management, P&L reporting and online payment integration to help make the lives of small business owners easier.

The new FreshBooks iPhone app works anywhere, whether you’re tracking time from the coffee shop, logging expenses from the airport lounge or sending an invoice right from the client’s office. Simple and intuitive, FreshBooks makes it easy to have an at-a-glance view of your business.

“The FreshBooks iPhone app was created so that small business owners could have even more flexibility with their FreshBooks account and access it from wherever their work takes them,” said Mike McDerment, FreshBooks co-founder and CEO. “We know that people go into business to pursue their passion and serve their customers, not to learn accounting. That’s the difference with FreshBooks cloud accounting: it’s simple, accessible everywhere, and saves small businesses time on their billing.”

The FreshBooks iOS app has all the key features of the web version of FreshBooks, including the streamlined ability to send professional-looking invoices, get paid online with Paypal and attach expenses directly to invoices. Invite staff or sub-contractors to projects to log hours as you work and generate invoices from timesheets to enjoy seamless collaboration. FreshBooks is designed to support businesses of all types: lawyers, marketing and IT professionals, plumbers, interior decorators, even an architect–anyone who creates value for their clients by applying their time and expertise.

Download the free iPhone app  to create a new free account.


Amazon, Amazon AWS, Amazon.com, New York Times

Amazon “just gets cheaper, and cheaper, and cheaper”

Good article in the New York Times on the effect of AWS on startup access to major computing resources. Great takeaway quote:

“I have 10 engineers, but without A.W.S. I guarantee I’d need 60,” said Daniel Gross, Cue’s 20-year-old co-founder. “It just gets cheaper, and cheaper, and cheaper.” He figures Cue spends something under $100,000 a month with Amazon but would spend “probably $2 million to do it ourselves, without the speed and flexibility.”

He conceded that “I don’t even know what the ballpark number for a server is — for me, it would be like knowing what the price of a sword is.”

Read the full article.


Coalfire, Corporate governance of information technology, Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, Partnerships, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, Standards, Virtualization, VMware

Coalfire Opens VMware Compliance Lab

Coalfire Systems, Inc. today announced that it has established the VMware Compliance Lab, a center of excellence and that designs, tests and promotes IT security best practices and audit guidelines for virtualized computing environments.

The VMware Compliance Lab, housed in Coalfire’s Seattle office, provides partners and end users with the information and tools they need to expedite the audit process and ensure compliance with major IT security standards, including PCI DSS, HIPAA/HITECH, GLBA, FISMA and FedRAMP. As a fully-independent IT Governance, Risk an Compliance firm, Coalfire gathers reference architecture and controls data from VMware, tests those controls in both the lab and the field, and issues guidance documents that security professionals can use to manage risk and compliance. In addition to VMware products, the Lab also houses and tests controls information from other products built on the VMware reference architecture, including solutions from EMC, RSA, HP, Symantec, McAfee and LogRhythm.

“Coalfire is partnering with VMware and other industry leaders to promote security and compliance in virtualized environments,” said Rick Dakin, CEO, co-founder and senior strategist at Coalfire. “Our lab provides a clearinghouse of un-biased, tested and proven best practices, and as those best practices are adopted in the field, end users will be able to streamline and risk and compliance efforts.”

”Coalfire’s thought leadership and IT audit expertise enables our partners and customers to confidently virtualize highly regulated workloads and meet their regulatory requirements. The guidance provided by Coalfire coupled with VMware’s proven leadership and ecosystem enables enterprises to use their virtualization investment as they move business critical applications to the cloud,” said Parag Patel, vice president, Global Strategic Alliances.


Amazon AWS, Amazon S3, Amazon Web Services, CloudBerry, CloudBerry Explorer, CloudBerry Lab, Storage

CloudBerry Explorer Adds Support for Cloudian

CloudBerry Lab today released CloudBerry Explorer, an application that allows users to manage files in Amazon S3 storage buckets just as they would on their local computers. This new version offers support for Gemini Technologies’ industry-leading Cloudian Cloud storage solution.

Cloudian is an S3 API compliant, multi-tenant, multi-datacenter cloud storage platform that enables cloud service providers and enterprises to cost-effectively deploy extremely scalable and reliable object storage services within public and private clouds. The Cloudian platform leverages commodity servers and offers a fully distributed, peer-to-peer architecture, with no single point of failure. The solution easily scales from one node up to hundreds of nodes across multiple data centers, supporting petabytes of data. Cloudian also provides a comprehensive user interface for both end user applications as well as administrative functions, including billing, monitoring and provisioning.

CloudBerry Explorer allows end users to accomplish simple tasks without special technical knowledge, automate time-consuming tasks to improve productivity. The new version of CloudBerry Explorer helps users manage Cloudian storage just as they manage Amazon S3. Users can upload files to Cloudian, create buckets and folders and perform other management tasks simply and efficiently.

“Our Cloudian solution is all about accessibility, scalability and affordability, while offering unmatched performance and security,” said Giorgio Propersi, General Manager, Gemini Technologies. “CloudBerry Explorer is a great tool which reflects the same principles and goals as Cloudian. We are pleased to see it help even more customers adopt our leading cloud storage platform.”

CloudBerry Explorer is designed to work on Windows 2003/XP/Vista/2008 and Windows 7. Microsoft PowerShell command line interface allows advanced computer users integrate Amazon S3 storage access with other routines.

“Cloudian is one of the most powerful and accessible storage solutions on the market today,” said Aleksey Serkov, CTO, CloudBerry Lab. “We are pleased to meet growing customer demand by helping companies of all sizes adopt and manage Cloudian regardless of their technical expertise level.”

CloudBerry Explorer for Windows is a freeware. CloudBerry Explorer PRO costs $39.99 (US).