All posts by Richard

Open Source, OpenStack, Rackspace, Rackspace Private Cloud, Standards

Rackspace Launches OpenStack-based Private Cloud Software

Today, Rackspace Hosting announced the release of Rackspace Private Cloud Software, powered by OpenStack – making it simple and easy for companies to install, test and run a multi-node OpenStack based private cloud environment. The software, code named “Alamo,” uses the same OpenStack compute platform, Nova, used to run Rackspace clouds and is available as a free download from the Rackspace website. This software is based upon Rackspace’s experience in deploying and operating OpenStack-based public and private clouds in a variety of environments including in Rackspace’s own datacenters as well as in external datacenters. The Rackspace Private Cloud is backed by an optional support offering.

The Rackspace Private Cloud Software combines the capabilities of public cloud with the customization, reliability and control advantages of a dedicated environment. Customers now have a simple way to install an OpenStack-based private cloud in their own datacenter, at Rackspace, or in a colocation facility.

“We believe that the majority of our customers and cloud users will be running hybrid cloud environments for a long time,” said Jim Curry, general manager of Private Cloud business at Rackspace. “Today’s announcement allows businesses to utilize their existing investment in their own datacenter resources to run an open cloud solution for additional control and customization and also take advantage of Rackspace’s datacenter options.”

Key Benefits of Rackspace Private Cloud, Powered by OpenStack include:

  • Deploy in minutes – To download, customers can go to www.rackspace.com/cloud/private
    and run a simple installer to deploy OpenStack components and
    configuration for private clouds.
  • Integrated and tested configuration – Based on customer
    feedback, Rackspace selected a proven configuration, which initially
    includes Ubuntu 12.04 LTS host operating system and KVM hypervisor. It
    is 100% open source OpenStack Essex with Compute, Image Service,
    Identity Service and Dashboard. Rackspace is working with partners
    like Red Hat and others to offer its customers choice of host
    operating systems and OpenStack distributions in the future.
  • Backed by Rackspace Fanatical Support® – Organizations running
    the software can utilize free support forums or can purchase
    Escalation Support services from Rackspace. Escalation Support
    includes 24x7x365 ticket and phone support for Rackspace Private Cloud
    powered by OpenStack from the experts at Rackspace.

“Since the founding of OpenStack, we have had requests from the marketplace and our customers for a private cloud software offering based on OpenStack that makes it easy to get up and running. We are making that solution available through Rackspace’s Private Cloud Software allowing organizations of any size to take advantage of open cloud technology that conforms 100% to the open source code base. Rackspace is making it easy for every IT decision maker, IT pro, and system administrator to install, test and run OpenStack clouds anywhere within minutes – you don’t need to be an OpenStack expert,” said Lew Moorman, president at Rackspace. “This is built, packaged and tested by the OpenStack experts at Rackspace, providing customers access to a proven configuration and to Rackspace’s expert Fanatical Support team.”

This software is the newest addition to the Rackspace Private Cloud suite along with OpenStack Training and Support services. For more information go to: www.rackspace.com/cloud/private


Customer service, Intellectual Property, Interactive voice response, Patent, United States Patent and Trademark Office

8×8 Issued New Contact Center Patent

8×8, Inc. today announced that it has been awarded a new patent related to its contact/call center technologies. On August 14, 2012, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued United States Patent number 8,243,913, entitled “Limiting Contact in a Networked Contact Center Environment.”

The patent relates to, among other things, limiting contact to a networked contact center that is a host to multiple tenants. In an example embodiment, when a communication is received by a networked contact center, a contact rate value may be examined in order to determine whether to allow the communication to reach contact center resources. The contact rate value may represent an allowable quantity of contact within a time interval. For some example embodiments, a determination of whether the network contact center is to accept or reject the communication is made based on the contact rate value.

Since its establishment in 1987, 8×8 has been awarded 82 United States patents covering a variety of voice and video communications, signaling, processing and storage technologies.


Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, High Performance Computing, Medical, Medical imaging, Partnerships, Penguin Computing

Numira Biosciences, Penguin Computing Partner for Cloud Pre-Clinical Imaging

Penguin Computing and Numira Biosciences announced a partnership to bring graphics-intense data on-demand to Life Sciences customers. The platform will leverage a convergence of enabling technologies from Penguin Computing’s HPC as a Service offering, POD; Numira Biosciences’ AltaPortal product; and Nvidia’s GPU technology to deliver advanced pre-clinical imaging services to researchers at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the globe.

Researchers will benefit from the cutting edge graphics, GPU power, global accessibility and reliability of Penguin Computing’s HPC as a Service platform, POD. Numira’s AltaPortal product provides a secure web interface for managing projects and exploring datasets, media and documents. By leveraging POD, AltaPortal will enable researchers to interactively navigate rich 3D data from microCT scans with overlaid analytics customized to the task at hand. The data will be delivered as a media stream to the client’s web browser, eliminating the need to transfer large and potentially proprietary datasets over networks, and allowing them to be secured in a central location.

“Penguin has enjoyed steady growth in the genomics sector with its POD offering. Adding Numira’s medical imaging software and services to our POD partner portfolio will enhance our breadth in the bioinformatics market and further establish POD as a destination for that set of users” said Matt Jacobs, SVP of Corporate Development for Penguin Computing.

“At Numira we’ve built our reputation delivering rich quantitative analytics for preclinical medical imaging. With our AltaPortal web service, we’re taking it to the next level; our customers will be able to interactively explore and quantitatively assess their preclinical imaging data with our custom 3D visual analytic tools. Penguin’s POD service offers the ideal platform for our rendering-on-demand engine,” said David Weinstein, Numira’s Chief Technology Officer.


American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, EHR, Electronic health record, Health Care, Health care provider, Health information exchange, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Medical, Medical record

Zyantus OS Records System Helps Meet Federal Requirements

Zyantus has  launched Zyantus OS Records system, a cloud-based electronic health records (EHR) system. Zyantus OS Records provides electronic storage of patient records and their secure transmission among health care facilities, health information organizations and government agencies according to national standards.

Zyantus OS Records system has earned the federal government’s Complete EHR Certification, which officially deems the EHR software capable of enabling providers to qualify for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The certification, provided by the Drummond Group ONC-ATCB program, ensures EHRs meet the meaningful use criteria for eligible provider technology.

When fully implemented, EHR’s, such as Zyantus OS Records, should result in lower record keeping costs and improved care by facilitating shared access to consistent patient records among health care providers and facilities across the nation.

“We have been in this industry for twelve years and understand the importance of EHR in maximizing the efficiencies of a medical practice,” said Zyantus President Adam Schwindt. “We take pride in always being a step ahead and evolving our services in this ever-changing industry. Health care providers can now leverage Zyantus OS Records to not only make significant care improvements but also achieve meaningful use and qualify for incentive funds under ARRA.”

Since 2000, Zyantus has served the health care industry by specializing in management solutions for medical offices of all kinds. In that time, the company has built a reputation for easy-to-use programs, comprehensive services and rapid response to customer needs.

The Zyantus OS Records system was developed from the ground up by medical personnel who understand office management and the importance of maintaining office productivity while transitioning to new management systems. Zyantus OS Records was designed with Health Information Exchange (HIE) parameters in mind from the beginning, and will securely store and readily share health care information with new HIE systems as they are built.

Health care providers must prove their medical records systems achieve meaningful use in order to qualify for government reimbursement for their investment. The software features a simplified meaningful use section to aid medical offices seeking attestation in order to qualify for incentive payments. In addition, Zyantus OS Records already meets a number of proposed stage 2 meaningful use requirements.

As a cloud-based system, Zyantus OS Records provides a high level of security and is easily implemented across multiple sites, including Mac and PC platforms, smart phones and tablets. No additional hardware is needed to implement the system as it is hosted by the Amazon EC2 HIPAA-compliant cloud with unlimited storage capacity. There are no hidden or additional fees for support. Zyantus OS Records also features friendly, customer-service oriented personnel training and implementation and free e-Prescribe for patient medications.


Business process automation, EMEA, EQT Partners, M&A Activity, UC4

EQT VI to acquire UC4 Software Group

EQT VI has agreed to acquire UC4 Software Group  from Carlyle Europe Technology Partners, the founder Franz Beranek and management for an enterprise value of EUR 220 million.

UC4 is the world’s largest independent IT Process Automation software vendor. UC4’s ONE Automation platform delivers IT Process Automation helping organizations to manage increasingly dynamic and heterogeneous IT landscapes, and to migrate to cloud computing as the next generation of IT service delivery. The Company has recently complemented its product portfolio by offering Application Release Automation on its existing ONE Automation platform.

The Company has a strong and loyal customer base with roughly 2,050 blue chip customers including more than 70 of the Global Fortune 500 companies. The Company roughly generated revenues of EUR 62 million in the past fiscal year ending in April 2012 and is headquartered in Wolfsgraben (close to Vienna), Austria and Bellevue, US.

“We consider UC4 a highly attractive growth company and are impressed by its customer base and strong automation offering. The new Supervisory Board, consisting of a mix of highly relevant and experienced EQT Industrial Advisors, looks forward to supporting UC4′s management team in driving further expansion into the rapidly growing Cloud Automation market”, says Per Franzén, Partner at EQT Partners in Germany, Investment Advisor to EQT VI.

“We are very pleased to welcome EQT VI as our new owner and look forward to working together with EQT VI and the new Supervisory Board to realizing the growth potential of UC4. EQT’s industrial focus with a very strong line-up of Industrial Advisors will be of great value to UC4 and to us as a management team when developing the Company over the next years”, says Jason Liu, CEO of UC4.


Business process automation, EMEA, EQT Partners, M&A Activity, ONE Automation, UC4

EQT VI to acquire UC4 Software Group

EQT VI has agreed to acquire UC4 Software Group  from Carlyle Europe Technology Partners, the founder Franz Beranek and management for an enterprise value of EUR 220 million.

UC4 is the world’s largest independent IT Process Automation software vendor. UC4’s ONE Automation platform delivers IT Process Automation helping organizations to manage increasingly dynamic and heterogeneous IT landscapes, and to migrate to cloud computing as the next generation of IT service delivery. The Company has recently complemented its product portfolio by offering Application Release Automation on its existing ONE Automation platform.

The Company has a strong and loyal customer base with roughly 2,050 blue chip customers including more than 70 of the Global Fortune 500 companies. The Company roughly generated revenues of EUR 62 million in the past fiscal year ending in April 2012 and is headquartered in Wolfsgraben (close to Vienna), Austria and Bellevue, US.

“We consider UC4 a highly attractive growth company and are impressed by its customer base and strong automation offering. The new Supervisory Board, consisting of a mix of highly relevant and experienced EQT Industrial Advisors, looks forward to supporting UC4′s management team in driving further expansion into the rapidly growing Cloud Automation market”, says Per Franzén, Partner at EQT Partners in Germany, Investment Advisor to EQT VI.

“We are very pleased to welcome EQT VI as our new owner and look forward to working together with EQT VI and the new Supervisory Board to realizing the growth potential of UC4. EQT’s industrial focus with a very strong line-up of Industrial Advisors will be of great value to UC4 and to us as a management team when developing the Company over the next years”, says Jason Liu, CEO of UC4.


Azure, Internet Technology, Microsoft Windows, Quest, Tools, Windows Azure

Quest Software Foglight for Windows Azure Monitors Application Performance.

Quest Software today introduced Foglight for Windows Azure Applications, an application performance monitoring (APM) solution available via software-as-a-service (SaaS). Available immediately as a beta, the newest addition to the industry-leading Foglight APM portfolio enables IT administrators to monitor performance and understand what end users are experiencing with Windows Azure-based application.

Foglight for Windows Azure Applications enables enterprises to leverage cloud-based performance monitoring technology for applications built on the Windows Azure platform, and allows IT administrators to gain critical insight as to how end users interact with these applications.


Gartner, IBM, Magic Quadrant, McKesson, Medecision, Research, SAP

Cloud Research — Recent Reports

IDC Health Insights Releases MarketScape Report on Top U.S. Care Management Vendors for Healthcare Payers

IDC Health Insights released a new MarketScape report that evaluates the top nine U.S. Care Management vendors for healthcare payers. The comprehensive study, IDC MarketScape: U.S. Care Management 2012 Vendor Assessment for Healthcare Payers (Doc #HI235803), evaluates the post-reform era market landscape and profiles the following vendors: Casenet, Inc., Click4care, Inc., DST Health Solutions, Landacorp, IkaSystems, Medecision, McKesson, TriZetto, and ZeOmega.

The IDC Health Insights report found the care management market will be a highly volatile and evolving market through at least 2015. As vendors position for new opportunities in the post-reform era, there will be an unprecedented expansion of functionality and services. Key solution investments include embedded and integrated analytics, provider and consumer engagement strategies and technologies, real time triggers and alerts, integration of clinical data, and multi-platform channel delivery including cloud and iPad initiatives.

Digital River’s New White Paper Helps Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Address Complex Global Recycling and Copyright Regulations

Digital River released its latest white paper, Regulatory Fee Management: Navigating the Complex World of Global Compliance. The white paper offers consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers insights into the complicated recycling and copyright regulations that govern the manufacture, use and end-of-life handling of electronics and electric devices. The paper also helps manufacturers weigh some of the important considerations that go into building and maintaining a successful compliance management solution. A complimentary copy of the white paper is available for free download.

Gartner on SAP Implementation: Accenture in Leaders Quadrant

Accenture has been positioned in the “Leaders” quadrant in Gartner Inc.’s recently published “Magic Quadrant for SAP Implementation Service Providers, North America.”

Gartner assessed 20 of the leading service providers for the Magic Quadrant, which focused on the implementation services of SAP solutions for each company across consulting, system integration and implementation in North America.

Research and Markets: Mobile Content Market – Size, Share, Trends And Forecasts 2011 – 2017

“Mobile Content Market – Global And U.S. Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends And Forecasts 2011 – 2017”

The mobile content industry comprises of mobile games, mobile music and mobile video. In the overall mobile content industry, mobile games were the largest market segment with a revenue share of 53.3% in 2011. The segment will further consolidate its position with 61.7% market share in 2017. The global mobile games market was worth USD 3.5 billion in 2011 and is expected to reach USD 11.4 billion in 2017 with a CAGR of 21.9% from 2011 to 2017.

Research and Markets: Cloud Messaging Market Trends, 2011-2014

This report presents the results of a detailed research program into preferences and plans for cloud-based messaging and related capabilities among North American organizations over the period 2011-2014. It focuses on various types of cloud messaging-related capabilities, including complete messaging services, messaging security services and archiving services, among others.

“Cloud Messaging Market Trends, 2011-2014”

Storage Gets Smarter with Release of IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center 5.1

Delivering on its vision of integrating hardware and software product lines to improve efficiencies wherever possible across its solutions portfolio, IBM announced several new features and capabilities for its already industry-leading Tivoli Storage Productivity Center (TPC) product line. A new GUI interface, additional NAS and cloud support, enhanced reporting, tiering optimization along with simplified packaging and pricing are welcome additions. With the release and general availability of TPC 5.1, EMA believes IBM has made significant strides in fulfilling its promise to simplify storage resource management and lower the total cost of storage.

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/764x6s/storage_gets_smart

Latency Will Make or Break the Cloud Economy

The holy grail of having anywhere, anytime access to services in the cloud is becoming a reality. Ubiquitous broadband, both fixed and mobile, will be the enabler of this transformation in the way we use computing resources. This report examines why latency rather than bandwidth dominates the user experience, and what opportunities this presents for operators to differentiate themselves.

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8m82lm/latency_will_make


CareCloud, Clint Miller, People in the News, Sorenson Media

Cloud People in the News This Week (August 10, 2012)

Sorenson Media Promotes Video Transcoding Veteran Mitchell Holyoak to Head of Salt Lake City Office

Sorenson Media appointed Mitchell Holyoak, director of software development, as head of the company’s Salt Lake City office. In conjunction with his elevated managerial role, Holyoak will oversee the full Sorenson Squeeze and Squeeze Server development teams.

As head of the Salt Lake office, Holyoak brings more than 15 years of digital video software development to his role, including leadership in video encoding and decoding, video streaming, video conferencing, and video instruction software. Beginning with the launch of the original version of Sorenson Squeeze, Holyoak’s expertise has been instrumental in developing the industry’s gold-standard video encoding application, Sorenson Squeeze, and the company’s enterprise-grade video encoding solution, Squeeze Server.

ProfitBricks Appoints William Toll VP of Marketing, Clint Miller VP of Sales

ProfitBricks, the cloud computing Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider, announced today the appointment of web hosting and Internet infrastructure industry veteran William Toll as Vice President of Marketing and Clint Miller as Vice President of Sales.

As the vice president of marketing at ProfitBricks, Toll will oversee the company’s North American marketing programs. Miller will leverage his twenty-five years of sales experience at hosting, content delivery and infrastructure technology companies to lead the North and South American sales team.

CareCloud Appoints Edwin Miller VP of Product Management

CareCloud, a provider of web-based practice management, electronic healthcare record (EHR), revenue cycle management and medical billing software and services, has hired Edwin Miller as its new Vice President of Product Management. In his new role, Mr. Miller will oversee all development of CareCloud’s existing EHR and forthcoming mobile offerings for the physician practice market. He brings decades of product development and engineering experience to CareCloud, most recently through leadership positions at Practice Fusion and athenahealth.