Video with Francis Czekalski, Practice Manager, End User Computing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g40pR59Tz1g
In this video, Francis Czekalski discusses why organizations do not need to take an all-or-nothing approach with VDI. If you are interested in learning more from Francis about VDI, email us at socialmedia@greenpages.com
Is it just me, or has there been an explosion of buzz words lately? Don’t get me wrong, the IT industry innovates at a crazy pace normally, but it seems that things have been evolving faster than ever and that a fundamental change in the way things are done is underway. We can attribute this change to one thing: the cloud. Cloud computing is by no means new, but in 2014 it has come into its own.
Cloud computing is accelerating disruption by changing how data centers deploy, develop and consume everything from software and hardware, to how they offer products and services to their customers.
Let’s take a look at a few of these hot technologies and why you’ll be adopting some of them, whether you realize it now or not.
Cloudian is a Foster City, Calif.-based software company specializing in cloud storage. Cloudian HyperStore® is an S3-compatible cloud object storage platform that enables service providers and enterprises to build reliable, affordable and scalable hybrid cloud storage solutions. Cloudian actively partners with leading cloud computing environments including Amazon Web Services, Citrix Cloud Platform, Apache CloudStack, OpenStack and the vast ecosystem of S3 compatible tools and applications. Cloudian’s customers include Vodafone, Nextel, NTT, Nifty, and LunaCloud. The company has additional offices in China and Japan.
As more applications and services move “to the cloud” (public or on-premise) cloud environments are increasingly adopting and building out traditional enterprise features. This in turn is enabling and encouraging cloud adoption from enterprise users. In many ways the definition is blurring as features like continuous operation, geo-distribution or on-demand capacity become the norm. NuoDB is involved in both building enterprise software and using enterprise cloud capabilities.
In his session at 15th Cloud Expo, Seth Proctor, CTO at NuoDB, Inc., will discuss the experiences from building, deploying and using enterprise services and suggest some ways to approach moving enterprise applications into a cloud model.
Big Data, the cloud, and mobile are converging technology trends that represent real opportunities for developers and IT pros to deliver more efficiencies and new value. On June 11, 2014, at the 14th International Cloud Expo Microsoft Cloud delivered a complete education track as part of Microsoft’s strategy on how to deliver an integrated and yet open platform centered in cloud that also enables to extend existing investments. For developers and architects, this meant using familiar tools with enhanced capabilities never seen before. In the past 12 months Microsoft has offered tremendous innovation including: infrastructure as a service, cloud storage, cloud based device management across heterogeneous devices and Big Data solutions. Cloud Expo delegates learned how they can move their businesses and careers forward by taking Microsoft’s innovation to their business.
Internet of @ThingsExpo anticipates 90% of WebRTC companies & developers will monetize their products & services through IoT by 2016. This year, @ThingsExpo Silicon Valley introduced a new “WebRTC – Backbone of Internet of Things” track. The first three WebRTC sessions at @ThingsExpo Silicon Valley will be presented by top three experts of WebRTC, Keith McFarlene, Ivan Ivanov, and Peter Dunkley.
In a world of ever-accelerating business cycles and fast-changing client expectations, the cloud increasingly serves as a growth engine and a path to new business models. Dynamic clouds enable businesses to continuously reinvent themselves, adapting their business processes, their service and software delivery and their operations to achieve speed-to-market and quick response to customer feedback.In his Lunch Keynote at 14th Cloud Expo, Dr Kristof Kloeckner, General Manager at Rational Software, IBM, discussed the capabilities of BlueMix, IBM’s cloud platform, with integrated DevOps services. With BlueMix, developers can compose applications in a tight feedback loop, using a wealth of IBM, third-party and open source services and APIs, deploy and scale with infrastructure services from SoftLayer and code with the confidence based on a foundation of open standards.
Until recently, many organizations required specialized departments to perform mapping and geospatial analysis, and they used Esri on-premise solutions for that work.
In his session at 15th Cloud Expo, Dave Peters, author of the Esri Press book Building a GIS, System Architecture Design Strategies for Managers, will discuss how Esri has successfully included the cloud as a fully integrated SaaS expansion of the ArcGIS mapping platform. Organizations that have incorporated Esri cloud-based applications and content within their business models are reaping huge benefits by directly leveraging cloud-based mapping and analysis capabilities within their existing enterprise investments. The ArcGIS mapping platform includes cloud-based content management and information resources to more widely, efficiently, and affordably deliver real-time actionable information and analysis capabilities to your organization.
Cloud and Big Data present unique dilemmas: embracing the benefits of these new technologies while maintaining the security of your organization’s assets. When an outside party owns, controls and manages your infrastructure and computational resources, how can you be assured that sensitive data remains private and secure? How do you best protect data in mixed use cloud and Big Data infrastructure sets? Can you still satisfy the full range of reporting, compliance and regulatory requirements?
A new report from legal IT provider Accesspoint Technologies and cloud vendor Databarracks has argued how cloud computing is “a great leveller” for law firms of all sizes.
The report, written by Accesspoint managing director Richard Roebuck, draws parallels with the banking industry – even going into the semantics of the word ‘industry’ – and argues the legal industry is in danger of falling behind unless it falls into line with modernisation. This includes adopting ABS, or alternative business structures.
“This is an ideal opportunity to stand back and reassess the new market space,” Roebuck writes. “We need to ask ourselves what we’re doing now and how we need to adapt to execute on future opportunities.”
Roebuck argues that law firms need a smoothly running IT operation for three main reasons: case management on a day-to-day basis; better ability to predict future events; and being a greater repository of information for client or customer-based intelligence. He admits smaller law firms should have the advantage, observing that “big ships turn far more slowly.”
“Whilst nearly all readers will have some form of internal practice management system already in place, the smaller firms will be able to review both the technologies and processes that feed them more quickly and effectively,” he argues.
And so it comes to the ‘levelling field’ of cloud computing and “the iPad era”, according to Roebuck. The paper argues about the huge impact social media has made, and contrasts it with the “air of awkwardness” apparent when discussing how to improve the sales and marketing strategy of a law firm.
Specifically, Roebuck pointed at being able to do work outside the office as a major productivity gainer, with only a lack of cheap, quality internet connectivity the only prohibiting factor. “While this might not signal the death of the large scale central office, we’ll almost certainly see a shift towards the virtual firm,” he writes.
As for cloud, Roebuck argues the trick is “to think ahead and plan now.”
“Cloud, or a hosted and managed server solution, is a great leveller,” he writes. “It allows the small and medium sizes enterprise access to hardware and latest release software platforms that were previously the preserve of the more corporate or top-100 organisations.”
Naturally, as has been reported in various pages on CloudTech over recent months, there’s a major issue with security of data for law firms moving to the cloud. After all, all data is equal, but some data – legal, financial, medical – is more equal than others.
Roebuck, however, wishes to quell those fears, saying he finds it “hard to reconcile many of the arguments put against hosted solutions.”
“Few people think about the quality of hosted services in real terms,” he says. “Providers invest tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of pounds in their product, because without it, they don’t exist.”
Next Generation Data CEO Nick Razey had an alternate viewpoint of the ‘inverted pyramid’ of IT infrastructure, explaining that you get what you pay for. Good data centre providers offer a trustworthy service, but if you’re happy with the cheapest option – no security, cheap infrastructure and support 9 to 5 rather than 24/7 – then whatever happens, happens.
“In short, cloud is an ideal way forward for firms who have ageing infrastructure,” Roebuck concludes. “The way forward is to investigate – it is worth going to look at the physical facilities on offer.”
The full report can be found here (subscription required). What do you make of the findings?