Technology shifts are creating a lot of chaos, including the way we use words. Cloud. SDN. Multi-tenant. Instances. They’re all inter-related and seem to have different meanings depending on who’s trying to sell you what today.
That’s more than a tad bit disconcerting, because you know what you mean when you say “multi-tenant” but other people (trying to sell you stuff) may have a different definition. And that means when you ask about it and they say yes, you may not be getting what you expected – and that’s not good for either end of the transaction.
So let’s talk network virtualization today, particularly with respect to the difference between “instances” and “tenants.”
ScaleMP to Exhibit at Cloud Expo New York
SYS-CON Events announced today that ScaleMP™, a leading provider of virtualization solutions for high-end computing, will exhibit at SYS-CON’s 14th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 10–12, 2014, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York.
ScaleMP is the leader in virtualization for high-end computing, providing maximum performance and lower total cost of ownership. The innovative Versatile SMP™ (vSMP) architecture aggregates multiple independent systems into a single virtual system, delivering an industry-standard, high-end symmetric multiprocessing computer. Using software to replace custom hardware and components, ScaleMP offers a new, revolutionary computing paradigm.
IT Project Management Methodology – Does One Size Fit All?
By Stacy Toof, Director, PMO, Solutions
You might be asking yourself, is there more than one methodology that can be used to manage a project? What are those methodologies? Do you always use one consistent methodology? What are the pros and cons of doing so? Can you shift mid-stream of a project? Ultimately, how do you know what methodology to use and when, or if it’s even necessary?
As you may or may not know, project management methodology is a conceptual framework for project and program management. It’s the specific development and documented approach that is called a methodology, allowing an organization to standardize its project management practices company-wide and aiding in the effectiveness and efficiency of resource utilization. The GreenPages-LogicsOne Project Management Office (PMO) has customized and documented project and program management processes to fit the specific objectives and needs of our business environment.
With that said, since there is no one-size-fits-all for each and every IT environment, there is no one-size-fits- all in project management methodology either. It’s our recommendation to start by researching and understanding what has already been successfully developed within the project management industry by recognizing and supporting the value of work that organizations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) have already created. Take the information you gather and internalize and customize it to fit the needs of your business environment. Your thoughts and consideration should include management buy-in, a set of guidelines, standards, best practices and processes with a vehicle to constantly share feedback and communication of lessons learned, with a focus to adapt as business needs evolve.
The advantage in going through the process to define a project management methodology and determine whether or not you need one, is to help provide those individuals within your company who are managing projects the guidance, standardization and feedback mechanism for delivering better quality and consistent results. This allows a framework for sharing a common language and delivery of optimum value of cost, time and output through a defined workflow process of initiation to closure.
In addition, I would like to provide you with some insight into a couple of commonly used terms in project management; “Agile” & “Waterfall.”
It’s important to understand that these terms have a purpose in the world of project management, but understanding their definition and when to use them will contribute to your success. Agile is the ability to move quickly and easily. Therefore, Agile techniques are best used in small-scale projects or on elements of a wider program of work where requirements and solutions evolve through team collaboration iteratively throughout the project lifecycle, driving the need to support and adapt to change. You are able to recognize workable output/products, (quick wins) at the end of each tested stage. (I.e. software or product development projects). Waterfall is used when progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards within phased projects such as Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Development, Testing, Implementation/Production and Support. The product is tested at the very end, resulting in the workable output/products being recognized upon completion of the last phase of the project. This means any bugs that are found result in the entire technique being performed over again. (I.e. phone implementation or infrastructure projects).
By taking time to consider these things upfront, it will help you ensure that you are on the right path to successfully establishing a project management methodology. As always, our Project Management Team at GreenPages-LogicsOne is available to help get you started, fill in any current gaps and offer you professional advice any time. What project management strategies and methodologies does your organization currently use?
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These numbers show that Box CEO Aaron Levie is a genius
When Box filed its long-awaited paperwork to become a public company, it set off discussions about the financial health of the company, and the long-term viability of its business model.
At issue was how much money Box spends- particularly on sales and marketing – compared to its revenue. People began to wonder whether the founder and CEO, Aaron Levie, was a quack or a modern-day genius.
Let me be clear: he’s a genius, and he’s not the only one.
It’s crazy to me that 10 years after the IPO of Salesforce.com as the first public software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, Wall Street still doesn’t seem to understand the subscription – or recurring revenue – business model. The software industry has been on an inevitable path to subscriptions since 1999, when Salesforce was founded.
Yet the recent decline in demand for cloud software technology stocks, causing Box to potentially delay its …
These numbers show that Box CEO Aaron Levie is a genius
When Box filed its long-awaited paperwork to become a public company, it set off discussions about the financial health of the company, and the long-term viability of its business model.
At issue was how much money Box spends- particularly on sales and marketing – compared to its revenue. People began to wonder whether the founder and CEO, Aaron Levie, was a quack or a modern-day genius.
Let me be clear: he’s a genius, and he’s not the only one.
It’s crazy to me that 10 years after the IPO of Salesforce.com as the first public software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, Wall Street still doesn’t seem to understand the subscription – or recurring revenue – business model. The software industry has been on an inevitable path to subscriptions since 1999, when Salesforce was founded.
Yet the recent decline in demand for cloud software technology stocks, causing Box to potentially delay its …
Cloud computing in India: Are we on the verge of explosion?
Two separate stories have reached CloudTech HQ which show that cloud computing adoption in India is showing more than just potential. But is the hype justified?
Earlier this week it was reported that Microsoft is offering its Office 365 Personal suite to users in India for Rs 330 (£3.24) per month or Rs 3299 (£32.42) for a yearly subscription.
According to reports from New Delhi, Redmond is hoping to recruit 25 million new Indian users for cloud services, with country general manager Chakrapani Gollapali telling reporters: “Today’s consumers are seeking a more optimised experience across their phone, tablet and PC and the combined power of Microsoft devices and services provides the best experience they can have today across all these.”
Fusing Office 365 with cloud and mobile was the first item on new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s list, with the long-awaited move to bring Office to …
Cloud computing in India: Are we on the verge of explosion?
Two separate stories have reached CloudTech HQ which show that cloud computing adoption in India is showing more than just potential. But is the hype justified?
Earlier this week it was reported that Microsoft is offering its Office 365 Personal suite to users in India for Rs 330 (£3.24) per month or Rs 3299 (£32.42) for a yearly subscription.
According to reports from New Delhi, Redmond is hoping to recruit 25 million new Indian users for cloud services, with country general manager Chakrapani Gollapali telling reporters: “Today’s consumers are seeking a more optimised experience across their phone, tablet and PC and the combined power of Microsoft devices and services provides the best experience they can have today across all these.”
Fusing Office 365 with cloud and mobile was the first item on new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s list, with the long-awaited move to bring Office to …
Windows Least Privilege Management and Beyond
For Windows environments, it is critical that organizations can delegate administration and establish granular privileges quickly and efficiently to restrict administrators so they only access the servers and resources required to perform their job and only during the approved times to perform specific tasks. This white paper examines the security, compliance and efficiency issues surrounding least privilege management for Windows servers, and explains where native Windows tools fall short. It then describes how Centrify’s DirectAuthorize component for Windows eliminates the problem of too many users having broad and unmanaged administrative powers by delivering secure delegation of privileged access and granularly enforcing who can perform what administrative functions.
IBM Named “Day 1 Lunch Keynote Sponsor” of Cloud Expo New York
SYS-CON Events announced today that IBM has been named “Day 1 Lunch Keynote Sponsor” of SYS-CON’s 14th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 10-12, 2014, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
IBM has helped more than 30,000 clients around the world with 40,000 industry experts. Since its acquisition in 2013, IBM SoftLayer has served 4,500 new cloud clients. Today, IBM has 100+ cloud SaaS solutions, thousands of experts with deep industry knowledge helping clients transform and a network of 40 data centers worldwide. Since 2007, IBM has invested more than $7 billion in 17 acquisitions to accelerate its cloud initiatives and build a high value cloud portfolio. IBM holds 1,560 cloud patents focused on driving innovation. In fact, IBM for the 21st consecutive year topped the annual list of US patent leaders. IBM processes more than 5.5M client transactions daily through IBM’s public cloud.
How an Adwords Campaign Accidentally Exposed Dropbox and Box User’s Confidential Files
We previously reported on a Dropbox Security Snafu (and their correction for it). Now we’re learning more about how it came about, and how it was discovered.
There are several ways users can inadvertently leak confidential files, but the one that is the real head-scratcher is a combination of a user entering the URL of a Dropbox or Box file-sharing link in their browser’s “search box” rather than the “URL box”, combined with Google AdWords campaigns by competitors who want their ads to appear with people “search” for Dropbox or Box (pretty standard stuff).
The sites running such a campaign then — completely innocently — see what users are searching for, and what they are “searching for” turns out to be fully-clickable URLs to files that often contain sensitive personal or company data.
If you think that’s too rare a scenario to worry about, think again:
In one short and entirely innocently designed ad campaign alone, we found that about 5 per cent of hits represented full links to shared files, half of which required no password to download. This amounted to over 300 documents from a small campaign, including several tax returns, a mortgage application, bank information and personal photos. In one case, corporate information including a business plan was uncovered.
That’s from Richard Anstey of Intralink, the people who stumbled on the issue.
Look at this to see (redacted) images of one person’s tax return, and another’s mortgage application. Identity theft, anyone?
Read more about how Intralink discovered all this, along with some good advice on protecting yourself.
TL;DR: sensitive file? Use a sharing application that offers a password or PIN option.
