Big Data has been a hot topic throughout 2012. With 2013 fast approaching, we sat down with Terracotta CEO Robin Gilthorpe to get his predictions for the top trends that will drive Big Data activity in the coming year. His top five predictions, explained in detail in this video, are:
Big Data has to be fast data – Enterprises will profit from Big Data intelligence in proportion to how quickly they can act on it.
Rise of the hybrid cloud – It’s no longer about building your own platform; it’s more efficient to play in ecosystems.
CIOs and CMOs get a lot closer – Marketing spend on technology is about to eclipse IT spend on technology.
The Internet of things crosses the chasm – In just a few years, over 25 billion data-producing devices will be connected.
Social becomes part of life’s fabric – Remember e-business departments? Social will permeate in the same way.
Completely Unscientific Hybrid Cloud Survey Results from Gartner DC 2012
Presenters asked, attendees responded, I compiled.
Of COURSE you know I have something to say about these results, particularly with respect to the definition of “cloud bridges” comprising a variety of features that are more properly distributed across cloud brokers and cloud gateways, but we’ll leave that for another day. Today, enjoy the data.
Nutanix Fields Next-Gen Software-Defined Data Center Widgetry
Nutanix, a cloud hardware start-up that’s offering a hybrid scale-out compute-cum-storage appliance backed by $72 million in VC funding only half of which is reportedly spent, has put out next-generation software-defined data center products.
It’s updating its server hardware and its software to deal with divergent workloads. It’s going to a quad-node box made by Quanta and should be able to support 400 VMs per chassis, up from 300.
It’s got VM-centric disaster recovery, adaptive compression and a new highly configurable hardware platform. The widgetry includes Nutanix OS 3.0 and NX-3000 series hardware. It’s supposed to help enterprises build next-generation software-defined data centers.
Cloud ERP is the next big thing in the cloud
By Sharon Florentine
The Cloud ERP (enterprise resource planning) landscape is expanding, and competition is heating up. Back in July 2012, Web-based business software provider NetSuite’s Q2 revenue and earnings numbers were the first indicators of a growing trend in the Cloud ERP space.
As Ben Kepes reported in the Cloud Ave blog, NetSuite’s subscription and support revenues were $61 million, a 27 percent increase of Q2 2011. And NetSuite’s cash flow from operations was up 80 percent year-over-year to $15.2 million.
Don’t yawn – yes, earnings reports in and of themselves aren’t exactly riveting. But as Kepes said, the trend that these numbers indicate signals a very important shift in the ERP space.
Enterprise software isn’t “sexy,” but it continues to be a growth sector year-over-year, he said, because it’s directly monetisable – enterprise software companies deliver a service customers are very willing …
Cloud Computing and Big Data in 2013: What’s Coming Next?
What changes in the cloud computing and big data landscape should we be expecting in 2013? In this article we offer a round-up of industry experts’ opinions as they were asked by Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan to review the year ahead.
When is a stack not a stack? When it’s Unified in the cloud
While trawling the blogs, feeds and news I came across an analyst’s article about best security practices in which he kept referring to “the stack.” And by this he meant a multitude of various solutions that address certain security needs and capabilities; everything from email filtering, firewalling, authenticating, credentialing, logging and intrusion detection, etc…
And, if you read my blogs often enough, you know I am a big proponent of unified security. However, unified security is not a stack. It is easy to be confused as both look to utilize best of breed tools to prevent negative impact on IP assets. A stack references a number of technologies where each operates independently from one another. Single sign on by itself is a sufficient tool, but when operating alone in its own silo, important contextual information is lost.
The unified approach, as I describe in REACT, is a collaborative practice …
When is a stack not a stack? When it’s Unified in the cloud
While trawling the blogs, feeds and news I came across an analyst’s article about best security practices in which he kept referring to “the stack.” And by this he meant a multitude of various solutions that address certain security needs and capabilities; everything from email filtering, firewalling, authenticating, credentialing, logging and intrusion detection, etc…
And, if you read my blogs often enough, you know I am a big proponent of unified security. However, unified security is not a stack. It is easy to be confused as both look to utilize best of breed tools to prevent negative impact on IP assets. A stack references a number of technologies where each operates independently from one another. Single sign on by itself is a sufficient tool, but when operating alone in its own silo, important contextual information is lost.
The unified approach, as I describe in REACT, is a collaborative practice …
Cloud Computing: SAS Gets rPath’s Key Assets
Reports that rPath, the source code automation start-up founded in 2005 by ex-Red Hat technical folk, was looking for a buyer proved true.
Business analytics software shop SAS Institute has acquired its code and some of its staff expecting to expand its ability to automate and manage IT operations on multiple platforms and environments, including on-demand and in the private and public cloud.
It said it would better automate the set-up and management of SAS solutions in any virtual environment and is thought to give SAS a more direct path to support public, private and hybrid clouds than building the widgetry itself.
The Intersection of Cloud, Mobile and Social
Increasingly organizations are looking to tap the collective power of social, mobile and cloud technologies. We asked Ric Telford, IBM VP of Cloud Services, to share his perspective on the trend in light of IBM’s new social business software including SmartCloud Docs, a cloud-based office productivity suite. University of Texas at El Paso is using the software to collaborate in the cloud using mobile devices.
Cloud Computing Journal: What’s the connection between Social, Mobile and Cloud. Are they just three tech buzzwords?
Ric Telford: Social, mobile and cloud are inextricably linked as three facets of the same movement – a new era of computing. Some call it the “third platform,” others “SoMoClo, let’s just call it “new era” for now. Cloud is the delivery, mobile is the ubiquitous access and social is the personal engagement. Cloud is scalable, flexible IT resources on-demand with the compute power to handle real-time analytics and Big Data; mobile is having simplified, user-friendly access anywhere. Social adds the power of collaboration. As one consolidated framework, this “new era” enables flexible delivery of services and expanding reach – bringing communication and productivity to whole new levels.
How Cloud Computing Will Make the Workplace More Accessible
Cloud computing is changing the way big business communicates and is fast becoming the new technological standard for enterprises.
With employees working across so many devices from numerous locations, cloud computing is taking on a growing importance for a seamless work experience. Whatever solutions companies decide to buy, they all have to work on the range of devices people now carry. According to an article on CalgaryHerald.com, cloud computing is making business life easier by allowing users access to the same information regardless of which gadget they have logged on with.
A new mobile workforce means that software and file storage must be accessible anywhere, on any device, and cannot be stuck in one static place anymore. People want to be able to access work while at the beach or the soccer field. Simply dropping a file into a centralized location using cloud storage technology offers easy access and version control with the click of a button. This also means that your IT team will be able to focus on their core competencies rather than getting bogged down by contextual issues from their fellow, less tech-savvy colleagues.