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Counting the Cost of Cloud
IT costs were always a worry, but only an occasional one. Cloud computing has changed that.
Here’s how it used to be. The New System was proposed. Costs were estimated, more or less accurately, for computing resources, staff increases, maintenance contracts, consultants and outsourcing. The battle was fought, the New System was approved, the checks were signed, and everyone could forget about costs for a while and concentrate on other issues, such as making the New System actually work.
One of the essential characteristics of cloud computing is “measured service.” Resource usage is measured by the byte transmitted, the byte stored, and the millisecond of processing time. Charges are broken down by the hour, and billed by the month. This can change the way people take decisions.
“The New System is really popular. It’s being used much more than expected.”
Greater New York Chamber of Commerce “Association Sponsor” of Cloud Expo
SYS-CON Events announced today that the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce has been named “Association Sponsor” of SYS-CON’s 11th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 5–8, 2012, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
The mission of the Chamber is to improve the business climate and quality of living in the New York Metropolitan Area for residents, workers and visitors. It provides valuable services to over 20,000 business and civic leaders who represent the backbone of the Greater New York business community.
Survey: Emerging Markets Ready to Adopt Cloud Computing Services
Emerging economies are ripe markets for cloud computing services – including paid services – the Business Software Alliance reported today.
BSA President and CEO Robert Holleyman noted that “we’re seeing a leapfrog effect. A lot of recent adopters of computers and information technology are jumping straight to the cloud.”
BSA partnered with Ipsos Public Affairs to survey nearly 15,000 computer users in 33 countries about their understanding and use of cloud computing.
Succeeding in the Cloud Services Business
While consumers and enterprises hail “the cloud” for its ability to provide flexible, low-cost and easily accessible computing power, traditional hardware and software providers tend to see the innovation somewhat differently. For these companies the cloud is a disruption of the highest order that threatens their competitiveness and in some cases their survival. As such, these companies must make dramatic changes in their strategies, operating models and governance approaches to succeed in this fast-growing cloud computing market.
With the cloud supporting an ever-expanding collection of “anything-as-a-service,” or XaaS, solutions, established hardware and software companies recognize they face one especially vexing challenge: figuring out how to develop appropriate operating models to capitalize on customer demands for cloud-based XaaS solutions while continuing to support traditional product-focused businesses that form their core offerings.
Cloud Computing: RightScale Makes Its First Acquisition
RightScale has made its very first acquisition.
It’s bought the free Scottish cloud cost forecasting web site ShopForCloud and renamed it PlanForCloud, fleshing out its management portfolio to help those struggling with cloud costs, which are always, as anyone will attest, complex. Terms were not disclosed.
The widgetry will help companies budget their cloud costs by giving them tools to model various architectures and usage patterns, access up-to-date pricing from cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Google Compute Engine (GCE), Microsoft Azure and Rackspace, and produce detailed cost reports in just a few minutes.
The Wild Cloud: Legal Aspects of Cloud Computing
While many organizations have been making the move toward cloud computing solutions for the past several years, the fact remains that we’re really still in the early days of figuring out how all of this is going to work. Even more than that, the laws on the books that apply to cloud solutions are woefully behind. This creates a number of challenges, both for data centers and for consumers.
Questions of compliance
Businesses, for example, are facing some serious concerns when it comes to cloud solutions. A legal firm might have attorneys who store client-related documents on Google Drive or Dropbox, for example. The question of how well protected that data is isn’t always clear. In fact, it is often those in the legal arena dealing with issues of compliance that are challenging such cloud service providers, and forcing them to examine their security policies and their security solutions.
Expectations
Another important area to look at is expectations. When a consumer places a document on a cloud storage service, for instance, what does the consumer believe about that file? Does she assume that she’s the only one with access to the file? Is it possible that personnel at the cloud provider might be able to view that file?
Explicit statements from cloud providers about who can access a client’s data and when help to clarify the issue, but whether those policies meet client expectations is another issue altogether.
Geographic concerns
Yet another issue comes to light when we think about how cloud solutions physically work. For example, a given application server might reside in Europe. Suddenly, the data entered into that application isn’t subject to the laws of the United States. When cloud providers have some or all of their data center hardware located somewhere else (Iceland is a popular choice for a variety of reasons) it throws a whole set of new questions into the mix.
As time goes on, we’ll no doubt see more and more cloud computing-related laws on the books, more international agreements, and more scrutiny of cloud providers. In the interim, it’s imperative organizations address these concerns when implementing a cloud solution.
Yahoo’s New CEO Is Preggers
Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s newly hired CEO, is pregnant with her first child and due to have the baby, a boy, in three months. The due date is October 7.
Ms Mayer credits the Yahoo board with “evolved thinking” for not eliminating her when it was told of her condition.
We would just point out to Ms Mayer that historically women from European aristocrats to Chinese peasants are familiar with this kind of “evolved thinking.”
Presumably Yahoo’s new superwoman is figuring on having a full-time nurse.
Hi-Tech Cloud hub to be part of #London2012 Olympic legacy
Cloud computing will be a part of the 2012 Olympic legacy when the dedicated media centre is turned into a London City cloud hub following the games.
The £295m ($461m) Main Press Centre and International Broadcasting Centre at the Olympic Park in East London contains over 31,000 square metres of office space and includes a number of hi-tech facilities such as 1,300 internet ports with fibre optic cabling.
The highly connected building is in close proximity to the key business district of Canary Warf.
iCITY, a joint venture between data centre firm Infinity and property company Delances, has emerged as preferred bidder for the project, and says it will turn the site into a world-class centre of innovation and enterprise to deliver a lasting legacy, creating over 6600 new jobs in and around the area.
The bidding process, in which there was one other final contender, came to …
HP Gets the Onion Treatment “On That Cloud Thing Everyone Else Is Talking About”
Can’t add a thing. Just watch the video.