Which cloud model is right for your business? What are the factors that should influence your decision?
In his session at the 11th International Cloud Expo, Josh Butikofer, Chief Solutions Architect at Adaptive Computing, will discuss how to evaluate public, private, and hybrid clouds along several dimensions.
He will use real-world case studies to show Cloud Expo delegates the pros and cons of each of these cloud models. Armed with this information, you can then decide what is best for your organization.
Josh Butikofer, Chief Solutions Architect at Adaptive Computing, is a seasoned speaker capturing both the technical and business audience with his humor and backs it up with his technical, industry and business expertise in developing high-profile, bleeding-edge customer solutions for over a decade.
NIST Weighs In on the Cloud
NIST released a new publication entitled Cloud Computing Synopsis & Recommendations (Special Publication 800-146) that describes in detail the current cloud computing environment, explains the economic opportunities and risks associated with cloud adoption, and openly addresses the security and data privacy challenges. NIST makes numerous recommendations for companies or agencies considering the move to the cloud (including delivering a strong case for uniform management practices in the data security and governance arenas).
The report highlights several reasons why cloud-based SaaS applications present heightened security risks. As a means to offset the threats, NIST’s recommendation on cloud encryption is clear-cut: organizations should require FIPS 140-2 compliant encryption to protect their sensitive data assets. This should apply to stored data as well as application data, and for Federal agencies, it’s a firm requirement, not simply a best practice or recommended guideline.
CDW Offering Cisco Cloud Collaboration Solution
CDW today announced its new CDW Cloud Collaboration solution. CDW, a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, will host the new offering in its own facilities and will combine Cisco’s collaboration platforms with CDW professional services to provide customers the security and personalization of a traditional, on-premise communications solution with the flexibility, scale and economics of a cloud solution.
Most organizations understand the value of collaboration technologies such as voice and video conferencing, voicemail or customer collaboration platforms, but many lack the deep technical expertise and staff resources to successfully deploy and manage them. With CDW’s Cloud Collaboration offering, users can focus on critical business responsibilities and customer needs with peace of mind, knowing that CDW is behind them to deliver a strategic collaboration solution from design to implementation to management.
“The way organizations work is changing, with employees no longer confined to working in the same physical location and customers increasingly involved in product and service development. As a result, collaboration technology needs are evolving,” said Christine Holloway, vice president of converged infrastructure solutions, CDW. “Today, organizations need new technologies that increase efficiency, accommodate a dispersed workforce and integrate customer communications, while freeing up IT staff to work on other projects. Built upon industry-leading technology from Cisco, CDW Cloud Collaboration includes all the features necessary to provide organizations with top collaboration services.”
CDW’s Cloud Collaboration solution, powered by the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS), provides organizations with exceptional flexibility in choosing the way that collaboration applications are deployed. The capability to choose a hosted deployment option can also help organizations deploy collaboration technologies faster, while potentially lowering capital expenditures and operating expenses.
“As enterprises adopt collaboration technologies to quickly connect people with a high level of security to the resources and information they need to get work done, many businesses are requiring cloud solutions and looking for options from partners,” said Richard McLeod, senior director, Worldwide Partner Collaboration Sales at Cisco. “Based on Cisco HCS, CDW Cloud Collaboration provides customers with the flexibility to have collaboration applications delivered to them as services, with ongoing support and management provided by CDW.”
CDW Cloud Collaboration is supported by a dedicated team of CDW solution architects and engineers, and each client will have its own highly secure, virtualized private intranet hosted in CDW’s facilities. Partnering with Cisco helps ensure that CDW Cloud Collaboration meets a proven quality standard, with CDW’s expert team ready to support implementation and management. CDW holds Cisco Master Certifications in unified communications, managed services and security, and the CDW team includes more than 600 Cisco certified engineers, including more than 50 with the CCIE certification – the highest technical certification offered by Cisco. Further demonstrating CDW’s deep knowledge, Cisco recently named CDW its Global Partner of the Year – Americas and awarded the company its U.S. Nationals Architectural Excellence Award for Collaboration.
For more information about CDW’s Cloud Collaboration offerings, please visit: http://www.cdw.com/cloudcollaboration.
Neotys Partners with Wipro for Performance Testing Solutions for Web, Mobile Applications
Neotys today announced that Wipro Technologies, the Global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing business of Wipro Limited, has chosen NeoLoad, a leading load and performance testing solution for web and mobile applications, to upgrade its performance testing suite to increase test productivity and enhance the value proposition for end customers.
As part of this alliance, Wipro will provide testing solutions for customers who need load and performance testing solutions for Web and mobile applications, using NeoLoad. Wipro will use NeoLoad to realistically simulate user activity and analyze server behavior. The solution allows Wipro consultants to test more quickly, efficiently and frequently, enabling customers to safely deploy Internet, intranet or mobile applications on whatever architecture they use. NeoLoad supports Flex, Silverlight, GWT, Ajax Push, HTML5 etc. Wipro will also use NeoLoad across the major application types including ERP and CRM from the major providers. NeoLoad supports Oracle, SAP and Microsoft among others.
“We’ve had outstanding results from the Neotys partnership already,” said Arun Kumar Singh, VP Testing Services Business, Wipro. “Using NeoLoad we were able to reduce the testing time required for many applications by 30%. We expect NeoLoad to substantially increase our productivity and the value we provide to our customers.”
“As one of the world’s leading IT majors, Wipro provides a comprehensive solution for customers looking to implement and test web and mobile applications either within their company firewalls or in the cloud,” said Laurent Gaudy, VP Partners & Alliances, Neotys. “This partnership is strategic to Neotys and we look forward to the expanded presence that Wipro will provide to us.”
“Developing partnerships is a key step in market maturity as it broadens a vendor’s ability to address a wider market,” said Thomas Murphy, research director with Gartner. “As applications become more complex, an increasing number of users rely on a mixture of internal and outsourced resources to achieve cost effective results, making it imperative to form strategic relationships.”
Wipro Technologies is the largest offshore independent testing services provider with innovative solutions and differentiated offerings that reduce cycle times and provide quality assurance for software across industry verticals and domains and has 13+ years of experience in independent Testing Services. The Testing Services Business is a service line in Wipro with testing capabilities across verticals and domains.
Which of these lesser known storage services is right for you?
There are so many cloud storage services vying for your business that it can be seriously tough to decide on which is best. DropBox is the poster child and flush with an infusion of $250m in venture capital. Good on flexibility and functionality but not so much on pricing. DropBox for Teams provides 1000 GB of storage, version history, admin tools and customer support starting at $795 per year for five users.
Small businesses with basic needs may get away with using Google or Microsoft. Google Drive offers five GB free, 25 GB for $2.49 per month and goes all the way up to 16 TB for $799.99 per month. The pricing is competitive and you have limited version history, the ability to share and edit files and the option to have discussions.
The problem is Google would like you to use all their services. It’s perfect …
DoD Cloud Computing Strategy
The DoD recently released the department’s formal cloud computing strategy.
DoD Cloud Computing Strategy
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In the forward, DoD CIO Teresa Takai said that:
“The DoD Cloud Computing Strategy has been expanded to address use of commercial cloud services in the Department’s multi-provider enterprise cloud environment. Adoption and implementation of commercially provided cloud services are being rapidly accelerated with the maturing of the Federal Cloud Computing initiative, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), and release of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.”
Specific cloud computing transition steps include:
- Foster adoption of Cloud Computing
- Optimize Data Center Consolidation
- Establish the DoD Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure; and
- Deliver Cloud Services
A subsequent memo identified the Defense Information Systems Agency as the department cloud services broker.
DISA Broker Designation
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A copy of the strategy is available for download at http://www.slideshare.net/kvjacksn/findod-cloud-computing-strategy
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Layer 7 At Your Service
Layer 7 has been providing solutions for more than a decade. In this time, we have gained valuable experience of how to make our industry-leading products deliver maximum benefit in critical customer environments. In particular, we’ve gained a great deal of knowledge about how to translate clients’ business needs into robust solutions that meet the functional requirements and address key non-functional areas like performance, security and operations.
Is PaaS a Bane or Boon to the Hosting Business?
At the WPC, Microsoft has announced that it is now bringing a subset of Windows Azure features to Windows Server to enable hosters offer Cloud capabilities to their customers. With Cloud competing with hosting business, is there a scope for the traditional hosters to sustain their business? Businesses are now overwhelmed with the hosting options […]
The CCSR: Canadian Cloud Security Rating
Canada has a notorious ‘Innovation Gap’, that is seeing the country slip further and further behind the rest of the world embracing the new technology-enabled Knowledge Economy. They are scoring a ‘D for Innovation‘, which is no surprise given they are also scoring a D for openness to new IT models like Cloud Computing, as Telus reports […]
What are the 7 challenges facing federal cloud computing?
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that, while the US ‘Cloud First’ enterprise project is making tangible progress, there are seven cloud lessons for the public sector.
The report, subtitled “progress made but future cloud computing efforts should be better planned”, charts the progress of Cloud First – a federal policy which exhorts agencies to find a cloud-based IT solution whenever logistically possible.
Things appear to have moved forward since 2010, when the GAO previously warned about the difficulties associated with federal cloud management.
Back in May 2010, the accountability office found that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the White House hadn’t even developed a cloud strategy.
But it appears there is still work to be done.
Research as recently as October 2011 found that 22 out of 24 major federal agencies were either “concerned or very concerned” about security risks in the cloud …