Today, we have more data to manage than ever. We also have better algorithms that help us access our data faster. Cloud is the driving force behind many of the data warehouse advancements we have enjoyed in recent years. But what are the best practices for storing data in the cloud for machine learning and data science applications?
Kubernetes skills demand continues to soar – but are organisations dropping the ball on security?
If you have Kubernetes skills then you will almost certainly be in demand from employers, as a new survey from CyberArk has found that IT jobs with the container orchestration tool in the title have soared year on year. But beware the security risks when getting involved.
According to the company, which has crunched data from IT Jobs Watch, roles involving Kubernetes have broken into the top 250 most popular IT vacancies, having been around the 1000 mark this time last year. The most likely job title for potential applicants is either DevOps engineer (40%) or developer (23%).
Regular readers of this publication will be more than aware of the initiatives taking place within the industry over the past year. The leading cloud providers are getting on board; Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft both made their managed Kubernetes services generally available this month, while back in March Kubernetes itself ‘graduated’ from its arbiter, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), recognising the technology’s maturity.
Those with product to shift are eating their own dog food, making their own internal process container-based. IBM, as John Considine, general manager of cloud infrastructure services, told CloudTech earlier this year, and Google, as Diane Greene told Cisco Live attendees last week, are but two examples. Alongside this, customers are putting containers at the forefront of their buying decisions; GoDaddy said as much when it was announced the hosting provider would be going all-in on AWS.
Yet with so many organisations going in at the deep end, there is a danger of getting into trouble when swimming against the tide.
In a report published this week (pdf), security firm Lacework assessed there were more than 21,169 publicly facing container orchestration platform dashboards out there. 300 of these dashboards were completely open. Whether Weight Watchers’ Kubernetes admin console, which researchers from Kromtech Security found earlier this month to be completely accessible without password protection, was included, we will of course not know. Another widely publicised story was around Tesla; back in February, research from RedLock found hackers had been running crypto mining scripts on unsecured Kubernetes instances owned by the electric car firm.
“During our research we learned that there are a lot of different ways to manage your containers, and that they are all incredibly flexible and powerful,” the Lacework report notes. “With each one you essentially have the keys to the castle from deployment, discovery, deletion, and manageability.
“We suggest that if you are a security professional and you don’t know you are running a container orchestration system, you should definitely find out ASAP.”
CyberArk offers a similar message of concern. “There is a very real danger that the rush to achieve IT and business advantages will outpace awareness of the security risks,” said Josh Kirkwood, CyberArk DevOps security lead. “If privileged accounts in Kubernetes are left unmanaged, and attackers get inside the control panel, they could gain control of an organisation’s entire IT infrastructure.
“Many organisations simple task the same DevOps hires – often with no security experience – to protect these new Kubernetes environments, in addition to the numerous other responsibilities they have to deliver,” added Kirkwood. “That’s no longer sufficient, and security teams need to get more closely involved to support the platform.”
According to the Lacework report, if you’re running Kubernetes you need to build a pod security policy, configure your pods to run read-only file systems and restrict privilege escalation. More general container advice doubles up essentially as good security practice; multi-factor authentication at all times, using SSL for all servers, and using valid certificates with proper expiration and enforcement policies.
So is it time to take a step back? If you have Kubernetes skills then you’re in a good place – but get some security smarts alongside it and you’ll be in an even better one.
Microsoft’s work with ICE sparks backlash among tech community
19 Jun, 2018
Microsoft is under pressure from the tech community to terminate a contract it holds with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in light of the department’s family separation policy.
A blog post published in January has resurfaced in the last couple of days, detailing how Microsoft “is proud to support” ICE’s IT innovation aims through its Azure Government platform.
A protest is taking place later today outside Microsoft’s DC office about the issue, and employees are being encouraged to speak out online.
Erica Baker, a senior engineering manager at Patreon, said on Twitter: “Friends who work for @Microsoft, FIGHT THIS. Make the biggest noise imaginable about it.
“Don’t fall for the “all companies take government contracts” spin. Your company has THIS contract and is *proud* of it.”
A spokesperson for Microsoft said it’s not working with ICE or US Customers and Border Protection “on any projects related to separating children from their families”, and doesn’t believe its Azure services are supporting such projects.
“As a company, Microsoft is dismayed by the forcible separation of children from their families at the border,” the spokesperson added.
“We urge the administration to change its policy and Congress to pass legislation ensuring children are no longer separated from their families.”
Its original blog post, written by Tom Keane, general manager at Microsoft, read: “ICE’s decision to accelerate IT modernization using Azure Government will help them innovate faster while reducing the burden of legacy IT.
“The agency is currently implementing transformative technologies for homeland security and public safety, and we’re proud to support this work with our mission-critical cloud.”
This section was reportedly removed from the blog by an employee earlier in response to the social media outburst, but was later re-inserted.
Picture: Bigstock
AWS to create 1,000 new tech jobs in Ireland
19 Jun, 2018
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has pledged to create 1,000 technology jobs in Ireland over the next two years after opening a new office in Dublin yesterday.
The new 170,000 square foot building will offer highly skilled roles for software development, network development, data centre and systems engineers and security and big data specialists for AWS.
There will also be tech job openings at the company’s other sites in north county Dublin, Blanchardstown, and Tallaght, as AWS looks to utilise the talent in the country.
“Today, we have more than 2,500 Amazon employees in Ireland supporting customers from Ireland and around the world,” said Mike Beary, AWS Ireland country manager.
“There is an abundance of talent in Ireland which helped us to exceed our talent growth targets ahead of schedule. Ireland is a great place to do business, the country’s creative culture and diverse pool of technical skills make it an ideal location for our rapidly expanding business.”
AWS has a long history with Ireland, having first set up an office in the country in September 2004. Today more than 1,000 of AWS’s Ireland empoyees are engaged in data centre operations.
In addition to creating new jobs, AWS has collaborated with the Institute of Technology Tallaght (IT Tallaght) to fund a bursary programme for 20 students to study to become data centre technicians.
“Amazon has a long history of success in Ireland and today’s announcement is a testament to Ireland’s highly-skilled, diverse workforce,” Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland, a government body designed to encourage foreign private investment in the country, added.
“Tech talent and investment are fundamental to our country’s continued growth, and companies like Amazon are bringing even more energy, vision, innovation and good jobs to Ireland. We are proud to support these companies, who invest in our talent and the future of our economy, and create new opportunities for the country to succeed.”
Picture: AWS
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Josh Atwell: #DevOps Maturity | @CloudEXPO @NetApp @Josh_Atwell #CloudNative #Serverless
Most DevOps journeys involve several phases of maturity. Research shows that the inflection point where organizations begin to see maximum value is when they implement tight integration deploying their code to their infrastructure. Success at this level is the last barrier to at-will deployment. Storage, for instance, is more capable than where we read and write data. In his session at @DevOpsSummit at 20th Cloud Expo, Josh Atwell, a Developer Advocate for NetApp, will discuss the role and value extensible storage infrastructure has in accelerating software development activities, improve code quality, reveal multiple deployment options through automated testing, and support continuous integration efforts. All this will be described using tools common in DevOps organizations.
Google Cloud opens up in Finland, uses natural cooling for sustainability
Google Cloud is now open for business in Finland, making it the 16th region to launch across five continents.
The move was first announced at the start of the year when Google significantly expanded its infrastructure, with five new regions and three subsea cables. Facilities in the Netherlands and Montreal have already been opened, with Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Switzerland – the latter announced last month – to follow.
The facilities are located in Google’s existing data centre in Hamina and will utilise the natural environment, including sea water cooling from the Gulf of Finland. “[It] is the first of its kind anywhere in the world,” said Kirill Tropin, product manager at Google Cloud in a blog post. “This means that when you use this region to run your compute workloads, store your data, and develop your applications, you are doing so sustainably.”
Google said hosting applications in the new region would be able to improve latencies by up to 65% for end users in the Nordics and by up to 88% for users in Eastern Europe.
As is always the way with Google, a gaggle of customers were rolled out, including Rolls-Royce, who focused on sustainability as well as latency. “The road to emission-free and sustainable shipping is a long and challenging one, but thanks to exciting innovation and strong partnerships, Rolls-Royce is well-prepared for the journey,” said Karno Tenovuo, senior vice president ship intelligence.
“For us, being able to train machine learning models to deliver autonomous vessels in the most effective manner is key to success,” added Tenovuo. “We see the Google Cloud for Finland launch as a great advantage to speed up our delivery of the project.”
You can find out more about the news here.
Businesses ‘should already be on their journey to UCaaS’
19 Jun, 2018
The unified communication and collaboration (UCC) market is seeing a dramatic shift towards cloud-based solutions, with unified communications as a service (UCaaS) leading the way.
The global user base of cloud UCaaS has now surpassed 43 million, with new users estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% from 2016 to 2023, according to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.
This move is due in part to growing confidence in cloud solutions and a better understanding of the benefits it can offer, but also down to many customer premises equipment (CPE) assets nearing end of life.
Art Schoeller, vice president, principal analyst at Forrester Research states that more than one out of three IT professionals considering UCC will deploy it as a subscription service in their next upgrade cycle.
However, as communication systems have historically had long lifecycles of 10 years or more, with a heavy emphasis on ‘investment protection’, he notes that “this might mean that some [of our respondents] might not move to UCaaS for another five years or so”.
In the meantime, many existing CPE assets are being integrated with cloud during their sunset years, while digital transformation initiatives are also pushing IT departments to look more closely at moving to UCaaS.
All change
Elka Popova, digital transformation vice president at Frost & Sullivan believes that customer confidence in UCaaS is also growing thanks to a recent swathe of mergers, acquisition and restructuring projects by IP telephony and UCC providers.
“In 2016 and 2017 the industry was marked by significant merger and acquisition (M&A) and restructuring activity affecting key providers. Their repositioning and strategy realignment is likely to determine the industry’s evolution and growth trajectory over the next few years.
“M&As, bankruptcy protection, internal reorganisation, international expansion and solution repackaging will aim to improve industry health and boost customer confidence in service and company long-term viability.”
The benefits of UCaaS
A key reason why companies are turning to UCaaS is the fact it offers a wide variety of communications technology and collaboration applications and services.
“Organisations are turning to UCaaS to reduce operational costs, expand into new markets or regions, boost creativity and innovation and also improve sales and marketing effectiveness,” points out Rob Arnold, Frost & Sullivan’s connected work industry principal.
Businesses are also looking for something that’s ‘on-demand’, offering greater flexibility over the services they may have been used to in the past.
“Customers like the flexibility of a cloud service, in most cases with little or no upfront cost or hardware investment – depending on the service,” says Cathy Gerosa, head of regulatory affairs at the Federation of Communication Services (FCS).
“The other major benefit for business is the flexibility it gives with today’s workforce, enabling greater collaboration between both internal team members and external parties, regardless of where they’re located.”
Developing a transition plan – things to consider
But as the market shifts towards this subscription service, vendors must support organisations by developing a transition plan that protects their existing investments and offers minimal disruption to the business.
Benefits such as predictable billing, outsourced ownership and the move from CAPEX to OPEX are clear, but understandably, businesses still have concerns – particularly around security, visibility and a potential lack of control.
For many companies, the first step is often a hybrid implementation that spans on-premise and cloud.
“Some organisations still feel that they need to control their own communications, especially from a security and risk perspective,” notes Forrester’s Schoeller.
Plus, there are cons to balance the pros. New endpoint devices may be needed, even if the old system still works well, leading to not only extra spending but changes to the way staff work and how they interact with others.
“People used to maintaining older phone systems have to really shift their mindset, skill set and approach to the job. Plus, the move to UCaaS is very disruptive to the historical distribution channel for communications systems,” Schoeller adds.
The key lies in selecting the right provider and developing a strong partnership in which you can have faith that the technology and implementation is what you need.
“The UCaaS market is relatively new so businesses do need to understand who they are taking their services from,” advises Gerosa. “For example, are they financially stable but at the same time nimble in how services are delivered and developed?”
Vertical is the new black
UCaaS adoption looks set to grow at a steady pace, but analysts believe on-premise solutions will continue to play a role for at least the next decade.
While hybrid may be the first step many organisations take, providers look set to push forward with new technologies, capabilities and offerings, even if change is perhaps slow on the side of customers.
“The next phase in the industry’s evolution will be marked by the emergence of ‘productivity UC’ ‘IoT UC’ and ‘vertical UC’ – vertical is the ‘new black’,” says Popova.
“Tailored services bundles, industry certifications, integration with vertical-specific apps and partnerships with vertical experts will deliver superior value in targeted industries.”
Gerosa believes we’ll soon see an even wider selection of services being offered by providers, with greater emphasis being placed on platform-agnostic applications.
“How businesses consume these services will be interesting with some of the dominant players like Microsoft with their 365 suite developing further,” says Gerosa.
“As we see today with mobile phone apps, the potential in cloud just keeps growing so the ability to integrate these applications regardless of which supplier they are taken from will become more of a requirement.”
“If businesses have not already started the journey down the UCaaS world we would certainly recommend they start now,” she adds.
Image: Shutterstock
Organisations continue to hit cost pitfalls with cloud migration, says Rackspace
The cloud journey is costing a bit more than organisations realise, according to new research from Rackspace.
The findings appear in a new report, titled ‘Maintaining Momentum: Cloud Migration Learnings’. The study, conducted by Forrester and polling more than 300 organisations in the UK, France, Germany and the US, argued that while half of business and IT decision makers polled saw cost reduction as a key driver for cloud adoption, two in five (40%) said their migration costs were still higher than expected.
Part of the issue is the same old story around ‘hidden costs’ and stipulations barely mentioned in the small print. The majority (60%) of those polled said costs were higher than expected around upgrading, culling, or replacing legacy business apps and systems.
Yet other firms simply made miscalculations; issues with data capture and governance in the planning phase saw many companies come a cropper, as well as ensuring the right vision and strategy for their cloud transformation. Firms also hit snags after projects were completed. Many did not see issues with regard to employee resistance – or at least the ‘hidden’ costs which accompanied them – and change management programs.
It’s important companies get this right – 71% of those polled said they were now more than two years into their cloud journey, with migrating existing workloads into a public or private cloud environment remaining either ‘critical’ or ‘high’ priority in the coming year for more than four in five (81%).
As regular readers of this publication will testify, gaps will usually appear when organisations commence their cloud journeys. A study from Skytap earlier this month cited resistance to change as an issue holding businesses back, citing the vagueness of terms such as ‘modernisation’ and ‘digital transformation’.
Writing for CloudTech this month, Thomas La Rock, head geek at IT management software provider SolarWinds, cited the importance of consistency throughout each step of the process. “The skillset needed across IT is becoming increasingly blended, requiring versatile tech professionals that can adapt and flex in accordance with a changing landscape,” La Rock wrote. “Once you’ve got the right team in place, it’s crucial to give the migration project the attention it deserves and, by planning meticulously in advance, you’re setting yourself up for success.”
“As a business generation, we are getting faster at new technology adoption, but we still seem to stumble when it comes to understanding the requirements (and limitations) of the business consuming it,” said Adam Evans, Rackspace director of professional services in a statement. “Introducing new cloud-based operating practices across an entire organisation is rarely straightforward, as with anything involving people, processes and their relationship with technology.
“Managing the gap between expectation and reality plays a huge role in programme success, so it’s imperative that organisations start with an accurate perspective on their maturity, capability and mindset,” added Evans. “Only then can we start to forecast cost and complexity reliably.”
International Panic Day: No More Panic thanks to Parallels
Too much overtime, too many change projects, and summer still can’t decide to stay with us for keeps? Just let it out! Because that’s just what International Panic Day is for—and it’s today. Despite what the name might suggest, no dark remembrance is held on this day. Rather, it’s a purely fun holiday, the origin of […]
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