The now mainstream platform changes stemming from the first Internet boom brought many changes but didn’t really change the basic relationship between servers and the applications running on them. In fact, that was sort of the point.
In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Gordon Haff, senior cloud strategy marketing and evangelism manager at Red Hat, will discuss how today’s workloads require a new model and a new platform for development and execution. The platform must handle a wide range of recent developments, including containers and Docker, distributed resource management, and DevOps tool chains and processes. The resulting infrastructure and management framework must be optimized for distributed and scalable applications, take advantage of innovation stemming from a wide variety of open source projects, span hybrid environments, and be adaptable to equally fundamental changes happening in hardware and elsewhere in the stack.
IoT Business Value with @VitriaTech | @ThingsExpo #IoT #M2M #BigData
“IoT is really hitting its stride. The adoption rates are increasing and Vitria is in a good position to help people deliver on the value of IoT,” explained Mike Houston, Marketing & Product Marketing Professional at Vitria Technology, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Customer Story: Police Department Uses Parallels Access on Patrol
The following post is a customer story submitted to our Advocacy program by Robert Dauberman. We are incredibly thankful to Robert for sharing his story with us and allowing us to share it with you. Read on for Andy’s experience choosing and using Parallels Access to great effect! Name: Robert Dauberman Geography: South Bloomfield Police Department, Ohio USA Industry: Law Enforcement […]
The post Customer Story: Police Department Uses Parallels Access on Patrol appeared first on Parallels Blog.
IoT, Smart Home and Wearables | @ThingsExpo #IoT #M2M #Wearables
Every physical object or “thing” that can be embedded with sensors will be embedded with sensors. Whether you call it the Internet of Things, the Internet of Everything, M2M, a smarter planet, the Industrial Internet or something else, the trend is clear. With so much activity and interest, it is unfortunate that a de facto communications standard has not emerged. However, there is progress (or managed conflict) in the right direction.
ElasticHosts launches elastic containers – could cut some running costs by 50%
Cloud server company ElasticHosts has announced its new model of container technology can adapt automatically to fit volatile shifts in demand for resource and bill clients accordingly. The new Linux containers are designed to make management easier for resellers, service providers, web developers and web hosting companies.
ElasticHosts’ new containers are now available with cPanel v11.52, from third party control panel vendor cPanel. ElasticHosts claims it offers the first containers to integrate with cPanel v11.52, which now creates the possibility for much more precise billing according to the usage of server resources such as memory, processing power and storage. It also gives service providers the option to automatically adapt to changing circumstances, so clients only ever have to pay for what they use while there is no risk of hitting a performance barrier in periods of intense activity.
The control panel from cPanel can streamline the process of creating and managing websites, claims its vendor. Prior to the new release cPanel could only run on virtual machine servers with licensing according to the virtual private server (VPS) model. The new ability to ‘autoscale’ and the capacity for exact billing will lower costs for clients, according to ElasticHosts. The usage-based billing offered by containers means website owners no longer have to pay for periods when server capacity is underutilised or the site is idle, typically saving up to 50% on hosting costs, it claims.
“We worked closely with cPanel integrating and testing the product to make this a reality and believe our technologies complement each other well,” said ElasticHosts CEO Richard Davies, “containers are gaining real momentum.”
“Linux containers are an exciting technology and we have recognized the groundswell behind them in the internet community right now,” said Aaron Phillips, Chief Business Officer at cPanel.
14 Tech Gift Recommendations from GreenPages’ Architects
With the holiday season upon us, I reached out to some of our experts here at GreenPages to pull together 14 tech gift recommendations. Check out answers from David Barter, Chris Ward, Randy Weis, Dan Allen, and David Jones!
David Barter, Practice Manager, Microsoft Technologies
- Microsoft Band 2 – The Microsoft Band 2 can be used for tracking for running, biking, golf and more. It has 11 sensors, including GPS, UV monitor, and barometer. It also gives you access to email, text, calendar, and call alerts on the go!
- Surface Book – Microsoft describes the Surface Book as the ultimate laptop because it’s ultra-thin, meticulously crafted, and has incredible screen resolution.
- Arlo Smart Home Security System
Chris Ward, CTO
- Apple Watch – “The watch reimagined”… stainless steel or space black stainless steel cases. Sapphire crystal. Comes in a range of stylish brands
- Some sort of drone!!!
Randy Weis, Principal Architect
- Nest Home System – Thermostat, Smoke/CO, Camera
- Sonos Home Theater System – Get full-theater HiFi sound for TV, movies and music
- GE WiFi Enabled Oven – WiFi connected wall ovens and ranges allow you to control your oven wherever you are
Dan Allen, Architect
Editor’s Note: Dan admitted that this is, in fact, everything that is on his holiday wish list. Hint hint.
- Raspberry Pi – infinite possibilities
- Avona Culinary Bluetooth Precision Cooker – perfect steak, fish & eggs!
- WeMo Insight Switch – automated, timed, iOS connected outlet. Used for lamps, toys or the electric smoker set up to alert the iGrill when the smoke is too hot
- Aros Smart Window Air Conditioner – learns from your patterns when you want it cool and when you don’t. Turns on and off according to your location and GPS settings
- BB-8 – Must have toy for Star Wars fans. End of story.
David Jones, Senior Consultant
- Amazon Echo – The Amazon Echo plays all your music, fills the room with immersive, 360 degree omni-directional audio, and allows hands-free convenience with voice-control. It also answers questions, reads audiobooks, reports traffic and weather, provides sports updates, controls lights and switches and more!
Interested in learning about Docker? Here are 10 things you need to know
By Ben Stephenson, Emerging Media Specialist
photo credit: www.techtimes.com
IBM aims to take Watson IoT to the next level with new global HQ
US IT giant IBM has made a major statement of intent towards IoT by opening a global HQ dedicated to its Watson Internet of Things offering in Germany, reports Telecoms.com.
Watson is IBM’s cognitive computing unit, designed to use machine learning and natural language processing to analyse unstructured data. At the core of IoT will be the ability to collect vast amounts of data from billions of different sources and make sense of it. IBM is betting that positioning itself as one of the companies best able to help with that process is the way forward.
The Watson IoT HQ in Munich (pictured) will apparently employ 1,000 IBM developers, consultants, researchers and designers all exploring at the intersection of cognitive computing and IoT. IBM sees Europe as the hub of global IoT development and this HQ is its most extensive European investment in over 20 years.
“The Internet of Things will soon be the largest single source of data on the planet, yet almost 90 percent of that data is never acted upon,” said Harriet Green, GM of Watson IoT and Education. “With its unique abilities to sense, reason and learn, Watson opens the door for enterprises, governments and individuals to finally harness this real-time data, compare it with historical data sets and deep reservoirs of accumulated knowledge, and then find unexpected correlations that generate new insights to benefit business and society alike.”
One early Watson IoT partner is the smart building arm of Siemens. “By bringing asset management and analytics together with a deep technical understanding of how buildings perform, Siemens will make customers’ building operations more reliable, cost-optimized and sustainable,” said Matthias Rebellius, CEO of Siemens Building Technologies. “We are excited to stretch the envelope of what is possible in optimizing building performance by combining the asset management and database technologies from IBM’s Watson IoT business unit with our market leading building automation domain know-how.”
IoT is perhaps the defining technological trend for the next decade, encompassing every part of the ICT spectrum. IBM is right to say that all these embedded sensors and smart devices are pointless unless we use all the data they will generate to make useful decisions. In many ways this is the natural evolution of Big Data and it will be no less challenging to demonstrate ROI on IoT.
VMware opts out of joint venture with parent EMC
(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Melpomenem)
In October 2015, Dell announced a $67-billion bid to acquire EMC, an entity which owns approximately 80% of VMware. A little later, EMC and VMware announced plans to create a joint venture named ‘Virtustream’ which aimed to integrate the cloud services of both entities. However, the market was not receptive to such a move, and the shares of VMware declined by close to 20% after the plan was announced.
VMware’s chief executive Pat Gelsinger had touted the benefits of a comprehensive offering for customers, however, analysts raised concerns related to profit margins on account of increased spending on servers and data centres. Nonetheless, EMC’s chief executive, Joe Tucci, said: “Putting these together will actually save money and actually put more profit on the VMware bottom line.”
Despite these reassurances, VMware has decided to opt-out of this plan for a joint venture in a move that has been lauded by the market. Opponents argued the development was aimed at creating a “dumping ground” for money-losing assets. VMware’s stock price declined when Dell announced its acquisition of EMC, and the stock declined further with the joint venture announcement.
EMC is the largest manufacturer of data storage hardware and the company has entered software and other fields through a series of acquisitions. Executives of the company have defended its corporate strategy by citing market changes and other challenges – such as the rise of cloud services – which some companies use to handle computing workloads and enable them to avoid the cost of buying their own hardware and software.
Virtustream was originally an independent company that operated its own data centres to offer cloud services as well as selling related software. EMC had announced a $1.2 billion deal in May 2015 to acquire the company, which has now become a part of the EMC conglomerate.
Do you think VMware made the right decision? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Dell EMC takeover raises questions about Virtustream and Perot Systems
Two new developments have been reported this week as Dell and EMC attempt to resolve the $67 billion question of how to finance one of the biggest mergers in the history of technology.
Cloud software giant VMware has withdrawn from a previous commitment to the Virtustream cloud service venture with parent company EMC, it has disclosed to regulators.
The new direction comes as Dell, the proposed new owner of EMC and a potentially controlling stakeholder in VMware, is allegedly looking at new options to finance the $67 billion deal. According to sources quoted in Re/code Dell is looking for a buyer for its $5 billion valued technology outsourcing business Perot Systems. The funds raised would help reduce the level of debt Dell must take on if the EMC takeover is to proceed.
In November, BCN reported how questions of financing of Dell’s takeover of EMC could scupper the deal, which BCN first revealed in October. A week after the deal was announced, EMC and VMware unveiled plans for a joint, equal partnership to create cloud service Virtustream, but unease about the announcement wiped 25% off VMware share values, according to some analysts. Since Dell and its backers were planning to use share value as a means of funding the transaction the decline in stock market value threatened to undermine the funding of the deal.
Shareholders in both EMC and VMware are allegedly unhappy with the idea of the Virtustream project, which appeared to be a “dumping ground” for money-losing assets, it’s claimed.
VMware shares fell 25 cents to $58.80 by mid-morning Monday.
Meanwhile, as Dell seeks to raise $10 billion in cash to lighten the potential burden of debt, it is allegedly courting suitors for Perot Systems, an outsourcing outfit it bought in 2009 for $3.9 billion.
According to reports, Dell has been in talks with India-based Tata Consultancy Services, French outsourcing giant Atos, New York based IT services company Genpact and Canadian IT firm CGI. Talks with Tata stalled on a disagreement about the valuation or Perot Systems, say reports.
According to Re/Code sources Dell began trying to sell Perot Systems three months ago and the cash realised would be a crucial enabler for the EMC acquisition. However, a range of potential buyers who were sounded out, including IBM, Infosys and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, have passed on the opportunity.
Redis Functions and Data Structures | @CloudExpo #Redis #IoT #BigData
Redis is not only the fastest database, but it has become the most popular among the new wave of applications running in containers. Redis speeds up just about every data interaction between your users or operational systems.
In his session at 17th Cloud Expo, Dave Nielsen, Developer Relations at Redis Labs, shared the functions and data structures used to solve everyday use cases that are driving Redis’ popularity.