This is the third in a series of cloud predictions for 2015, starting with When the Walls Come Down, which predicted that workload migration (into the cloud) costs would drop by more than 50% in 2015; then continuing with The Cloud Startup Ecosystem Explosion, which predicted the impact that cloud market share gains in 2015 […]
Announcing @CloudExpo Power Panel Moderated by @GigaomResearch [#Cloud]
The major cloud platforms defy a simple, side-by-side analysis. Each of the major IaaS public-cloud platforms offers their own unique strengths and functionality. Options for on-site private cloud are diverse as well, and must be designed and deployed while taking existing legacy architecture and infrastructure into account. Then the reality is that most enterprises are embarking on a hybrid cloud strategy and programs.
In this Power Panel at 15th Cloud Expo, moderated by Ashar Baig, Research Director, Cloud, at Gigaom Research, panelists will discuss how enterprises should develop their processes for choosing the cloud option that truly fits what they need.
Meet @StackIQ November 4-6 at @CloudExpo Silicon Valley [#Cloud]
StackIQ offers a comprehensive software suite that automates the deployment, provisioning, and management of Big Infrastructure. With StackIQ’s software, you can spin up fully configured big data clusters, quickly and consistently — from bare-metal up to the applications layer — and manage them efficiently. Our software’s modular architecture allows customers to integrate nearly any application with the StackIQ software stack.
Meet @SoftLayer November 4-6 at @CloudExpo [#Cloud #IoT @IBMcloud]
As Platform as a Service (PaaS) matures as a category, developers should have the ability to use the programming language of their choice to build applications and have access to a wide array of services. Bluemix is IBM’s open cloud development platform that enables users to easily build cloud-based, creative mobile and web applications without having to spend large amounts of time and resources on configuring infrastructure and multiple software licenses. In this track, you will learn about the array of services to support and accelerate application development, as well as building applications on Bluemix using Java and node.JS. Learn more about Bluemix at www.bluemix.net.
Interview: @Bitium Brings Unified Security to Cloud | @CloudExpo [#Cloud]
Bitium, based in Santa Monica, CA, works in the cloud to provide secure management of an enterprise’s applications, users, and passwords in one place. We asked company Co-founder and CEO Scott Kriz a few questions about the company’s vision and strategy.
Cloud Computing Journal: What was the inspiration behind starting the company?
Scott Kriz: Both Erik Gustavson, Bitium Co-founder and CTO, and I have started and worked for multiple tech companies throughout our professional careers. Most recently we ran product and engineering at a company called Fastpoint Games. We used a ton of SaaS and web-based applications to get our work done and continuously grappled with how to manage our own internal tools.
We had a revolving door of seasonal or contract employees and the onboarding/off-boarding process became cumbersome and inhibited us from focusing on our core business. As we looked for solutions we realized that no one in the industry was solving this problem well, which is when we first came up with the idea for Bitium.
With the proliferation of enterprise SaaS, we knew that there were countless companies having the same problems. We created Bitium because we want to empower companies and people to realize the full potential of web-based software. This would enable those companies to focus on their core business and not get bogged down managing software.”
CCJ: You provide what could be called a «SaaS Operating System.» Could you elaborate on that?
Scott: We look at it more like a Unified Cloud Management System. Bitium is the centralized system, or tool, for managing a company’s SaaS, web, and mobile applications.
With Bitium, IT can automate workflows, control and monitor SaaS usage, and manage employees all in one place. Bitium provides single sign-on, password and application security monitoring, auto-provisioning, HRMS synching, directory integration, industrial-grade security, and much more.
CCJ: What advantages do your customers see once they’ve centralized management of their apps?
Scott: Once everything is centralized in Bitium, IT can effectively and efficiently monitor organizational health in terms of application security, password strength and compliance through our Insights.
Bitium centralizes the management of an organization’s applications and employees. Administrators can use Bitium’s Reports to monitor app utilization and see user activity. The Audit Log allows admins to track who is logging into apps, at what time, and their IP address in addition to deeper metrics on who grants and revokes access to applications.
Bitium’s features help companies optimize SaaS and web-app usage. While there are many benefits to using web based software, including efficiency and cost, we have recognized inefficiencies that have been created with the shift to the cloud and have created a solution to those solve those inefficiencies.
How to Monitor Logging By @AppDynamics | @DevOpsSummit [#DevOps]
Applications typically log additional data such as exceptions to different data sources. Windows event logs, local files, and SQL databases are most commonly used in production. New applications can take advantage of leveraging big data instead of individual files or SQL. One of the most surprising experiences when we start monitoring applications is noticing the […]
The post How Do you Monitor Your Logging? written by Alex Fedotyev appeared first on Application Performance Monitoring Blog from AppDynamics.
AWS launches Frankfurt data centre, expands in European market
Picture credit: NandorFejer/Flickr
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has opened up a new European data centre in the German city of Frankfurt.
The move comes to assuage European customers they can keep all their data and services on the continent instead of the US, with the German data centre – or region, as AWS prefers – complementing their other European offering in Ireland. The Frankfurt launch brings the total number of AWS data centres to 11.
“To survive, businesses must be able to compete in today’s digital economy,” said Pontus Noren, co-founder of Cloudreach.
“Unrestricted use of the world’s number one cloud computing platform from AWS has become the essential part of any organisation’s ability to compete,” he added. “The German region for AWS will enable German businesses to do business in Germany without moving their data outside Germany.”
It can’t be said the move wasn’t coming. Back in March a Wall Street Journal article all but named Germany as the next data centre location for AWS. The new data centre will have two separate availability zones at launch, and is compliant with all applicable EU data protection requirements. Customers can also construct their cloudy architecture between the two EU regions.
“Our European business continues to grow dramatically,” said AWS SVP Andy Jassy in a statement. “By opening a second European region, and situating it in Germany, we’re enabling German customers to move more workloads to AWS, allowing European customers to architect across multiple EU regions, and better balancing our substantial European growth.”
AWS isn’t the only infrastructure provider looking to European expansion. IBM, through SoftLayer, launched a London data centre in July, and more recently announced expansion to France.
Earlier this week a report from Skyhigh Networks found that AWS remains the most popular enterprise cloud service, ahead of Microsoft Office365 and Salesforce.
Find out more about the AWS Frankfurt data centre here.
An ‘Internet of Things’ Fabric By @MuleSoft | @ThingsExpo [#IoT]
How do APIs and IoT relate? The answer is not as simple as merely adding an API on top of a dumb device, but rather about understanding the architectural patterns for implementing an IoT fabric. There are typically two or three trends:
Exposing the device to a management framework
Exposing that management framework to a business centric logic
• Exposing that business layer and data to end users.
This last trend is the IoT stack, which involves a new shift in the separation of what stuff happens, where data lives and where the interface lies. For instance, it’s a mix of architectural styles between cloud, APIs and native hardware/software configurations.
In his session at Internet of @ThingsExpo, Sumit Sharma, Director of API Strategy at MuleSoft, will describe the different types of relationships between IoT, cloud, APIs and integration.
IBM’s ‘Internet of Things’ Presentations at @ThingsExpo [#IoT @IBMIoT]
Internet of @ThingsExpo Silicon Valley announced on Thursday its first 12 all-star speakers and sessions for its upcoming event, which will take place November 4-6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California. @ThingsExpo, the first and largest IoT event in the world, debuted at the Javits Center in New York City in June 10-12, 2014 with over 6,000 delegates attending the conference. Among the first 12 announced world class speakers, IBM will present two highly popular IoT sessions, which will take place November 4-6, 2014 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California. More than 150 all-star faculty members will discuss, including the hottest Internet of Things technology topics in November.
The Unicorn Every #DevOps Is Looking For By @TrevParsons | @DevOpsSummit
In my hunt for the mysterious DevOps practice, I’ve been let down. DevOps are hard to find. When you find them, they do not exactly do what you think they should do. Some DevOps teams only execute on automation for dev; while others are operations folks with a new name; and still others are internal consultants helping operations and developers (but not actually doing the work). In my DevOps scavenger hunt I have identified a new type of creature; shared services (aka the unicorn)