The combination of cloud computing and big data is a match made in heaven. Big data requires a flexible compute environment, which can scale quickly and automatically to support massive amounts of data. Infrastructure clouds provide exactly that. But whenever cloud computing is discussed, the question comes up:
When it comes to cloud security in a big data use case, the expectation is that any security solution will provide the same flexibility as the cloud without compromising the overall security of the implementation. When taking your big data to the cloud, the following four tips will enable you to achieve cloud flexibility paired with strict cloud security.

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In his session at 14th Cloud Expo, David Holmes, Vice President at OutSystems, will demonstrate the immense power that lives at the intersection of mobile apps and cloud application platforms. Attendees will participate in a live demonstration – an enterprise mobile app will be built and changed before their eyes – on their own devices.
David Holmes brings over 20 years of high-tech marketing leadership to OutSystems. Prior to joining OutSystems, he was VP of Global Marketing for Damballa, a leading provider of network security solutions. Previously, he was SVP of Global Marketing for Jacada where his branding and positioning expertise helped drive the company from start-up days to a $55 million initial public offering on Nasdaq.

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The CEOs of leading companies are already striving to create an agile business model — one that responds quickly to competitive pressures and shifting market demands. Commercial agility often requires a corresponding accelerated business technology deployment. Meaning, the IT requirement is for applications to be provisioned in hours — not weeks or months.
That’s a tall order for many corporate IT departments. Regardless, it must be done. More often than not, it’s accomplished via a cloud services-based methodology.
Savvy executives that proactively migrate their IT infrastructure to a cloud-centric architecture will generate new revenue that could surge by a factor of three from 2011 to 2017, according to the latest market study by IHS.

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According to the latest research from government cloud provider Eduserv, a lack of awareness and skills around cloud computing is halting its adoption in central government.

The research, conducted in January and February of 829 civil servants, found that nearly nine in 10 (88%) required some form of training in order to take advantage of cloud computing, whilst three quarters (75%) believed the benefits of their cloud were a mystery to the company as a whole.

The survey results also shed some doubt on the process of migration, even if government organisations wanted to do it.

More than half (51%) of respondents said they didn’t think their department had the technical skills to move to the cloud, while a similar number (54%) said their project management skills were fit for purpose.

The overall effect is one of indecision and panic. Of course, given the survey is conducted by a …

The latest edition of CloudTech’s look at the best links from around the web has a slightly nefarious tint to it, with stories of scammers, snoopers and sham artists. Thankfully though, there are some good news stories further down, proving good things come to those who wait.

1)  Beware: The cloud’s Ponzi schemes are here [Infoworld]

David Linthicum, writing for Infoworld, sheds light on an announcement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, who killed off a worldwide pyramid scheme targeting Asian and Latino communities in the US and abroad, promising return on investment for purchasing cloud computing services.

“Investors were told they would receive ‘points’ for making investments or enrolling other investors,” a release from the SEC explained. “The points would be convertible into equity in initial public offerings of high-tech companies their money would help launch.”

Did these philanthropic companies stick to their word? Of …

I am the CEO and founder of GovCloud Network, LLC. In a consultative role, I help companies develop and execute targeted media strategies via social media channels to over 1.5 million professionals across 20 industry verticals. With a specialty in cloud computing, we and our partners also provide the critical technical training and business education needed to thrive.

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In the cloud lock-in is often a greater concern than lock-out*, but both should be top of mind for organizations looking to deploy cloud seriously, or better said, for organizations that want to deploy cloud for serious business.

Lock-in is the phenomenon that it is often difficult (lengthy and expensive) for user organizations to switch suppliers, often because after some time the software becomes so closely linked with the way the organization works that saying goodbye to the vendor becomes virtualy impossible. It is no coincidence that there are only two industries (IT vendors and drug dealers) that routinely refer to their customers as «users».

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Performance is the intersection of power, agility, control, and choice. If you value performance, and more specifically consistent performance, you need to look beyond simple virtualized compute. Many factors need to be considered to create a truly performant environment.
In his General Session at 14th Cloud Expo, Marc Jones, Vice President of Product Innovation for SoftLayer, will explain how to take advantage of a multitude of compute options and platform features to make cloud the cornerstone of your online presence.

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Hybrid cloud refers to the federation of a public and private cloud environment for the purpose of extending the elastic and flexibility of compute, storage and network capabilities, in an on-demand, pay-as-you go basis. The hybrid approach allows a business to take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness that a public cloud computing environment offers without exposing mission-critical applications and data to third-party vulnerabilities.
Hybrid cloud environments involve complex management challenges. First, organizations struggle to maintain control over the resources that lie outside of their managed IT scope. They also need greater infrastructure visibility to help reduce maintenance costs and ensure that their company data and resources are properly handled and secured.

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