The conversation of “Why Cloud?” has long since passed for many businesses and the question has transitioned into “How Cloud?”, or more importantly, “Is it safe?” Much is at stake protecting your business and your customers, and naturally, you should be cautious. Managing security in the cloud is about adapting to an agile world where development is rapid and compute resources are variable. Traditional security controls and best practices have not gone to the wayside, but in an agile world we must leverage additional tools and adapt our assessment methodologies to offset risks associated with rapid development in a multi-tenant cloud to protect sensitive data.
In his session at the 13th International Cloud Expo®, Jaret Chiles, Cloud Solutions Architect at Rackspace, to discuss Cloud Security in an Agile World and cover several topics on protecting your business while still reaping the many benefits of partnering with a cloud service provider.
Why Open Hybrid Cloud Is the Right Choice
Cloud computing has become the latest technological innovation for users wanting the economical regulation of resources. Cloud basically makes use of a broad infrastructure which shares its resources and services. However, it is equally important for users to know the right kind of cloud to use. Not all offer the same facilities and users must learn to recognize the facets which point to the right cloud. This is where users must be aware of Open Hybrid Cloud (Red Hat).
The Open Hybrid Cloud (Red Hat) is taking the world by storm with its innovative technology and is the way cloud will work in the future. The main idea behind Red Hat is the way it standardizes software and frees resources in the process. The hybrid makes the cloud more fluid to use with an interoperable infrastructure that is totally within your control.
IBM Acquires Mobile Messaging Startup Xtify
IBM today announced the acquisition of Xtify Inc., a ventured-backed company based in New York City. Xtify provides mobile messaging tools via the cloud to help organizations increase mobile sales and improve brand loyalty. Xtify mobile capabilities will be delivered through IBM’s SaaS portfolio and will run on IBM’s SoftLayer cloud infrastructure.
Xtify will expand IBM’s Smart Commerce initiative helping CMOs, digital marketers, mobile application developers with mobile campaign creation, content targeting, dynamic real-time segmentation and analytics across all mobile device platforms and browsers. Xtify’s technology is designed to deliver real-time, personalized offers via in-app mobile messages and push notifications.
The acquisition of Xtify has implications across IBM’s business:
- Xtify will expand IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative to help digital marketers develop relevant push notifications delivered via mobile devices and browsers. Smarter Commerce is among IBM’s most profitable business units boasting more than $3.5 billion in acquisitions since 2010.
- As part of IBM’s MobileFirst strategy, Xtify will make it easier for developers building mobile applications using IBM’s WorkLight platform to deliver relevant and timely cross-channel marketing messages to customers based on open standards.
Cloud Expo Silicon Valley: Becoming a Federal Cloud Service Provider
Now make the right tactical decisions to navigate FedRAMP successfully.
FedRAMP – or the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program – is a Cloud Service Provider’s gateway to the lucrative world of federal contracting. However there are tactical engineering decisions that must be made to ensure a smooth journey through the FedRAMP accreditation process.
In his session at the 13th International Cloud Expo®, Lunarline’s Director of FedRAMP Services Alan Yuriditsky will share his experience guiding CSPs through FedRAMP. His discussion will focus on key tactical moves CSPs can make that streamline compliance, reduce cost and make FedRAMP easier.
Object Storage Is THE Big Thing
In my opinion, Object Storage officially broke through this month. It went from being the “next” big thing to being “the” big thing. Why? Because Larry said so. Well, technically he didn’t: someone else had to do it for him as he skipped the Oracle Open World Keynote to see Team USA win the America’s Cup in the most exciting regatta of all times. So I’ve been told. I wasn’t there and I’m not a sailor. I kite surf, like Richard Branson.
What has Larry Ellison to do with Object storage and how is he an authority on the topic? Isn’t object storage about unstructured data, rather than databases? Well, correct: I don’t expect a whole lot from Oracle’s object storage technology. They are a database company and they are pretty damn good at that. But they haven’t been exceptionally successful with the Sun storage legacy other than the tape part of that business. Oracle’s object storage technology could have been good if they had recycled some of Sun’s honeycomb technology, but it doesn’t look like that is going to be the case. The little information that is out there points to OpenStack Swift, and we all know how well Oracle and open source blend! Also, Swift isn’t exactly storage-efficient: the technology was designed to run on cheap, commodity hardware – not really Oracle’s game.
Gartner: Nearly half of enterprises in hybrid cloud by 2017
Gartner has been gazing into its crystal ball once again, and now the smoke signals have cleared the message is simple: get going with a hybrid cloud solution, because half of big enterprises are going to be deployed by 2017.
The analyst house puts hybrid cloud where the private cloud was in 2010; plenty of companies wanting to get on board, but the actual uptake remains low.
But it’s not going to be available instantly: Gartner recommends chief execs should consider the cloud because of its agility rather than lower costs, a complete change of priority for cloud adoption.
“Virtualisation reduces capital expenses, and standards and automation reduce operational expenses,” noted Thomas Bittman, Gartner VP and distinguished analyst. “However, taking the next step of adding usage metrics, self-service offerings and automated provisioning requires investment in technologies without a significant reduction in operational cost.
“With this in mind, the driving …
Cloud Expo: Driving Recurring Revenue Streams Through Cloud Billing
Businesses today have a distinct desire to develop recurring revenue streams to improve customer lifetime value and as a result they have been focusing on delivering new digital services via a subscription based model. This focus is creating a radical shift in the market, driving new relationships, and requiring the development of new billing capabilities.
In his session at the 13th International Cloud Expo®, Brian Kracik, Director, Product Marketing SDP and Cloud Solutions at Oracle, will share use cases, trends, and the impact of the shift from physical to digital goods and how cloud billing is at the heart of a successful evolution.
Stormy Weather: Cloud Storage Vendor Nirvanix Files for Chapter 11
Nirvanix yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
According to an announcement on their website:
“We have an agreement with IBM, and a team from IBM is ready to help you. In addition, we have established a higher speed connection with some companies to increase the rate of data transfer from Nirvanix to their servers.”
Customers have until October 15 to move their data elsewhere.
Read earlier posts on the Nirvanix shutdown: the what and the why.
Some Clouds Are Safer Than Others
More and more people are getting credit cards with a built-in RFID chip in them. That little RFID chip (Radio Frequency ID) can transmit your credit card info out several feet when it is scanned by any reader. Most people don’t know this.
You can tell if your credit card has an RFID in it because most cards will be marked by one of several symbols: PayWave, PayPass, or BLINK or the symbol that looks something like this )))) There are some cards that have no indication that there’s an RFID in them.
Seven Causes of IT Security Paralysis & Cloud-Based Cures
Stats show risk grows in disproportion to IT security readiness. Security deployed, managed from the cloud provides strong results.
How cloud security overcomes the obstacle. It’s simple, really. More bang for the buck. Using the ability to apply operation expenses over capital ones is a significant savings in itself. No expensive servers to buy, no software to maintain and watch depreciate, etc… More importantly is the realization that a company can incorporate a fully capable enterprise juggernaut for pennies on the dollar they would otherwise spend to manage on-premises. Most of us are already aware of the justifying benefits that cloud-based applications provide. I’ve gone on record before stating that for the amount a mid-size company currently pays in support and maintenance for their on-premise initiative, they can easily deploy a robust, fully integrated, fully-capable suite of enterprise-class security solutions from the cloud. The stumbling block here is the proof that such a deployment can adequately meet the specific needs of the unique company. However by applying the 80/20 rule, by covering 80 percent of a company’s needs, it is more than likely well ahead of anything they are currently doing. Now on top of all that is all the professional services and consulting costs that ostensibly go away, or at least are tremendously reduced when managing from the cloud.