“You need to educate people around the cloud. Get them smart and with the cloud it’s something where it touches so many different people these days rather than traditional data centers where people were in the basement,” stated Marc Halcrow, North America Regional Manager at ITpreneurs, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City.
Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
Deconstructing Cloud: An Excellent Guide to the Cloud Computing World
On an almost daily basis, I’m approached for my views on «cloud computing technology». Although typically innocent in nature, I always cringe at the thought of enduring yet another hours long discussion over the existence of a «cloud computing business model». With this in mind, you can understand the joy I experienced when I read an advance copy of «Deconstructing Cloud» by Andrea Bilobrk. This soon to be released work artfully balances both the technical and business aspects of cloud computing in an easy to read tutorial.
Writing from a knowledgeable viewpoint as a blogger at CloudBestPractices.net, Andrea minimizes the normally steep learning curve of applying this new approach for provisioning and consuming information technology. She skillfully uses humor and easily understood anecdotes to illustrate how businesses can really gain true value.
Colt must clarify its cloud services positioning
Ian Brown, Senior Analyst, IT Services
Like many of its peers in the telecoms industry, European network provider Colt is building up its IT services portfolio, of which cloud is an integral part. Network operators such as Colt own two key assets for the delivery of cloud computing: networks and data centers. They also have a key motivation for turning to the cloud: declining revenues in their legacy communications businesses.
Colt’s differentiator as a cloud provider is its expertise in cloud orchestration – more specifically, the automation behind its infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud and portal. However, this will not be enough to convince enterprises to integrate Colt’s cloud into their hybrid IT environments. Colt needs to partner with SIs and ISVs and develop a solutions focus if it is to deliver real business value to its target enterprise customers and provide more than just another standalone cloud.
Colt has used …
Changing Standards for Online Healthcare Data – HIPAA & the Cloud
Just a few months ago I wrote a blog post about healthcare data on the cloud (HIPPA Cloud Storage) and the security concerns surrounding this very sensitive and valuable data. I mentioned that as with many industries, more healthcare data is being moved to the cloud, but the healthcare industry has remained a few paces behind others in terms of securing online data.
The safety of personal healthcare information on the cloud continues to be an important topic, specifically in regards to government-issued guidelines. There are new requirements going into effect this year that expand on how HIPAA and HITECH standards regulate healthcare data on the cloud.
For years, HIPAA has required healthcare organizations to maintain confidentiality of electronic health information that can be linked back to an individual. More recently, HITECH provisions further strengthened HIPAA penalties and criminal enforcement.
Three Steps to Frame a Successful Cloud Roadmap
Every business needs an IT plan. Cloud computing is no different. Simply acquiring cloud products for disparate groups within the organization won’t help your business access the so promised benefits of the cloud.
The truth is that by the time cloud computing becomes a conversation at the business level, the IT department has already decided (in tandem with the finance department) how to bring the service into the organization. But just because IT has determined a path, that doesn’t mean further planning can’t occur. Here are a few guidelines to help manage the process of building a successful cloud computing road map for your business.
Day One at Cisco Live — Video Recap
By Nick Phelps, Consulting Architect, LogicsOne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYZdaT8LCCk
I attended Cisco Live down in Orlando at the end of June. At the end of each day of the event, I made a video recapping the key highlights. There was some really interesting news and updates to come out of this conference that’s worth being aware of. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!
Small Businesses, Watch Out! You Are Big Business
More and more, small and medium-sized enterprises have become the victim of cybercrime. However, there is no reason that they should endure it sorrowfully. An authentication platform, for example, can be a solution for password hacking.
There was a time when mostly banks and large companies were targeted by cyber criminals. However, that time is definitely over. Fraudsters have shifted their field of activity toward the small and medium-sized business. An increasing number of SMEs have experienced losses and harm because of cybercrime. Nowadays, fraudsters consider SMEs as preferred objects, as they tend to be perceived to be less careful in their cyber defenses. A survey executed by Guardian Analytics shows that the nearly 1,000 questioned owners and executives of an SME experienced that fraud is widespread. Two out of every three attempted fraud attacks ended in money loss.
Suspense Builds Ahead on Dell Vote
With 72 hours to go before shareholders vote on Dell’s fate Thursday, T. Rowe Price, whose mutual fund controls a little over 4% of the stock, reiterated its intention to vote against the $24.4 billion privatization plan claiming it undervalues the company.
It didn’t say it would vote for the competing Icahn proposal that would leave Dell with a public “stub.”
Cloud computing in Australia: Pros, cons and questions to ask
The International Data Center (IDC) researchers have this week put into writing what many will already suspect: cloud computing continues to grow in Australia. But does this all fit in with recent coverage?
86% of Australian enterprises currently use cloud computing in some aspect, up from 71% this time last year, according to the latest report from IDC, “Australia Cloud Services 2013-2017 Forecast and Analysis”.
Not surprisingly, there’s still a fair amount of future gazing in the report, with IDC predicting that the Australian public cloud services market will grow to a whopping A$2,671.9 million (£1,631m) in 2017, meaning a compound annual growth rate of 24.7% for that five year period.
Aside from the pinch of salt which generally needs to be taken with such statistics, these are still impressive numbers.
In a statement, IDC Australia cloud services senior analyst Raj Mudaliar said cloud …
Cloud Partners Announces Addition of Marty Colburn, Former CTO of FINRA
Cloud Partners, a consulting firm that provides enterprise users with innovative technology solutions, announces the appointment of Martin Colburn as managing partner.
Previously, Colburn was executive vice president and chief technology officer for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA). He provided strategic and operational oversight for all technology services and operations including application development and maintenance, architecture and operations.
Colburn brings significant experience from many successes involving big data and cloud technologies at large enterprises, including evaluating both the entry and exit costs associated with deploying new technologies.