IT infrastructure today is in a state of continuous evolution. Recently we have witnessed several technology breakthroughs in the form of cloud computing, mobility, social networking, etc.

Cloud has become a reality in the enterprise world. Most organizations have tested cloud in the form of virtual private clouds or public clouds. With some of the security concerns around the cloud platform receding, federated identity becoming common and the economic benefits of the cloud adoption becoming clear, the adoption level and maturity of cloud-based services is on the rise.

Gartner predicts that by 2105, around 57 % of IT services will be delivered via cloud, which is a clear indication that organizations are moving to the IaaS-, SaaS- and PaaS-based cloud models

Infrastructure federation (Hybrid cloud IaaS) and application federation (third-party SaaS) are gaining prominence. Private cloud adoption by the enterprise is also steadily on the rise. Gartner’s «Hype cycle of Cloud computing «of 2011 predicts that in the next five years private cloud adoption would be reaching its peak .Private cloud is clearly surging ahead as the path to cloud. Big Data and cloud-enabled BPM platforms are the other areas that are expected to grow in a big way.

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One of the main reasons companies are reluctant to take advantage of cloud services isn’t because they don’t realize how cloud can transform business practices, but instead it comes down to a matter of risk, according to an article on HuffingtonPost.com.
It seems executives are concerned with the basic issue of security when deciding whether to use cloud computing to handle mission-critical data or workloads.
Caution, of course, is always prudent, especially when it comes to new innovations. But instead of continuing to question whether the cloud can handle mission-critical computing needs, it’s time to realize that an industrial-strength cloud – or one that allows organizations to focus on business innovation rather than continuing to worry about the reliability and safety of data – is ready for primetime, according to an article in the Huffington Post.
The right skills, tools and best practices now exist to make cloud computing secure, no matter the corporate demand. In fact, rather than a major inhibitor of adoption, security can be a critical enabler, making it possible for executives to stop losing sleep over data risks and focus on getting business done. The key is understanding that not all clouds are created equal.

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Amazon has set up data centers in Australia to supply its cloud services to Australia-based businesses and global companies with customers in Australia.
It’ll be Amazon Web Services’ ninth region, the Asia Pacific (Sydney) Region, and the third Region in Asia Pacific after the Singapore and Tokyo Regions.
The new Sydney Region consists initially of two separate Availability Zones.
AWS senior VP Andy Jassy said in a statement that AWS had over 10,000 customers in Australia and New Zealand before opening the new centers. “With the ability to achieve single-digit millisecond latency to end users in Sydney, store data locally in Australia, and get to market more quickly and inexpensively by using AWS’s infrastructure,” he said, the company is expecting to add more customers.

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PCI (Payment Card Industry) enforces Data Security Standards that looks to ensure that ALL companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. This can be a burdensome task unless retailer can leverage the cloud. This article takes a look at some of the requirements and how they translate into best practices when managed from the cloud.
For the sake of this example, let’s assume you are a retailer who processes more than 20,000 transactions a year and the administrative burden of PCI is a real concern. In fact, it is a business necessity to maintain merchant accounts with VISA, American Express and MasterCard. And it is hugely important to keep the confidence of your customers. Fines for non-compliance aside, a breach of your network could cost millions of dollars. And that doesn’t begin to calculate the cost of customer defection through loss of trust.

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If you had to pick a winning news, feature or blog headline to garner maximum reader interest and the widest potential industry relevance these days then how about trying… Open Source Mobile Touch-Based Social Chinese Clouds.
Of the eight words in this banner, we can probably say that seven of them (excluding perhaps ‘based’) encapsulate the bleeding and leading edge of the IT industry at this moment.
Keyword #1: China in your handset
Look at the facts, commercial Linux player Red Hat is pushing massively for cloud computing growth in China right now. Extolling the virtues of both its open source-based data processing and data storage capabilities; the firm is openly targeting a tripling of its current fiscal year revenues.

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Asigra, the Toronto-based cloud Backup, Recovery and Restore (BURR) software provider, just unveiled Asigra Cloud Backup v12, a secure, single end-to-end data protection software suite that protects data across physical, virtualized and cloud operating environments.
It claims the widgetry is the first and only backup solution to back up all enterprise data into a single repository – that means physical and virtual environments, everything from servers and storage to desktops and on to endpoint devices – laptops, tablets and smartphones as well as databases, enterprise apps and cloud-based applications.
That means that users can rip out their myriad point solutions, simplifying their environments and their recovery processes.

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Based on different reports of companies in New York still caught “off-guard” with their computer systems, it is hard to believe that corporate computer systems are down for some major companies – especially financial ones – and there are no redundant systems up-and-running.
What happened to adhering to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, where it clearly states you need to have both a back-up plan as well as redundant systems? Some IT executives should lose their jobs for poorly designed mission-critical information systems.
Did Your Cloud Get Blown Away?
It’s not Disaster Recovery 101, today it’s Business Continuity 101. There is a huge difference in how you design and configure your systems and network.
Note to all affected companies: If you experienced down-time in your systems, you have laid off the wrong people and kept the incompetents to manage your operations.
Disaster recovery is the old approach of “as the impending disaster looms, shut down all systems in an orderly fashion so that you can restore them in an orderly fashion when the disaster ends.” When the disaster is over, go back and restart all the systems to get the organization back up-and-running.

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