SYS-CON Events announced today that SoftLayer, an IBM Company, has been named “Gold Sponsor” of SYS-CON’s 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York, New York. SoftLayer, an IBM Company, provides cloud infrastructure as a service from a growing number of data centers and network points of presence around the world. SoftLayer’s customers range from Web startups to global enterprises.

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Plex Cloud, the latest offering from Plex, is likely to take user experience to new levels. With this service, you no longer have to run Plex Media Server on a computer or to any other Network Attached Storage in your house. Rather, you can access it all directly from the cloud.

The obvious advantage is it gives you greater flexibility as you can use it on a broad range of devices. Also, you’re not confined to a particular geographical location as you can use it from any device as long as you have access to the Internet.

Another related advantage is you don’t have to worry about downloading, installing, or configuring Plex software on a PC or Mac. This is sure to come as a huge relief to customers, as it can be daunting for novices and for those who haven’t used media streaming services in the past. Also, you don’t have to keep your PC or Mac on all the time, so in this sense, this service signals the end of  the “always-on computer” idea.

This concept of streaming from the cloud takes a lot of work off your hands, especially those related to transcoding options, if you’re computer isn’t a powerhouse to handle all streaming demands. This way, you don’t have to spend money on a high-capability computer, for just streaming media.

In addition, you can create a private list of favorite collection, and watch them from any device, as long as the device supports secure connections to the Internet. Simply sign in with your Plex account, browse and play the content you want. Your only limitation here is the speed of your Internet; if it’s fast enough for Netflix, then it’s sure to be good for Plex Cloud too.

Despite the above advantages, there are some downsides too. Firstly, Plex Cloud doesn’t score high on functionality when compared to the installed version, mainly because the server is not running continuously in the background. Secondly, there is only a limited support for third-party channels.

More importantly, Plex Cloud is not free, as you need an active Plex Passs Subscription to use it. As of now, it costs $4.99 per month, $39.99 per year, or $149.99 for a lifetime. These rates are obviously cheaper than Netflix, but they still cost you, unlike the Plex Media Server that doesn’t need any subscription. Besides, you’ll also need an Amazon Drive account, because it plays content from your computer, and this content has to be in the cloud. This subscription to Amazon Drive sets you back by $59.99 a year, as this is cost for “unlimited everything” plan. Though Plex has a tie-up only with Amazon now, there is always a possibility for it to expand its offerings to Microsoft, Dropbox, SugarSync, and other cloud storage and backup service providers, in the future.

Thus, Plex Cloud is going to cost you some money, but it’s not so expensive that it’ll break your bank, and plus, you get good value for what you pay.

The post Pros and Cons of Plex Cloud appeared first on Cloud News Daily.

(c)iStock.com/Danil Melekhin

The big data landscape is approaching a state of maturation: according to the latest note from analyst house Gartner, more money is being invested in big data but fewer companies are deciding to commit.

The research, which polled almost 200 members of the Gartner Research Circle, found that 48% of companies have invested in big data this year – up 3% from this time last year – but also argued that only a quarter (25%) plan to invest in the coming years, down from 31% in 2015.

One area which remained relatively unchanged was with regard to getting big data projects from ideation to creation. Gartner argues the issue of organisations being stuck in the pilot phase remains an important one; 15% of respondents reported deploying their big data project protection in the most recent survey, compared with 14% this time last year.

Gartner argues a couple of reasons may be behind the findings. Big data projects seem to be receiving less spending priority than other IT initiatives, while similarly there is also a lack of return on investment reported. This may change as the big data term dissipates; in other words, as dealing with multiple strands of data and larger datasets becomes the de facto method.

“The big issue is not so much big data itself, but rather how it is used,” said Nick Heudecker, Gartner research director. “While organisations have understood that big data is not just about a specific technology, they need to avoid thinking about big data as a separate effort.” Research director Jim Hare added: “When it comes to big data, many organisations are still finding themselves at the crafting stage. Industrialisation – and the performance and stability guarantees that come with it – have yet to penetrate big data thinking.”

A recent report from Forrester Research found that, in terms of big data technologies, NoSQL and Hadoop were forecast to grow the quickest, with the pharmaceutical, transport and primary production industries the fastest growing.

(c)iStock.com/TiSanti

Every business has that one legacy system they can’t seem to let go of. You know you’ve got one – a relic hidden away in some dusty server room. But are you aware of the damage these outdated systems can, will and may already be having on your organisation?

The damage inflicted by legacy technology can range from minor systems issues through to major events that could put your organisation out of business – and it’s important to know the hidden dangers.

Increased downtime

Outdated software runs on outdated hardware, all of which eventually leads to ever increasing downtime and continued system failures.  Running systems past their operational lifespan is a recipe for disaster. These systems will increasingly overheat, crash and eventually cease to operate.

The damage caused by system failures can range from frustrating to devastating. It can be as minor as IT spending countless hours rebooting servers, or the inconvenience of data loss. It could however be customers left unable to make purchases on the busiest day of the year as your website is offline. The bottom line is that system failures cost money; it could be hundreds, it could be millions.

RBS are an example of a company that learned this lesson the hard way. Legacy systems at the bank failed for several days in 2012, leaving their customers unable to access their accounts and make online payments. Worse still, staff were required to manually update balances in this time. This not only damaged their brand, but cost them millions in lost business. Paris’ Orly airport suffered a similar fate. The airport was forced into grounding planes for hours after an instance of Windows 3.1 crashed in bad weather. This system is 23 years old. It’s deeply concerning that some of the most important networks and systems today are woefully outdated.

Compliance issues

Depending on your industry, holding onto legacy technology is the equivalent of holding a ticking compliance time bomb. Once a legacy technology becomes unsupported, the vast majority will fail to meet industry compliance standards like PCI DSS, SOX and HIPPA.

These standards place strict requirements which encompass the entire IT infrastructure, often with specific focus on server and network security. Unsupported systems that do not meet these requirements will require significant investment to maintain compliance.

Running a system that is no longer compliant can result in hefty fines from regulating bodies. Visa and MasterCard impose financial penalties on merchants and service providers for non-compliance. These charges can range from £3,500 to £75,000 per month until compliance is resumed. Windows Server 2003 is as an example of technology which no longer meets PCI compliance. So if you’re processing card payments through a website running on Windows Server 2003 you could be non-compliant already.

Increasing operational costs

Running outdated technology increases operating costs. Old hardware platforms lack modern power saving technology, while old operating systems are devoid of virtualisation features. These systems are inefficient and cost more to run and maintain.

As previously mentioned, these systems crash often and require constant attention from the IT department, eating away at employee resource. Failure rates on legacy technology mean you’ll need to track down increasingly rare replacement parts which manufacturers may have stopped supplying.

There’s also the risk presented by a dwindling talent pool. As technologies pass out of circulation, so to do the IT professionals with the requisite skills to support these technologies. Lose an existing staff member and you risk paying over the odds to employ or train a replacement with the skills necessary to manage the tech. That is of course if training is still available the technology in question. Reflecting on the earlier Paris’ Orly airport incident as an example, they are now in a race against time to replace the outdated system, before the only technician they have who is familiar with Windows 3.1 retires. 

Data breaches

Legacy technologies are extremely vulnerable to attack from cyber criminals. With the average cost of a single data breach now reported at $4 million, this event falls into the potential business ending category. This of course depends on the size of the company and the severity of the breach.

The problem with these outdated systems is that they are (predominantly) no longer supported by the company that created them. You are on your own, if a new vulnerability is discovered by cyber criminals, there will be no security updates released to patch the issue. It’s also unlikely you will be informed of this vulnerability, meaning you are blindly running a system prone to constant attack.

Old technology also doesn’t benefit from advances in security. Take Windows Server 2003 as an example, old server platform lacks compartmentalisation available in modern server operating systems. Once an intruder gains access to your system, they will have free reign to move around. Through a single unpatched vulnerability, attackers can access all applications, middleware and databases running on the server platform.

Outpaced by competitors

We are all faced by digital disruption, accelerating at a pace we’ve not witnessed in any previous era of technology-induced change. The explosion of mobile devices and real-time transactions – supported by cloud services – cannot be handled by legacy systems which were never designed to accommodate these interactions at such a high volume.

This is a simple case of Darwinism, adapt or die. You cannot hope to be a 21st century organisation running on 20th century technology. By clinging on to that legacy system you may find your business lost to a digital start-up.

Don’t believe me? We need only look at our recent history. More than 80% of Fortune 500 companies from 20 years ago are no longer on the list. Having failed to make the transition to an internet-based business in the 1990s, they have been replaced largely by organisations born in the last 20 years as an Internet-based business.

The same fundamental transformation is happening now. Instead of a shift to online business, it’s a shift to digital business models and modern digital infrastructures. If you stick with your legacy technology, you face losing relevance and suffering the same fate as those from the 1990s.

The cloud market growth today is largely in public clouds. While there is a lot of spend in IT departments in virtualization, these aren’t yet translating into a true “cloud” experience within the enterprise. What is stopping the growth of the “private cloud” market?
In his general session at 18th Cloud Expo, Nara Rajagopalan, CEO of Accelerite, explored the challenges in deploying, managing, and getting adoption for a private cloud within an enterprise. What are the key differences between what is available in the public cloud and the early private clouds?

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Effectively SMBs and government programs must address compounded regulatory compliance requirements. The most recent are Controlled Unclassified Information and the EU’s GDPR have Board Level implications. Managing sensitive data protection will likely result in acquisition criteria, demonstration requests and new requirements. Developers, as part of the pre-planning process and the associated supply chain, could benefit from updating their code libraries and design by incorporating changes.

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SYS-CON Events announced today that Coalfire will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Coalfire is the trusted leader in cybersecurity risk management and compliance services. Coalfire integrates advisory and technical assessments and recommendations to the corporate directors, executives, boards, and IT organizations for global brands and organizations in the technology, cloud, healthcare, retail, payments, and financial industries. Coalfire’s approach addresses each businesses’ specific vulnerability challenges, developing a long-term strategy to prevent security breaches and data theft. Coalfire has offices throughout the United States and Europe.

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Rapid innovation, changing business landscapes, and new IT demands force businesses to make changes quickly. In the eyes of many, containers are at the brink of becoming a pervasive technology in enterprise IT to accelerate application delivery. In this presentation, you’ll learn about the:
The transformation of IT to a DevOps, microservices, and container-based architecture
What are containers and how DevOps practices can operate in a container-based environment
A demonstration of how Docker and Kubernetes reduce software delivery cycle times, drive automation, and increase efficiency
How other organizations are using DevOps + containers and how to replicate their success

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One of biggest questions about Big Data is “How do we harness all that information for business use quickly and effectively?” Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or spatial technology is about more than making maps, but adding critical context and meaning to data of all types, coming from all different channels – even sensors.
In his session at @ThingsExpo, William (Bill) Meehan, director of utility solutions for Esri, will take a closer look at the current state of spatial technology and articulate how it can connect the dots to bridge the gap between Big Data and IoT so that organizations may finally use information as effectively as they use it in their personal lives.

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Procurement demands an integrated, end-to-end approach built on deep insights and intelligence to drive informed source-to-pay decisions.
Far beyond just automating tasks and transactions, procurement today is a strategic function that demands an integrated, end-to-end approach built on deep insights and intelligence to drive informed source-to-pay decisions and actions that enable businesses to adopt a true business ecosystem-wide digital strategy.

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