When it comes to outsourcing, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Coming up is not just more outsourcing, although that will happen. As the industry evolves, and as new technology comes into play–based in the cloud–IT services will become different in kind. They will have a lot to do with strategy; and the changes may fundamentally change the economics of some industries, resulting in new winners and losers. That’s the message I heard in Mumbai earlier […]
Cloud Computing
607 posts
Internet Protocol Telephony (IPT), also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is revolutionizing the way we do business. It offers a flexible, cost effective alternative to a traditional PSTN system (Public Switched Telephone Network), and is taking the business world by storm. So how does it work? Well, in a nutshell IPT allows you to place the telephone calls you would normally make on a phone line, over the internet using broadband or leased […]
Amazon doesn’t have paperwork from the music industry approving its new cloud music service. Does it need it? “Not at all!” says the e-commerce giant. “Maybe?” Says the music industry. Adding: “We sure we wish they would have asked.” We’re probably going to dive deeper into the legal intricacies of music licensing and cloud storage in the next couple days. For now, we can say that: * Lots of people think a version of cloud-based […]
Worried about your data? If you’re not, you’re kidding yourself. It’s become clear over the past few months that the risk of security breaches has reached a new and frightening level — from sophisticated tools in the hands of national governments and organized crime to spontaneous attacks harnessing the resources of thousands of loosely connected vigilantes. Add to that the dizzying array of devices now used to access, move and store data. Security strategies that […]
The SMB market for VoIP services is about to explode and service providers unprepared to meet that demand risk losing a hefty chunk of that key customer base, a new survey commissioned by Metaswitch Networks reports. The 2011 version of a regular survey of U.S. SMBs conducted by market research firm Inzenka showed that 27 percent of the 700 companies surveyed are already using VoIP and another 50 percent are planning to deploy it in […]
If Microsoft’s lukewarm comments about VDI or its repeated “concerns” about the cost of desktop virtualization haven’t told you anything about the company’s stance, a look at Microsoft’s licensing rules should help you nail it down. Microsoft really doesn’t like desktop virtualization. The reason? Because customers might get the idea that virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) can solve two problems, both related to the vendor’s most profitable product line, at once: * The high cost of […]
I don’t typically read the Army Times, but a few days ago I ended up there while searching for info on the U.S. federal government’s adoption of cloud computing. The page I landed on was all but astonishing. Army General Keith Alexander, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, was explaining why cloud computing is secure enough for the Department of Defense (DOD). Alexander was answering questions before a House […]
More and more companies are moving from traditional servers to virtual servers in the cloud, and many new service-based deployments are starting in the cloud. However, despite the overwhelming popularity of the cloud here, deployments in the cloud look a lot like deployments on traditional servers. Companies are not changing their systems architecture to take advantage of some of the unique aspects of being in the cloud. The key difference between remotely-hosted, virtualized, on-demand-by-API servers […]
A few years ago, the IT world was focused on public cloud computing. In 2010, after IT directors expressed concerns over public cloud security issues, the focus shifted to private clouds. And now, because everyone wants operational flexibility, hybrid clouds are at the top of the wish list. Several recent cloud surveys confirm these high levels of interest in hybrid cloud. A Unisys survey in January 2011 indicated that 21% of IT organizations are focusing […]
With Apple up until now, really taking the number one spot for content streaming with their iTunes service, it has been announced that Amazon are now too joining the competition. Bring on Amazon’s new Cloud Drive with their streaming service Cloud Player, for web and Android experience, with the peace of mind that your music collection will never be lost to the hard drive crashing. Amazon’s new Simple Storage Service (S3) has made this possible […]
Design engineers and design managers may have heard the term ‘cloud computing’ but found it hard to establish exactly what it is – or whether it will help them in their jobs. Alistair Rae presents some answers to these questions and looks at what might happen in the future. As information technology companies describe new ways to offer infrastructure to businesses, the term ‘cloud computing’ is becoming more common – but what exactly is it? […]
Whoever said there’s not much new on the Web should have been around last week for the much-ballyhooed launch of Color – celebrated as one of the most exciting Web concepts to appear this year. If it lives up to its initial promise, Color represents a fundamentally new type of mobile social network that, in many ways, is almost the polar opposite of Facebook. So what’s so radical about Color? For one, Color has done […]
Cloud computing can help automotive manufacturers gain a competitive edge in every aspect of their business—from product design and manufacturing to global expansion. But, success will largely depend on their ability to fully leverage its capability in response to several emerging trends and challenges. When assessing what cloud can do for their businesses, automotive leaders need to take into account the distinct and rapidly evolving challenges that their industry faces today. These include the fundamental […]
With nearly one-third of healthcare sector decision-makers already using cloud-based applications and 73 percent saying they are planning to move more applications to the cloud, it’s time to take a serious look at the business opportunity offered and determine what healthcare in the cloud really means. The Cloud Means Savings The cost advantages that cloud computing offers are enticing, especially in a time when healthcare organizations are investing in robust computing technology as part of […]
By using VoIP (voice over Internet protocol), companies immediately save money on toll charges. Also, you don’t pay any additional per-line feature charges because VoIP runs on your computer network. Regulatory fees, surcharges, and taxes are applied on a per-line basis. As you reduce the number of lines, the line-cost and recurring charges go with them. Reducing or eliminating phone lines If you can eliminate one or more of the lines that you lease from […]
Color could be the type of mobile-meets-social-meets-local application Google and Apple have been searching for. Unless Facebook gets there first. Color, the mobile picture-sharing application that launched with the controversial financial backing of $41 million last week, might have some usability issues in the early going but it’s the type of cutting-edge company Facebook, Google and Apple love to acquire. Similar to startups such as Path or Instagram, Color lets users take photos or video […]
The need for technological protection has spawned a burgeoning industry in Dallas-Fort Worth. Economic instability. The explosion of cloud computing. The swift growth of e-commerce and online financial transactions. The rapid spread of mobile devices loaded with digitized information. The spread of social networking. These are just a few of the technological forces wreaking havoc with commercial and personal security. With the digitization of more and more elements of our social fabric comes a parallel […]
Almost 40 per cent of SMEs expect to be paying for one or more cloud services within three years, according to a Microsoft report. The IT vendor announced the results of its third annual worldwide study into how SMEs will use cloud services over the next three years. A total of 3,258 companies with 2-250 employees were surveyed in 16 countries. The survey found that 39 per cent of SMEs expect to be paying for […]
If you’ve read anything about the phenomenon of Big Data, then you probably picture armies of servers chugging some form of the Hadoop ecosystem to crunch mountains of information streaming from internal corporate transactions, emails, instant messages, and Web logs or external social media interactions and public information. Sounds expensive, right? Not necessarily. Thanks to cloud computing, freely available tools, and limitless free data, you can do major league Big Data analysis for a C-note. […]
Securing the endpoint has always been a headache for IT administrators. The less managed those endpoints are, the worse the headache is. In a virtualised desktop environment, where those operating systems and applications are more managed, does the problem go away? Ostensibly, security is less of a problem in a virtual desktop environment. In a VDI or Remote Desktop Services implementation, the entire operating system and applications run centrally, and the user’s data remains in […]
If you treat the cloud as a mere hardware weight-loss plan, you’ll soon find your datacentre piling back on the pounds. Cloud computing is not some voguish weight-loss programme. To get the most from it requires a transformation of the whole datacentre, not just individual applications, says Lori MacVittie. Consolidation and more efficient use of resources are behind many moves to the cloud. But for long-term success and control over costs, we need to view […]
The head of a toolmaker supposedly once noted that the company’s customers really didn’t care about one-inch drill bits; they cared about one-inch holes. Even if that story is apocryphal, it’s useful in illustrating something about how vastly different IT’s approach to assessing technology is from that of IT’s users. If IT were buying a drill, it would specify drill-bit hardness and revolutions per minute. It would want as many bit diameters as possible. It […]
Businesses must ensure that cloud-enabled applications are tuned for optimal performance by paying close attention to network latency and other details of cloud architecture. I recently participated in a lively debate that revolved around three primary economic justifications for cloud computing: cost, revenue, and risk. But, there’s a fourth that Web 2.0 firms know all about—the total customer experience. The topic came up at the Cloud Connect conference in Santa Clara, Calif., where I had […]
By now, most IT professionals are familiar with server and application virtualization. But Microsoft says it’s time to get ready for the next layer: server application virtualization. This new capability is now available in beta as part of System Center Virtual Machine Manager, and will hit general availability later this year as part of the larger System Center 2012 release, Microsoft said this week. Microsoft isn’t the first vendor to virtualize server applications, but it […]
If you came here for the article with the title, “Is the Cloud Really Just the Return of Mainframe Computing?’, unfortunately, it has been removed at the request of the publisher of the website from which it was obtained. Asking me to remove it was within their rights, but I believe it was a shortsighted decision based on old media ideas about the copyright “protection” of assets and the imagined potential loss of ad revenue. […]
VDI can simplify the tasks that make desktop administrators hate their lives — the one-by-one operating system upgrades, Windows patch management, client hardware failures and end-user mishaps. But virtual desktops won’t solve any problems without proper planning and infrastructure. In fact, many virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) proofs of concept fail because of infrastructure, said Tom Scanlon, CIO of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). When MCPHS explored a move from physical desktops […]
It may sound like a PR ploy, but “cloud computing” truly is a different way of using technology resources, and more firms are adopting it. If your head hasn’t been lost up in the cirrus or cumulus, you’ve probably heard of cloud computing over the last few years. “The cloud” has figured prominently in President Obama’s technology initiatives, in the business plans of familiar tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft, and even in […]
GSA assistant commissioner Mary Davie tries to dispel cloud computing ‘myths’ and says a phased deployment strategy will raise the chances for successful projects. Moving to the cloud is easier, more cost-effective, and safer than many federal IT pros realize, according to the assistant commissioner of the General Services Administration. In light of the federal mandate for agencies to embrace cloud computing, GSA’s Mary Davie tried to debunk some of the myths about cloud computing […]
Cloud computing, an industry dependent on the availability of high-speed internet connectivity, grew on the realisation that internet bandwidth could be used for more than just downloading large files. However, the cloud’s initial lustre is starting to wear off and businesses are starting to query why they should move to the cloud and what happens once that leap is taken. The sales pitch of cloud computing is pretty simple: why bother running your own storage […]
Hosted voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services can level the playing field for small and mid-sized businesses, making enterprise-grade communications available for a monthly subscription fee. At the same time, the flexibility of hosted business telephony offers unparalleled value for larger players as well. Here’s a look at ten reasons hosted VoIP services could be the right choice for your business: 1. Lower upfront cost: VoIP services maintain a system infrastructure on behalf of the […]