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
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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 […]