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 […]
Cloud Computing
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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 […]