Cloud Computing

607 posts

A large storm moving across the sky over a body of water, illustrating shared services opportunities in government

Shared Services: A Perfect Storm of Opportunity

CSC, the American technology firm announced the results of a study that reveals a willingness within the government and IT community to be flexible around security governance to benefit from cloud computing and shared services. Results show that users are open to sharing sensitive activities in the cloud, as long as the parties involved share similar characteristics and have the same cultural approach to security. The report, titled ‘Shared Services: A perfect storm of opportunity,’ […]

A green line graph showing stock market trends on a digital screen, illustrating Gartner's SaaS market forecast

Gartner Predicts $10.7B Market for SAAS Applications

Gartner forecasts double-digit strong growth in revenue for the enterprise SAAS applications market in 2010 and 2011. Software-as-a-service worldwide revenues for enterprise applications will reach $10.7 billion in 2011, said Gartner on Dec. 14. The market generated worldwide revenues of $7.9 billion in 2009, and is forecast to reach $9.2 billion for 2010, according to the analyst firm. While growth was strong for 2010, with a 15.7 percent jump over 2009 revenues, “the market is […]

People working at desks in open office, illustrating benefits of SIP-enabled VoIP

Benefits of SIP-enabled VoIP

Contact centers that want to easily interoperate with other vendors, partners, and worksites must standardize with Session Initial Protocol (SIP) over their Voice-over-IP (VoIP) communications systems. Once an organization’s VoIP is SIP-enabled, they open themselves up to virtualizing multiple operations, increasing flexibility, reducing costs, and improving overall efficiency across an endless array of communications options. Here’s how organizations are improving customer service with SIP-enabled VoIP communications: Virtualize. An all IP-based solution doesn’t require PBX hardware […]

A card reader beside a dark door, illustrating cloud access management policies

Cloud Access Management Policies

In its December 2009 cloud computing security guidance paper, the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) focused on adding clarity to what it described as a “complicated landscape, which is often filled with incomplete and oversimplified information.” Indeed, in talking to providers of cloud security services and products it would seem there is an unimaginable range of security concerns, each requiring its own unique solution from yet another solution provider. But beyond the concerns there appears to […]

Woman and man holding hands, illustrating trust in cloud computing

In Clouds We Trust?

The “cloud” is a convenient name for a new paradigm in computing that entails changes in policies and processes that can seem as amorphous and shifting as actual clouds. How can you ensure that your data is protected and secure while sitting in the cloud? Start by asking a few questions: Where is the data physically stored? How is it protected? Who can access it? How can you get it back? When the economic crisis […]

White clouds and blue sky during daytime, illustrating Gartner's 2011 cloud computing predictions

Gartner Predicts 2011: Cloud Computing

Cloud computing could be over hyped today, but more than half of large enterprises will rely on public clouds by 2015. According to Gartner, the industry analysts, cloud computing is currently still at the “peak of inflated expectations”, with users’ belief in the technology outstripping its ability to deliver. But within the next five years, half of the world’s 1000 largest enterprises will be using external cloud services for their “top 10 revenue generating processes,” […]

White clouds, illustrating new shapes in the cloud market

Look for New Shapes in the Clouds in 2011

The tremendous growth of the cloud computing market, despite shortcomings in some areas, is a testament to the level of pent-up frustration that exists within organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry with legacy on-premise software and systems, and the tangible benefits today’s leading cloud vendors are quickly delivering to their early adopter customers. As the year winds to an end, it is incumbent on all industry pundits to make predictions about what they […]

Code editor displaying react source code, illustrating testing in the cloud

Testing the “Cloud”: New Challenge or an Opportunity?

Most companies now talk of adding cloud capabilities to their product and service offerings, and a number of companies, such as Google, now claim to be cloud-based. Such trend leads to network operators, as well as test equipment vendors, to decide if cloud computing presents them with any opportunities particularly in the enterprise and consumer areas. What is cloud computing anyway? According to Wikipedia, cloud computing is an Internet-based computing, where shared resources, software and […]

An abstract image of a city made up of lines, illustrating a smarter world through cloud computing

Bill Clinton: Cloud Computing Will Lead to a Smarter, Better World

Even Bill Clinton is a fan of the cloud! From the New York Times: Back in the 1990s, when Bill Clinton was president, cell phones weighed five pounds and no one dreamed of using them to do anything besides make phone calls. Now, they’re used to connect us for more powerful causes — like raising a billion dollars for Haiti, President Clinton said at the Dreamforce 2010 conference in San Francisco Wednesday. And that’s largely […]

Black ip desk phone on white table, illustrating SMBs adopting VoIP and IP PBX

SMBs Adopting VoIP And IP PBX Despite Concerns

Small to medium businesses (SMBs) are increasingly turning to VoIP solutions as a way of saving money, according to research from IT analyst firm AMI-Partners. More than 30 percent of small businesses (SBs, 1 – 99 employees) and 50 percent of medium businesses (MBs, 100-999 employees) said that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology would become critical to their business operations. SMB decision-makers said they see benefit from VoIP in improved staff productivity, streamlined dispersed […]