Many design and construction companies affected by Hurricane Sandy harnessed the powers of technology to serve their clients and remain operational in the aftermath of the storm. Investments that paid off the best were virtualization tools and cloud-based private networks, say some firms. To communicate, most firms rerouted e-mail, sent out mass e-cards or used social media to alert clients and employees with key updates. Others went to much greater lengths and the difference showed. […]
Cloud Computing
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NO DOUBT ABOUT IT – there is a sea change happening as individuals and companies slowly grasp the upside of cloud computing. But I still get challenged at conferences: “What about the security risk? I have to know that my bits are safe. How do I know these service providers are not going to mine my data and exploit all my information?” The short answer is that you don’t – no one does. But then […]
The use of technology is among one of the greatest challenges facing medium sized businesses. It also presents one of the biggest transformational opportunities to drive growth, promote innovation, reduce costs and ensure your business maintains a competitive edge. 1. Free up resources Most businesses today are concerned about the state of the economy. Moving in-house hardware and software to a highly secure data centre means it can be delivered back as a fully managed […]
Despite the hype and claims by large software companies about the miracles of cloud computing, a combined study by Ireland’s National Software Engineering Research Centre (Lero) and NUI Galway has shown that cloud actually results in significant time savings for firms and drives down administrative costs. The new report claims to offer the first empirical evidence globally of the benefits of cloud computing. Globally, the market for public cloud services is expected to increase by […]
Security issues in industrial markets have been receiving much attention in the media. The vast majority of devices that power infrastructures offer aging technology in many cases and are not well prepared for the latest cyber security threats. Taking the energy grid as an example: one does not have to be a scientist to find the holes when approximately 70% of the infrastructure is more than 30 years old. Devices that were never designed for […]
The cloud seems to be a prickly, double edged sword at the moment. Well, that’s if Steve Wozniak’s predictions of doom are to be believed. His belief that the cloud will bring “a lot of horrible problems in the next five years” seems to be at odds with the view of enterprises whose rapid adoption of cloud computing is reflected in Gartner’s predictions of a 48% increase in cloud services this year alone. While this […]
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new software tool to prevent performance disruptions in cloud computing systems by automatically identifying and responding to potential anomalies before they can develop into problems. Cloud computing enables users to create multiple “virtual machines” that operate independently, even though they are all operating on one large computing platform. However, this approach can cause performance issues when a software bug, or other problem, in one virtual machine […]
The benefits of removing the capital investment and the day to day management of hardware and software to leverage an on-demand, metered computing service, charged on a consumption basis, are now widely accepted. The rise in cloud computing is indicative of our need to make the most efficient use of resources and minimise costs by accessing computing resources and infrastructure when, and as, it is needed. This business model has drawn many comparisons between the […]
Cloud computing promises a low cost of entry and fast return on investment, but that ROI can fall short of expectations if hidden costs are left out of the equation. A new white paper from global IT association ISACA, “Calculating Cloud ROI: From the Customer Perspective,” takes a close look at the true costs of cloud migration and offers a practical framework for calculating returns on migrating to the cloud. The free white paper outlines […]
There are many benefits of cloud computing that don’t necessarily make the headlines or the 30-point bold bullet in the PowerPoint slide, but they are still important when considering using a cloud service. It’s pretty apparent to anyone in the technology world that cloud computing is an established and accepted approach to the delivery of computer software and infrastructure as a service. From music and movie streaming services such as Netflix and Pandora, to personal […]