A survey of 401 global small and midsize businesses (SMBs) conducted by IDC on behalf of data protection specialist Acronis found that IT organizations are struggling with backup and recovery, thanks to the rise of virtualization and cloud computing. Backup and recovery becomes more problematic with each new platform added. Most IT organizations now routinely run multiple types of hypervisors in and out of the cloud, but these platforms are increasing the cost and complexity […]
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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 is certainly attracting headlines in the media. You might have noticed Microsoft’s Cloud Power advertising blitz, or seen Apple’s Steve Jobs talking excitedly about iCloud. The trouble is that, for most companies, it’s hard to work out whether any of this hype is relevant to their business. So is the cloud an option for you? As it happens, it is likely that your company already uses a cloud-based solution. If you subscribe to […]
Many small-business owners may not realize that the cloud plays a big role in their business operations, and its importance is growing every day. I’m often asked, “What exactly is the cloud, and why does my company need it?” Simply put, the cloud hosts resources and applications that are accessed through the Internet, and it now offers small businesses access to powerful capabilities that once were only within reach of larger corporations. From a small-business […]
Small and medium businesses have yet to fully embrace server virtualization, and ones that have already deployed the technology aren’t paying enough attention to backup and security in virtual environments. That’s the takeaway from a recent Symantec-commissioned survey of 658 businesses worldwide, which ranged in size from 5 to 240 employees and spanned a variety of industries. The survey, conducted in May by Applied Research and published by Symantec on Wednesday, shows that 70 percent […]
Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of small businesses surveyed by Newtek Business Services said they have never heard of cloud computing, underlining a fundamental lack of knowledge about the technology. Based on a poll of approximately 1,800 respondents, the survey found only 26 percent of those who had heard of cloud computing could describe what it was. Seventy-one percent of respondents acknowledged they do not keep their critical business files and data backed up offsite—only 29 […]
“You don’t know what you don’t know” might be the expression most appropriate for small to medium-size businesses (SMB) when it comes to the benefits of technology and their business, according to an independent survey of more than 500 SMB decision makers released at National Small Business Week. The study, commissioned by Verio Inc., a provider of online business solutions to SMBs worldwide, showed that more than two-thirds of respondents are uncertain if they will […]
In organizations’ mad rush to virtualize their IT infrastructure, some are running into unforeseen obstacles that cause them to put the brakes on virtualization deployments, sometimes indefinitely. This phenomenon, known as “virtualization stall,” has more to do with psychology than technology, but it could potentially erode confidence in virtualization and slow growth of cloud computing. According to solution providers, virtualization stall has several root causes: Some companies are unwilling or afraid to virtualize their tier […]
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 […]
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 […]
Some businesses are looking at the global reach of the Internet and cloud computing as a way to extend a new form of disaster assistance — one business offering service to a company in an affected area as a way to help it keep its processes running. In cloud operations, it is expected that multiple copies of a data set will be created and kept in synch. Three is the magic number for Cassandra, MongoDB, […]
Diane Darling flies around the country, speaking on “Effective Networking” – not coincidentally her company’s name. But this column isn’t about her networking tips. This is about Darling’s born-of-experience advice to entrepreneurs whose laptops hold their work. And it’s particularly about those who schlep their laptops from place to place. At a recent speaking engagement, Darling returned to the car – where her laptop had been hidden under the car seat – and found the […]
While smaller companies may adopt virtual machines in greater numbers in 2011, they may not necessarily adapt their backup plans to match the changes in their environments. That’s a problem, says backup and recovery vendor Acronis, which recently took a deeper dive into the data from its January study on small and midsize business (SMB) disaster preparedness. The report found that SMBs will increase their deployments of virtual servers in 2011, with adoption jumping from […]
iTunes music streaming has been rumored for a long while, but has never actually surfaced… But if you read between the lines of two pieces of news at the moment, it seems the time is finally ripe. Apple settles record industry nerves We think, from previous inside information leaks, that one of the big hold-ups to a streaming iTunes music service was the recording industry–it had been caught on the hop when Apple revolutionized the […]