cloud computing

222 posts

Wind turbine emerging from fog at sunrise, illustrating environmental benefits of cloud computing

The Environmental Benefits of Cloud Computing

A new report released by the Carbon Disclosure Project in London has found that blue-chip companies can reduce their carbon emissions by 50% if they move their data storage operations to the cloud. The study focused on major IT companies in France and the United Kingdom. These are the same companies which are also developing such “cloud” technologies and services. The release of the report follows an announcement that the use of cloud services may […]

A wooden rubber stamp resting on an open legal document, illustrating legal issues in cloud computing

New Buzzword, Old Legal Issues

As an observer of the information technology and Internet industries for several decades, I watch with great amusement as new buzzwords surface for old IT concepts. I was rewarded not too long ago, when the term “cloud computing” appeared on the scene. The technology concept behind cloud computing has been around for more than 50 years, and the legal issues are equally old. Those concerns remain unchanged, despite the new buzzwords. Dartmouth Time-Sharing – 1964 […]

A close up of a control panel with buttons and switches, illustrating cloud control and privacy

Cloud Control

A survey recently carried out for IBM found that 77 per cent of respondents believe that?adopting?cloud ­computing makes protecting privacy more difficult, while 50 per cent are concerned about data breaches or loss. Indeed, when it comes to security the question now is often framed in terms of: where will my data be, who will be able to access it and how can I be assured of this and know what is really happening? When […]

A computer screen displaying system information in a terminal window, illustrating virtual machines improving cloud security

Virtual Machines Can Boost Cloud Security

While conventional wisdom says virtualized environments and public clouds create massive security headaches, the godfather of Xen, Simon Crosby, says virtualization actually holds a key to better security. Isolation — the ability to restrict what computing goes on in a given context — is a fundamental characteristic of virtualization that can be exploited to improve trustworthiness of processes on a physical system even if other processes have been compromised, says Crosby, a creator of the […]

A sign post with several street signs, illustrating the federal roadmap for cloud adoption

Feds To Speed Cloud Adoption With New Roadmap

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released for public comment a draft “roadmap” that is designed to foster federal agencies’ adoption of cloud computing, support the private sector, improve the information available to decision makers and facilitate the continued development of the cloud computing model. n February 2011, the government issued the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy* that describes cloud computing as a “profound economic and technical shift (with) great […]

MacBook Pro on top of brown table, illustrating essentials of cloud computing

The Essentials Of Cloud Computing

You are not alone if you are confused about cloud computing – recent research has shown that nearly half of those not using cloud computing don’t know what it means. Whether you are worried about security or how you would access your data without internet access read on and see my answers to the common questions which people ask me about cloud computing. 1. Is there a difference between ‘The Cloud’ and ‘Cloud Computing’? Isn’t […]

Person writing on glass whiteboard with diagrams, illustrating including the cloud in business strategy

Reasons To Include The Cloud In Your Business Strategy

The issue of success or failure in moving your company data, IT storage, servers or software to the cloud is often driven by technical issues, including performance, bandwidth, security and total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) considerations. While many of these factors are key criteria for selecting cloud solutions, they usually don’t align with the bigger picture that C-level executives must consider when adding new IT solutions. How IT can help sustain or create a competitive advantage has never […]

A dense forest of pine trees emerging from thick grey fog, illustrating myths clouding CIO judgment

Three Myths Clouding CIO Judgment

For today’s CIO, the perceived barriers to cloud computing remain security, regulation and compliance. The danger that data loss poses to brand equity, customer trust and share price is just the same whether data is stored in a cloud computing or traditional infrastructure model. The severity of the issue is reflected in legislation like the recent Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill which states that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) now has the authority to levy […]

Large satellite dish against a blue sky, illustrating the US intelligence community moving to the cloud

US Intelligence Community Is Moving To The Cloud

After a decade of enormous budget increases the American intelligence community’s budget will probably decline by billions of dollars, Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper said here. Clapper told more than 3,000 people at the annual Geoint conference that the intelligence community’s budget had been handed in to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. “We are all going to have to give at the office,” Clapper said. The bulk of the cuts will […]

Person reviewing documents with calculator and laptop, illustrating cloud computing for accountants

Cloud Computing and Accountants

By definition, Cloud computing is Web-based computing, whereby shared resources, both software and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand through an Internet connection. Instead of having to buy, install, maintain, and manage these resources on your own computer or device, you access and use them through a Web browser. One of the major advantages to businesses using Cloud based technologies is that it saves time. Rather than managing technology in-house, you pay […]