Less and less of today’s computing is done on desktop computers; cloud computing, in which operations are carried out on a network of shared, remote servers, is expected to rise as the demand for computing power increases. This raises some crucial questions about security: Can we, for instance, perform computations on data stored in “the cloud” without letting anyone else see our information? Research carried out at the Weizmann Institute and MIT is moving us […]
cloud computing
222 posts
The cloud computing model represents an important change in how information technology works. Just as the major changes that happened first with the client-server application model and then with the Internet, the drivers of this new revolution are accessibility and cost – how can computing infrastructure, platforms and applications have more widespread usage and how can they be made cheaper. In fact, price and accessibility go hand-in-hand: the cheaper technology becomes, the more people will […]
We’ve all heard about it, but what is exactly is cloud computing and how can it benefit us as a home and business user? One of the most important applications for the cloud is backing up data an issue which was brought to the fore following the fire which broke out at HWP earlier this year destroying all of the company’s records. The term cloud refers to data storage and software applications delivered over the […]
How does security apply to Cloud Computing? In this article, we address this question by listing the five top security challenges for Cloud Computing, and examine some of the solutions to ensure secure Cloud Computing. Organizations and enterprises are increasingly considering Cloud Computing to save money and to increase efficiency. However, while the benefits of Cloud Computing are clear, most organizations continue to be concerned about the associated security implications. Due to the shared nature […]
One out of four healthcare providers are now using tablets in their practice, with another 21% expecting to do so in the next 12 months, and more than half are using a smartphone at work. These findings are part of CompTIA’s 3rd Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities Study, which relied on separate online surveys with 350 doctors, dentists, and other healthcare providers or administrators and 400 IT firms with healthcare IT practices. CompTIA conducted […]
Since Cloud computing is a new way of doing business you have to be clear about what you are letting yourself in for. For some, the business benefits of Cloud are many – for others it will be the simple fact that Cloud allows a small business to stop worrying about its IT – something that distracts from its core function of running the business. Cloud computing differs from conventional outsourcing in that the latter […]
It’s clear by the increasing use of analytics software that companies are struggling to get their hands around the huge amounts of data it takes to run a successful business. But developing social, mobile, cloud computing and other applications are also driving the need for new technical skills. Those were some of the key trends found in IBM’s 2011 Tech Trends Report released today that surveyed 4,000 IT professionals from 93 countries and 25 industries […]
Cloud computing has flunked a security test, reports Tim Wilson at Dark Reading. That probably doesn’t surprise you. Conventional wisdom says clouds are inherently insecure. But are they? Or are clouds actually more secure than conventional IT environments? A growing number of technologists are making that argument. And they’re not cloud vendors or marketers or startups who have placed their bet on the cloud. They’re some of the senior-most technology officials in government, including those […]
The industry roils with definitions and explanations of cloud. These definitions come from product vendors cloud-washing their products, cloud providers positioning their cloud infrastructure, IT teams attempting to cloud-paint their efforts in virtualization, and even from consultants writing articles like this. This article will examine the essence of cloud and will provide a solid working foundation against which progress toward the cloud can be objectively assessed. The Cloud Deployment Model Cloud computing is essentially a […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The cloud computing industry rolls along at a staggering pace. So much so that one of the biggest issues currently affecting adoptees is the speed at which it expands. It may sound like a badly made ’90s sci-fi flick, but ‘Cloud Sprawl’ is causing many a headache for IT directors across the globe. And while the term may have been first coined over two years ago, it appears it’s only now that we’re coming to […]
Before spacecraft are blasted off into space, the astronauts that travel in them, mission-control personnel, and other key staff undergo specialised education and training, launch procedures are verified and rehearsed, and policies are drawn up so that everyone is clear about their roles. Organisations wanting to move into the cloud computing space need to employ similar rigour. Although cloud service technology is easily available and is a potential business game-changer, it is best for enterprises […]
Combining mobile technology and cloud computing holds promise for the CAD/CAM community, writes Peter Thorne, managing director of Cambashi. Considering what mobile technologies have to offer the CAD/CAM community, the case for them appears to be fairly straightforward. Connected tablets, laptops and smartphones allow users to access CAD designs, engineering applications and data, as well as interact with the project team. These devices can be used in the field, where actions and decisions can be […]
Interphase Corp., a small Plano telecommunications company, is taking a gamble on breaking into a new market, selling cloud computing hardware to recession-beaten schools, governments and businesses. Interphase has launched a product portfolio of six desktop virtualization thin clients, small devices that do not store information but can create a desktop environment for users by relying on a remote host server. Companies are increasingly using cloud computing services to deliver their software from remote servers, […]
State sales tax systems created to generate revenue from face-to-face exchanges of tangible goods are struggling to keep up with the rapid shift of business transactions into the so-called cloud of the Internet. As more companies use cloud-based servers and software, which are remote networks of computing resources often shared by multiple customers, the 20th-century rules of taxation no longer apply. Instead, accountants, lawyers, state tax officials and companies such as Google Inc. (GOOG), Apple […]
As cloud computing continues to take the IT industry by storm, it’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference between a good cloud partner and a “me, too” provider. Reminiscent of the dot com days, companies are popping up everywhere claiming to be cloud computing experts. In this environment, it is more important than ever to do your homework and sort out good, reliable companies from those that just want to cash in on […]
While some concerns remain about data security and application uptime, there’s significant movement within the retail industry toward cloud-based solutions that can be delivered on an on-demand basis, and it’s easy to see why. Unlike many other technologies that retailers have had to adapt to meet their business needs, it’s as if cloud computing was designed specifically with the cost-conscious, data-deluged retail enterprise in mind. For retail CIOs seeking a quick ROI payback from any […]
Next month – all being well – the UK Cabinet Office will lift the lid on what form the UK public sector Cloud Computing strategy will take. Notably absent from the national ICT strategy announced back in April, Cloud has not been forgotten, but the grandiose plans for an over-arching G-Cloud that were being formulated under the New Labour administration have been scaled down. Exactly what form the revised Cloud thinking will take remains to […]
The world’s largest DNA-sequencing outfit is looking to the clouds. The BGI (formerly the Beijing Genomics Institute) this month announced plans to roll out its cloud computing capabilities, which it hopes will help it to dominate bioinformatics in the same way it does the world of sequencing. Research labs often lack the storage, computing power and technical know-how to cope with the current deluge of genomic data. Services such as the BGI’s offer a solution, […]
One of the topics most associated with cloud computing is its cost advantages, or lack thereof. One way the topic gets discussed is “capex vs. opex,” a simple formulation, but one fraught with meaning. At its simplest, capex vs. opex is how compute resource is paid for by the consumer of those resources. For example, if one uses Amazon Web Services, payment is made on a highly granular level for the use of the resources […]