2010 was the year “cloud computing” became colloquialized to just “cloud,” and everyone realized “cloud,” “SAAS” and all the other xAAS’s (PAAS, IAAS, DAAS) were all different implementations of the same idea — a set of computing services available online that can expand or contract according to need. Not all the confusion has been cleared up, of course. But seeing specific services offered by Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, Citrix, VMware and a host of other companies […]
SaaS
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Cloud Adopters Embrace Cloud For Both Innovation and Legacy Optimization Once thought to be the answer to deployment options for just the SMB market, early cloud adopters proved otherwise. Stereotypes about industry, size of company, geographies, and roles no longer hold back adoption. Cloud adoption at all 4 layers of the cloud passed the tipping points in 2010 as a key business and technology strategy (see Figure 1). For 2011, we can expect users to: […]
There seems to be a steady stream of news stories extolling the benefits of cloud computing and the positive impact it can have on an organisation. However, just as many organisations are in the process of implementing effective internal data governance processes, and are now faced with the question of whether their businesses’ sensitive data can be effectively managed in the cloud. The data governance and compliance issues faced by organisations are the same whether […]
Perhaps the most prominent trend this year in outsourced backup was the explosion in the number of managed service providers (MSPs) promoting cloud backup solutions or online backup services. Lauren Whitehouse, a senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, recalled tracking approximately 250 MSPs two years ago. Today, cloud backup MSPs number in the thousands, from major vendors to regional providers, she noted. “There’s a lot more evangelism going on,” Whitehouse said. “People are demonstrating cost […]
One would think that for something with so much activity around it and so talked about that there would be a concrete definition of what cloud computing is. Instead, depending on who you ask, everyone seems to have their own definition of what cloud computing means. CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA ) vice-president and country manager for Canada, Jimmy Fulton, summed it up best by saying “there hasn’t been a more ambiguous term in the IT […]
Cloud computing is all the rage. “It’s become the phrase du jour,” says Gartner senior analyst Ben Pring, echoing many of his peers. The problem is that (as with Web 2.0) everyone seems to have a different definition. As a metaphor for the Internet, “the cloud” is a familiar cliché, but when combined with “computing,” the meaning gets bigger and fuzzier. Some analysts and vendors define cloud computing narrowly as an updated version of utility […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
CIO Magiazine has four predictions for cloud computing in 2011 here: It’s been an incredibly interesting, exciting, and tumultuous year for cloud computing. But, as the saying goes, “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” Next year will be one in which the pedal hits the metal, resulting in enormous acceleration for cloud computing. One way to look at it is that next year will see the coming to fruition of a number of trends and initiatives […]