Store tactical military data on distributed servers, accessible through networked computers or mobile devices? Ask most officers about cloud computing and they’ll look at you patronizingly and say: Yes, Google Docs is nice, but it’s not secure enough for our secrets. (I write from experience.) But Darpa’s new budget shows that it wants the military all the way up into the cloud, and plans to set up mobile wireless hotspots so troops can reach the […]
security
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Given all the hype about the software-as-a-service model, you’d think that it could be applied to every category of software. Not so, says a new report from Forrester Research Inc. In fact, SaaS will be “a disruptive force” in software categories that account for about a quarter of global software spending but will have “little or no effect” on many of 123 market segments studied, Forrester analysts Liz Herbert and Andrew Bartels wrote. Forrester said […]
Like many disruptive, evolving technologies, cloud computing is going through a phase characterized by opposites: hype and exaggeration on one side, and fear and skepticism on the other. How do you determine what’s really going to work for your organization? Separating the myths from the facts of cloud computing is a good place to start. Let’s take a look at the top 10 cloud computing myths as we see them, and the realities behind those […]
The growing adoption of cloud computing, social media and mobile devices is putting security professionals under intense pressure. This is according to a study by industry analysts Frost & Sullivan. Based on the responses of 2,400 security professionals working in Europe, the study warns that skilled workers are being stretched too thinly across organisations. A significant number of respondents also reported that cloud, social and mobile technologies are being deployed without security in mind. “In […]
When it comes to enterprise computing environments, the skies are getting increasingly cloudy–and dealing with that will mean covering up with flexible, dynamic security. This was the message of Art Coviello, executive chairman of EMC’s RSA security division, during his keynote at the RSA Conference today, in San Francisco. Last year, he told the audience, his speech was about the promise of the cloud–the assertion that it’s possible to achieve security and do it better. […]
Cloud computing needs governance. Which is to say that cloud computing needs processes, policies, and procedures. In a way, this is no different from IT more broadly. But virtualization, dynamically moving workloads, and an increased reliance on third parties for many types of IT functions mean that well thought-out and documented processes, policies, and procedures tend to be more important in cloud computing than with a more static and manual environment. This has been driven […]
Many small and midsize businesses (SMBs) don’t yet fully understand what software as a service (SAAS) is, how SAAS works and why SAAS makes business sense for them. In this article, I’ll discuss the evolution of software delivery models, why applications in the cloud make sense for SMBs, and the various benefits of SAAS for SMBs (including low financial risk, easy deployment and ease of access from anywhere). After reading this article, you’ll be able […]
As your organization relies more on cloud-based applications for productivity and business success, you must be increasingly vigilant against Web-borne attacks. As sensitive data now migrates between corporate data centers and cloud data centers beyond your network perimeter, you can no longer think only in terms of network security, but instead must shift focus to information security. Three overarching, interrelated trends — cloud consumption, virtualization and mobility — present themselves as key industry themes for […]
In a sluggish economy, businesses, particularly small and mid-size companies, are doing all they can to trim costs. And one big cost savings many are making is to switch from costly landline phone service to the less expensive Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Although VoIP is ridiculously cheap, (think Vonage, Ooma, etc.), it comes with its own set of problems – particularly when it comes to security. The number of hacker attacks against VoIP systems […]
Adoption of cloud computing in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) may be on the rise but many companies remain clueless about the technology. This was the finding of a new survey by PeoplePerHour.com PeoplePerHour.com. After talking to 1,300 SMEs across the UK, it discovered almost three quarters of the respondents (74 per cent) didn’t use cloud computing and 43 per cent of those didn’t even know what the term meant. Furthermore, more than a third […]