Small businesses and start-ups will push the use of cloud computing into the IT mainstream as security concerns continue to hinder take up among larger firms. Steve O’Donnell, a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ cloud technology division, explained that the needs of small companies are perfectly met by cloud technologies. “Start-ups need to be agile. They’re concerned about costs and speed of execution but not about risks, so they adopt cloud […]
SMBs
11 posts
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 […]
BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion and Microsoft are teaming up around a cloud computing strategy through which the two tech titans integrate cloud services and solutions. RIM said Thursday that cloud computing has always been a major component of its BlackBerry business, whether it’s real-time push, security or the backend architecture and RIM’s 2011 BlackBerry Product roadmap will focus heavily on the cloud. “Cloud has been our business for years,” Alec Taylor, RIM’s vice president of […]
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 […]
In business, and in nature, it is the strong that survive. Rather than trying to coast through the down economy, consider ways to strengthen, improve, and grow your business. This will better your chances of “survival” and enhance the future of your company. Information systems streamline business operations and help you do more with less. By investing in new technologies and automating business processes, you can run your business more efficiently. It may even be […]
Prada did it with Miu Miu; Dolce & Gabbana with D&G Now Verizon’s $1.4 billion purchase of Terremark applies a business model from the catwalk to cloud computing: The launch of a ‘diffusion’ line. Diffusion lines – affordable merchandise from luxury labels – are big business in fashion. Correctly marketed, they create a virtuous circle of demand between couture and main street buyers, and expand a designer’s overall revenues through direct sales and licensing deals. […]
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 […]
Small to medium businesses (SMBs) are increasingly turning to VoIP solutions as a way of saving money, according to research from IT analyst firm AMI-Partners. More than 30 percent of small businesses (SBs, 1 – 99 employees) and 50 percent of medium businesses (MBs, 100-999 employees) said that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology would become critical to their business operations. SMB decision-makers said they see benefit from VoIP in improved staff productivity, streamlined dispersed […]
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 […]
Today Forbes had a great article on hosted voice: One of the virtues of Voice over Internet Protocol is that your business can have a sophisticated phone system without installing a phone system. With a VoIP system hosted on the Internet, all you need are the phones. One situation where this particularly makes sense is if you run a relatively small (or lean) business with lots of locations. Rather than have each office install its […]