WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, December 28, 2012

Retailers and marketers often face the challenge of getting coupons, offers and promotions delivered at the perfect time and in the right context to their customers. The rapid advances in cyber foraging, contextual computing and cloud computing platforms are succeeding at revolutionizing this aspect of the retail shopping experience. Context-aware advertising platforms and strategies can also provide precise audience and segment-based messaging directly to customers while they are in the store or retail outlet.



Read More

Netflix disruption highlights challenges of cloud computing

For some on Christmas Eve, “White Christmas” was a blackout on Netflix.

That’s because problems with Amazon’s cloud computing service, which provides storage and computing power for all kinds of websites and services, caused Netflix to go down for much of the day.

In updates on a website that reports on the status of its online services, Amazon traced the trouble to Elastic Load Balancing, a part of its service that helps spread heavy traffic among multiple servers to prevent overload. The company gave few details about the problems in its data centre in Northern Virginia beyond this and did not offer an official statement or explanation.

The EU's Cloud Computing Initiative

The European Commission, in its communication titled "Unleashing the Potential of Cloud Computing in Europe," recently announced a new strategy for cloud computing in the EU. According to the statement released by the EC, the strategy is designed to accelerate and increase the use of cloud computing across EU businesses and the public sector, and would result in the creation of 2.5 million new jobs and add an estimated 160 billion euros to the EU gross domestic product by 2020. The proposal aims to bring cloud computing services in line with the existing EU requirements for consumer privacy and personal data security under the EU's Data Protection Directive and to encourage the adoption of the proposed revisions to those requirements, in order to address individuals' concerns about the security of their personal data online - especially in the cloud.

Head in the clouds? Not quite

In times of economic uncertainty and global financial turmoil, technology can again come to the forefront to play its part in making businesses and services to become more reliable and importantly more cost-effective and efficient in the daily routine of business processes. In today’s competitive world those who lag behind are destined to be left behind especially in regard to adopting and adapting to the changes in technology and its multi-layered benefits to the effectiveness and performance of the business world. Taking this into account, the organisation of this conference was both very apt and necessary to help and aid Malaysia to be at the cutting edge of this cloud computing technology.

How Cloud Computing will Take Shape 2013

There is no question about it; cloud computing is going to grow even larger than it already it is in 2013. Traditionalist accounting firms will find it increasingly difficult to ignore organization's prevailing use of cloud storage internally and with their clients. According to a recent study by the AICPA, 11 percent of CPA firms already operate completely in the cloud. Another one-third of the 624 respondents reported using cloud software, such as bill management, accounting and payroll applications, in some areas of their practice. While the biggest concern surrounding cloud use is security, professionals around the world are benefiting from remote access to work data and information, forgetting about software updates, among other benefits.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming year. Wish you a Happy New Year 2013

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later. 

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, December 21, 2012

IT professionals are still being deterred by the perceived risks of cloud computing with loss of control one of their biggest worries, a global study of 4,500 IT professionals reveals. The Risk Reward Barometer study by ISACA, a non-profit association of 100,000 IT professionals in 180 countries, found that organisations remain sceptical when it comes to cloud services—especially public cloud computing. The overarching trend is that businesses see numerous benefits for adopting cloud services; however, the perceived risk cause them concern. “What is apparent from this study is the perception of control,” Marc Vael, international vice president of ISACA explained.



Read more why IT professionals fear loss of control when it comes to cloud computing

Cloud computing: Only 5% techies are jobs ready

While cloud computing is widely recognised as the next big opportunity to watch out for, it has already made significant inroads in the industry. However, the IT workforce may not keep pace with the developments. The industry ready workforce for new domains like cloud and mobility may be as less as 5.7% of the current IT workforce , said senior corporate vice president, Rajiv Sodhi, HCL Technologies,. An internal HCL report on IT careers said that the traditional "IT industry career is in decline, threatening the careers of 10 million employees" . The global IT workforce is estimated to be around 20 million out of which around 3 million are in India.

Cloud computing: A bird’s eye view

Companies set to profit from the growth of cloud computing. While the idea of access to software and services delivered via an online network has been around since the 1960s, it wasn’t until the launch of Salesforce.com in the late ninties that tech companies began to provide useful products via the cloud. More recently, we have seen tremendous growth in cloud computing offerings – which allow people and organizations to store digital data offsite – from Internet giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook. This has created a market for large-scale storage services to handle the vast amount of documents, social media posts and shared photos that are uploaded to the cloud millions of times per day.

IT Executives Not Worried About Finding Cloud Computing Expertise

Cloud computing may introduce new processes and technology challenges, but organizations appear to be ready to handle them, a new survey suggests. An overwhelming majority of IT executives, in fact, say they’re having no problems finding the skills they need to move forward with cloud engagements. But will this confidence be sustainable as organizations move deeper into cloud?

Cloud Computing: Best And Worst News Of 2012

With KPMG predicting a doubling of cloud services revenue over the next two years, it's a good time to point out where cloud computing has gained strength over the past year in capabilities and services. At the same time, we should look at the cloud's weaknesses, as a cautionary tale for those IT teams whom KPMG says are about to migrate production applications to the cloud.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.


Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, December 07, 2012

Cloud computing is big business. Companies and individual users rent bandwidth from large cloud services to perform all manner of tasks, from hosting small websites to churning through large, computing-intensive tasks like modelling new drug compounds. But what if you could gain access to all that computing power for free?

It turns out that you can, using a loopholes in a new type of browser which taps the cloud to boost web page load speeds. Amazon's Silk browser as well as Opera Mini and another browser called Puffin all use this trick to help render web pages on mobile devices, which can lack the computational punch to handle complex web scripts or graphics-heavy pages, for instance.


(Image: Absodels/Getty)

Read how Browser hacks enable free cloud computing

10 ways cloud computing will change in 2013

Enterprise use of cloud services continues to grow - albeit from a small base - and in 2013 analyst house Forrester says many companies will begin deployment of private clouds. As spending on cloud services and platforms picks up, the way businesses use such services will also evolve. Forrester has put together 10 ways its analysts expect attitudes surrounding cloud to change next year. Business will get real about cloud costs. Organisations will start paying more attention to cloud costs in 2013, Forrester claims.

The unpleasant truths about database-as-a-service

The recent announcement of Amazon.com's Redshift -- and other cloud-delivered databases, for that matter -- makes it clear we're moving to a future where some or even most of our data will exist in public clouds. Although the cost savings are compelling, believe this migration will happen much more slowly than cloud providers predict. Indeed, for the Global 2000, cloud-based data stores will initially be a very hard sell, though the poorer small businesses won't have any other choice, economically speaking.

Storage: the crack cocaine of cloud computing

Storage price slashing continues as Microsoft meets cuts Google and Amazon traded last week. There’s method in this madness — lots of businesses have yet to test the cloud, and cheap storage is a way to attract those newbies. And once they’re hooked, watch out!

Gartner: Growth in cloud computing to shape 2013 security trends

"Increased adoption of cloud-based computing is expected to impact the way security is consumed as well as how key government agencies will prioritize security of public cloud infrastructure," was the take from Gartner analysts Ruggero Contu, Lawrence Pingree, and Eric Ahlm in their predictions forecast.

Gartner predicts by 2015, 10% of overall IT security enterprise capabilities will be delivered in the cloud, with the focus today clearly on messaging, Web security and remote vulnerability assessment. However, there's also the expectation there will be more on the way, such as data-loss prevention, encryption, authentication available too as technologies aimed to support cloud computing mature.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, November 30, 2012

While Amazon and Google compete in a cloud computing price war, neither company can beat the price proposed by academic computer researchers: free.



Computer scientists at North Carolina State University and the University of Oregon have demonstrated that it is possible to conduct large-scale cloud computing tasks anonymously at no cost by abusing cloud-based browsers, such as Amazon Silk, Cloud Browse, Opera Mini and Puffin.

Read how Researchers Steal Cloud Computing Power Via Browsers

Private cloud does not bring full benefits of cloud computing

Amazon Web Services, the biggest public cloud service provider, has hit out at private cloud providers, claiming private cloud users are not achieving all the benefits of cloud computing at its first user conference AWS re: Invent. Andy Jassy, senior vice-president at Amazon Web Services (AWS), told the AWS re: Invent conference that the full benefits of cloud computing are achievable only on a truly cloud-based service.

Businesspeople Take Charge of Cloud Computing, But Still Depend on IT: Survey

Cloud computing may represent the beginning of a shift of control of business technology away from information technology departments and into the hands of managers and professionals from other parts of the business. While a third of executives responding to a recent survey (32%) agree that the IT department is currently the main driver of cloud adoption, another 45% report that individual business units are ultimately responsible for cloud adoption strategies.

Hybrid Mobile-Cloud Computing: Driving the Future of Enterprise Mobility

Hybrid Mobile Cloud (HMC) computing represents a systems in which a local, native mobile application with a great user interface, is married with cloud computing to provide an intelligent and scalable solution that is better than either native mobile app alone or an HTML5-only cloud computing application. Our research defines the roles of mobile and cloud computing in the enterprise today and provides a vision for how HMC computing will develop into a new paradigm that will become dominant within the next few years.

Software defined what?

It's the latest buzzword in the crowded IT dictionary: "software defined network", or SDN for short.

But is it something Australian technology and business leaders need to worry about for 2013? Or can they comfortably ignore the industry hype and get back to their plans for mobile, social, cloud computing and big data? The answer is one that consultants and analysts love to give: "it depends".

It depends on whether you are a large telco, cloud computing provider, IT service provider or research institute operating a large or complex network: these are the likely candidates for early adoption of SDN.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, November 23, 2012

The number of global IT services deals with a cloud computing element have tripled since 2010, according to research from IT outsourcing consultancy Information Services Group (ISG). ISG used its TPI index to analyse IT outsourcing deals and found this year will see 300 IT contracts awarded which feature cloud computing services. This compares with 110 in 2010 and 220 in 2011. Stanton Jones, emerging technology analyst at ISG, said the move to standardised platform-based services which are difficult to customise is a step-change for the IT services sector. “Cloud services, especially shared platforms, are a new terrain for providers and clients alike, as they are highly standardised and can’t be easily customised — the antithesis of traditional outsourcing,” said Jones.



Read More

Cloud computing's utility future gets closer

Cloud computing is converting from a market defined by different technologies into one defined by quality of service. Existing utility markets include ones for water, electricity, gas and, to a degree, basic internet connectivity. A utility market occurs when an item has been commoditised to the point that it becomes very hard to differentiate on a technology basis, and instead companies distinguish themselves through different levels of service, availability and support.

Cloud computing: The semi-secret economic equalizer

According to the university's researchers, "developing countries are utilizing the growing adoption of 'cloud computing' -- the use of consumer devices to access remote computer and information resources -- to expand their economic role in an increasingly global economy." As the study illustrates, the cost efficiencies of cloud computing are the same in third-world countries as in the developed world, and up-and-coming nations can leverage data, applications, and infrastructure that were once cost prohibitive. In turn, this increases commerce by facilitating the countries' entrance into the global markets.

Interactive Intelligence Honoured with Cloud Computing Excellence Award from TMC

Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) has been honoured with a 2012 Cloud Computing Excellence Award from TMC's Cloud Computing Magazine. The vendor received the award for its business communications cloud offering, Interactive Intelligence Communications as a Service℠, which was designed to give mid-size to large organisations secure and reliable access to a wide range of contact center and unified communications (UC) applications. "Interactive Intelligence has close to twenty years of experience delivering innovative business communications technology and services," said TMC's group editorial director, Erik Linask.

Educational Institutions and Cloud Computing: A Roadmap of Responsibilities

Increasingly, educational institutions and state entities handling student data are hiring outside companies to perform cloud computing functions related to managing personal information. The benefits of cloud computing are that outside entities might be more sophisticated at managing personal data. These entities may be able to manage data more inexpensively and effectively than the educational institution could do itself. In many cases, cloud computing providers can provide better security than the educational institutions can.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, November 16, 2012

The technology around cloud computing has proven to be very beneficial to many organizations. Surrounded by virtualization, cloud computing is a means to consolidate and create a more efficient environment. Many IT environments have seen a reduction in their data center space requirements and are deploying fewer hardware components to support their infrastructure. Still, there are administrators and managers out there who, although not confused by the cloud, aren’t seeing any direct benefit to moving to such a platform.

Source: DataCenter Knowledge

The fact is simple: Almost all organizations are using the Internet in some way or another. In using the WAN, they’re most likely transferring data between multiple points. Many can argue that, by the definition, these organizations are already using cloud computing. But what about actual cloud platforms? Creating your own public, private or even hybrid cloud? Although cloud computing can have powerful benefits, some companies just don’t need to move to that type of platform. And, in those cases, maybe it makes sense to hold off.

Read More…

Defining the elusive cloud architect

The cloud architect is much like Bigfoot: There are sightings, even some blurry video, but we really don't have solid proof that this creature exists. The problem is cloud computing is so new that it's tough to find people who understand how all of it fits together for enterprises. Indeed, this is one of the biggest limitations around cloud adoption. Some cloud architects exist today, but most still need to be created. If you follow my guidance, you can more easily find a good one -- or become one yourself.

Cloud Computing Storms IT Departments For Small Businesses

Gaining popularity in Europe and the U.S., cloud computing has been sweeping through IT departments in small businesses in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) as well. GulfNews.com reported that nearly 80 percent of the private sector of business in foreign trade are small to medium businesses that are growing in company size and product development. Business growth means more IT management and an increase in computers, data and information management, which has made cloud computing all the more attractive.

CloudNOW unveils its 2013 cloud computing predictions

CloudNOW, a non-profit world-wide consortium of cloud computing thought leaders has released it’s annual predictions for cloud computing. For those unfamiliar with CloudNOW, the consortium was founded by Jocelyn DeGance Graham with a focus on using technology for the overall professional development of women from around the world by providing a forum for networking, knowledge sharing, mentoring, and economic growth.

When is a cloud not (quite) a cloud?

At a recent Dell roundtable event on the future of cloud computing, the discussion centred around how cloud was not being adopted wholesale by many organisations yet. Various reasons were put forward, such as fear of change, fear of losing control, security issues and so on. A little while later on, several people were pushing the case for cloud around its capability to enable innovation.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, November 09, 2012

The latest round of cloud computing and enterprise software forecasts reflect the growing influence of analytics, legacy systems integration, mobility and security on IT buyer’s decisions. Bain & Company and Gartner have moved beyond aggregate forecasts, and are beginning to forecast by cloud and SaaS adoption stage. SAP is using the Bain adoption model in their vertical market presentations today.

Despite the predictions of the demise of enterprise software, forecasts and sales cycles I’ve been involved with indicate market growth. Mobility and cloud computing are the catalysts of rejuvenation in many enterprise application areas, and are accelerating sales cycles. Presented in this roundup are market sizes, forecasts and compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) for ten enterprise software segments.

Source: Forbes

Read more…

EMC to train 30,000 in cloud computing, data science

EMC Data Storage Systems India, a subsidiary of US-based EMC Corporation, plans to train around 30,000 people in cloud computing, data science and big data analytics by 2013 through its new certification course, a top official said Thursday. Rajesh Janey, president, EMC India and SAARC, told IANS that the Indian cloud computing market (use of computing resources delivered as a service over the internet), currently estimated at $400 million, was likely to touch $4.5 billion by 2015 and the business opportunity in big data (huge data difficult to process with existing tools) is expected to touch $300 million in a couple of years.

The U.S. government's cloud mandate loses steam

Government and IT may not sound like a natural pairing, but here in Washington, D.C., they're more closely related than many suspect. In fact, the government's move to cloud computing can have far-reaching implications for the tech industry as a whole. Not so long ago -- 2008, to be exact -- you would've thought the government was the undisputed leader of the shift to cloud computing. Remember the NIST definition of cloud computing and the pro-cloud U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra (now an EVP at Salesforce.com)? Those days appear to be long gone; lately, the government is acting more like the larger commercial enterprises as they take baby steps to the cloud. It's time to pick up the pace.

Cloud, software to further disrupt telecoms market

The telecoms industry will continue to be shaken up by cloud computing in terms of the need to offer relevant software and build up a strong independent software vendor (ISV) ecosystem--both of which traditionally are not telcos' strong suit. In addition, these market players will have to enhance their channel partner networks to scale their operations and reach out to more customers.

How to Steal Data from Your Neighbor in the Cloud

Cloud computing teaches people not to worry about physical equipment for hosting data and running software. But a study by researchers at computer security company RSA suggests that this could be a costly mistake. The researchers have shown it is possible for software hosted by a cloud-computing provider to steal secrets from software hosted on the same cloud. In their experiment, they ran malicious software on hardware designed to mimic the equipment used by cloud companies such as Amazon. They were able to steal an encryption key used to secure e-mails from the software belonging to another user.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later. 

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, November 02, 2012

Cloud computing is the future of IT. It’s a game-changer that is setting a whole new paradigm for our industry. CIOs and high-level IT executives across all market verticals are expected to put a plan for cloud in place, or better yet, to have already put it in motion. However, the emergence of various cloud service and deployment models is making it difficult for enterprises to pinpoint those models that best fit their business objectives. In order to really understand how to effectively leverage the cloud, we need to look beyond the hype.

A Convoluted Cloud: So, What’s the Real Deal?

The word “cloud” brings to mind a rich blue sky, white, fluffy clouds and smooth sailing. Unfortunately, those are just the cumulus clouds. Any weather enthusiast would be quick to point out that there are in fact many different types of clouds, including stratus, cirrus and nimbus, just to start. Then, of course, there are cumulonimbus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, altocumulus, etc. The list goes on.



Microsoft needs to step up its cloud game

As InfoWorld's Ted Samson pointed out this week, Microsoft is intertwining Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Windows Azure to help developers build multiplatform, cloud-friendly apps. And it announced a batch of new services and functionality for its cloud platform, including the extension of Windows Azure Mobile Services to support for Windows Phone 8. The move should provide easy cloud-based mobile application development for those loyal to Microsoft platforms. Microsoft even provides a store to sell these Azure-built applications. But something's still missing from Microsoft's cloud picture.

Unlocking Huge Value from Cloud Computing With 2 Stocks

Over the past several years, technology has taken some giant leaps forward in terms of allowing businesses to better engage with their employees, customers, and competitors - and one of the biggest keys in providing companies with the means to do so is cloud computing. The term cloud computing - a concept that was unknown to the majority of the planet until just a few short years ago - has today become almost a household name.

Cloud computing hangs over middlemen in IT Biz as cos engaging directly with enterprises

Cloud computing, regarded as a boon for enterprises, could rain on the party of distributors and resellers who are now an integral part of the technology sales ecosystem. In developed economies the community of resellers is already shrinking as software and hardware companies engage directly with enterprises. In India, where cloud adoption is just about gaining pace, the drizzle has begun.

Confidence key for cloud computing revolution

The European Commission says it thinks cloud computing can drive €900bn additional gross domestic product growth and create 3.8 million new jobs in the European Union, all by the end of the present decade. Of course one never quite knows what to make of such forecasts. Their premises are always subject to debate, while the validity of their suspiciously precise extrapolations is impossible to prove. Nevertheless, we can probably all agree that cloud computing will be important in Europe's future and is likely to bring significant economic benefits.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later. 

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, October 19, 2012

Cloud computing represents a fundamental shift in IT as companies move from continued investment in their own infrastructure to sourcing and developing IT services externally. Technology advances, particularly ubiquitous high-speed internet connectivity and the ever-decreasing cost of storage, have finally enabled developers to meet buyers’ needs for simplicity, cost and flexibility. Developing and realizing opportunities using the cloud are now the way businesses reach consumers for all transactions that utilize technology.



Read more about Cloud computing: Why it’s good for your bottom line

Customers wait and see as cloud wars rage

We often hear about companies that dove feet first into cloud computing. What we don't hear, though, is that these businesses are typically larger, more aggressive firms that put a value on trying new things to get strategic advantage -- and their example is meant to egg you on to following the same path. These companies are distinctly in the minority. Although most enterprises have some storage-as-a-service providers and a SaaS or two, they still haven't created a cloud computing strategy, nor do they have major cloud computing deployments planned.

Clueless About Cloud Computing

The European Union's cloud computing strategy couldn't come at a better time as the region lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to cloud computing usage. The EU announced its cloud computing strategy last month and is optimistic it will create new jobs and help boost a struggling economy. An information campaign is necessary if the EU is to overturn the misunderstanding and general lack of knowledge about the cloud.

Cloud storage specification gets ISO approval

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has ratified the Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI), a set of protocols defining how companies can safely move data between private and public clouds. The Storage Networking Industry Association's (SNIA) Cloud Storage Initiative Group submitted the standard for approval by the ISO last spring. CDMI is the first industry-developed open standard specifically for data storage as a service.

Cloud computing morphing healthcare in five distinct ways

As its name may suggest, "the cloud" is a mysterious yet increasingly ubiquitous presence in all parts of life. Realistically, its definition is simple:cloud computing takes advantage of economies of scale and resource pooling to provide massive amounts of storage and computing power to any users who sign up for the service. Google's suite of "apps," ranging from Gmail to its online document management system is one example. Amazon's S3 data service is another.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, October 05, 2012

The cloud's vast computing power is making it easier and less expensive for companies and clinicians to discover new drugs and medical treatments. Analyzing data that used to take years and tens of millions of dollars can now be done for a fraction of that amount. Most of us know Amazon as the world's largest online retailer. But its cloud computing business is booming too. Companies can rent massive computer resources by the hour, and the cost is relatively little. The ability to analyze vast amounts of data in this way is changing lots of industries — including health care.

Source: istockphoto

Read More to see how Cloud Computing Saves Health Care Industry Time and Money

The Proposed "Cloud Computing Act of 2012," and How Internet Regulation Can Go Awry

Sen. Amy Klobuchar has introduced a new bill, the “Cloud Computing Act of 2012” (S.3569), that purports to “ improve the enforcement of criminal and civil law with respect to cloud computing.” Given its introduction so close to the election, it’s doubtful this bill will go anywhere. Still, it provides an excellent case study of how even well-meaning legislators can botch Internet regulation.

Cutting cloud computing costs

The recent news that Amazon Web Services, the market pioneer in infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), has built a cloud computing platform designed to cut the cost of storing financial data is a clear indication that the cost of cloud computing is on a downward spiral. This is good news for would-be cloud service subscribers who must also be buoyed by Microsoft's cut in prices for Windows Azure, the compute and storage pay-as-you-go services. It's no secret that these two organisations are moving to expand their market share in the face of growing competition in the cloud from Google and other players.

Cloud Computing in the European Union

Last week, the European Commission announced its strategy for cloud computing. In doing so, the Commission aims to establish uniform rules that govern the use of cloud technology across member states, allowing the EU to exploit the enormous economic potential that this technology has to offer.

The End of "Cloud Computing?"

In an effort to free cloud computing from the clutches of such marketing efforts, a few technology companies are starting to push their own, more literal definitions of cloud computing. One such term is "software-defined datacenter," a term heavily touted by VMware, which is trying to leverage its virtualization expertise. "A software-defined datacenter is where all infrastructure is virtualized and delivered as a service, and the control of this datacenter is entirely automated by software," stated VMware CTO Steve Herrold.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, September 28, 2012

In the fight over private versus public clouds, we’re all arguing about the same thing. But we keep doing it because we somehow believe we can confuse the customer into buying “more of mine” and “less of hers” if we explain how our vision of cloud is better. I’ve written about what cloud is or isn’t several times in the past, but, I feel that I missed some important context. The context is what leads me to consider the idea of three different clouds.

So what are they? 

Public cloud – The only “real” cloud as someone like Werner Vogel of Amazon would say
Private cloud – An on-site or hosted private cloud-capable environment
Actual cloud -The set of strategies, processes, people and technologies that enable business agility, improved resource management, and faster time to market (among other things). The actual cloud is the real world amalgamation that users end up with and may consist of both or one of the above.

So which of the three cups has a cloud under it?

Global - Cloud Computing for Government and Business. Updated 2012 Report

Cloud computing is a vehicle that will allow for government and business transformation. It is especially important for governments, in particular, to abandon silo thinking - in other words, if governments are serious about adopting cloud computing, they will first have to address the ingrained silo-based systems that are in operation within the bureaucracy, where different government agencies and departments have their own solutions and infrastructure.

3 ways to improve cloud performance

Performance issues hold back some cloud computing efforts. This happens because many of those who stand up cloud-based applications did not account for the latency systemic to many cloud-based systems. For the most part, these performance issues are caused by the fact that cloud-based applications are typically widely distributed, with the data far away from the application logic, which itself may be far away from the user. Unless careful planning has gone into the design of the system, you're going to run into latency and even reliability issues.

The Old Law of Cloud Computing

To appreciate why the “cloud” is the future of computing, one must understand a law of economics coined in 1890 and learn what happened around the same time at 57 Holborn Viaduct in London, England. In 1890, Alfred Marshall finished a decade’s work. His eight-volume Principles of Economics was finally ready. Those who read the fourth volume were introduced, for the first time, to the concept of “economies of scale”. Marshall’s analysis, then novel, was that in some trades “in which a man gains no very great new economies by increasing the scale of his production, it often happens that a business remains of about the same size for many years, if not for many generations.” These could be contrasted with trades.

Cloud computing? You still can't dodge data protection rules

Companies are forgetting about their data protection responsibilities when they shift data into the cloud, according to the UK's privacy watchdog. As cloud computing slowly moves into the mainstream, more and more personal data is being moved out of companies' own datacentres and into the cloud, which means the data could potentially reside on servers anywhere on the planet.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.
Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, September 21, 2012

Businesses are subscribing to software, storage and computing power delivered over the Internet at a jaw-dropping pace. Over the next five years, global spending on cloud-computing services will increase at a pace five times greater than the growth of the information technology (IT) industry as a whole. To survive in this new landscape, technology makers will have to completely redefine their products, business models and cultures. Instead of selling direct to the corporations that actually use computing services, hardware, software and infrastructure vendors will all need to pivot to serve the new cloud services new market. That’s the lesson from the latest forecasts by market researcher IDC.

Source: ReadWriteWeb

Find out how Cloud Computing Growth Disrupts Hardware & Software Vendors

How To Win The Cloud Wars

Today “the cloud” surrounds us, literally and figuratively. IBM and Microsoft are running enterprise-oriented ads about cloud computing, Apple features iCloud and Siri (running in the cloud) prominently in marketing messages, and while Amazon.com remains most famous for e-commerce, its Amazon Web Service unit is the cloud infrastructure running popular websites from Netflix to Pinterest.

Don’t let the cloud obscure usability

Cloud computing is reaching the stage of maturity. Across any vertical market and at varying degrees of uptake organisations are taking off to the cloud, whether for test and development, email, collaboration, sales automation, HR or more bespoke applications. Just last week the Business IT Hub discussed the importance of CIOs addressing the customer end user experience when using a mobile device to procure from your organisation, cloud computing too must have a strong focus on end user experience in its implementation by CIO.

NASSCOM tech series highlights cloud security challenges

Cloud computing is drastically changing the way IT services are being delivered and consumed and this is offering exciting opportunities to not only large enterprises but also to small and medium enterprises. However, along with several opportunities, cloud computing comes with its own set of challenges linked to security and privacy, which organizations need to evaluate before stepping on to the cloud.

Public cloud computing market to be $109 bn globally in 2012: Gartner

The public cloud computing services market is expected to grow 19.6% to reach $109 billion globally this year on the back of infrastructure segment, which is the fastest-growing area at 45.4%, research firm Gartner said today. "The public cloud services market is forecast to grow 19.6% in 2012 to total $109 billion worldwide. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is the fastest-growing segment of the public cloud services market and is expected to grow 45.4% in 2012," Gartner said.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.


Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks


NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, September 14, 2012

A majority of Indian start-ups in 2012 catered to individual customers, with most entrepreneurs adopting mobile and cloud computing technologies to build their businesses, according to a study by Yourstory.in—an online platform for start-ups and entrepreneurs.

The “State of Indian Tech Start-ups” survey was based on responses from more than 400 enterprises across six cities—Ahmedabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore.

The start-ups had to be at least four years old and have a product business in place besides having feedback from customers to qualify for the survey.

Source: Live Mint

Read More

Cloud computing passing many small firms, MYOB survey finds

FEW small businesses are taking advantage of cloud computing technology, but many who do say they have seen their revenues rise in the past year, a new study has found. A survey commissioned by business software provider MYOB found that 79 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) did not use cloud technology, only 14 per cent said they did, while others did not know. Cloud computing allows access to a shared pool of programs and sites, usually via the internet, as opposed to using an individual computer software. The survey of more than 1000 SMEs found that 53 per cent of those who use cloud computing were more likely to have seen a revenue rise in the past year. "The advantages of using cloud computing for business came through loud and clear," MYOB chief executive Tim Reed said when releasing the findings.

NIIT, Microsoft partner to offer cloud computing

The education provider NIIT today said it has signed a pact with Microsoft Corporation to make available one lakh cloud-ready professionals over the next three years. As per the alliance, NIIT will offer new programmes in cloud and emerging technologies in association with Microsoft. "We will work alongside Microsoft and launch programmes mapped to the wave of new cloud technologies that Microsoft is poised to release worldwide," NIIT Limited Chief Executive (Career Building Solutions) G Raghavan told reporters here. He said NIIT will offer three kinds of programmes, including long duration GNIIT programme on cloud campus, diploma programme and shorter duration technology skill enhancer programme.

Cloud computing unveiled

Twenty Third Century Systems CEO Ellman Chanakira said cloud computing service would enable Zimbabwe customers to access critical business management data for efficient and effective functioning at affordable cost. Cloud computing is the use of computing resources — hardware and software — that are delivered as a service over a network (typically the Internet). Chanakira said traditionally, companies have to invest in ICT at a huge cost. He said cloud computing service presented an alternative low cost model and eliminates the need for upfront financial investment in ICT services.

Top 10 PaaS Trends of the Next Five Years

IT research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan recently predicted that the platform as a service (PaaS) market will be the next area of keen competition for cloud innovators because the infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) spaces have been commoditized. As most software available from the cloud is standardized, enterprises are looking to leverage PaaS offerings as it will be the only stack where a service provider can create differentiation. For the record, PaaS is a category of cloud computing services that provides a computing platform and a solution stack as a service for enterprises. Along with SaaS and IaaS, PaaS is a fast-growing service model of cloud computing. In this model, the PaaS customer creates the software using tools and libraries from the provider. The customer also controls software deployment and configuration settings. The provider delivers the networks, servers and storage. PaaS offerings facilitate the deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software. Various types of PaaS vendor offerings are extensive and include the application hosting, development, testing and deployment environment, along with extensive integrated services that consist of scalability, maintenance and versioning. In this slide show, an expert on PaaS, ActiveState CEO Bart Copeland, offered eWEEK readers a look at what he sees coming in the cloud marketplace over the next few years. ActiveState makes the Komodo integrated development environment (IDE) for cloud development.


We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, September 07, 2012

We are conditioned to expect everything faster, better and cheaper. In short, impatience has become the new 21st century virtue and influences all aspects of business, particularly when it comes to technology. When we switch on our computers, we expect the web page or the video we want to be served up immediately. The arrival of fibre optic network links delivered just that – access to the worldwide web at the speed of light. This opened the door to cloud computing and, with it, high expectations of accessing cloud platforms from any location in an instant.

Source: The Guardian

A cloud computer, supported by an expansive intelligent network, will enable organisations to cheat the speed of light

When does the cloud become a utility?

The benefits of removing the capital investment and the day to day management of hardware and software to leverage an on-demand, metered computing service, charged on a consumption basis, are now widely accepted. The rise in cloud computing is indicative of our need to make the most efficient use of resources and minimise costs by accessing computing resources and infrastructure when, and as, it is needed.

How Cloud Computing Is Contributing To Space Exploration

After positively impacting businesses on terra firma, cloud computing is now spreading its influence to space. Even as the world celebrates the successful landing of the Mars Rover Curiosity on the Red Planet, Amazon has chalked up a major win in the annals of cloud computing by helping the NASA reach out to the public. If you are one of the curious millions poring over the amazing images being beamed by Curiosity from Mars, cloud computing deserves your gratitude.

IEEE Cloud Computing Conference in Bangalore

The IEEE Cloud Computing for Emerging Markets (CCEM) Conference will be held in Bangalore on the 11th and 12th of October 2012. The event is said to be the first ever by IEEE and one that focuses on challenges and opportunities for emerging markets like India. The two-day conference will also serve as a thought leadership platform bringing together industry, government, and academic leaders in cloud computing from around the world.

Could cloud computing increase the number of women in IT?

Poke your head into most data centres today and youre bound to notice a distinct gender gap. While women still represent only a fraction of IT workers today, some experts believe that cloud computing will offer the wedge in the door that women need to equalise staffing numbers.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.


Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, August 31, 2012

The average American consumer doesn't understand what cloud computing is or how it works, according to a national survey. The survey, undertaken by Wakefield Research and commissioned by cloud-technology firm Citrix, showed that many U.S. consumers believed it was weather-related, or something to do with pillows, drugs, heaven, outerspace and toilet paper. However, the research -- which included over 1,000 participants and was conducted this month -- did show that even when people did not fully understand cloud computing, they often recognized that it has economic benefits and can drive business growth.



When asked what "the cloud" was, 29 percent said "a fluffy white thing", whereas only 16 percent connected the phrase with a network used to store, access and share data across Internet-connected devices. So do you think the US understand cloud computing?

Understanding the true cost of cloud services

Forrsights surveys show that companies are indeed moving to the cloud, primarily for speed and lower costs — but are the savings really there? The answer might not be obvious. Are you heavily virtualised already? Have you moved up the virtualization value chain beyond server consolidation to using virtual machines for better disaster recovery, less downtime, automated configuration management, and the like? Do you have a virtual-first policy and actively share resources across business units? If you run a mature virtual environment today, your internal infrastructure costs might already be competitive with the cloud.

Active in Cloud, Amazon Reshapes Computing

Within a few years, Amazon.com’s creative destruction of both traditional book publishing and retailing may be footnotes to the company’s larger and more secretive goal: giving anyone on the planet access to an almost unimaginable amount of computing power.

Skills Needed for Cloud Computing Today

The constant promise we hear about cloud computing is that it is supposed to lift many of the burdens of information technology management away from companies, and out to some service provider. However, the promise is always a lot sweeter than the reality. And that reality is that new types of skills are required to successfully manage today’s cloud environments. For one, many clouds are internal to organizations, developed, hosted and managed by IT or another part of the enterprise – thus requiring many of the same skills that an Amazon Web Services or IBM need to keep their offerings going.

Indian government is catching up to the cloud: Andrew M Dutton

VMware's general manager for Asia Pacific and Japan, Andrew M Dutton, says the response to cloud computing from state governments in India has been proactive, compared with the "'UPA government which is preoccupied with other issues." VMware provides virtualization technology, which is the foundation of cloud computing - both private and public. Dutton, who was at VMworld 2012, the company's annual virtualization conference, spoke to TOI about India's preparedness and response to cloud computing, which is today revolutionizing the IT sector.


We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Job openings at WOLF: Content Manager & Sr. Social Media Manager

Looking for an exciting career in a growing cloud startup!! ??

If you’re looking for a good growth prospect, seeking an opportunity to innovate and a career where out of the box thinking is encouraged – we recommend you head towards the cloud. Yes, we’re in the cloud space. WOLF Frameworks is a rapidly growing company that continues to offer a very personal touch with high adaptability as we work with different customers across the world.

About the company: WOLF is among the top 10 Cloud platform providers and the only one from India - listed as the Gartner Cool Vendor for Platform-as-a-Service technology. Founded in 2006, WOLF Frameworks aims to democratize computing by introducing savings of more than 60 percent in time & cost and with zero technical coding skill for developing & delivering new business software online. More information available @ http://www.wolfframeworks.com/

Job Title: Content Manager

Company: WOLF Frameworks
Location: Bangalore
Type: Full-time
Experience: Manager
Industry: Computer Software
Function: Marketing

Job Description

• Creating Sales & Marketing collateral for internal and guest blogs, concept info-graphics and used case stories 
• Copy-editing and proof reading product descriptions and all website content 
• Engaging, opening conversations and actively participating in various forums 
• Moderating user-generated content for all Social Media engagements 
• Assuring web content is user-friendly and key-worded for SEO benefit 
• Working in parallel with Marketing and Engineering team 

Desired Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of experience in creating original content for websites/magazines/blogs 
• Post graduate in Journalism with excellent command over the English language 
• Proficient in creating content in a variety of formats 
• Active blogger with skills to create SEO centric content 
• Basic knowledge of HTML is an advantage 
• Good communication skills to easily interface with Technical and Sales & Marketing team, customers and users across various forums 
• Creative skills such as Adobe Photoshop are an added advantage 

Job Title: Sr. Social Media Manager

Company: WOLF Frameworks
Location: Bangalore
Type: Full-time
Experience: Manager
Industry: Computer Software
Function: Marketing

Job Description

• Create and implement social media strategies across all channels with a team 
• Manage presence in social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, and other similar community sites, posting on relevant blogs, and seeding content into social applications as needed 
• Manage social media campaigns and day-to-day activities. Duties include online advocacy, writing editorial, community-outreach efforts, promotions, etc. 
• Work with the Product development team to ensure social media tools (for ex. FB connect, Sharing buttons) are kept up to date 
• Monitor effective benchmarks for measuring the impact of social media programs, and analyze, review, and report on effectiveness of campaigns in an effort to maximize results 

Desired Skills & Experience

• 3+ years of relevant experience in the field of Social Media 
• Post graduate in Marketing with excellent command over the English language 
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of social media platforms and how they can be deployed in different scenarios 
• A sound marketing background to compliment your Social Media experience

Please send your resume/CV to dharmendra@wolfframeworks.com Thanks!

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, August 17, 2012

Cloud computing has been in the news a lot in recent weeks - starting from the launch of Apple's OS X Mountain Lion, which heavily integrates with iCloud, to the alleged hacking of a technology journalist's online accounts. Think of the cloud as a disk drive that is owned by a company like Google or Apple, which stores all of your files in a remote location - typically at a server farm. The cloud makes it possible to access photos, videos or documents from any computer with an Internet connection. Recently, Wired senior writer Mat Honan reported that because of what was initially fraudulent phone calls, several of his online accounts were breached, including his iCloud account. Honan's iPhone, iPad and MacBook were remotely wiped because the hack had access to his iCloud account.



Read More

Cloud computing's most over-hyped terms

Cloud computing is a hyped-up term, a recent report from Gartner found. But behind the hype there are significant benefits to some technologies in the cloud industry and some of the terms being floated around in the cloud are bigger buzzwords than others. The overall cloud computing industry is past its peak of inflated expectations, Gartner says, but other aspects of the cloud computing industry are at various points of the lifecycle. XaaS, Big Data, PaaS are some of the hyped ones…

Cloud Computing Standards and Interoperability Being Established

The advent of cloud computing exploding to most any type of application being available, has caused severe confusion for end-users. It only makes sense for industry standards and interoperability to be established and provide some guidance for customers. This is an update of a post we did in 2009 when the standards were announced. It has been updated for today’s evolution of the cloud and SaaS marketplace.

Cloud computing raising a storm

There’s nothing up in the air about “cloud computing”, a technological innovation taking the business world by storm – and which experts in information and communications technology (ICT) believe offers many potential benefits. The system allows devices such as computers, tablets and smartphones access to virtual services and next-generation technology, with minimal costs. For the technophobic, an easy explanation of how cloud computing works likens it to the way in which South Africans currently enjoy utilities such as water and electricity from a shared central base, with costs shared among users.

The Biggest Cloud Computing Security Risk Is Impossible to Eliminate

The past couple of years have been tough for those defending the security of cloud computing and those trying to establish secure cloud infrastructures for themselves. For the most part, there have been DDOS attacks or defacements designed to embarrass or punish site owners. However, even considering only websites or services from which hackers actually took over accounts, stole data or money, or planted malware to help steal data or money from others, the list of security failures is long and distinguished: Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Hotmail, Global Payments (credit-card clearinghouse for Visa, MasterCard and others), Federal Express, Zappos, a host of local bank and police agencies, and the China Software Developer Network (which, all by itself, lost personal information on 6 million users to a single hacker named Zeng).

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.


Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks


NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, August 10, 2012

“Is Cloud Computing really cheaper?” Of all the questions asked at a recent event, this particular one was the most difficult to answer. Earlier this week at the New Jersey Institute of Technology was CloudCamp, a “un-conference” created to inform and educate on various cloud computing topics. Since the launch of the unconventional series of events more than four years ago, it has grown to more than 300 cities around the globe. Over that time a lot of things have changed in the tech world. The discussion has shifted from a question of what is or isn’t cloud computing, to one of what can be done with cloud computing? So is Cloud Computing Really Cheaper?



Cloud computing services growing at a faster clip: Gartner

Cloud computing services in the fastest growing segment in IT outsourcing which is expected to grow 48.7% to $5 billion in the current year, up from $ 3.4 billion last year, said Gartner in its latest outlook released on Tuesday.

"Today, cloud computing services primarily provide automation of basic functions. As next-generation business applications come to market and existing applications are migrated to use automated operations and monitoring, increased value in terms of service consistency, agility and personnel reduction will be delivered," said Gregor Petri, research director at Gartner.

Cloud Computing Future 'Horrible': Apple Co-Founder

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (Woz) sees trouble ahead for cloud computing. The legendary computer pioneer predicts that the idea will encounter "horrible problems" in coming years. Wozniak, now 61 years old, founded Apple alongside Steve Jobs in the 1970s. Today he often publicly discusses his experiences at the iconic Cupertino, California-based company. At a presentation following the Washington performance of the show "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," Wozniak voiced his opinion of today's "next big thing" -- the cloud.

Benefits of cloud computing need to be better understood, says Conroy

THE local IT industry has been urged to work with government to raise awareness of how cloud computing can help businesses compete better on the world stage. "Many people do not yet fully understand what the cloud is, what it does and what it can do," Communications Minister Stephen Conroy told a government-organised cloud computing and broadband forum Sydney.

3 missing pieces in cloud computing

Though cloud computing enjoys widespread enterprise adoption, these shortcomings can hinder its ongoing development. For many in enterprise IT, cloud computing seems like a dream come true: There's no need to spend your days negotiating with hardware and software vendors, and you don't have to worry about running out of space in the data center.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, July 27, 2012

Experts don't often agree, especially in IT, but when it comes to cloud security it appears some finally do. Is cloud computing secure? It depends, is the answer. It is also the reason why the Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA), an organisation that counts BMW, Deutsche Bank, Disney and National Australia Bank as members, is still attempting to end ambiguity and define cloud security stardards for businesses. An assurance model proposed by the ODCA a year ago, is still under revision, after a proof-of-concept threw up more questions than it answered. "The biggest problem with the cloud is that you cannot get a consistent definition of what is secure," said Matt Lowth, National Australia Bank's principal security architect. "And if I can't get the same answer from three different vendors, how do I know what secure is?"

Photo: Hector Casanova

Read More

Cloud computing journey starts with the data centre

In a special series, Fairfax Business Media Asia will be previewing speakers from the CIO Summit 2012. The debate on cloud computing should not be about private or public clouds but on the data centre, according to Raju Chellam, cloud practice head, Dell South Asia & Korea. And the key questions are about merging legacy systems with new infrastructure and "migrating apps without migraine," said Chellam. He shares with CIO Asia why the answers lie within the data centre.

Who Ultimately Pays for Cloud Computing? It Depends

When the department or user group of a company decides it wants to use a cloud-borne service, who ponies up with the money for the service? In the case of outside services from a providers such as Amazon Web Services or Salesforce.com, there may be discretionary funds within a line of business that are transferred via credit-card transaction. If there’s an internal service within a private cloud, well, the question of who pays gets cloudy as well. How much should the owner of a service carry the costs of design, maintenance, server provisioning and upgrades if other departments are tapping into said service?

Cloud Computing: Deploying Open-Source Cloud Systems

Open-source cloud frameworks have made a major splash in recent months with big players such as Rackspace/NASA, Hewlett-Packard, VMware and Citrix backing major open-source cloud initiatives like OpenStack and CloudStack. As these major vendors continue to build out their public cloud infrastructure to battle with the incumbent services leader, Amazon Web Services, there are some underlying questions about whether the same technologies are ready for the enterprise. After all, open-source cloud system deployments are only a few years old, without a lot of use cases in production at this time. Although a number of first-mover-type enterprises—such as telecoms, financial services providers, scientific laboratories and media companies—are already comfortable with the alternative open-source cloud systems, not many smaller and midrange companies know much about them

Cloud computing improves business

A growing number of Marlborough businesses are adapting to use cloud-based services says Blenheim IT consultant Lee Harper. Harper is the managing director of Blenheim IT consulting firm pcMedia, who for the past two years has been working on cloud computing projects for businesses around the country and gaining a reputation as industry leaders, he said. He has been invited to speak at the Lawlink conference held in Wellington in September, to give businesses in the legal sector ideas of how cloud computing can improve business and cut costs.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, July 20, 2012

According to Gartner’s latest quarterly IT spending report, the worldwide market for public cloud services hit $91 billion in 2011 and is expected to increase by 19% to $109 billion in 2012. Ed Anderson, Gartner cloud forecaster further predicts cloud computing to grow by over 100% to be a $207 billion industry by 2016. In comparison the overall global IT market is forecast to grow at just 3%.

The enormity of the challenge this poses to legacy hardware and software vendors is yet to be known, all we know for sure is that these vendors are going to have to innovate fast to stay in the game.

In an earlier report, Gartner revealed that cloud computing would create 14 million worldwide jobs - fuelling the cloud phenomenon and sparking new interest from multinational enterprises. Anderson further predicts that the cloud will create new IT spending opportunities in the long term. Areas expected to grow with substance are: integration, customization, hybrid cloud and on-premise cloud installations.



Read More

Cloud vendors use disclaimers to waive liability

The European Commission wants cloud computing firms to improve contracts they offer customers in a drive aimed at averting costly legal disputes, allaying privacy concerns and boosting an industry which can offer huge savings to users. Buying computer hardware can be a drain for new and small companies, and huge savings can be made adopting 'cloud' storage -- using networks to connect remotely to servers elsewhere, possibly in a different continent. But security and data privacy is a major concern, the EC said in a policy paper intended to encourage the technology.

Cloud computing is not IT's enemy

Once again, IT is going away or becoming less important or being relegated to nonstrategic support responsibilities or something. We've heard this tune for decades. It might really happen this time, though -- a consequence not of the cloud or BYOD or any of the usual suspects, but of so many companies being seriously sick. It's probably true that CIOs have to take IT to the next level or have it fall to a lower one. What is the next level? To recap from last week's Advice Line on the subject, next-gen IT collaborates, widely and deeply, with everyone else in the enterprise. That, in turn, can't happen without a company that (1) does something that matters, (2) has executives, managers, and employees who are committed to making it happen, and (3) has enough mutual trust throughout that whoever needs to collaborate right now can do so without any concerns about the political consequences.

Fastest-Growing Category of Cloud Computing: Business Intelligence and Analytics

Will the cloud push business intelligence and analytics to a whole new level? Since cloud-based services can support massive amounts of data and provide it in a consistent manner across enterprises, there’s reason to believe that even the most technology-averse organizations will have a way to compete on analytics, just as the big players do.

The Business Case for Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has generated significant hype in Africa. But with IT vendors pushing the technology case, few companies have taken the time to look at the value it can offer from a business perspective, says Frank Rizzo, partner in Advisory at KPMG.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing are helping you to take a knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming week.

Don’t forget to add your comments and suggestions. I will have more around the cloud a week later.

Santanu Das
Marketing Evangelist, WOLF Frameworks

NOTE: The views expressed above are purely personal and for informational purposes only. WOLF FRAMEWORKS INDIA PVT. LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.