WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, Jan 27, 2012

Gartner has identified the drivers for the adoption of SaaS and cloud offerings for BI, analytics and performance management. Nearly one-third of organisations either already use or plan to use cloud or software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings to augment their core business intelligence (BI) functions, according to a report from IT research firm Gartner. According to a survey of 1,364 IT managers and business users of BI platforms in the fourth quarter of 2011, only 17 percent of organisations have replaced or plan to replace parts of their core BI functions with cloud or SaaS offerings. However, almost a third (27 percent) already use, or plan to use, cloud or SaaS options to augment their BI capabilities for specific lines of business or subject areas in the next 12 months.

Read More to see how Cloud and SaaS benefits bolster business intelligence market

The cloud is forked

Enterprises are adopting two types of cloud. One is less risky but inherently flawed. The other offers greater rewards but very few so far have succeeded with it. There’s a huge variety of different definitions of cloud floating around. Some are just plain wrong, while others are only valid in specific circumstances — cloud strategies that are right for certain organisations at certain times aren’t necessarily right for others (or even for the same organisation later on in its evolution). It’s tough for any enterprise decision-maker to figure out the right path.

Cloud computing: Clearer skies ahead?

Most times, you won’t even know it’s there. But then, that is the beauty of cloud computing – you just concentrate on your core competency and stop worrying about the operating system, the traffic your IT system or website faces or about resources lying waste. This is especially true for a place and market such as India, where the IT literacy is low, but growing. How companies will manage to leverage the numbers to their advantage is the question. Not just that, start-ups and smaller companies also stand to gain through cloud computing since it helps them do away with a significant amount of investments on IT infrastructure and resources.

Cloud computing and social media: electronic discovery considerations and best practices

Social media platforms are a subset of a larger category of applications referred to as cloud computing. Cloud computing encompasses various platforms that users can access over the Internet, in which the storage of data is diffused across a potentially large number of sites. Examples of cloud computing include free web-based applications like email accounts and document sharing provided by Google, as well as more complex cloud computing systems that are used by companies who are looking to reduce IT management and maintenance costs by using third-party service providers.

Cloud computing – still gathering

Cloud computing did not see a landslide of adoption in 2011, but concrete examples of cloud in action are now abundant. Cloud computing has unquestionably been the most discussed topic in the IT sector during the past few years. By the start of 2011, IT professionals were beginning to wonder where the concrete examples of cloud supposed benefits were. Unfortunately, cloud computing is such a vague term that covers such a broad range of services and systems that satisfactorily tracking adoption can be difficult. The analyst companies all continued to predict steep adoption curves in future. In May, for example, Forrester Research predicted that the global cloud computing market will grow from an estimated $40.7 billion in 2011 to $241 billion in 2020.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing in 2012 helped you to take a more knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming year.

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, Jan 20, 2012

Recent research on cloud computing in healthcare suggests that many IT managers are reluctant to store critical patient-related data in a cloud-computing environment. With this in mind, one healthcare executive from information management firm Iron Mountain is prodding health CIOs to take a second look at the technology. Ken Rubin, senior vice president and general manager for Iron Mountain's healthcare division, understands that CIOs have many concerns as they develop a robust IT infrastructure that lets clinicians access data quickly, while ensuring that the system helps the organization meet its obligations under the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPPA) privacy and security rules.



Read More to find why Health IT managers are reluctant to use cloud computing for data storage.

Cloud Computing – Myth and Reality

Myths:

• Businesses move to the cloud to save money.
• The migration to the cloud is delayed or held back by security fears
• Adoption of the cloud would result in fewer IT employees, some (very few) going as far as to say it could spell the end of enterprise IT.

Reality:

• Cutting costs – the survey finds that “82 percent of all organizations saved money on their last cloud adoption project”. Of course, the amounts saved varied, but the majority of adopters reported savings.
• The security issues seem to be overstated as well, as the survey finds that “Data security concerns do not change significantly after adopting cloud”, with only 25% of organizations manifesting more concerns following migration.
• Concerning the the end of Enterprise IT scenario, I think the survey findings were the most surprising: “Only 14 percent of companies downsized their IT departments after adopting cloud while 20 percent of organizations hired more cloud experts.” So it seems like the fears are unfounded.

Are ‘Cloud Hubs’ the Way of the Future?

The pressure of moving government applications into a cloud-computing environment is rapidly building as government agencies look to cut IT costs. According to a new report, the concept of “regional community cloud hubs” among government entities will greatly change the way state and local government procure cloud services.

Dispelling the Cloud's Myths

The pace of cloud computing will only accelerate in 2012. The increasing development of information technology, and the intense focus on cost reduction, are highlighting the benefits of moving IT administration off-site. And one cloud computing expert wants CFOs to be aware of the short-term challenges and long-term benefits to organizations.

Transparency crucial for cloud computing adoption

As cloud computing transparency increases, more firms will take advantage of data centre hosting, it has been suggested. John Engates, chief technology officer of Rackspace, said some companies are still reluctant to place their data in the hands of a third-party vendor. This is because they are "a little bit uncertain" around what regulations or legislative rules could apply to them, he noted. "For us, the way around that has been full transparency, making sure that customers are well aware of what we do with the data, who touches the data, and where the data actually resides," he stated. Businesses need to know that their confidential information is secure in data cabinets and server racks if it is being stored by a cloud computing provider.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing in 2011 helped you to take a more knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming year.

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, Jan 13, 2012

It’s no surprise that many cloud experts predict that mobile cloud computing will become increasingly important in 2012. Given the numbers of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices shipped every day, more and more users are relying on the cloud as the main driver for satisfying their computing needs, whether it is data storage, applications or infrastructure. These factors contribute heavily to the increasing mobile cloud emphasis. It is however not due only to increasing availability of smartphones and tablets, but also standards and cloud services that support remote data access, storage and apps.



Read More

Cloud guarantees bright outlook

Cloud computing is gaining ground in commercial and government circles; only last month, the Cabinet Office had to extend the deadline for suppliers to join the government's G-Cloud framework because of high demand. Organisations moving to the cloud – where IT services are delivered remotely using an internet connection – are doing so because the shared infrastructure is cheaper and more flexible than conventional forms of technology.

Cloud Computing – A Look Back to Basics

There has been much talk about the cloud and about how it can help businesses and how cloud computing is one of the top technologies of the future. Although, at this point it is probably more appropriate to say cloud computing is the present and the future. But starting with the name, cloud computing, and also looking at the vast majority of articles written about the cloud, one may think that it is an incorporeal thing, floating out there somewhere and providing services. The truth is, cloud computing as it is today has been made possible by technological advances in the data center industry. Yes, data center, a term slightly less glamorous than cloud computing, that lays at the foundation of cloud computing.

Cloud Computing Skills in Demand, Even Among Non-IT Positions

Cloud computing skills are now in great demand — but not just among information technology professionals. A new analysis of national help-wanted ads finds cloud computing is now entering the job descriptions of a range of non-IT positions, including marketing managers, sales managers, customer service representatives, and even cargo and freight agents.

The Social Impact of Cloud

The cloud computing benefit most often cited is IT’s reduced cost of ownership, because a company can convert fixed IT costs into variable spend for 60-80% of the budget that is used to “keep the lights on.” The total cost of IT as a percent of revenue is reduced, and that savings can be re-invested to grow the business. While the IT savings is compelling, the strongest benefit of cloud computing is how it enhances business agility – especially how the cloud can help launch entirely new businesses with little to no up-front capital.


We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing in 2011 helped you to take a more knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming year.

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, Jan 06, 2012

The Cloud has evolved a lot in the past 1 year. Only a few years ago cloud didn’t even exist and now in 2012 the Cloud phenomenon is going to reach new heights. The top trends of Cloud Computing in 2012 are:

1. The move to platforms
2. The move out to public clouds
3. The advent of big data
4. Spikiness
5. Consumer expectations come back to roost
6. Here comes one really messy leak
7. Disaster recovery and scaling are the new drivers
8. An SLA detente
9. The rise of real brokerages
10. Inception, the brain in the vat, and hardware
11. What can't I put in the cloud?
12. Infrastructure, code, and data are intertwined

Read more to see how these top trends in Cloud Computing is going to effect 2012.

The bandwidth risk in cloud computing

Security concerns continue to dampen enterprise eagerness to move applications to the cloud, but there is another cloud computing risk that could bring down doom if not anticipated: bandwidth bottlenecks. For an in-depth look at this less-discussed risk, see an article by Sandra Gittlen at Computerworld.

InterContinental Hotels Group has moved storage and in-house mobile phone applications to cloud services in recent years. The measure has saved money and improved customer service, leading to a current project migrating the room reservation system to the cloud. Despite the positive experience, IHG CIO Tom Conophy is quite clear that a successful cloud implementation requires careful attention to bandwidth needs.

Huge cloud computing data breach waiting to happen

This year promises to be one that will be remembered as the year that outsourcing to the cloud gained significant momentum. But it could also be the year that cyber-attackers target the cloud and send shockwaves through corporations by causing a huge cloud security breach. Security is a major concern for businesses putting their systems in the cloud, but these fears don't appear to be stopping cloud computing in its tracks. Ok private clouds are being taken up by big firms that are unwilling to move to public clouds, but they could themselves be the subject of a major breach.

Get to the private cloud: Change people, process, technology

For most enterprises, focusing on the private cloud seems the most logical starting point as all uncertainty, doubt and risk is contained within the corporate data center. But on this path to the private cloud, as we transform the data center from its traditional form to a more dynamic one that provides services to customers, is it really a question of technology? The major roadblocks are people, process and technology in the path of a successful private cloud initiative.

Indian CIOs' cloud concerns

Concerns over data security and privacy and an immature ecosystem are likely to stunt the growth of cloud computing in India. Despite the obvious benefits of lower capital expenditure and quicker rollout of new products and services, chief information officers (CIOs) are hesitant to make full-scale investments in the new technology.

We hope these short sum-ups on Cloud Computing in 2011 helped you to take a more knowledgeable approach towards moving to the cloud. Stay tuned for more sum-ups on in the forthcoming year.

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.