WOLF Weekly Cloud Sum-up, Apr 27, 2012

Greenpeace activists are nothing if not determined. If the cause calls for it, they'll break out the rappelling gear and get down to action—as they did last Thursday at Amazon's headquarters in South Lake Union, hoisting an 800-square-foot cloud-shaped banner to protest the dirty energy that Greenpeace says Amazon and Microsoft use to power their cloud-computing services. The banner read: "Amazon, Microsoft: How Clean Is Your Cloud?" Cloud computing means using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data. Every time you upload a picture, song, video, or anything else, that digital information has to be stored somewhere, and cloud-computing data centers—typically giant buildings with massive computer servers that require loads of electricity to operate—are where it all goes.

Source: Seattle Weekly

Read more to find why Greenpeace activists say Cloud Computing equals Acid Rain















Cloud Computing- Redefining Technology

There is no denying the fact that the cloud computing technology has revolutionized the technology when it comes to provision of service, because Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a metered service over a network.

CIOs' Cloud Strategy Must Include Public Cloud

A year ago, when discussing an organization's cloud strategy, I heard a consistent theme that "our focus is on creating a private cloud." Sometimes stated, sometimes unstated or sometimes said under an executive's breath was the objective of curtailing developer use of public cloud computing. The target of that objective most commonly was Amazon Web Services.

Why taking business to the cloud makes so much sense

2012 will be the year when we see most businesses shifting to the cloud model. While cloud computing has been around for a long time, it’s only until recently that organisations have started realising the benefit of cloud-based computing. Small and emerging businesses have a lot to gain from this approach as it lowers a lot of expenditure and manpower needed to run and maintain data back-ups, thereby allowing businesses to concentrate on growing and expanding into new markets. Here are some of the key reasons why you should consider moving your business data to the cloud.

4 Keys To Hybrid Cloud Planning

Amidst all the hype surrounding cloud computing, the hybrid cloud approach-- the blending of both private and public cloud environments--is gaining traction. But the reality of building a bridge that effectively leverages the strengths of both architectures is ending up to be a greater challenge than many anticipated.

With an eye towards the more complex hybrid cloud as the end goal, experts say companies need to consider the following factors as part of their deployment roadmap.

1. Understand your IT architecture and application needs
2. Be realistic about the integration challenges that lie ahead
3. Factor management tools into the equation
4. Ramp up organizational skill sets

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, Apr 20, 2012

With many businesses venturing into the relatively young world of cloud computing, the question has arisen: “Could cloud computing be a viable way to save significant money on energy costs?” The answer to this question, as addressed by CDW’s fourth annual Energy Efficient IT Report, seems to be a tentative yet hopeful, “Well, it certainly could be.” The report, which drew from the results of a 760-person survey, in various positions in non-profit, corporate, school, and government sectors, relayed that 62 percent of those asked thought that cloud computing was indeed an energy-efficient solution for data consolidation.

Source: Cleantechnica

Check out how Cloud Computing leads to possible Green solution for businesses








India 19th in cloud computing readiness

Business Software Alliance (BSA), a global non-profit IT alliance, today ranked India 19th among 24 nations in its preparedness for cloud computing implementation. With an overall score of 50, though India is ahead of BRICS nations China (47.5) and Brazil (35.1), it ranked below advanced economies like Japan (83.3), Australia (79.2) and the US (78.6). Cloud computing refers to a pay-per-use model of computing where applications and software are accessed over the Internet and not owned by users. It helps IT companies to save huge costs as they do not have to invest heavily in IT infrastructure.

Cloud computing will change IT industry

Cloud computing is a model for delivering IT services in which resources are retrieved from the Internet through web-based tools and applications. This does not require any external server or software. Just like the Yahoo email, Gmail etc. that require an Internet connection instead of any software or a server. According to this new technology, the email management software or server is all on the cloud i.e. internet and is totally managed by the cloud service provider i.e. Yahoo or Google.

Cloud computing in the real world

There are clouds in the forecast, in Boston and everywhere else. A host of press reports suggest that Google Inc. will next week launch a new product called Drive, a free “cloud storage’’ service that’ll let you stash five gigabytes of data online, and access it anywhere through any Internet-connected device. It’s welcome news, but a bit late. More than 50 million people worldwide already use a similar service called Dropbox. There are many more cloud storage offerings, too. SugarSync, Microsoft Corp.’s SkyDrive, and a new offering called Cubby, from Woburn-based LogMeIn Inc., to name only a few of the more appealing ones that I have tried.

Increasing business efficiency through cloud computing

Few businesses are required to be as dynamic as those providing services around major events – a challenge that specialist event agency iLUKA knows only too well. Although the company, based in Hampton Wick in Surrey, has 115 full-time employees, its head count swells significantly in the run-up to a big date on its calendar, when its workforce could multiply tenfold as temporary staff are brought in. During its 20 years in business, iLUKA has provided hospitality and associated services for sponsors including some the biggest household names at the most prestigious global sporting events. More recently it has branched out from global athletics tournaments to include major football meetings including the Fifa World Cup.


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, Apr 13, 2012

In November of 2011, Andrew McAfee published an article in the Harvard Business Review: What Every CEO Needs to Know about the Cloud. McAfee is Principal Research Scientist and Associate Director of the MIT Center for Digital Business. He writes that cloud computing is “. . . a sea change – a deep and permanent shift in how computing power is generated and consumed. It’s as inevitable and irreversible as the shift from steam to electric power in manufacturing, which was gaining momentum in America about a century ago.” But, after discussing a number of its benefits to business–individual productivity, group collaboration, information insights and application development–McAfee points out that the shift to cloud computing has been slow. He cites a 2011 survey by InformationWeek that found that less that 30% of respondents had analyzed the impact of cloud to their business, as well as a prediction by the research firm Gartner that while cloud computing will continue to grow at almost 20 percent a year, it will account for less than 5 percent of totally IT spending in 2015.



Check out the Complex Transition to the Cloud

What makes a cloud a cloud? 5 defining characterstics

Let's step through these of these concepts individually. First, "broad network access." Access to resources in the cloud is available over multiple device types. This not only includes the most common devices (laptops, workstations, etc.) but also this includes mobile phones, thin clients and so on. Contrast "broad network access" with access to compute and network resources during the mainframe era. Compute resources forty years ago were scarce and costly. Usage was limited based on priority and criticality of workloads in order to conserve those resources. Similarly, network resources were also scarce. Internet Protocol (IP) based networks were not in prevalent usage back then, consequently high-bandwidth, low-latency networks did not exist.

What's your cloud contingency plan?

Do you live in the cloud but keep one foot on the ground? If you tend to jump between computers and other devices during the day, you'll love the flexibility of cloud computing. If your documents and other important data is stored in the cloud, you can grab any device and pick up working where you left off. Cloud services are great if you don't want to stay chained to your desk, but they also double as a handy business continuity and disaster recovery tool. Should disaster strike your home or office, you can keep working elsewhere while you sort out your problems. Whether it's fire, flood, theft or coffee in the keyboard, your data is safe and sound. Many people don't think about backups and disaster recovery until it's too late, so cloud computing could save the day.

Navigating through SaaS and Cloud Computing Software

If you ask anyone about the hottest technology trends of the year, no doubt one of the answers will be SaaS and cloud computing. It’s everywhere – from basic eMail access to sharing pictures, to the security watchdog in your computer. Software as a service or otherwise known as SaaS eliminates running software from your own server. Your data is stored online and the software provider handles updates. Not only does it make sense – it’s cheaper, easier and smarter.

How the cloud democratizes and complicates disaster recovery

Cloud computing is slowly upending the disaster recovery market. Only a few years ago, disaster recovery meant one of two things: For large organizations, it necessitated huge capital investments; for the mid-market on down, it meant backing up only the most important data to tape and shuffling it off to a secure location. Actually, there's a third thing. For many organizations, even today, disaster recovery (DR) means doing the bare minimum, crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

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, Apr 06, 2012

Sure, cloud computing offers benefits to companies of all sizes. But the clouds' advantages apply even more dramatically the smaller and newer your company. At the same time, the standard objections to cloud computing matter less to small companies than to large ones. On the plus side, the cloud's economies of scale naturally make a bigger difference when your company is too small to generate similar savings and capabilities on its own. And on the flip side, many of the issues blamed on the cloud in large enterprises - security, integration, compliance and so on - often cause fewer problems in small companies that can't properly deal with them anyway.



Check out the 8 Reasons Why Cloud Computing is Even Better for Small Businesses

Cloud Computing: Bigger and Better - But Still Flawed

What's more real, cloud computing or unicorns? Given the hype surrounding the cloud, perhaps unicorns are a less fanciful notion. Ask network administrators and CIOs, and cloud computing, so far, has not lived up to expectations -- it's slow, it has troubles housing huge enterprise critical data, and it is perceived as insecure. A key reason is that many historic clouds achieved their cost savings by using "older technology," said Jared Wray, CTO at cloud provider Tier 3. And "they have not excelled at network performance," he added, mainly for technical reasons.

Gartner Outlines 5 Cloud Computing Trends that will Affect One's Cloud Strategy

According to Gartner Inc., continual monitoring of cloud computing trends, with regular updates to the enterprise's cloud strategy, will be essential to avoid costly mistakes or miss market opportunities over the next few years. Although the potential for cloud computing is significant, the breadth and depth of the impact, as well as the level of adoption over time, are uncertain and will require frequent review.

Cloud computing gets more complicated, govvies say

The move to the cloud is not longer in question but that doesn't make the technology a one-size fits all solution. In some ways, the decision to move to the cloud has gotten more complicated as federal CIOs learn about the nuances of cloud computing. For example, in the early days of the cloud, it was a question of go or no-go. Now agencies must decide which model is most appropriate for them: private (government only), public (commercially available) or hybrid. And that decision depends on the specifics of an agency’s application, said David McClure, associate administrator of the General Services Administration’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies.

Security dampens use of cloud computing

Most organisations now have a cloud computing adoption strategy, according to a PwC survey, yet security concerns are holding many back from fully embracing the technology. The survey, which was conducted amongst chief information officers and IT directors at a recent PwC forum, found that three-quarters of respondents had a cloud strategy. However, many of those said they were using cloud for non-critical systems only, while 20 per cent said they were taking a “wait-and-see” approach.

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.