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.