Technology sure does make strange bedfellows. The federal government’s newest cloud service provider is one that may elicit surprise. It’s the same agency that oversees farm policy and food safety – the US Department of Agriculture. The USDA has been certified to provide Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platforms as a Service (PaaS) under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, a rigorous security-approval program overseen by the General Services Administration. The USDA now offers FedRAMP-certified cloud services to other federal agencies, as well as to state and local government, via its National Information Technology Center. It’s the latest example of an emerging cloud model, called shared clouds, in which one government agency gets the most from its data center resources by making them available to other agencies, according to an article on Forbes.com. The USDA offers virtualized desktops and servers, storage, networking, databases, and content management as cloud services.
In a previous article, I summarized that Gartner was seeing increased inquiries and spending on IT analytics platforms from buyers that traditionally purchased application performance monitoring tools. This suggested that one of Gartner's "five pillars of APM" - namely analytics, was taking center stage. Now, it seems, Gartner is going one step further in its forecast in a session at the recent Gartner Infrastructure & Operations Management Summit. I attended a session by Research VP Will Cappelli and was very interested in a Strategic Planning Assumption that was revealed. "By 2018, 25% of the Global 2000 will have deployed an ITOA platform taking data feeds from a variety of P&A systems up from 2% today and spending on IT operations analytics will account for 10% of the global spending on ITOM tools and services, up from less than 1% today"*
“SharePoint in the cloud – that is what we do in a nutshell. SharePoint is a complex platform and we try and simplify that by saying we’ll take care of it, we’ll put it out there in the cloud and we’ll manage it for you,”explainde Rob LaMear, CEO & Founder of Fpweb.net, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City. Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
Five-year-old Big Data start-up Ayasdi, out only six months, has gotten B round funding worth $30.6 million led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) with newcomers GE Ventures and Citi Ventures kicking in as well as existing investors Khosla Ventures and Floodgate participating. That makes at least $42.6 altogether. IVP gets a board seat. Ayasdi’s built what it calls an Insight Discovery platform designed for domain experts and business people who are supposed to use it to automatically derive insights from complex data and “operationalize” them to help enterprises solve difficult and expensive problems. According to GE it can find a “needle in a haystack.” Its approach combines advanced machine learning techniques with a branch of mathematics called Topological Data Analysis (TDA) to discover insights without coding, scripting or querying manually.
As you may already know, SPDY (pronounced "SPeeDY") is a new networking protocol introduced by Google and designed to reduce the web latency associated with HTTP. With SPDY, web pages load up to 64 percent faster than HTTP alone, according to Google. It accomplishes this by adding a session layer between HTTP and SSL that supports concurrent, interleaved streams over a single TCP connection. The initial draft of HTTP/2.0, the future of the web, is based on SPDY, which is a welcome step forward considering that HTTP/1.0 was released in 1996. SPDY holds great potential for mobile devices, for which latency is more of an issue, and the market is catching on. As evidence of this, Microsoft recently announced the next version of Internet Explorer will support the new protocol.
The very name is kind of ridiculous, don’t you think? The word “ephemeral” means it can go away. It’s temporary. Fleeting, even. So why would I want to depend on storing something in a medium that can disappear without warning? And why am I forced to buy more of it when all I want is more CPUs or RAM? Welcome to the paradox of ephemeral storage from cloud computing providers. Ephemeral storage exists only because of how first-generation cloud providers chunk up servers. The business model is simple: they buy a physical server and try to sell as many virtual machines (VMs) as possible on top of that physical server. Since the VMs are trapped on physical machines in this approach, first-generation providers dictate cookie-cutter sizes that make that stacking game easier for themselves.
The tweet from @sweetlew, a.k.a. New Relic CEO Lewis Cirne looked ordinary enough: Very excited to have @plscurrie join the @newrelic board! http://t.co/KEWab00wYY — Lew Cirne (@sweetlew) July 18, 2013 But Cirne's tweet sent a signal across Silicon Valley that his company is headed one way and one way only - on a fast track to an IPO.
Managing projects is not an easy job and in most cases the manager would greatly benefit from the use of a dedicated software. Starting from this necessity project management tools were created. But the main problem is if these tools are a real help for those that are using them or it is just a loss of time. It is a well-known fact that computers became a necessity in our lives by simplifying our work. Increased computational speed, huge memory and lack of fatigue are the main reasons why computers have so much success. Let’s admit it: in certain aspects robots are better that humans. So why not use them for such purposes? It is obtained an increased execution speed and accuracy. But all these come with one cost: time. Someone has to lose some time to teach computers how to do the job right.
Don’t correct me if you’ve heard this one before: Information wants to be free. The Internet, cloud services plus mobile devices offer limitless possibilities to experience this freedom. With Big Data, information wants to be relevant, too. There are now more mobile phones in the world than people, so querying and interacting with data has become ubiquitous and affordable. That vast ocean of structured and unstructured tidbits online is talking to us. Are we listening? The empowered consumer can discover nearly anything, anywhere and anytime with a few taps or clicks. Consumers will research what they might buy, often right at the store. And I’m not just talking about price comparisons. A potential buyer will do hardcore data sleuthing, looking into the brand’s history, scan reviews and seek out input from friends and family before ever putting anything into the shopping cart.
“We are a tier-1 carrier for the US. For the last year and a half we have been launching Infrastructure as a Service platforms and today we are announcing our enterprise cloud platform – it’s a network-centric cloud offering,” stated Tripp O'Hara, Managing Director, Cloud Solutions at XO Communications, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City. Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
Just a few months ago I wrote a blog post about healthcare data on the cloud (HIPPA Cloud Storage) and the security concerns surrounding this very sensitive and valuable data. I mentioned that as with many industries, more healthcare data is being moved to the cloud, but the healthcare industry has remained a few paces behind others in terms of securing online data. The safety of personal healthcare information on the cloud continues to be an important topic, specifically in regards to government-issued guidelines. There are new requirements going into effect this year that expand on how HIPAA and HITECH standards regulate healthcare data on the cloud. For years, HIPAA has required healthcare organizations to maintain confidentiality of electronic health information that can be linked back to an individual. More recently, HITECH provisions further strengthened HIPAA penalties and criminal enforcement.
In a previous post, I demonstrated how to add more depth to the analysis of a Compuware APM Web Load Test by combining the external load results with the application and infrastructure data collected by the Compuware PureStack Technology. But, now that we have tested the system once, what would happen if we tested it again after we identified and “resolved” the issues we found? Would running a test using the same parameters as in the initial test show a clear performance improvement? Would the system be able to achieve the desired load of 200 virtual users with little or no performance degradation? This article takes you through the steps you should follow in order to directly compare the results of two load tests and measure the performance improvement (or degradation) that occurred with the fixes put in place.
Before talking about the cloud of tomorrow, in his General Session at 12th Cloud Expo, Kevin Clarke, Director of Cloud Platform Engineering for Verizon Terremark, describes what core characteristics compose the cloud of today, and discusses three fundamental features: independent architectures, multi-tenant infrastructures and the concept of ‘different controls. He explores the challenges that exist in running enterprise applications, or what he calls the “hard stuff” and the ideal features future cloud offerings should provide enterprises. Kevin Clarke is the Director of Cloud Platform Engineering for Verizon Terremark. He is responsible for building the Verizon cloud platform that brings “Cloud without Compromise” computing to the Enterprise. Prior to joining Verizon, Kevin was the Director of System Engineering in the midrange storage division of EMC, where he ran System Architecture, Performance and Security. Kevin spent 21 years working in Silicon Valley for Sun Microsystems in Cloud Computing, Solaris Operating Systems and Storage. He holds a BSCS and MBA from Northeastern University in Boston.
Microsoft held a Build conference targeting developers and showed significant their cloud capabilities. This note summarizes their strengths and challenges. When you think of IT vendors and cloud computing, companies like Amazon and Google first come to mind because they are very successful with start-ups that leverage their cloud services. HP, IBM and Oracle are making big strides primarily by targeting large enterprises with private cloud solutions. Cisco, EMC and Intel are primarily technology vendors serving as arms providers to cloud service providers. Microsoft falls in a unique category that dominates certain IT segments and covers customers ranging from start-ups, consumers and large enterprises. The recent Microsoft Build conference provided many opportunities to learn about a range of the company's cloud computing capabilities.
“Health care has so much on its plate, whether it’s regulatory or technology. We really believe that health care will jump the other industries in its adoption,” stated Frank Nydam, Director of Healthcare Solutions, Office of the CTO, at VMware, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City. Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
Paris-based open source cloud computing company eNovance, the world’s seventh-largest contributor to the OpenStack initiative, has gotten a $7.78 million investment from Entrepreneur Venture, BNP Paribas, Oséo and its long-time backer Odyssée Venture. The money is earmarked to support eNovance’s strategic priorities including growing its internal team – expanding its operations throughout North America – R&D, internationalization through increased access to US and Asian markets and targeted strategic acquisitions. It figures the round confirms its business model and growth potential, putting it “squarely among the few credible players on the market.”
“NaviSite has a long history in managed hosting, co-location, and cloud services for the large enterprise and business market and it was a nice way for the parent company [Time Warner Cable] to expand into the cloud space,” stated Sandra Palumbo, Director of Product Marketing at Navisite, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City. Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
What’s an e-commerce tycoon to do after funding everything from nuclear fusion startups to commercial spaceflight ventures? Why, help develop a museum exhibit to inspire young folks and teach them about innovation, of course. After more than two years of development and $10 million from Jeff Bezos’ own pockets, the Museum of History and Industry will open the doors to the Bezos Center for Innovation on October 12th. Not only does the center aim to help visitors learn about “the importance of innovation” through interactive exhibits, but it will toot Seattle’s horn for being “the birthplace of so many trailblazing companies.”
ISUG-TECH wants to let their Gold Members know that they can attend SAP's TechEd Conference in Las Vegas, October 21-25, 2013, for a special discounted price! SAP has made available a limited number of special "lecture only" passes that can be purchased for just $1695, a $1100 savings of the cost of the full conference pass. These passes are available only to ISUG-TECH Gold Members, and enable the pass holder to attend all keynotes, lecture sessions and special events at the conference, along with access to the exhibit hall and clubhouse. (Holders of the pass will not be able to register for or attend any hands-on workshops.)
Australian Government agencies have some new regulations to consider when they are contemplating moves to the cloud, particularly clouds hosted outside of Australian borders. These guidelines, known as “The Australian Government policy and risk management guidelines for the processing and storage of Australian Government information in outsourced or offshore ICT arrangements”, are part of the broader Protective Security Policy Framework announced earlier this year and are aimed at protecting data being stored and processed in cloud environments. The Framework document clearly acknowledges the benefits that Australian Government agencies can gain from moving to cloud environments but points out that privacy, security, integrity and availability of personal information cannot be sacrificed in pursuit of these benefits. In particular, “offshoring” of information (e.g., using US-based cloud services) is highlighted as a situation that creates a number of challenges in this arena, and the Framework is meant to help agencies determine when to use these services on a case-by-case basis.
“We basically simplify infrastructures. We use the latest devops and SDN technologies to make it simple for people to operate virtual infrastructures,” stated Mathieu Lemay, President and CEO of Inocybe Technologies, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City. Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
Asigra, the Toronto backup and recovery house that set the industry standard for capacity pricing back in 1992, aims to do it again but this time make it harder for rivals like Symantec, HP, EMC and CA to follow its example without paying it a tax since it’s got a patent pending on its new pricing model. Asigra’s brainstorm comes in response to the explosion in Big Data that’s making data recovery ridiculously expensive and unlikely to get any cheaper without a little leadership. It claims current pricing is completely unfair and that it’s figured out a game-changing scheme it calls the Asigra Recovery License Model (RLM) that for the first time separates backup and recovery licenses and “aligns pricing with the true value of backup – data recovery.”
Cloud computing is steadily working its way into the U.S. federal government, potentially simplifying access to information for the public, but also creating some consternation over who ultimately controls that data. Some federal agency managers are reluctant to hand over their data to cloud computing providers, for fear of diminished security or potential hassles should they need to switch vendors, according to an article on FederalTimes.com. But the government’s growing appetite for collecting information is forcing agencies to consider the promised benefits of cloud computing, such as storing and managing their data for less money and the ability to access data from any device over the Internet. The latter is a major tenet of the Obama administration’s push to make more data accessible to the public, and to increase productivity by allowing employees to access systems and files remotely, or via the cloud.
Folks at MapR Technologies have made MapR M7, their Big Data platform for NoSQL and Apache Hadoop applications, available at Amazon Elastic MapReduce (EMR). M7 is supposed to offer ease of use, dependability and greater performance for NoSQL and Hadoop. Amazon EMR is said to make it easier and more cost-effective to deploy and operate elastic Hadoop clusters on AWS. In a few mouse clicks or a single line of code, customers can launch a dynamically scalable M7 cluster on Amazon EMR to store or process vast amounts of data.
“We have just recently launched a new product called Mission Critical Cloud, which is a VMware-based public cloud solution. We did that because we are seeing more and more demand to outsource and to outsource in a cloud fashion from larger enterprises,” stated Robert Miggins, Senior Vice President of Business Development at PEER 1 Hosting, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City. Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.