May 13, 2013
Volume XLIII, Issue 10
CLOUD COMPUTING EAST 2013 Starts Sunday May 19th
Don't miss CLOUD COMPUTING EAST 2013 (CCE:2013), which starts Sunday May 19th and continues through Tuesday May 21st at the Marriott Boston Copley Place in Boston, MA.
CCE:2013 will focus on the use of cloud-based technologies by government, healthcare, and financial services to revolutionize business processes, increase efficiency, and streamline costs.
Learn about attendance options here; and sign-up to attend here.
An opening workshop on Sunday afternoon will provide delegate orientation. MIT-educated Dino Konstantopoulos, currently of MITRE Corporation and Boston University, and author of Components and Frameworks in the Cloud Era, along with BU graduate students Alaa Mahmoud and Madhura Pundlik, will lead a lively session.
Then a welcome reception will offer networking opportunities for speakers, exhibitors, and audience members.
On Monday morning, keynote and panel sessions include Stefan Bewley, Altman Vilandrie; Matt Stevens, AppNeta; Jason Warman, Aspera; Larry Freedman, Edwards Wildman Palmer; Fabian Gordon, Ignite Technologies; Dan Rooney, Kronos; Brad Maltz, Lumenate; Joe Foxton, MediaSilo; Larry Veino, Presidio; Brian Benfer & Cameron Jahn, ShareFile; and Omar Torres, VeriStor.
Aiter a pace-changing workshop entitled Take the Bore out of Boardroom by Wes and Amy Peper, and conference luncheon, attendees will have the opportunity to choose from among three event tracks offering panel discussions and case studies including the following speakers.
Nicole Nakashian, Agio Technology; David Cerf, Crossroads Systems; Mike Dinsdale, Docusign; Pete Manca, Egenera; Brian Campanotti, Front Porch Digital; Jamie Brenzel, KineticD; Brad Maltz, Lumenate; Scott Swartz, MetraTech; Yung Chou, Microsoft; Kevin Nyberg, NaviSite; Arwin Holmes, NorthPoint, Doug Natal, Oracle, Chris Christy & Marlyn Zelkowitz, SAP America; Peter Spellman, TraceLink; Grant Kirkwood, Unitas Global; Amit Khanna, Virtusa; and Adam Firestone, WSO2.
At day's end, there will be a networking reception in the Exhibit Hall.
On Tuesday morning, we'll continue our in-depth examinations of the subject matter with such speakers as Doug Barbin, BrightLine; Brian Benfer, Citrix; David Linthicum, Cloud Technology Partners; Tom Mountcastle, CSC Leasing; Chris Poelker, FalconStor; Daniel Beazer, FireHost; Whitney Vickrey, GCE; Owen DeLong, Hurricane Electric; Mark Lundin, KPMG; Praveen Lobo & David Wayne, Lumedx; Russ Hertzberg, SoftServe; Jim Duval, Telestream; and Gerry Stegmaier, WSGR.
After a working luncheon that will feature solution provider showcase demonstrations, keynotes and panels will continue with James Mitchell, Cloud Options; Geof Griebel, Eoscene Corporation; Yesica Schaaf, IBM; Jonathan Chisholm, Iron Mountain; Esmeralda Swartz, MetraTech; Allan McLennan, PADEM Group; Jaye Connolly, PathCentral; Rohit Mahna, Salesforce.com; Jay Gleason, Sprint; Mark Levitt, Strategy Analytics; Mohamad Ali, Wexford Health Sources; and Brian Drewes, ZYNC Render.
Platinum sponsors for CCE:2013 include Citrix Systems and ShareFile, and gold sponsors are A10 Networks, Aspera, FalconStor, MetraTech, and VeriStor. Silver sponsors include AppNeta, Ce3, CSC Leasing, Lumenate, NaviSite, Presidio, SoftServe, and Virtusa.
Associate Sponsors for CCE are Apptix, Aspiryon, CommVault, Cloud Options, Edwards Wildman Palmer, Ignite Technologies, Infoblox, and Permabit Technology Corporation.
Register now to attend CCE:2013.
BitTorrent Sync Alpha Has Synced a Petabyte of Data
Excerpted from TweaksTown Report by Trace Hagan
BitTorrent Sync is proving both popular and speedy. BitTorrent, the company behind the new syncing software that relies on the BitTorrent protocol, has announced that Sync has surpassed one petabyte of data synchronized among machines. This is an impressive feat considering that the software was only released publicly on April 23rd.
BitTorrent says that each day Sync sees over 70 terabytes of data. To put some of these numbers on context, BitTorrent says that the Internet Archive houses around 10 petabytes of data. This means Sync should surpass the Internet Archive in less than a year, provided the sync rate stays the same. However, it's likely the rate will increase as more people adopt the software..
In most ways, Sync is just like Dropbox except for the lack of central storage. However, one could easily set-up Sync with a central repository on a remote server and basically have a Dropbox clone. Sync is turning into a great tool and I can't wait to see where it goes when it becomes a stable release.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 At CLOUD COMPUTING EAST 2013 (CCE:2013), we'll address many of the business strategy issues associated with migrating to the cloud in the healthcare, government, and financial services sectors.
Security, interoperability, flexibility, and accountability are among the top concerns we've been asked to discuss, and these are certainly logical ones for organizations evaluating the move from traditional on-premise information technology (IT) solutions to cloud-based services.
And cost savings, increased speed, expanded capabilities, and greater productivity are among the benefits that our speakers will cite in advocating adoption.
But beyond these is a more fundamental question: what is the business value of cloud computing?
And we'll tackle that one as well through a series of case studies that will offer delegates substantial learning from real-world experience.
For healthcare providers, government agencies, and financial services firms, applications delivered to end-users' browsers mean that system upgrades, software updates, and new features can come much more rapidly than before these organizations moved to the cloud.
The ultimate questions associated with whether to choose a public, private, or hybrid deployment model may not be the same after a certain level of experience has been achieved as were asked at the outset.
And they may not even be relevant any longer, as we'll explain.
Being able to simply expense virtualized storage and compute — versus having to purchase a dedicated infrastructure for a specific set of applications, for example — ends up being more about elasticity and scalability than about overcoming privacy and data security concerns or even the cost savings that can be achieved with server consolidation.
We'll explore migration paths ranging from basic experimentation with the cloud to departmental implementations of various service models to large systemic and mission-critical deployments.
And we'll also focus on the time factor — how long should each of these phases take — probably surprising CCE:2013 attendees with the answers in terms of how fast they can progress.
We'll also parse different experiences with the two major types of cloud-based applications — vertical market software, narrowly aimed at addressing the needs of given businesses within a specific industry — and horizontal market software, targeted across a much wider array of industries without significant customization.
Not only will the questions of whether to customize or not to customize cloud solutions be addressed, but also the more practical consideration of how to customize without writing a great deal of code that would have to be discarded as circumstances change.
When system access is through a browser, how do you modify data models, user interfaces, workflow, or analytics?
The answers lie in browser-based tools that modify applications through basic data generation, which is simpler, faster, and more affordable than having to write code.
We'll make a case for no longer separating service models of software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), etc. as distinct services, but rather considering them along a continuum, where the demands that come out of usage of one model naturally drive the needs for the next — such as SaaS customization leading to PaaS elasticity leading to IaaS scalability.
We'll also debunk myths associated with distinguishing between public versus private cloud deployment models, particularly within the hCLOUD, gCLOUD, and fCLOUD, which often represent drawing an artificial line.
From a software architecture point of view, the way you deploy your infrastructure and virtualize your compute and storage is what matters — and this should look exactly the same in whatever model you're using.
Perhaps one of the most important takeaways from CCE:2013 will be how IT departments — which naturally focus on the operational integrity of software — and lines of business — which naturally focus on software functionality -- can become more aligned strategically.
Delegates will leave CCE:2013 with specific ideas about how to implement a unified strategy for architecting and deploying software in the cloud. Please click here to register now. Share wisely, and take care.
Cloud Computing Is the New Normal
Excerpted from V3.co.uk Report by Daniel Robinson
Cloud computing has been around for quite a few years now, so isn't it about time we accepted that the cloud is simply part of the way IT is delivered these days, rather than some exotic and dangerous cutting-edge technology?
The very name 'cloud' doesn't help, of course, as it is a loosely defined term that covers a broad range of technologies and usage cases, but until someone can come up with a better term for what cloud represents, it looks like we are stuck with it.
In fact, cloud has been around for much longer than people think, with web-based applications such as Hotmail representing early examples of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and CRM vendors such as Salesforce.com operating for over ten years.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has also been offering its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) virtual machine service since 2006. But with the exception of CRM, such services have often tended to be aimed at consumers or developers — early adopters who are less risk-averse than large corporations with their concerns about data security and reliability of service.
However, there seems to have been a change in the air recently. Many organizations seem to be satisfied that the cloud is now mature enough, and has the potential to deliver IT in a more convenient and cost-effective manner than building and operating infrastructure themselves.
At the recent AWS Summit, for example, attendees heard from a number of Amazon customers who were not only using the firm's cloud to host key applications and services, but were considering moving most, if not all, of their IT infrastructure onto it in the near future. These were not tiny start-ups, but organizations such as News International and Rail Settlement Plan, a division of the UK Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC).
Furthermore, a growing number of enterprise IT providers are bringing cloud services online, in recognition that this is where many customers are going to want to be in the future. Microsoft has recently officially launched its own infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform as part of Windows Azure, for example.
This enables enterprise customers to create a virtual network on Azure and populate it with virtual servers, linked to their own corporate domain and managed as if it were on-premise infrastructure. In effect, Microsoft is making it no more difficult or risky for Windows shops to build out onto its cloud than it is to manage a remote branch office.
But things are always more complicated than they first appear, and organizations have other issues to take into consideration than simply whether cloud infrastructure is more cost effective than on premise.
For example, what happens if your cloud provider suffers an outage? Even Amazon, which prides itself on reliability, has experienced issues that have caused downtime for some of its customers. Should organizations consider mirroring vital infrastructure and services, in case of a catastrophic failure? In which case, would the backup be best hosted on premise or delivered from a second cloud service provider?
The second choice would seem to be a logical one, if you aren't to lose any savings accrued from operating out of the cloud in the first place, but there's a problem. Is it possible to create an exact duplicate of your application setup on two different clouds that might be based on differing underlying platforms and expose different APIs to the world?
For that matter, how easy would it be for a customer to switch their cloud provider to a different one, if they felt they weren't being served as well as they could be or that they could find a better price elsewhere?
I put this question to one Amazon customer at the AWS Summit, who told me that his organization would most likely have to rebuild the application from scratch in order to re-deploy to another cloud platform.
Scenarios such as this mean that the cloud could potentially turn into another lock-in for unwary customers, unless interoperability issues are addressed. But this is a thorny subject that is only likely to be fixed after much effort, thanks to the multiple levels in the cloud stack where interoperability would be required.
One solution is simply to ensure that any cloud you use — whether private or public — is based on the same technology. This is where OpenStack could have an advantage, thanks to the growing support behind it from a string of IT firms and service providers, including IBM, Red Hat, Rackspace, and HP. However, even here there are likely to be some differences, as service providers try to offer some differentiation from their rivals.
But these concerns do not seem insurmountable, and it is likely that cloud is going to become more and more attractive for provisioning new infrastructure and accessing services. This will especially be so if Amazon continues to cut the prices it charges for virtual infrastructure, and if other service providers match it, as Microsoft has pledged to do. If you aren't using the cloud yet, expect to do so in the near future. The economic case alone is likely to be compelling.
Options Abound for Cloud Computing in Healthcare
Excerpted from SearchHealthIT Report by Jon Gaasedelen
Public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud: For all the talk around clouds, organizations mostly want to know how this affects their healthcare business. The simple answer is that cloud computing can be relevant to any business in any industry.
However, cloud computing in healthcare may be particularly important because of the industry's history with paper-based records and overall poor adoption of computers for anything other than hospital accounting and practice management systems.
Cloud computing in healthcare and other industries might be defined as the externalization of business services or additional computer tasks how and where they are needed.
Think about how computers are used to run an application, such as e-mail. Users run an e-mail application to review their e-mail. They start the application, they review e-mail and they respond or not. For the computer to run the application it must use its central processing unit (CPU) to load and run the e-mail application. Then it needs to load communications data elements into its memory so that it can talk to the e-mail delivery service. Meanwhile, the e-mail delivery service — running on a different computer — must use its CPU and memory to load communications elements that enables it to talk to the user's computer.
This process permits the e-mails to be sent to the user for their review. Additionally, the e-mail delivery service must also look for new e-mail and store it in a location that is only available to the original user.
E-mail is one example of how two computers share data in the cloud and perform a series of tasks to run a simple application. Many such tasks, also called services or applications, exist in the cloud. This also demonstrates another cloud feature which permits apportioning computer hardware like CPU, memory, and storage to different systems or applications as demand requires.
Considering the poor adoption of computers in healthcare, you might be questioning the relevance of the previous statements. Since the introduction of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) in 2009, Herculean efforts have been made to implement and utilize electronic health records (EHRs), and much has been accomplished.
However, the efforts are expensive and have mostly been subsidized through ARRA. These subsidies are already winding down. Hospital and clinic adoption of EHRs is very low due to the complexity of the task and the perceived need for additional computer hardware. What can we do to improve this?
Enter cloud computing, and the relevance of computer systems apportionment. There are many acronyms associated with cloud; the three to focus on are: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). Collectively, these cloud services can provide any or all of the following.
IaaS: Consists of all the hardware necessary to run an EHR system. This can include servers, storage devices, virtual desktops, load balancers, and so on, and would save on hardware investment costs for providers.
PaaS: This is a ready-made application development environment that provides all the software, tools and utilities to develop and/or tailor an EHR application.
SaaS: Is a software installation and operations service that provides for the running and operations of healthcare applications.
Cloud-based services may not be right for all healthcare providers, but may work for smaller providers who are pooling their resources. Small providers buy one or more of the above services and use them for hospital and/or clinical support. In this situation, the provider benefits from having the services and the healthcare cloud service provider benefits from partnering with more small healthcare providers.
The above examples provide an overview of cloud computing and suggest some ideas for overall cloud implementations. The discussion moving forward will only focus on one example: How storage might fit into a cloud computing model.
In large corporations where shared computing is ingrained in the culture, large storage infrastructures are usually installed and depended upon. A large storage infrastructure consists of two different kinds of storage. The first kind of storage is called network-attached storage (NAS), which is storage attached to servers through the local area network (LAN). It is identical in concept to sharing files from a central repository or from one computer to another.
Network-attached storage devices consist of individual components pieced together and can grow to the size of a large refrigerator. They contain a large number of individual hard disks wired together to provide a large amount of storage and protect saved items from hardware component failures. A best practice for NAS storage is to provide additional storage capacity to desktop users connected to a LAN.
The kind of content stored on NAS devices is most often users' home directories and is less critical to ongoing organizational operations, but it is still frequently backed up and protected from loss. Costs for NAS devices range from $20,000 to $200,000, but this range can be greater depending on other factors.
Government Adopts "Cloud First" Procurement Policy
Excerpted from LocalGov Report by Thomas Bridge
Public sector organizations have been urged to consider cloud solutions first when procuring IT services, as government departments in the UK commit to G-Cloud.
Following the formal adoption of a "cloud first" policy for central government departments purchasing IT products and services, Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, has "strongly recommended" the wider public sector takes up a similar approach.
The "cloud first" strategy, which forces departments to consider and fully evaluate potential cloud solutions first when procuring new or existing services, will drive wider adoption of cloud computing in the public sector and boost business through the government CloudStore, Maude said.
A third G-Cloud supplier framework has also gone live today, offering more choice for purchasing through the online marketplace for cloud IT services.
Over 80% of the 708 companies on the new framework are SMEs, while 368 are new to G-Cloud.
Maude said, "G-Cloud brings a step change in the way government buys IT. It's quicker, cheaper and more competitive, open to a wider range of companies, including a majority of SMEs, and offers more choice and innovation."
"Many government departments already use G-Cloud, but IT costs are still too high. One way we can reduce them is to accelerate the adoption of cloud across the public sector to maximize its benefits. The 'cloud first' policy will embed the skills a modern civil service needs to meet the demands of 21st-century digital government and help us get ahead in the global race."
Cloud Adoption Gains Speed in Financial Services
Excerpted from Wall Street & Technology Report by MacSweeney
Many banks no longer want to run, support and maintain technology and prefer the speed and flexibility of cloud solutions.
"As long as I don't have to install it, manage it, run it, support it, or troubleshoot it, I'm happy," said an IT executive and attendee at the Bloomberg Link Enterprise Technology Summit.
The attendee who is partially responsible for data management infrastructure at a New York-based investment bank asked to remain anonymous, since he isn't authorized to speak to the press. His sentiments, however, were echoed throughout the day-long Bloomberg Link Enterprise Technology Summit that featured speakers from Blackstone, Freddie Mac, RBS, Google, Deutsche Bank, Direct Edge, Lightspeed Financial, PDQ ATS, Bloomberg, and more.
"Unless you are a company that has a hundred thousand square feet of white space in a computer room, you can outsource it all to someone else," said Tom Secunda, Founding Partner, Vice Chairman & Global Head of Financial Products & Services, Bloomberg, in his opening remarks at the conference. "If you are a small firm, or medium, wow, what a level of service you can get. And because the outsourcers do this across many customers, you can get the services much cheaper than you can do by yourself."
The growth of infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and, of course software-as-a-service (SaaS), has gained so much traction in recent years because of the sluggish economy and shifting business models in the financial services space. "In the finance industry, people are really starting to worry about costs and being efficient," said Secunda. "In today's world, efficiency is outweighing growth."
The cloud has gained so much momentum partially because of the way it has permeated the lives of consumers and many financial services employees. As any CIO can attest, employees are utilizing technology in their personal lives and are asking for similar functionality in the corporate world.
Traditionally, an enterprise technology organization would build its own technology from scratch to answer the employee's needs. But today, that is too expensive and it takes too long.
"The unique economics created by consumer-oriented technology companies have created a price differential that the existing enterprise technology competitors can't live with," said Ben Fried, Chief Information Officer, Google. "The ship has sailed when it comes to cloud's tipping point. For instance, 48% of Fortune 500 have a paid Google technology in use."
As CIOs in the financial services space face tighter budgets, more are open to shifting applications and technology to cloud providers. "The acceptance of CIOs to have more of their product delivered as a service," is growing, said Kirk Materne, Managing Director, Equity Research at Evercore Partners. "More CIOs are saying that if a product isn't a differentiator, make it a service."
Companies that can't make the shift to a new model risk losing support of the business and employees, said Peter Levine, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, during a session at the Bloomberg Link Enterprise Technology Summit. "The losers will be the companies that can't move across the cloud chasm," he says. "It is clear that people understand SaaS and like it. Companies will need to embrace these new business models. Some SaaS models are being sold directly to business units, without involving the CIO."
When business units start to make software purchases without involving the CIO IT is usually because the IT organization is too slow or resists change. Many CIOs rush to squash "shadow IT" projects, citing increased risk or regulatory concerns, which are often true in financial services. At the same time, however, there is a reason why business units are turning away from IT. "I look at shadow IT as a reflection that IT is dong something wrong," said Robert Lux, SVP and Chief Information Officer, Freddie Mac during the conference. "If the business has to go to find their own IT, we aren't providing what the business needs."
Capital markets organizations have almost completely changed their view of building and running versus buying and hosting. Even just a few years ago, many firm's lists of applications that needed to be run in house were a mile long. These apps gave the bank a "competitive advantage" in the marketplace.
Today, the list is shorter, and getting shorter by the day, according to Philippe Carre, head of connectivity for SunGard's global capital markets business. "Banks used to have an obsession with owning everything, but now they don't want to run," Carre said in an interview with Wall Street & Technology.
"Today almost 99% of discussions with banks focus on how to have more apps hosted for them." Carre's experience revolves around providing financial institutions with hosted software. Carre joined SunGard with the acquisition of GL Trade in January 2009. In SunGard's capital markets business, Carre has responsibility for the delivery of hosted services and solutions to trading clients globally.
Other technology providers are also fielding more questions and requests from banks about what can be hosted by a partner, rather than in a bank's own data center. At Pershing LLC, the BNY Mellon company that provides solutions to financial services organizations, clients are "asking a lot of questions about cloud and what they can do in the cloud," says Ram Nagappan, co-CIO and managing director. Pershing has run its applications on a single architecture for years and all of its 1,500 clients essentially access the applications on a private hybrid-cloud that runs in Pershing's data centers, Nagappan reports.
With more clients asking about cloud and how they can use it, Nagappan says Pershing is always looking for new ways to provide services to clients in the cloud. For instance, Pershing's NetX360, a technology platform for investment professionals, essentially runs on a private cloud. Pershing will continue to enhance NetX360, as well as offer new products and services that are hosted by Pershing.
Public Safety in the Cloud
Excerpted from CloudTweaks Report by Rick Blaisdell
I've recently read an article on the importance and utility of cloud in several industries: education, marketing companies, online entertainment, healthcare, information technology, finance and banking, telecommunication, hospitality, start-ups and security.
I have no doubt that cloud computing apps and services can be of use in every single domain and business.
In fact, cloud computing is widespread in many industries and in older articles I have touched on the benefits for some of them such as: travel and accommodation, healthcare, energy and utility.
But the list of industries that stand to gain from adopting cloud computing is much longer — and today I will discuss how public safety can benefit from cloud computing.
Here are some examples of the types of documents that Public Safety could benefit by using the cloud: audio/ video recordings, health records, management system records, sharing documents, and sensor data.
The greatest benefit of cloud computing is sharing resources, whether we talk about documents, video recordings or health records. It is very efficient and cost effective for public safety entities because they do not need to invest in their own dedicated hardware and all of the associated costs of maintaining those systems.
Inter-Agency Integration and Inter-System Interfaces are also extremely important. Public safety apps are interconnected to inter-agency, regional, state, and national systems and databases. With new data sources and apps available, reducing the investments required over the entire user population is now possible.
SaaS. Each tenant's user experience is identical to having a dedicated system and not a shared one. Multi-tenant SaaS apps run on shared infrastructure — this means that cost of deploying an additional customer is much lower.
Public Connectivity. Citizens often adopt public-facing collaborative applications and costs and complexity to connect agencies and responders are reduced when agencies use shared multi-tenant online systems.
There are always challenges in adopting new technology, but the cloud now gives us new options and enables us access to web-based, efficient solutions for public safety.
Which Cloud Model for your Healthcare Organization?
Excerpted from Healthcare IT New Report by Maureen Kaplan
Every organization is considering "cloud" approaches for their business, yet if you ask "what is cloud" you'll get a wide range of answers. This variety of cloud options has an impact on healthcare organizations, especially those contemplating a future cloud strategy aligned to regulatory compliance.
Technically, cloud computing have five essential characteristics: on demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity and measured service.
Healthcare organizations implementing a cloud strategy can use a variety of deployment models. These models are public cloud, private cloud, community cloud, and hybrid cloud — and healthcare companies can implement cloud functionality in different ways.
Let's explore a few use cases from select industries that highlight the effective use of varied cloud options. Some of these use cases, and their use of cloud deployment models, can be applied to the healthcare industry.
A large hotel chain determined that they "were not in the data center business" and wanted to turn capital expenditure into operational expenditure. Being able to scale geographically and having a flexible consumption model bolstered by strong service level agreements were key considerations. In this case, a multi-tenant public cloud strategy is effective. This enables a phased-application migration off the existing data centers and provided a flexible staging and test area. More importantly, significant cost savings went back to the business.
A large manufacturer launched a video-surveillance-as-a service (VSaaS). This business model required massive access to network connectivity, as well as enterprise-class availability in an extremely secure environment. This approach utilized all of the characteristics of the scale and consumption models of a cloud compute platform, but segmented their data and applications in a private cloud. The architectural component and security control flexibility met stringent data security requirements.
Varied cloud models and the simplicity of consumption-based pricing give healthcare organizations a unique opportunity to implement new applications without significant technology investments. This can be seen in the above situations.
When it comes to protecting electronic patient health information (ePHI) many healthcare organizations have a concern that their data is more exposed or vulnerable to breaches when they outsource parts of their network to third-party cloud vendors. Studies show that this is not likely. In fact none of the data breaches analyzed in Verizon's 2013 Data Breach Investigation Report occurred when organizations used a third party hosting or "cloud" provider.
Most enterprise-class cloud providers have rigorous security methodologies in place (for their own business models to be successful) and in many cases healthcare organizations that outsource to a cloud provider can improve the security controls for their organization.
Cloud Computing -- Smart for Governments & Companies
Excerpted from The Economic Times Report by Sandeep Mathur
There is no end to the social and economic challenges faced by developing economies. While sustaining a high GDP growth rate remains the biggest objective, an equally critical goal is ensuring inclusive growth.
Along with these, generating high levels of employment and allocating frugal fiscal resources on various demanding sectors round-up the four key priorities for decision makers in India and other emerging economies.
Investments in infrastructure and access to productive resources are the two big levers for sustained economic growth. But investments in productive assets are traditionally capital-intensive and a strain on developing economies, while market and regulatory imbalances often inhibit the access of government agencies to productive resources.
Now technology is considered as much a productive resource as land, labor, and capital.
So how can a developing economy solve its problem of increasing access to technology? The answer has, fortunately, come from the technology industry itself. Cloud computing gives us an opportunity to re-imagine technology as an affordable, operational expense.
From an investment perspective, cloud computing is a form of optimal use of capital. It is a common infrastructure that can be shared internally (by departments, or companies in case of a conglomerate), or externally (as in public cloud). By lowering upfront costs, resources can be freed.
Use of cloud computing is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 26% globally. Cloud computing is expected to account for 20% of global IT market, excluding IT services and client devices, by 2015.
Major government IT organizations of developed nations, including those of the US, Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, and South Korea, have already defined their cloud strategy and are determined to run centralized government clouds, leveraging public clouds where appropriate.
Many BRICS nations are demonstrating that they are taking cloud computing seriously by engaging in pilot projects and even awarding contracts to operate some part of their business "in the cloud."
The Government of India is already working towards using cloud in multiple e-governance projects. The Jammu & Kashmir governments were the first to adopt cloud in India. IT Minister Kapil Sibal has recently announced the establishment of a cloud infrastructure at the NIC data center as well as a center of excellence on cloud computing.
China and Korea have a more strategic approach. Korea plans to invest $540 million till 2014 as a stimulus to the domestic cloud computing market. China is much ahead. It has five pilot cloud computing cities and, according to its 12th Five-Year Plan, cloud computing will be a chief driver of the IT industry.
From an access perspective, public cloud brings cutting-edge technology within the reach of government departments with limited budgets, entrepreneurs, and small businesses.
The easy and pervasive availability of enterprise technology delivered via cloud can fuel business growth in large and small organizations and enable small businesses to compete with large enterprises. According to a Sand Hill study, cloud computing is expected to create more jobs than the early Internet did as cloud applications and platforms will revolutionize the IT landscape.
Within the government, smaller departments with budgetary constraints can use the pay-as-you-go model to deliver high-quality citizen services. In fact, governments of developing nations are likely to remain early and heavy adopters of cloud.
However, governments are understandably concerned about data security and are looking at private clouds. According to a report, 56% of local governments and 42% of central governments across Europe use or will use internally hosted private clouds. Alternatively, government agencies can look at infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), which mitigates security concerns.
By migrating to the cloud, public sector organizations will be allowed to divert their IT funds to priority sectors such as education and healthcare or reducing fiscal deficit. Adopting technology delivered via cloud can be a strategic economic decision that benefits the nation.
Adobe's Shift to the Cloud: Start of a Trend?
Excerpted from Knowledge@Wharton Report
Adobe, the leading software company targeting creative professionals, is exiting the shrink-wrap software business in favor of subscription-based software and online "cloud" services. While perhaps painful at first, the business model change will be ultimately beneficial for consumers and Adobe alike, and other software companies are likely to follow, say experts at Wharton.
On May 6th, Adobe said it would stop developing its flagship Creative Suite, which includes applications such as Photoshop, in favor of Creative Cloud, a subscription-based service for software and updates.
The company had been transitioning from a traditional software business model, which revolves around one-time product licensing, to subscription-based services, but decided to take a big plunge by removing the option for traditional licensing for new versions of the its popular creative tools.
The move is an acknowledgment that software is rapidly transitioning toward collaboration, subscriptions, and use on multiple platforms such as Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Mac OS and Microsoft's Windows.
Wharton marketing professor Pinar Yildirim says that Adobe's move is a positive one for consumers, who are increasingly mobile and don't want to be tethered to a single desktop application. Customers also will benefit from regular updates and gain access to more features, she notes.
It's a boon for Adobe, too. "With a cloud suite, product updates can be easily controlled and executed by the firm and for all consumers at once. This has cost-cutting benefits, such as not having to deal with customer service calls about a software version from five years ago, and operating with more efficient technology as it becomes available to improve consumers' experience," says Yildirim. "It is also easier to fix problems with a cloud-delivered product than dealing with bugs in individual copies of software."
Reaction to Adobe's move was mixed on Twitter. Many customers who bought the firm's most recent Creative Suite 6 didn't like the idea of paying a subscription for additional services and new features. Others cheered Adobe for making a big move.
Kendall Whitehouse, Knowledge@Wharton's technology and media editor, attended the announcement at Adobe's MAX Conference this week and notes that, despite negative feedback from some quarters, the company's move is likely to be emulated.
"A number of customers will, I suspect, recoil at the notion that they will only be able to use the software as long as they continue to pay monthly subscription fees" as opposed to the perpetual license that Adobe offered with previous versions of Creative Suite, says Whitehouse. "But Adobe's model for subscription-based software is likely the wave of the future. Expect to see more of this over time."
On cue, SAP, one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world, announced on Tuesday that it plans to launch a cloud service for its fast-growing HANA analytics software. SAP, like its rival Oracle, has been moving away from a one-time licensing model and both firms have been acquiring cloud and software-as-a-service companies at a quick pace: SAP has acquired SuccessFactors and Ariba, while Oracle has acquired Taleo, RightNow and other cloud companies. In part, Oracle and SAP are buying companies to thwart emerging rivals like Salesforce.com and Workday.
According to David Wadhwani, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media at Adobe, the move to support the year-old Creative Cloud is about focus and the ability to "put innovation in our members' hands at a much faster pace."
Wadhwani, speaking at a meeting with members of the press, said that Adobe "thought long and hard about this decision," but noted that customers will be able to get enhancements on an ongoing basis, have access to the full range of Adobe's creative tools and interact online with a community of peers. Adobe decided that the potential short-term revenue hit is worth the long-term gains. Switching to a model where customers pay recurring fees over time reduces the revenue received up front, but allows the company to better predict future revenue and earnings.
Adobe's pricing highlights how the revenue equation will change. Access to Adobe's Creative Cloud is $49.99 a month for all applications, $19.99 a month for a single application and $29.99 a month for existing Creative Suite customers. Adobe also has student and teacher editions and pricing plans for a team of users. Most plans are annual commitments billed monthly, so Adobe has predictable recurring revenue. For comparison, Adobe's Creative Suite 6 costs $1,299 to $2,599, depending on the edition.
Yildirim says that the revenue risk to Adobe may not be dramatic since companies are taking their time evaluating large upfront technology purchases and could have been slow to upgrade to the latest Creative Suite. "Adobe is making a move to being a full-time service provider and selling access to products rather than selling products. That is a good move in today's economy," she notes. "I am in favor of subscription-based models for most content and knowledge-product providers. This is a way for them to defend their product and market share."
According to Whitehouse, Adobe isn't reinventing software architecture as much as rebooting its business model to one that revolves around subscriptions. "Much of the conversation about this move by Adobe conflates two related, but distinct, issues: the delivery of software applications as online, hosted 'cloud-based' services, and purchasing software on a subscription basis rather than with a one-time payment," he says.
"While Adobe's Creative Cloud software contains online tools and services, what most consumers are paying for are the locally-installed desktop programs like Photoshop. In other words, this is more of a business model shift than an architectural change in the way the software works."
Analysts, however, give Adobe credit for recognizing the switch to cloud computing and being decisive with a business model change. Adobe told analysts that it will have four million Creative Cloud users by 2015, and analysts such as Peter Goldmacher of Cowen and Co. agree that goal is attainable.
In a research note, Goldmacher wrote that "this change in direction will catch on faster than most expect." He added that Adobe's installed base of 12.8 million Creative Suite users gives the firm plenty of customers to transition to a subscription model. Adobe estimates that the total market for creative professionals is about eight million, up from 6.7 million two years ago.
Other analysts are also supporting Adobe's move. "The Creative Cloud is about providing a larger canvas for innovation, and it is clear [that] the future creative process is increasingly networked, collaborative and social," said Macquarie analyst Brad Zelnick. "Our experience at [the MAX conference] validates Creative Cloud as far more than a purchasing or revenue model."
If support for Adobe's cloud transition sticks, other software vendors may quickly adapt. "As we are moving more into cloud-based offerings, similar models are likely to follow," says Yildirim.
Aston Martin Embraces Cloud Computing
Excerpted from The Telegraph Report
As Aston Martin celebrates 100 years of luxury sports car manufacturing, its ambitions have no ceiling. Fortunately nor do its IT systems, because they are run in the cloud.
Aston Martin values the role externally-hosted IT environments can play in rolling out facilities quickly and in a way that gives the business maximum flexibility.
The iconic British sports car manufacturer, which celebrates its centenary this year, prides itself on slick use of technology. It is piloting 3D printing techniques to produce parts for its latest models, and across the broader business it uses cloud-based e-mail and office systems to connect global teams, so they can perform at the top of their game.
A year ago, Aston Martin upgraded its global office systems to Microsoft Office 365. It was a natural progression from the software the company had been using: Office 365 offered greater support for spontaneous collaboration, flexible mobility and intuitive multimedia communications.
Run entirely in the cloud at secure Microsoft data centers, and paid for as a subscription-based service, Office 365 is used by Aston Martin's global workforce for everything from corporate e-mail to document sharing and remote project work. It can be accessed by users from any location, on any device.
Office 365 provides a robust corporate e-mail system in the form of Microsoft Exchange, along with familiar desktop applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher; the popular SharePoint document sharing and management environment; and an advanced conferencing platform (Lync) complete with instant messaging and HD video and the ability to see who's available to contact.
"For a highly distributed organization like ours these capabilities are critical," explains Daniel Roach-Rooke, Aston Martin's IT Infrastructure Manager. "E-mail is vital to us, while SharePoint online has allowed us to set up a secure environment to share data and collaborate with our suppliers and partners.
"If we were running the systems internally, we would be responsible for all the servers and storage, and maintaining uptime," he notes. "As Microsoft owns the products, the team there knows how to get the best out of the systems - so it doesn't fall to me to worry about high availability or the latest updates. Microsoft also provides round-the-clock support."
Because Microsoft runs the entire set-up, Aston Martin is able to provide IT Infrastructure and operations to its entire global business with an internal team of just 15 people. "That's very lean for an organization of our size," Roach-Rooke says.
Aston Martin is growing too, but again this isn't a problem. The beauty of a cloud-based IT environment is that it can be scaled up or down at a moment's notice — "so if 10 more people join, we just alter the subscription accordingly," he explains. "There is no ceiling, and there are no location-based restrictions. Office 365 allows us to operate globally."
It doesn't matter which devices employees want to use either. Because the applications are accessed via a browser, Windows Phone 8 devices, iPhones, tablets or PCs can be used to access the same content and features.
"Because of the robust security and governance Microsoft provides, I had the confidence to allow employees to connect to our corporate e-mail using their own devices - and was surprised when they came forward in their hundreds to do this," says Roach-Rooke.
Aston Martin's Microsoft subscription also allows employees to have Microsoft Office 2013 ProPlus at home, which they consider a great benefit, he adds.
"Each user also has a 25Gb inbox, providing substantial capacity. We can also personalize e-mail addresses and are no longer restricted to the eight-character addresses which were a legacy of our old system and made it very difficult if you had several John Smiths in the company."
Performance is further improved by "an excellent spam filter", he says. "We get about 1.5 million spam messages a day, but none of these hit our bandwidth, servers or mailboxes. It's the same with viruses — the protection is first class."
Coming Events of Interest
CLOUD COMPUTING EAST 2013 - May 19th-21st in Boston, MA. CCE:2013 will focus on three major sectors, GOVERNMENT, HEALTHCARE, and FINANCIAL SERVICES, whose use of cloud-based technologies is revolutionizing business processes, increasing efficiency and streamlining costs.
Cloud World Forum - June 26th-27th in London, England. The Cloud World Forum offers a comprehensive agenda and speaker line-up from the cloud sector, making it an ideal platform for global authorities to present their "how-to" strategy and vision. Many recognized headline participants along with detailed coverage of the enterprise IT market.
Cloud Computing Summit - July 16th-17th in Bradenton, South Africa. Advance your awareness of the latest trends and innovations from the world of cloud computing. This year's ITWeb-sponsored event will focus on key advances relating to the infrastructure, operations, and available services through the global network.
NordiCloud 2013 - September 1st-3rd in Oslo, Norway. The Nordic Symposium on Cloud Computing & Internet Technologies (NordiCloud) aims at providing an industrial and scientific forum for enhancing collaboration between industry and academic communities from Nordic and Baltic countries in the area of Cloud Computing and Internet Technologies.
P2P 2013: IEEE International Conference on Peer-to-Peer Computing - September 9th-11th in Trento, Italy. The IEEE P2P Conference is a forum to present and discuss all aspects of mostly decentralized, large-scale distributed systems and applications. This forum furthers the state-of-the-art in the design and analysis of large-scale distributed applications and systems.
CLOUD COMPUTING WEST 2013 — October 27th-29th in Las Vegas, NV. Three conference tracks will zero in on the latest advances in applying cloud-based solutions to all aspects of high-value entertainment content production, storage, and delivery; the impact of cloud services on broadband network management and economics; and evaluating and investing in cloud computing services providers.
|
