June 3, 2013
Volume XLIV, Issue 1
Mobile Cloud Computing & Big Data — The 3rd Platform
Excerpted from Formtek Blog by Dick Weisinger
First there were mainframes, and after that there were PCs. In this progression of computing technology, IDC identifies the next phase of computing as a combination of cloud computing, mobile devices, and Big Data. IDC refers to this next generation of computing as the Third Platform.
Frank Gens, Senior Vice President and Chief Analyst at IDC, said, "The IT industry as a whole is moving toward the mobile/social/cloud/big data world of the 3rd Platform much more quickly than many realize: from 2013 through 2020, these technologies will drive around 90% of all the growth in the IT market. Companies that are not putting 80% or more of their competitive energy into this new market will be trapped in the legacy portion of the market, growing even slower than global GDP."
George NewStrom, General Manager of Dell's Federal Government Business, estimates that the federal government could save about a quarter of its IT budget, or nearly $20 billion, if it could transition it operations to 'Third Platform' technology.
Al Hilwa, Program Director of Application Development Software at IDC, said, "This third platform promises to radically expand the users and uses of information technology, leading to a wide range of intelligent industry solutions, and to greater demand for powerful analytic and decision management services in the cloud."
Jeremy Burton, Executive Vice President of Product Operations and Marketing at EMC, said, "Most people in IT these days, their businesses have been built on this second platform. Now, we don't see the second platform going away any time soon, but — over the next couple of years — we will see a new platform and ecosystem emerging called the third platform. The opportunity and challenge for businesses is to be relevant in the world of the third platform."
Gartner's David Clearley agrees, although Gartner uses the phrase "Nexus of Forces" to describe the trend towards cloud/mobile/big data computing. Clearley said, "These strategic technologies are emerging amidst a nexus of converging forces — social, mobile, cloud and information. Although these forces are innovative and disruptive on their own, together they are revolutionizing business and society, disrupting old business models and creating new leaders. As such, the Nexus of Forces is the basis of the technology platform of the future."
Wolfram Jost, Software AG CTO, said, "Driving the adoption of these technologies is the need for faster, better informed business decisions. Yet the real-time data, rapid scalability and fast decision-making enabled by these technologies is of little use if companies still take months or years to implement business process change… The market will not wait. By integrating business processes with big data, the clouds and both mobile and collaborative applications, we are giving enterprises an uninterrupted rapid response service to changing market conditions."
Web, Big Data to Experience Explosive Growth
Excerpted from Baseline Report by Samuel Greengard
In less than two decades, the World Wide Web has been transformed from a bold new medium into a mainstream tool for businesses, educational institutions, charitable organizations, and government.
A new report from domain registrar VeriSign indicates that more than 252 million top-level domain names now exist worldwide, and the number grew by 2.5 percent since the third quarter of 2012. The total number of .com and .net registrations topped 8 million.
In all, the web has grown for eight consecutive quarters. What's more, the renewal rate during the fourth quarter of last year was 72.9 percent.
During that time, China moved up from the 8th to 7th holder of top-level domains (TLD). In addition, VeriSign found that 85 percent of .com and .net domain names in the active zone resolve to a website, meaning that a user visiting that domain name would find an actual site.
During the fourth quarter of 2012, VeriSign's average daily Domain Name System (DNS) query load was 77 billion, across all TLDs operated by VeriSign. This translated into a peak of 123 billion.
Compared to the previous quarter, the daily average increased 16 percent, and the peak increased 20.4 percent. Year over year, the daily average increased 21.5 percent, and the peak increased 5.3 percent.
Not surprisingly, VeriSign also found that the online world has changed considerably over the last couple of years. The numbers are more than the sum of domain registrations. As sites have expanded, the virtual world has morphed from an environment of information scarcity to information overload.
Fueling this change is big data, which VeriSign says is likely to grow from a value of $6.3 billion in 2012 to $48.3 billion by 2018. That's a compound rate of 40.5 percent during this time span.
VeriSign reports that the Internet — and the growing number of domains — is changing the dynamics of business in important ways. It enables multiple players to gather similar data and exponentially increases the volume of relevant data. Plus more powerful tools have made this data more usable.
VeriSign notes that companies can now insert intelligence into their DNS servers in order to analyze the abundance of data that may flow into their systems.
The ability to analyze DNS transactions gives companies greater insight into precisely how domain names are being used, including their functionality, connectivity and reach. They can also find out what information users leverage the most, which helps companies make better decisions about their future business strategies and needs. Because every nearly every Internet transaction travels through a DNS server, the data evolves into a business differentiator when it is analyzed correctly.
VeriSign also reports that DNS data can become an important tool in securing the network. Being able to analyze network activity and traffic through DNS queries can help network administrators determine where malicious traffic comes from and then prevent access to these sources where Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and spam originate.
IT executives should focus on implementing security best practices in order to quickly, thoroughly and effectively mitigate a wide range of cyber attacks, advises Scott Courtney, Vice President, Infrastructure Engineering, VeriSign.
Because not all companies are able to develop an internal cyber-intelligence capability, he adds, they may want to work with service providers that can help them quickly identify and understand the various security incidents and their implications, determine effective mitigation and remediation tactics, and develop a clear plan to ensure security.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 We invite DCINFO readers to be among the first to plan to participate in CLOUD COMPUTING WEST 2013 (CCW:2013), the Distributed Computing Industry Association's (DCIA) business strategy summit produced in partnership with the Cloud Computing Association (CCA), taking place October 27th-29th at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV.
This year's themes are "Revolutionizing Entertainment & Media" and "The Impact of Mobile Cloud Computing & Big Data."
There's no question that advances in cloud computing are having enormous effects on the creation, storage, distribution, and consumption of diverse genres of content.
And most profound among these effects are those involving the increased proliferation of portable playback systems and the accompanying generation of unprecedented amounts of viewership, listenership, and usage information from audiences globally.
The ubiquity and widespread acceptance of user interfaces that reflect the dynamic interactivity exemplified by smart-phone applications is rapidly replacing the flat linearity of traditional TV channel line-ups and changing expectations for a new generation of consumers.
Cloud-based information and entertainment-of-all-kinds accessible everywhere always on each connected device will become the new norm.
And perfect data related to consumer behaviors associated with discovering and consuming this content will displace metering and ratings technologies based solely on statistical sampling.
Two CCW:2013 conference tracks will zero in on the latest advances in applying cloud-based solutions to all aspects of high-value entertainment production and storage, as well as media delivery and analysis options; along with the growing impact of mobile cloud computing on this sector, and the related expansion of big data challenges and opportunities.
DCINFO readers are encouraged to get involved in CCA's and DCIA's CCW:2013 as exhibitors, sponsors, and speakers.
The CCA is handling exhibits and sponsorships. Please click here for more information.
The DCIA's role is to provide keynotes, panelists, and case-study presenters to participate in our comprehensive agenda of sessions in ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA and MOBILE CLOUD & BIG DATA.
Please click here to apply to speak at CCW:2013.
Speakers will be selected from the community of professionals involved in the production and distribution of media and the deployment of cloud computing technologies, either as solution providers or end-users, in one or more of four specific focal areas:
Producing and Storing Entertainment Content in the Cloud; Delivering Media from the Cloud and Analyzing Consumption; The Impact of Mobile Cloud Computing on this Major Sector; and Related Opportunities and Challenges of Expanding Big Data.
Topics will include Ad Hoc Cloud, Adaptive Monitoring, Analytics Applications, Bandwidth Utilization, Big Data Infrastructure, BYOD Trends, Collaboration, Connectivity, Content Everywhere, Crowdsourcing, Data Integration, Data Management, Deployment Models, Interoperability, Liability Issues, Mobile App Security, Mobile Offloading, Performance Measurement, Personal Cloud, Privacy Protection, Quality of Experience, Reliability and Security, Search and Mining, Service Designs, Software Development, Standardization, Storage Architecture, Supported Multimedia, Transcoding, Virtual Communities, and Virtualization.
The conference will include in-depth pre-conference workshops on Sunday, October 27th, followed on Monday and Tuesday, October 28th and 29th, by focused keynote, case study, panel, and roundtable sessions.
Producing and Storing Entertainment Content in the Cloud / Delivering Media from the Cloud and Analyzing Consumption sessions will include Newest Cloud Offerings for Entertainment Content; Current Obstacles to Adoption in the Media Sector; Collaboration Case Study; Production Tools Case Study; Editing Case Study; Transcoding Case Study; Program Element Storage Case Study; Distribution Channel Storage Case Study; Cloud Media Lockers Case Study; Cloud Migration Considerations; Transitional Software Applications; Security and Reliability Concerns; Compliance and Regulatory Issues; Cloud Economics in the Entertainment Sector; Cloud Vendor Selection Criteria for Media Companies; Cloud Implementation Strategies for Media & Entertainment; and Future Cloud Opportunities for Media & Entertainment.
The Impact of Mobile Cloud Computing on this Major Sector / Related Opportunities and Challenges of Expanding Big Data sessions will include Latest Trends in Mobile Cloud Computing; Newest Offerings in Big Data Management; Current Obstacles to Adoption; Lowering Latency Case Study; Bandwidth Utilization Case Study; Adaptive Monitoring Case Study; Big Data Infrastructure Case Study; Search & Mining Case Study; Analytic Programs Case Study; Mobile Storage Considerations; Big Data Software Applications; Security & Reliability Concerns; Compliance & Regulatory Concerns; Mobile Cloud / Big Data Economics; Mobile Cloud Vendor Selection Criteria; Big Data Implementation Strategies; Future Mobile Cloud & Big Data Opportunities.
We will also be pleased to entertain proposals for additional session or workshop topics. Please click here to make your suggestion. Share wisely, and take care.
The Cloud Goes Global
Excerpted from Network World Report by Brandon Butler
As competition in the cloud computing market intensifies, some of the biggest players are looking beyond their domestic borders to gain an international advantage.
Just this week Savvis, which is owned by telecommunications provider CenturyLink, announced 85,000 square feet of new data center space across 10 locations around the world, including two brand new data centers opening in London and Hong Kong, bringing the company's global footprint to 2.4 million square feet across 50 centers.
Microsoft, a sneakily robust vendor in the cloud market, announced this month the expansion of its services across Japan, opening two data centers in the region. Amazon Web Services, Rackspace, Google, IBM, and others each have had their own announcements during the past half-year expanding their data center footprints not just in the US, but with a particular focus on emerging international markets.
"To date, the US is an early adopter of public cloud computing, and is generating significant revenue for US-focused vendors," says Jillian Mirandi, an analyst at Technology Business Research. "Now that public cloud computing is maturing, customers are seeking cloud on a more global level and vendors are looking to monetize this demand."
The focus on building out data centers in international locales is being fueled not only by vendors looking to out-gun each other, but also because of customer demand in these regions. In emerging markets, the economics of using cloud computing resources can be attractive for startups because it requires much less investment in upfront capital expenses.
Data privacy rules and regulations are playing a role here too though, Mirandi points out. Many countries have data privacy laws that require certain types of information to be given safe harbor within that country's domestic borders. Australia, for example, has seen investments by a handful of providers opening up data center space there, both as a launching point to service the Asia Pacific region, but also to comply with laws to store data on the island nation.
Amazon and Rackspace have specifically expanded in Australia recently, for example. Fujitsu recently signed an agreement with a university in Singapore to create a healthcare cloud in the country.
Other cloud providers are expanding their operations in European markets to serve companies operating in the countries because they may be reluctant to store sensitive information in the U.S. due to government surveillance and data peeping concerns, particularly from the USA PATRIOT Act. "Though Europe faces macroeconomic headwinds, many cloud vendors are still expanding onshore services there," Mirandi wrote in an e-mail, citing Google, Rackspace, Salesforce.com and Savvis as companies that have expanded recently in Europe.
Emerging markets in South and Latin America serve as another hot area of investment. Verizon Terremark, Google, Amazon, Fujitsu, and IBM are all developing data centers in the Latin American region, attempting to capture new businesses sprouting up in the region.
So what does all this positioning of data centers around the globe by vendors mean for end user customers? For one, providers with a broad international footprint allow customers to host data in whatever part of the world is best for them. Some companies want to store data as close to their end users as possible to reduce latency, others may be concerned about data privacy issues.
It can also be easier to share data within a certain provider's network compared to using services from multiple providers across countries.
Amazon Web Services, seen by many as the leader in the infrastructure-as-a-service market, has eight separate regions of operation, including three in the U.S., plus Ireland, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney and Sao Paulo, plus a ninth government cloud region.
Storage: The File Frontier
DCINFO readers are invited to register now for the one-day 2013 Creative Storage Conference (CSC:2013) taking place Tuesday June 25th in Culver City, CA and save $100.
CSC:2013, co-sponsored by the DCIA, offers attendees opportunities make valuable connections and to participate in the latest trends and requirements for digital storage to serve creative minds and create new and growing markets.
Six sessions spread over the day cover: Through the Looking Glass: Changing Needs and Sources for Production Storage; Digital Intermediate Storage Formats; Making the Cut: Storage Challenges and Opportunities in Post Production; Multiple Paths for Many Messages: Storage for Content Delivery; Future of Optical Storage; and Professional Entertainment and Media Users Reveal their Digital Storage Needs and Desires.
Don't miss this 7th annual conference on creative storage. Hear how major media equipment suppliers and entertainment industry customers use digital storage technology in all aspects of content creation and distribution.
Find out the role that digital storage plays in new content distribution and marketing opportunities for a rapidly evolving market. See presentations on digital storage in digital acquisition and capture, non-linear editing, compositing and special effects. Discover how to convert and preserve content digitally and protect it in long term dependable archives.
Learn about new ways to create and use metadata about content making it easier to find and use. Find out how to combine and leverage hard disk drives, flash memory and optical storage technology with new opportunities in the digital media market. Be at the juncture of digital storage and the next generation of storage for the professional media market. Meet folks who can help you further your business and your career!
Many valuable digital storage door prizes and giveaways will be offered as well.
BitTorrent Sync Is a Dropbox Killer
Excerpted from Forbes Magazine Report by Haydn Shaughnessy
A colleague recently passed on a link to BitTorrent Sync with a note saying he planned on canceling his Dropbox account. Sync is a file storage service, one for very large files. And if you have it, you, too, might be reconsidering your online file storage strategy.
On the face of it, BitTorrent is cooking up a strong challenger to all those cloud-based, consumer-centric storage solutions that are now taking over the enterprise. Box.Net, Huddle, be on your guard.
But what is BitTorrent really all about? If you're not a developer or into movie transfers you might not know. So here is a quick rundown on BitTorrent and Sync.
BitTorrent is probably best known for moving films around the Internet, though Brett Nishi, Director of Product Management, also points out that the BitTorrent protocol is used by scientists on the Human Genome Project and by those on the Large Hadron Collider, to push data around.
Based in San Francisco, CA, BitTorrent employs only 120 people, which is small when you consider that the user-base accounts for between 20 — 40% of all Internet traffic on a daily basis.
They now have 170 million monthly active users and 40 million daily active users. It makes you wonder why more of us are not talking about them.
The probable answer to that is that BitTorrent is primarily an engineering company, addressing fundamental problems of the Internet. But it is coming out of that shell, specifically with Sync. It is also offering help to build developer skills in distributed storage applications.
Sync is a file storage service built on a distributed architecture. It will do many of the things Dropbox does for you, but for free — it is currently in Alpha. This is how Nishi describes it.
It offers unlimited, secure and fast syncing. There are no file size limits and the speed of transfer is only limited by your Internet connection. With Sync, there is no need to route through the cloud which can slow things down. And because there is no cloud-based server involved, your files are also kept private and stored only on devices you choose.
Sync proved to be very popular in its opening two weeks of the open Alpha over 1 petabyte of data was synced by users. "On a daily basis we have seen that translate to roughly 70 terabytes a day," says Nishi. So does it present a threat to existing, high growth file storage companies?
We may be in the same space for some users, but BitTorrent Sync is really a very different product that is built in a very different way. We are using the power of distributed architectures to enable faster, more efficient data transfer, and have heard from a lot of users that they want better control over how their valuable data is managed. Speed, size, privacy and control are fundamental to the design and delivery of BitTorrent Sync. We think there is a market for a product that delivers on these values.
Anyone out there with media properties, or who are developing services around media production and distribution, for example in content discovery, the company also has an accelerator program to help developers take advantage of peer to peer technology. See more at the BitTorrent Acceleration program. The program opens up BitTorrent's innovation lab to new media start-ups.
Maybe Sync is not an out-and-out Dropbox killer, but it does look likely to broaden the scope of what we understand by file storage and change what customers expect from file storage services.
All that in an area of growing interest for any enterprise, as well as end-consumers.
Verizon Enters Cloud Storage Wars
Excerpted from Sci-Tech Today Report by Adam Dickter
Maybe it's time for a new reality show: Virtual Storage Wars.
Google's Drive has been vying for lead with Microsoft 's SkyDrive, taking on the industry leader, Dropbox, and other rivals such as Mozi. And now, Verizon Wireless has entered the fray with its Verizon Cloud, available as of Friday, for Apple's iOS devices and select Android-based smart-phones.
According to the nation's top carrier, Verizon Cloud promises to keep your digital lives connected, even when real life has you on the go. Verizon says its new secure storage service is designed to sync and save important photos, videos, contacts, music, call logs and even text message.
Verizon Cloud is available free from Apple's App Store as well as Google Play for tablets and smart-phones. A desktop app can be downloaded from VerizonWireless.com.
Compatible mobile devices include Samsung's brand spanking new Galaxy S IV, the HTC Thunderbolt, and three models of Motorola's Droid, as well as three Samsung and two Motorola tablets. Apple phones must run iOS 5 or later, but no iPad support yet. If you're a Verizon subscriber, you get 500 megabytes of free cloud storage, or 25 gigabytes for $2.99 a month, 75 GB for $5.99 per or 125 GB for $9.99 per month. Data charges may also apply for using the Cloud.
Wait a minute...500 megabytes free? Apple's iCloud and Amazon 's Cloud Drive all start with 5 GB gratis, while SkyDrive gives away 7 GB. Dropbox starts charging customers after 2 GB. Earlier this month, Google went nuts and upped its free storage capacity from 5 GB to 15 GB. All that makes Verizon's giveaway look pretty chintzy.
Of course, users don't have to choose between these services and can distribute their photos, documents and other data between all of them. So why pay $2.99 for 25 GB if you can use Google's 15 GB plus an Apple and Amazon account for free?
Making money from storage is likely secondary to these companies in comparison with their primary purpose of keeping customers attached to and engaged in their ecosystem. Apple's iCloud, for example, is a great place to keep all the songs, TV shows and movies customers download from iTunes, and freedom from the limitations of a device 's internal drive encourages more buying.
"Cloud Storage Locker wars have already begun with platform vendors like Google, Microsoft and services like Box, and Dropbox competing at GB levels," said wireless analyst Neil Shah of Current Analysis.
"Now, operators are also upgrading and rebranding their existing 'backup assistant' solutions as 'Cloud' solutions to attract existing loyal subscribers. They are banking on the years of built trust to compete in this space against [a company] like Google which might be perceived to be less privacy friendly."
He added that Verizon's advantage is in allowing its Cloud to store not only media but also text, multimedia messages, call logs and contacts.
"However, Verizon is still offering just 500 megabytes free, compared with the competition, which could make it less attractive," Shah said.
Megafon and Telefonica Jointly Develop Cloud Services
Excerpted from Business Cloud News Report by Mike Hibberd
Megafon and Telefonica are set to co-develop new cloud services.
Russian telecom operator MegaFon has become the latest carrier to join Spanish carrier Telefonica's partnership program, which aims to pool resource, know-how, and purchasing power across an international roster of telcos.
As part of their collaboration, Telefonica said the two firms could look to jointly develop enterprise cloud and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications solutions.
The deal will also see Telefonica extend the range of its international enterprise offering to Russia, with Megafon's enterprise base given access to services across the Spanish incumbent's footprint.
Telefonica's partnership program includes telcos with which the firm has equity relationships, like China Mobile and Telecom Italia, as well as non-related players including Bouygues, KPN, and Telenor. The Spanish player said that the program now has reach into 52 countries and a combined customer headcount of 1.5 billion.
Eduardo Navarro, Telefonica Group's Chief Strategy and Alliances Officer, said, "We are committed to jointly work to take advantage of our outstanding strategic alignment and to make available the benefits of Telefonica's scale and breadth of business through the Telefonica Partners Program, as well as to tackle together the challenges the industry transition is posing to operators worldwide."
Huawei Showcases Convergent Communication Technology
Excerpted from AllAfrica Report
Huawei Technologies today completed a 2 weeks demo of its latest convergent communications solutions for its Carrier Network, Consumer Devices, and Enterprise solutions. Kenya will be the 4th country in Africa to host the demo truck after South Africa, Angola, and Tanzania.
During the two week demo, Huawei exhibited its E2E Solutions based on convergence, including convergent wireless solution (SingleRAN) , Smart Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) bearer network, the SingleFAN solution, Video Conference Solution, Huawei Distribute Cloud Data Center Solution, Huawei Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) , smart-phones and tablets, among others.
Commenting on the ICT demo, Huawei Technologies CEO for Kenya Wind Li said, "Mobile broadband has redefined the way we communicate and live. With new and innovative business models emerging, mobile broadband presents the telecom industry with significant challenges and opportunities," he said. He added that Huawei has developed the value growth solution that will see local operators benefiting significantly from Mobile Broadband (MBB) and its offerings.
According to the 2012 Broadband Commission's Report on "The State of Broadband 2012: Achieving Digital Inclusion for All", there is today growing evidence that broadband is making a tangible difference in the lives of people around the world and accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The World Bank estimates that a 10 percent increase in national broadband penetration in developing countries, results in 1.38 percent in gross domestic product growth. Huawei is already working with countries in Africa to support their national broadband networks and help to pioneer broadband connectivity such us South Africa, Angola, Zambia, Kenya, among others.
Code of Conduct to be Developed for Cloud Consumers
Excerpted from World News International Report by Helen Hull
Industry will play a lead role in creating a Cloud Consumer Protocol which will give consumers straight forward and clear guidance on what to expect from cloud providers, according to a national strategy released today by the Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy.
The National Cloud Computing Strategy was launched by Minister Stephen Conroy at the CEBIT 2013 technology show in Sydney.
Developed by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) in partnership with National Standing Committee on Cloud Computing (NSCCC), the Australian Computer Society and other stakeholders, the Strategy will, amongst other things, see the development of a voluntary Cloud Consumer Protocol.
NSCCC Deputy Chair Lisa Middlebrook said the need for a Cloud Consumer Protocol was first recognized by the NSCCC, and was being developed by the Australian Computer Society in consultation with NSCCC members. A Cloud Consumer Protocol would encourage information disclosure by cloud providers to support and protect consumers of cloud services.
"The protocol will be developed by the end of 2013 with a review in 18 months' time.
"The development of a Cloud Consumer Protocol will allow cloud providers to agree on a range of consumer focused measures, such as interoperability, ownership of data, as well as accurate and easy to-understand pricing.
"By developing this protocol we will ensure consumers are provided with objective information, to enable them to make better decisions about which cloud services meet their needs.
"It is great that government and industry are making a commitment to helping the not-for-profit sector to adopt cloud services. This is a sector which will see dramatic benefits from cloud services and everyone involved in the committee is working to ensure this happens,"Middlebrook said.
As part of the strategy the DBCDE will continue working with the NSCCC to develop a cloud regulatory stock take by the end of 2013.
"The stock take will play a key part in determining how Cloud Computing shortcomings will be identified, the types of failure that will trigger a government response and the regulatory action which would be considered by government," Middlebrook said.
Encryption Can Make Cloud Computing Safer
Excerpted from USA Today Report by Bill Hackenberger
There is a common misperception about cloud computing. It's the belief that your information in the cloud is cared for by your cloud service provider, no worries.
News flash — your data in the cloud is your responsibility, no matter what the cloud provider does or says. If a data breach occurs, you will bear all of the consequences, positive and negative.
It's not just hackers who are the problem. We're human, and humans make mistakes. Amazon's cloud storage customers recently learned this painful truth when a security testing firm discovered more than 126 billion data files had been exposed because users were unclear about privacy settings.
Another challenge is that in order to provide fast service and scalability, cloud service providers typically run highly virtualized environments. This means that your data could be sitting on the same physical hardware as your neighbors — or your company's competitors. If someone gets in, they could get everything.
It's also likely that there's more than one copy, as providers replicate to ensure data availability. This begs the question of how do you get your data back (or at least delete it), should you want to leave your provider?
But, it isn't all doom and gloom. There are options and best practices to protect your data in this new land of promise and peril. Encryption provides a strong line of defense between unwanted parties and your information.
Think of encryption as turning data into something unintelligible, like Klingon poetry.Encryption renders data in the cloud unreadable to anyone who doesn't have access to the encryption keys that unlock the content, making the data available only to the people and applications entitled to access it. Who owns the keys, where the keys are stored, and how those keys are protected are critical to the security of your data.
Encryption technologies exist that are optimized to work in the cloud. If data privacy is important to you, make sure your cloud provider gives you control over the keys so only you have access. The good service providers are already taking steps to improve data privacy. If your service provider doesn't have an answer, find another provider.
It is possible to protect your data in the cloud. You just need to make sure that out of sight does not mean out of mind.
Cloud Is All About Simplicity
Excerpted from Sys-Con Media Report by Elizabeth White
"For organizations just getting started, the move to cloud is about rapidly turning on IT infrastructure," said Nicos Vekiarides, CEO & Co-Founder of TwinStrata, in this exclusive Q&A with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan. "For mature organizations where IT has started to become unwieldy," Vekiarides continued, "it is about cost and administrative savings."
Cloud Computing Journal: The move to cloud isn't about saving money, it is about saving time - agree or disagree?
Nicos Vekiarides: I would say that it is a combination of both.
Ramp-up time is a very important consideration for organizations deciding whether to deploy IT infrastructure locally or in the cloud. Saving time is particularly compelling for organizations in the midst of new "green field" deployments, where data center space needs to be built out. Without the need to purchase and deploy any infrastructure, cloud reduces the ramp-up cycle dramatically.
Aside from time, cost is still a factor for organizations determining whether to keep existing infrastructure on-premise or move it to the cloud. Naturally, there is a business case for moving away from traditional infrastructure and typically capital and administrative costs are a major consideration.
A great example is cloud-based disaster recovery, where businesses traditionally spend money on redundant infrastructure that is underutilized and very expensive. Providing that infrastructure on-demand, instead of as a dedicated recurring cost, carries a huge value proposition.
Cloud Computing Journal: How should organizations tackle their regulatory and compliance concerns in the cloud? Who should they be asking/trusting for advice?
Vekiarides: No longer as controversial as it once was, a secure and compliant environment in the cloud is neither impossible nor difficult. Moreover, consider that cloud can help businesses achieve compliance with regulatory requirements. Going back to the example of disaster recovery, regulations such as HIPAA mandate a disaster plan, which may be unattainable for some mid-size businesses without a cloud-based strategy.
While traditional resellers have often been a fountain of advice for IT organizations, seeking alternative approaches from integrators that specialize in cloud technology is a very prudent idea. Organizations should be wary of vendors selling traditional IT solutions who ignore the existence of cloud solutions.
Often, a great source of advice is peer organizations that have achieved their compliance and regulatory objectives using the cloud - good old fashioned word of mouth.
Cloud Computing Journal: What does the emergence of Open Source clouds mean for the cloud ecosystem? How does the existence of OpenStack, CloudStack, OpenNebula, Eucalyptus and so on affect your own company?
Vekiarides: Open Source is always a boon for IT organizations, particularly those seeking a DIY approach to cloud economics and scale using private clouds. Open Source enables these organizations to build a cloud themselves and achieve a level of operational efficiencies approaching that of cloud providers for larger deployments.
In the public cloud, many cloud providers have embraced Open Source as a way to rapidly deploy a robust cloud infrastructure supported by thousands of developers and organizations around the world. In this case, Open Source is transparent to the end user, but effectively reduces software costs while providing a consistently growing base of functionality.
As Linux has proven, Open Source can quickly become a very stable and highly functional alternative to commercial software once it has garnered a sufficient base of industry support. So what are the potential pitfalls? Open Source that has not received strong industry support or is still immature can sometimes lead to unexpected results for those looking for production quality software.
From our perspective, we support both Open Source and commercial cloud offerings alike and encourage customers to find the right solution for their needs.
Cloud Computing Journal: With SMBs, the two primary challenges they face moving to the cloud are always stated as being cost and trust: where is the industry on satisfying SMBs on both points simultaneously - further along than in 2011-12, or...?
Vekiarides: Recent price drops and price wars in cloud services in 2012 and into 2013 have validated the benefit of a pay-as-you-go model where unit costs drop over time. With declining pricing, we have seen TCO models steadily reach the point where cloud infrastructure can save considerable cost over traditional infrastructure - and the cost story continues to improve over time.
In terms of trust, many large enterprises and even government organizations, such as the CIA, have begun to embrace cloud services, legitimizing the fact that security trust concerns are indeed being addressed for enterprises and SMBs alike. We see many SMBs moving to cloud simply to stay competitive, now that many cost/trust issues have been addressed.
Cloud Computing Journal: 2013 seems to be turning into a breakthrough year for Big Data. How much does the success of cloud computing have to do with that?
Vekiarides: Very much. Today's SAN/NAS storage environments simply cannot scale and keep up with Big Data needs. At the same time, on-premise compute environments cannot scale to the extent of cloud compute either.
The ability for organizations to deal effectively with Big Data has no doubt been aided by the availability of a limitless resource pool of cloud computing and cloud storage. Keeping near unlimited amounts of storage online simply has not been possible prior to scalable cloud storage - at the same time, on-demand cloud compute allow organizations to monetize their data without further investment in dedicated server infrastructure.
Cloud Computing Journal: What about the role of social: aside from the acronym itself SMAC (for Social, Mobile, Analytics, Cloud) are you seeing and/or anticipating major traction in this area?
Vekiarides: Social media continues to drive data growth, generating a lot of high-value data that is not easily accessible for businesses to harness. By its nature, this data demands sophisticated analytics - and for many small to mid-size companies, an on-demand environment that is cost-effective. Rather than seeing this as a core part of our business, we see it as a major indicator of the shift to cloud.
Cloud Computing Journal: To finish, just as real estate is always said to be about "location, location, location", what one word, repeated three times, would you say Cloud Computing is all about?
Vekiarides: Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity. Cloud is all about simplicity. For organizations just getting started, the move to cloud is about rapidly turning on IT infrastructure. For mature organizations where IT has started to become unwieldy, it is about cost and administrative savings.
Speed and seamlessness seal the deal in the both cases. In the case of mature organizations, replacing technology without having to change the people and processes is key. This is where software solutions that ease the on-ramp to cloud services come in and offer tremendous value.
Simplicity enables time-to-value to be measured in minutes and hours instead of days and weeks, making cloud a viable and better alternative to traditional IT.
Evolving the Cloud
Excerpted from Sys-Con Media Report by Doug Bonderud
Although often misunderstood, cloud computing ultimately relies on the same technological underpinnings as traditional server and storage options. While software, platforms and even infrastructure are farmed out to third-party providers, their ability to operate efficiently is constrained by the same physical laws as those which govern local server stacks.
IT professionals and service providers, therefore, both have a vested interest in making the best use of the physical hardware available — and that means thinking outside the power box.
One of the most-touted benefits of cloud computing is reduced cost. By offloading server management to a public or hybrid providers, admins can save themselves the price of hardware upgrades, and bypass the costs of local energy.
This can result in a significant savings over time, but represents only a transfer of responsibilities, rather than a re-imagining — the price of running multiple servers still exists; it is simply split between multiple users.
For IT professionals, defrayed operating expenditures (OpEx) which offset the need for regular capital expenditures (CapEx) are often worth it, since they eliminate the need for server migrations and lower the possibility of legacy system conflicts.
For cloud providers, however — or admins who choose private cloud alternatives — this isn't enough. Fortunately, an environmental evolution is at hand.
One of the largest costs associated with any server stack is cooling. Hot systems run slowly, hot systems fail — in some cases, hot systems self-destruct. As a result, companies pay unseemly amounts of money to cool their servers, often using a combination of chilled water and cold air.
Steve Hammond, Director of the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), says this process is "like putting your beverage on your kitchen table and then going outside to turn up the air-conditioner to get your drink cold."
In other words, if you want to maximize energy efficiency, this is not a good choice.
There are several tech evolutions currently underway to help address this cooling challenge. First are large data centers in locations with naturally low (but not freezing) temperatures, significantly reducing the need to add-on system cooling.
Dublin, Ireland, for example, is a popular option, since its average temperature is low enough that companies can use fresh air to cool servers for free; recent research demonstrates that air cooling - even at temperatures above what you'd find in a meat locker — has a minimal impact on hardware failures.
NREL is also working on a way to cool their massive server stack using water, but not the typically chilled variety. Instead, the lab is going to pipe in water at 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which will increase to a balmy 100 degrees by the time it leaves the system.
Not only will the plan help cool NERL's servers, but the energy transferred will be used to heat nearby offices. Ultimately, the lab could save upwards of $800,000 annually by using lukewarm water to cool their system.
Cloud computing leverages natural technology interconnections to excel; companies are now seeking the same kind of existent environmental advantages.
Internet Association Hits Back
Excerpted from Techdirt Report by Mike Masnick
On Friday, we wrote about how the RIAA has already started pitching the terrible idea that we should do away with the important DMCA safe harbors, which make sure that liability for infringement is properly applied to those actually infringing, rather than tools and services.
The RIAA, however, thinks that it should be everyone else's responsibility to prop-up their increasingly obsolete business model, so they want to do away with the safe harbors and make every Internet service liable if anyone uses their service for infringement.
Of course, what this would do is stifle innovation broadly, because companies would avoid any kind of user-generated services, because the liability would be super high.
Sure, some of the big players would stick around, because they've got enough money and lawyers, but new start-ups would be few and far between. Thankfully, some are already pushing back against the RIAA's crazy desires, and the Internet Association has pointed out that this move by the RIAA highlights the industry's real end goal with SOPA: to make the Internet responsible for propping up their business model.
"The DMCA provides a framework that appropriately balances the interests of copyright owners with the rights of users and the development of new and innovative products and services. The RIAA's statement that it wants to change the DMCA lends support to those who suspected that SOPA's stated objective of targeting offshore websites was really a stalking horse to achieve the RIAA's true objective — to amend the DMCA by having Internet companies police user activities," Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman said.
"Congress should reject the RIAA's invitation to amend the DMCA."
Of course, a reasonable argument could be made that the DMCA's safe harbors are already too far tilted towards copyright holders, considering the number of bogus takedowns we talk about regularly.
A much more reasonable approach would be a true notice system, in which those accused of infringement would be given an opportunity to respond to a takedown notice before the content itself is taken down. That simple change would help prevent the all too common case of the DMCA being used for censorship.
Separately, the RIAA's end-goal goes way beyond just making Internet companies police user activities.
They want nothing less than to have the Internet re-crafted in their own image, protecting an obsolete business model while limiting any competition and disruption they don't like.
Coming Events of Interest
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.
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