CLOUD COMPUTING — 2nd Quarter 2014

PanTerra Networks - SmartBox - Simple, Secure Cloud File Sharing with Built-in Unified Communications Features

PanTerra Networks is probably the most innovative unified communications and file sharing cloud-based service provider you've never heard of, until now. TMC Labs was somewhat familiar with PanTerra Networks, but even we were surprised by the sheer number of UC and Read More >>>



Feature Articles

Why Google and Apple Should Fear the new Microsoft
In decades of covering Microsoft, I don't recall the company enjoying so much positive press at one time. They are literally transforming before our eyes. Here's how:

Challenges of Assuring User Service Quality in the Cloud
With seemingly "E"verything moving to the cloud, a significant amount of attention has been paid to what can and should be moved, when, where, why, how and by whom. However, not much has been written about the challenges associated with the actual user experience posed by moving information and apps from a dedicated resource to a shared one. After all, many of the benefits of cloud from scalability to availability to cost savings are rooted in increased sharing. However, with sharing comes the potential for service degradation caused by latency, packet loss, jitter and a host of other issues.

The New World of PaaS
As with any emerging technology, cloud computing has taken on multiple identities, in terms of usage, implementation, and uses as time passes. From the generic concept of cloud computing, we've now reached what can best be described as an Anything-as-a-Service world, where nearly any traditionally locally deployed technology can be delivered through public and/or private clouds. Security, DR, Storage, Communications, Testing, and nearly any software package businesses require is readily accessible through cloud services. But, at the heart of all of these lie IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) and PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service), when enable the agility and flexibility cloud "business" boasts.

Scale-Out Virtual Environments and the Future of Storage Infrastructure
International research firm IDC recently found that more than 50 percent of all server workloads today are implemented in a virtual machine (VM). Due to the capabilities of virtualization technologies, there has been a clear paradigm shift in data center infrastructure and management. Virtualization has become a mainstream technology used by data centers and service providers alike.

Managing Migration to the Cloud
A recent study featured in ComputerWeekly, found that more than 40 percent of IT professionals surveyed confirmed that their company's operational efficiency improved after moving to a cloud environment.

COLUMNS

Silver Linings

Cloud Innovation - A Whole New World
Over the past few years, we've witnessed an evolution in technology that has transformed the way we live and work. Cloud computing has driven incredible efficiency in the business world and has allowed businesses to merge into a highly mobile and flexible era. Indeed, there are few applications and services in either the business or consumer world that aren't touched by cloud in some capacity.

Programmable Cloud

Cloudy SDN
Even though Cloud is older, technologically, than SDN, there still remains many misconceptions regarding what, exactly, a cloud comprises. Cloud is, at its core, about the abstraction of resources that can be provisioned and managed programmatically. Whether we're talking IaaS or PaaS or even SaaS, Cloud requires the use of software-defined techniques to achieve the agility and cost-savings attributed to it.

The Future of Cloud

The Cloud Ecosystem Journey
"It's all about the ecosystem. There is a lot of innovation to come."

Cloud Compliance

Personal Information in the Cloud, is it Secure?
In today's economy, we all shop online and use credit cards to some extent. Do you ever wonder what happens with your personal data after you hand it over? How do the vendors entrusted with this information protect it? What is done to keep financial data secure? How about medical information? Given several recent newsworthy security breaches, consumers ponder where all their personal information is processed and stored - and how safe it is.

Cloud Storage

Cloud Storage as We Know It Has an Expiration Date
Ten years after the birth of the cloud, Box, Dropbox and other early cloud-based platforms are starting to reap the rewards of their efforts. Box just filed for its IPO and looks poised to take on the enterprise giants of the Fortune 500, while Dropbox is basking in a $10 billion valuation.

Cloud Infrastructure

Three Tips for Evaluating and Deploying IaaS for High-Performance Apps
As organizations become increasingly comfortable with putting business-critical apps in the cloud, many - particularly Internet-centric startups - have completely bypassed making in-house infrastructure investments.

Open Source Cloud

Consuming OpenStack: Two Choices for Enterprise Success
Organizations that have been successful with OpenStack in production are those that possess significant technical sophistication. Service providers, like Comcast and Rackspace, and carriers, like AT&T, are great examples.

Cloud Management

Managing Hybrid Cloud
As we enter more deeply into 2014, we should look more closely at the compelling argument for extending applications into the cloud/hybrid cloud to address the need for fast, flexible capacity. According to comScore, $42.8 billion was spent online from desktop devices; an increase of 10 percent compared to a year ago - a clear example of Web-based systems temporarily needing extra capacity, while having the same needs for security and control.

View from the Cloud

CSPs Need to Offer Bundles of Traditional and Cloud Services
Conventional wisdom has been that small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are the "low hanging fruit" for cloud services. In fact, the market has validated this. However, an interesting question has been whether or not SMBs would be willing to use their existing communications service provider (CSP) for some combination of traditional and cloud services.

IN EVERY ISSUE

View From the Cloud
By Peter Bernstein

Publisher's Outlook
By Rich Tehrani

Silver Linings
By Erik Linask