Latest News from Linux

Dell Confirms Exanet Bid

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:15:00 EST

Dell confirmed that it’s trying to buy the gone-bust Israeli clustered NAS start-up Exanet after Israel’s Globes news site said Monday that the deal was in the bag. There is also speculation that Dell might start selling EMC’s recently acquired Data Domain deduplication widgetry, the stuff it snatched away from NetApp last year. Dell has sold EMC’s Clariion arrays for years.

Migrate to Google Docs and Consolidate Your Storage

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:45:00 EST

In the IT departments of many companies around the world, data volume is growing exponentially. Every day, companies gather more and more data to meet business and regulatory requirements. This challenge is often met with the purchase of more and more servers with more and more disks. This creates a data management nightmare which is not only unwieldy but expensive. It is also unsustainable. Fortunately, there are solutions in the cloud. With the introduction of support for any file type in Google Storage, it is now possible to satisfy the storage needs of your IT department with Google Storage. Sounds good, but it introduces another problem: it may not be so easy to upload your existing data which may be stored on FTP servers, WebDav servers, and a variety of other file servers. There may even be data stored in other cloud storage services that may be cheaper to house in Google Storage given its industry leading low cost of $.25 per gigabyte per year.

If You Know C#, You Know Windows Azure Storage

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:45:00 EST

I have been using Gladinet Cloud Desktop to manage files on the Azure Blob Storage for a while now. It has a drive letter, accessible from Windows Explorer and it works just like another network drive on my PC. However, just like when you are driving a car on a daily basis but sometimes still curious about what is under the hood and check the oil level on weekends, I am curious about how Azure Storage works.

Linux Foundation Announces 2010 "We're Linux" Video Contest

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST

The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced the 2010 "We're Linux" video contest. The contest seeks to find the best user-generated videos that demonstrate what Linux means to those who use it and inspire others to try it.

No Plans for Sun to Build Compute Cloud Like EC2

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:30:00 EST

Edward Screven, Oracle's chief corporate architect, mentioned that Oracle would not be offering Sun's long-planned and highly-vaunted compute resource service. They will just play the role of supplier to components and pieces that can be used in cloud services; From the beginning Larry Ellison hates Cloud, and it looks that this will be applied for Sun as well after the complete acquisition done recently ...

Cloud Computing: What It Is and What It’s Not

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:30:00 EST

Cloud computing is a concept. It is an architectural framework by which one or many organizations can deploy, manage and retract any workload, public or private. Cloud computing addresses business needs from a workload perspective. The concept collectively addresses all the aspects of modern computing from components (SAN, network, servers, software) to implementations (virtual desktops, hosted applications, e-mail, etc.) in a comprehensive, cohesive solution.

Is WebSphere CloudBurst Right for You?

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:45:00 EST

Trying to pick apart a particular IT solution to figure out if it is right for you and your business can be a daunting task. Trying to do that for solutions in emerging spaces, like cloud computing, can seem even more difficult to the point of looking almost impossible. Case in point, at most of my WebSphere CloudBurst sessions someone (usually multiple people) always asks how they can determine if this particular product is right for them. It’s a good and fair question, and one that I usually answer by asking a few questions of my own.

Final Barrier to Trial over Unix Ownership Falls

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:15:00 EST

There are no more obstacles standing in the way of the Linux-freighted trial over who the heck owns Unix. The new judge, Ted Stewart, who’s presiding over the SCO vs Novell case shot the pins out from under Novell’s motion to rehear its claims to the tens of millions of dollars SCO got in royalties from Sun and Microsoft.

NZ Post to Try Linux Desktop

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:45:00 EST

The New Zealand Post is one of three government agencies looking to rip out their Windows desktops and replace them with Linux and open source applications. A tiny four-desk proof-of-concept of the Linux scheme is reportedly set to start in February and run for two months followed by a broader 40-user pilot.

iPad New Media Topic Launched on Ulitzer

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST

Ulitzer.com, the first revolutionary "new media" platform in the world, announced today that a new Ulitzer topic site, Apple Tablet (http://tablet.ulitzer.com), was launched today to provide the most comprehensive breaking news and blog coverage of Apple Tablet. Launch time authors and contributors to the new Ulitzer topic include: Maureen O'Gara, Bob Gourley, Salvatore Genovese, Wilson Kerr, Brandon Watson, Aditya Banerjee, Scott McKain, Bryan O'Rourke, Charles Jolley, Jeremy Geelan, Yeshim Deniz, and Elizabeth White.

My Thoughts on the Apple iPad

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

The Apple iTablet or iSlate is due to be shown off to the world January 27th, and unleashed on us sometime in March. The blogosphere has been buzzing about the topic. Joe Wilcox of BetaNews.com said “The world doesn’t need an Apple Tablet, or any other” (full post here). MG of TechCrunch followed up with [...] Related posts:

Oracle Delivers Integrated Business Planning

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST

To improve operational alignment and financial performance, Oracle has announced the integration of Oracle Hyperion Planning and Oracle's Demantra Real-Time Sales and Operations Planning. Linking Hyperion Planning and Oracle's Demantra Sales and Operations Planning gives CFOs and supply chain executives a direct path to evolve from a disconnected enterprise and operational planning environment to integrated business planning.

Good Fences Between Apps and OS Make Good Neighbors in the Cloud

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:15:00 EST

Did you ever have the invisible dream? I don’t like it. It’s the one where I have “the answer” to a big problem (usually involving giant, malevolent aliens) but everyone walks right past me because I’m invisible. I had that feeling yesterday reading James Urquhart’s blog titled, “Application packaging for cloud computing: A proposal”. He'd written a series of posts considering deployment and operations in infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) environments. Looking at the impact of cloud computing on the use of virtual machines and operating systems, Urquhart wrote, "The very heart and soul of software systems design is being challenged by the decoupling of infrastructure architectures from the software architectures that run on them."

NaviSite Announces Hosted Lotus Services Powered by NaviCloud

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:45:00 EST

NaviSite, a provider of cloud-enabled, enterprise-class hosting, managed applications and services, on Monday announced Hosted Lotus Services powered by NaviCloud. The solutions include Hosted Lotus Notes and Domino, Lotus Sametime, Lotus Quickr and Lotus Connections. Managing an IBM Lotus email and collaboration environment can be challenging -- particularly in light of growing cost pressures, security threats, limited resources, and user demand for reliable, anytime-anywhere access to data. NaviSite Hosted Lotus Services answers these challenges by giving organizations on demand access to the latest Lotus software for predictable monthly fees and without up-front capital expenditures. Organizations can save up to 47% over in-house solutions without the risk of obsolescence, and end users gain access to the full functionality of the latest IBM Lotus clients with improved security and reliability.

Tip of the Red Hat - Entrust Updates PKI Platform, Adds Linux Support

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:00:00 EST

Building on the continued success of the public key infrastructure (PKI) platform, Entrust is advancing the technology to bring it to new markets. With the introduction of Entrust Authority Security Manager 8.0, Entrust customers can implement one of the most trusted PKI security solutions available on the cost-effective Linux Red Hat platform. This release introduces Entrust to the open-source platform market and expands the potential overall installation base for the PKI solution.

GoGrid Cloud Computing Achievements of 2009

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:15:00 EST

Sometimes it is important to reflect back on activities and achievements of the past year in order to focus on the road ahead. 2009 was a year full of “firsts” and exciting announcements for GoGrid and I thought that I would quickly summarize and highlight a some blog posts of interest. I have personally enjoyed documenting our achievements, analyzing trends, reviewing opportunities, showcasing new clients and partners as well as musing about Cloud Computing in general. Much of the writing on the GoGrid blog during 2009 was my own, however, the people who have helped provide me inspiration are countless, ranging from those within GoGrid to others creating the cloud community at large.

Lenovo Admits AMD, Fields Smartbook

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:45:00 EST

Lenovo, which has been feeling kinda lonesome sales-wise – well, the Chinese company sells mostly to business in the West, and business hasn’t been buying lately – has not only allowed AMD chips into the vaunted ThinkPad line it inherited from IBM for the first time this week, it’s also chasing this newfangled, consumer-courting, netbook-alternative – the so-called smartbook, a potential marketing mirage.

WaveMaker Finds Pot of Gold On Top of Cloud

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:30:00 EST

WaveMaker started 2009 staring into the abyss and ended the year on top of the clouds - funny how things work out in the startup world. During the year, WaveMaker doubled annual revenues and achieved profitability while also increasing quarterly sales by over 53%. The biggest momentum driver came from the success of our Cloud Quick Start Partnership with IBM, Amazon and RightScale. We also started seeing significant sell-through from SaaS ISVs and systems integration partners.

Intel to Present at World's Largest Cloud Computing Event

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:45:00 EST

Cloud computing allows companies to perform feats of computation that would otherwise have been impossible, or at least prohibitively expensive. In his session at the 5th Cloud Computing Conference & Expo, Charlton Barreto, Principal Architect at Intel, will discuss how cloud computing has generally lacked the security features typically required by small and medium-sized enterprises. Likewise, in using public clouds, IT cedes control over key security parameters to the service provider.

Ulitzer to Announce "Most Influential Bloggers of 2010"

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:45:00 EST

Ulitzer is the first new-media platform in the world that revolutionizes how we will create, deliver, and consume content on the Web. "Ulitzer Live! New-Media Conference & Expo" will debut on June 14, 2010, in New York City and a world-class Ulitzer faculty will analyze the new-media revolution, including content marketing strategies, social CRM, enterprise social media, personal branding, advertising, marketing and public relations on new-media and other emerging topics of the new-media revolution. Ulitzer Live! 2010 West event will take place on December 6, 2010, in San Jose, California. The call for papers for both events are now open.

Dell and Infobird Build Target Cloud Computing

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:15:00 EST

To keep this momentum, Dell has now signed the deal with InfoBird, the China-based "cloud management" system provider. Infobird has successfully launched Qitongbao, a market-tested application of cloud computing used for contact center operations. The many new innovative functions of Qitongbao, such as call center operations, customer management and sales management, can help companies avoid missing any single sales opportunity, improve conversion rate of potential customers, monitor the quality of service in real-time, and manage advertisement effectiveness. Overall, this has unleashed the full potential of cloud computing.

Enterprise Cloud Computing Utilities

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:00:00 EST

Today’s CIO organizations face a complex array of challenges in managing the Business Platform (the group of applications and services that implement the Business Value Chain (BVC)). The business expects technology innovation as a business differentiator, demands application portfolio stability, requires change requests to be handled promptly, experiences growth rates that are often unpredictable and exponential, and exerts continuous pressure to reduce product time to market. Complicating this, these challenges are being made to IT with reduced investment support from the business. At the same time, the very business model of IT is changing—how applications, content, information, and infrastructure are delivered.

Centrify Awarded Patent in Identity Management of UNIX and Linux Systems

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST

Centrify Corporation, a provider of Microsoft Active Directory-based identity and access management and auditing solutions for non-Microsoft platforms, today announced it has been awarded patent #7,591,005 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patented technology facilitates the capability for UNIX and Linux service accounts and root accounts to be authenticated within a centralized directory.

Development of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS to Incorporate Major Changes

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:15:00 EST

The Ubuntu team has decided to take a different approach to development for the next Long Term Support (LTS) release of Ubuntu. Lucid Lynx, which is slated for an April 2010 release, will benefit from these changes through increased stability, more focused agile development and a tighter synchronization with the main Debian development cycle. According [...]

Symplified to Exhibit at Cloud Expo 2010

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:45:00 EST

SYS-CON Events announced today that Symplified, the Cloud Security Experts, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 5th International Cloud Expo (www.CloudComputingExpo.com), which will take place on April 19-21, 2010, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Symplified is the first of the next generation of identity and access management solutions that is delivered as a fully managed service.

Is the iPhone Now Enterprise Ready with Citrix Receiver 2.0?

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:00:00 EST

If you run an IT shop today you probably fall into one of two categories: A. You already allow employee access from an iPhone (supported or not) or B. You are constantly barraged with employee requests to allow iPhone access (and the employee might be your boss or the CEO). If you are in camp A and already allow email access you may also be frequently scanning the net for the latest iPhone vulnerability and perhaps training employees on the use of Passcode Lock and Auto-Lock features. You are also probably getting requests for access to more company apps and data beyond just email.

Paragon NTFS for Linux to Support Netgear’s Open Source Router

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST

Storage solutions manufacturer Paragon Software Group says it now supports the RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit opensource router from Netgear. Paragon NTFS for Linux will provide complete access to a Windows hard drive attached to NETGEAR's WNR3500L open source router allowing all PCs, clients and servers on the network, running Windows, Mac or Linux to access and share files to and from the drive via the WNR3500L router.

Quest Software Delivers Update to Virtual Desktop Management Platform

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

Quest Software today announced the availability of the newest version of Quest vWorkspace, a desktop virtualization solution for simplifying the provisioning, management and use of virtual desktops. In addition to its support of the VMware platform, vWorkspace also now supports VMware Linked Clones, which reduce shared storage disk space requirements. Other new features enhance the end-user experience and expand desktop platform choices. vWorkspace manages, provisions and brokers connections, transforming the desktop infrastructure into an on-demand service with optimized user experience for LAN and WAN.

Paragon to Support WNR3500L Router

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST

In keeping with its commitment to enable seamless communication between operating systems, Paragon Software Group (PSG), the technology leader in storage management solutions, today announced support for the new RangeMax(TM) Wireless-N Gigabit Router with USB (WNR3500L) from NETGEAR®, a worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions. Paragon NTFS for Linux will provide full access to a Windows (NTFS-formatted) hard drive attached to NETGEAR's WNR3500L open source router -- enabling all clients and servers, regardless of their operating system, to access and share files to and from the drive via the WNR3500L router.

Economy Drives Adoption of Virtual Lab Technology

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

Everyone wants to lower their capital expenditures and increase operational efficiency - it's a sign of the times. The economy of the past 12 - 18 months has forced all organizations to do more with less and become more efficient. While everyone can identify with the request to do more with less, they can also identify with the overwhelming need to deliver quality. The need to deliver quality is an age-old adage and has many interpretations as to what "quality" actually means. This argument is likely to rage on in perpetuity at an academic level.

MySQL Marks a Milestone

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:45:00 EST

The MySQL developer community has announced "a Milestone release", 5.5.0 of the popular open source, relational database software. The release it says are of beta quality but leaves scope for more frequent subsets releases of tested functionality akin to JBoss and OpenSuse who follow a similar release model. Users are encouraged to test the MySQL Server 5.5.0-m2, code-named "Betony" but are also cautioned that MySQL Server 5.5-M2 isn't production ready yet .

Ubuntu Executive Leadership Shifts Focus to Enterprise Customers

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:15:00 EST

As Ubuntu seeks to become the “open platform of choice for almost all use types whether on netbook, notebook, desktop, server, embedded device or wherever people compute,” Mark Shuttleworth has decided to step down from the perch of Canonical CEO. Replacing him will be current Canonical COO Jane Silber. Mark has decided to focus more on his “passion of product design and development.” Jane Silber, a former VP at General Dynamics, has much experience in dealing with very large customers. This means that Canonical will be leveraging Jane’s experience in this market to woo the largest of customers.

Canonical’s Executive Suite to Change

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:15:00 EST

Canonical founder, sugar daddy and CEO Mark Shuttleworth will be stepping down in March to let his number two COO Jane Silber have a go at running the joint, giving it a more commercial focus, maybe even making it profitable. Canonical will hire a COO to replace Silber as well as someone to replace her as head of the company’s Ubuntu One cloud storage service.

Virtualization and Cloud Computing in 2010

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST

IT organizations are bracing to meet higher service level expectations brought on by virtualization and cloud computing initiatives in 2010 without the looming threat of budget and staffing cuts that marked 2009, according to a Stratus Technologies/ITIC survey. The survey of 250 IT professionals in 14 countries confirmed that more IT organizations are over-extended, with smaller staffs working longer hours to compensate for fewer workers and ever-expanding responsibilities.

Cloud Computing Growing Pains in 2010

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

Market Disruptions will Accelerate into 2010. Just as the recession provided fertile ground in which cloud computing could take root, the rebounding economy in 2010 will provide the nutrient—end-user investment—that cloud needs to grow. The influx of buyers will put increasing pressure on infrastructure price points, accelerating the “race to zero.” Within the enterprise, IT acquisition models begin to shift, especially around software and support, demanding that vendors align prices and pricing models against a new time constant, the hour.

VISI Launches ‘ReliaCloud’ Cloud Computing Service

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST

VISI announced its entry into the public cloud computing services business with the launch of the public beta of its ReliaCloud service. The service is targeted both to IT managers in established, small to midsized firms, and to startup firms that want to take advantage of the significant economic benefits provided by running their servers and applications in the cloud. “After many months of preparation, we’re proud to take the covers off a cloud computing service we specifically designed to be more reliable than the commodity providers in the market,” said Jason Baker, CTO of VISI. “We didn't want customers to have to re-architect their solutions just to work reliably in the cloud. We knew they wanted enterprise-grade security and peace of mind.”

15 Million Now Using Open-Xchange Open Source Collaboration

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:45:00 EST

The results come from deals with software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers including Versatel (Germany's third-largest telecommunications provider with 1.3 million e-mail accounts), Dotster (among the world's largest domain name registrars servicing hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide), NameCheap (a leader in domain name registration and web hosting with 1 million domains), Nexen-Alterway Hosting (the French leader in open source web hosting) and NTS (a leading distributor in the Asian market). With the exception of NTS - the first distributor moving into the SaaS market in Asia - all the others have replaced their web mail with Open-Xchange and are selling additional groupware and mobility capabilities - providing additional benefits along with revenue opportunities for the SaaS providers.

JetBrains Continuous Integration on EC2

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST

JetBrains, creators of intelligent, productivity-enhancing development tools, announced the public availability of TeamCity 5.0, the company's distributed build management and continuous integration tool. TeamCity offers easy setup and delivers out-of-the-box continuous unit testing, sophisticated code quality analysis, and early reporting on build problems. It has a gentle learning curve, so you can quickly improve your release management practices by gradually adopting its advanced features and capabilities.

OpenNebula Cloud Computing Toolkit v1.4 Released

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:15:00 EST

The OpenNebula team has just announced the stable state for the new 1.4 series of the OpenNebula Toolkit. During these months the team has been working on new features that will be quite helpful to manage a Cloud infrastructure. Downloads are available as source code under Apache license as previous versions but they have also created binary packages for RedHat/CentOS, Ubuntu, openSUSE and Fedora.

VA and VAA: What a Difference an “A” Makes

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:30:00 EST

So are we talking tomayto/tomahto or apple/orange here? Actually, when we compare VMware’s virtual appliance (VA) approach with AppZero’s virtual application appliance (VAA) it’s really a lot more like apple/orangutan. Not better and worse, winner and loser, but different in type and kind and purpose and optimal use. A tectonic shift.

Cherrypal Launches $99 Cloud Computer

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST

New 7-inch Netbook Helps Bridge the Digital Divide; Redesigned Intel N280 Bing laptop features 13.3-inch wide screen; New Cherrypal Open Store Launched. Cherrypal, the company that brought the world's "greenest" desktop computer to market last year, announced today that it has officially launched the first $99 laptop computer: the Cherrypal Africa. With a screen size of just 7 inches, the Africa is a mini netbook computer that enables anyone to browse the Internet at an affordable price. Part of Cherrypal is the Green Maraschino cloud computing initiative.

Cloud Computing Will Become Mainstream in 2010 -Progress Software

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST

Progress Software has predicted that the slow evolution in computing over the last few years will become a quiet revolution in 2010. Progress has also warned that CIOs who want to lead this revolution need to innovate at every opportunity, watching consumer trends and listening to ideas from across the business to ensure success. Based on feedback from customers, as well as its own research and development, Progress Software sees five key technology trends set to shake up computing in 2010.

Cloud Computing Defined

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:15:00 EST

Originally, Cloud Computing was a vague term for a very vague and distant future in which computing would occur in a few remote locations without the need for very much human intervention. Infinite computing resources would be available for any need at costs approaching zero. Certainly, users would not need to know or care about how the computers, their software, or the network functioned.

A FOSS Perspective On Richard Schaeffer’s Three Tactics For Computer Security

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:30:00 EST

Federal Computer Week published a great, succinct quote from Richard Schaeffer Jr., the NSA’s (National Security Agency) information assurance director, on three approaches that are effective in protecting systems from security attacks: We believe that if one institutes best practices, proper configurations [and] good network monitoring that a system ought to be able [...]

Cloud Computing and Virtualization Expo Show Report

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:15:00 EST

I remember back-in-the-day when Virtual meant ‘almost,’ ‘simulated’ or ‘in essence’ as in, ‘I’m virtually there.’ Today, as it has made it’s way into computer terminology, it can mean actual or real things that are done over computers. Virtualization has been the main enabler of Cloud Computing and has become an important tool for IT.

Open Source Software

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST

For small and mid-sized businesses, there often is a question about whether to stick with tried and true software providers such as Microsoft for your servers, e-mail and business applications or consider adoption of open-source products such as Linux. I've witnessed in this region some hesitation toward adoption of open-source products. I believe it's important to be able to make a rational evaluation of the two paths so you can make the best decisions.

Pity the Poor Mainframe Salesman Scraping by on Cheap Linux

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

IBM has bundled up a new mainframe platform designed for Linux instead of z/OS and is pitting it price-wise against x86 distributed computing – well, maybe more the big Itanium and Solaris multi-core systems used for large-scale consolidation. IBM is obviously hoping to attract a new non-mainframe clientele. After all, traditional mainframe sales have been off a precipitous 25%–40% with the recession.

What Does Enterprise IT Really Want from Cloud Computing?

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Analysts, bloggers and mainstream media have spent 2009 promoting cloud computing as “the next big thing” that will revolutionize the way companies buy and use computing power. But beyond the hype and the C-level interest in an exciting trend, there’s value to the cloud that appeals to the pragmatic, “show me” nature of enterprise IT.

The two main drivers for cloud computing are the same ones that have always motivated enterprise IT: save money (do more with less) and be more responsive to business needs. These goals are typically in conflict with each other, so that in tough times the first takes precedence and in boom times the second one does.

The cloud offers the promise of being able to do both, which is why it so attractive to the CIO and IT managers. The cloud potentially lets you offload from your expensive internal infrastructure and scale up/down/out as needed. Developers and SMBs may have started the cloud revolution, but the real transformation will be in enterprise IT, where the demand for computing resources is constantly changing and evolving — across seasons and application lifecycles, sometimes even during the course of a day. Rather than investing in capital equipment that may sit idle much of the time, the cloud model provides an attractive alternative, both for users who need computing power not available internally and IT departments trying to watch their budgets.

Today enterprises are trying to figure out how to leverage the cloud in a way that makes sense. It can be somewhat scary in these early days, as issues around security, control and integration are still being debated. What does it take to change the mindset from “we can’t do that” to “let’s try it”? What does enterprise IT need to have the confidence to get started in the cloud?

What IT really wants is to get access to this potential great resource, but to do so in a very low-risk, walk-before-you-run way. This means putting a limited, usually small, footprint into the cloud initially. It also means focusing on applications that are by definition separable from the data center, and probably not core to the business. For example, most of our early customers are putting development, test, business continuity and back-office applications into the cloud first, and thinking about how they will add the next set of apps and/or scale out the original ones if things go well.

IT also wants protection in case the cloud reality takes longer to deliver than the hype suggests. They want to be able to bring their apps back to the data center, or potentially to switch clouds if a better set of offerings comes along. As a result they don’t want to do a lot of work changing what they have today for a specific cloud or re-architecting their applications or internal processes.

Most of all, enterprise IT is looking beyond the hype and saying “show me how this could work in my environment.” They want results they can trust showing how the cloud can provide flexibility and cost savings that their internal data center can’t deliver alone – so they can make the case for embracing the cloud in a more meaningful way. So while IT managers are certainly reading the blogs and analyst reports about the future of the cloud, they’re serious about testing the cloud today, and pushing vendors to make the cloud work for fundamental enterprise needs.

Microsoft's Cloud Computing Patent Application

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:45:00 EST

Today, Alexander Wolfe has been speculating about Microsoft's patent application regarding data migration between cloud services. Although on the face of it, a patent for Cloud migration would appear to be aimed at removing the lock-in associated with a single vendor, the patent application is in fact aimed within a single vendor system. So, it doesn't address the Cloud lock-in problem which has been identified by ENISA as the #1 risk of cloud computing

Chrome for Linux and Mac Make Beta

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:15:00 EST

Fifteen months after Chrome for Windows launched, Google Tuesday delivered betas of its browser for both Linux and the Mac. The Mac widgetry was due in the first half. The Linux team called its port “a labor of love” and said it works well with both Gnome and KDE. Apparently 50 developers outside of Google contributed code to its open source development.