An interesting re-post from multiple sources:
7 ways that cloud computing will change business
1. The creation of a new generation of products and services.The economics of cloud computing lets innovative companies create products that either weren’t possible before or are significantly less expensive than the competition (or just more profitable.) Smaller companies that have traditionally struggled to automate will now be able to leverage the scalability of cloud services to help manage this burden.
2. A new lightweight form of real-time partnerships and outsourcing with IT suppliers. Companies that did traditional outsourcing of their IT services a few years ago already know what this feels like; a large part of what used to be in-house is now being done somewhere else and changing anything is hard. But unlike traditional outsourcing of IT, cloud computing will provide agility and control that traditional outsource cannot match for the most part. Don’t like your cloud vendor? Unless you negotiated a long-term contract, you can often switch far easier than changing IT outsourcers. In fact, many cloud computing relationships consist of nothing more than a cancel-at-the-end-of-the-month commitment and corporate invoice. For many companies, this will actually be improvement over what they have now and give them choices they perhaps never had when everything required internal execution or to go through the outsourcing supplier relationship.
3. A reconciliation of traditional SOA with the cloud and other emerging IT models. The advent of cloud technologies will have to be dealt with and somehow encompassed by SOA initiatives that are already looking at their current toolset of heavyweight approaches and technologies with an eye towards seeking an onramp to change and improvement. Web-Oriented Architecture fits very well with cloud technologies which are heavily Web-based and it’s a natural, lightweight way of building SOA at virtually every level of the organization. For many organizations, the cloud will likely be the straw that broke the back of traditional SOA and move it to a place where it will meet new business and technical requirements, faster rates of changes, and new business conditions.
4. The rise of new industry leaders and IT vendors. While we’re seeing many of the top players in computing use their existing strengths to create successful cloud computing offerings, there were also be a new generation of companies that businesses generally aren’t used to dealing with as suppliers. Amazon and Google are two firms that generally aren’t regarded as deeply experienced in the enterprise, and there are many others. While it doesn’t seem that we’ll see many entirely new players compete with the big firms, it’s certainly not out of the question (and given the opportunity, likely from an investment standpoint) that we’ll see some very well-funded new cloud startups that lack the baggage of existing leaders (thereby moving very quickly) and bring a new sensibility (radical openness and transparency, new technologies, and Web-focus) that’s often needed with cloud computing. We may see perhaps even before the downturn ends. Either way, the industry landscape will be remade by cloud computing as it is one of the very few new IT developments that will be very broadly adopted in the next several years.
5. More self-service IT from the business-side. Many cloud solutions, particularly as they relate to SaaS, will require increasingly less and less involvement from the IT department. Business users will be able to adopt many future cloud computing solutions entirely using self-service.
6. More tolerance for innovation and experimentation from businesses. With fewer technical and economic barriers to creating new ways to improve the business (LOB, marketing, sales, customer service, IT, horizontal services), cloud computing will enable prototyping and market validation of new approaches much faster and less expensively that before. While legal, branding, and compliance will often struggle to keep up the pace with the rest of the organization, there will be gradual thawing of the glacial pace of change as business possibilities become, well, more possible in the cloud computing world. This won’t fix the often broken innovation mechanisms in businesses, but then again, cloud computing is so accessible that many new internal entrepreneurs will use the tools to create new solutions anyway.
7. The slow-moving, dinosaur firms will have trouble keeping up more nimble adopters and fast-followers. Not adopting cloud computing doesn’t spell the immediate demise of traditional companies that aren’t good at making technology and cultural transitions (and make no mistake, cloud computing is a big cultural change), but it will pile onto other recent advancements and make it even harder to compete in the modern business environment. In the end, those too slow to adopt the benefits while managing the risk are likely going to face serious and growing economic and business disadvantage.
Questions about Cloud Computing? Get in Touch with SolutionPro.
Brace Yourself, Fortify the Gate, Prepare for the Storm-
The Spam storm that is. With no shortage of con artists in our world- The Internet is a safe haven for all types of cons and trickery.
According to an M86 Security Labs Warning the increase in spam is alarming in a couple different ways..
First, Beginning this August M86 detected a large spike in malicious spam that surpassed anything witnessed over the past 2 years.
Second, the increase in spam comes with a higher rate of attachments that contain malicious threats in the form of Botnets- programs that are installed on your local computer that serve to continue to redistribute the spam to other users.
There are several themes that are used to trick even savvy computer users into clicking on the email attachments- among them are:
1- Failed FEDEX Delivery conformation- urging the user to click the attachment to print the invoice and come into the office to pick up their package.
2- Blocked Credit Card- An email telling the user his/her credit card has been blocked due to an illegal operation and to click on the attachment immediately to contact your bank.
3-Fake Invoice
4-Fake Statement
5- Change Log
6- Credit Card Charge that the user must reverse.
All of these scams have a few things in common-
First- they usually have spelling and grammar errors. Because these scams are originating from all over the world, English may not be the perpetrators’ first language. While many of these scams can seem legitimate- if you carefully read the email you will start to detect critical errors in grammar, spelling, word syntax that any professionally crafted message would not contain.
Word Choice- another great tool for detection is to more carefully scrutinize word syntax and vocabulary- or choice of words and the order in which they are used. Ask yourself- “Is this message written by a company like UPS or FEDEX or Capital One?
Protect Yourself-
If you just can’t bring yourself to ignore the message and you are worried that your credit card may, in fact, be threatened or there is a package waiting for you consider taking the following actions:
1- Follow-up by means of a completely different channel- Example- If you get an email that looks to be legitimate and it concerns a credit card at a bank you actually hold- Instead of following up through the email you receive- call the customer service number on the back of your card and inquire about the status of your account.
2- Google Search it- In the example of the Fedex Email Scam- I did a google search for “Fedex Email Scam” and was immediately taken to a Fedex.com webpage that very nicely details the current email scams using their name. You could quickly determine the email was unsafe.
3-Think before you click- don’t just react to an email- think about it first.
Check out the full story as well as Pictures of the Email scams here-
Be sure your Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware applications are up to date and functioning properly.
Keep your guard up and remain skeptical and you’ll go a long way in thwarting these criminals’ efforts.
The Software & Information Industry Association(SIIA) says Cloud Computing is not a New or Singular Technology- Keep New legislation Away.
The SIIA has published a white paper in an attempt to make the case against any new cloud-specific legislation or regulation. The basis of the claim is that, while Cloud Computing may be a new term and concept, the core mechanisms of delivery are not new and the legislation already in place regarding those mechanisms is sufficient. SIIA further claims that, “In order to provide for safe and rapid growth of cloud computing, there is no need for cloud-specific legislation or regulations, and in fact, such actions could impede the potential of Cloud Computing”.
The white paper takes the reader through a fairly detailed argument against such legislation and ends with a “Common Myths” section which I found to be most informative:
Here are the Myths reprinted. Click here to read the complete white paper
Myth One: “With cloud computing, no one knows where the data is located.” No. If this
were true, it would be impossible to retrieve the data. Data can be stored in one location,
moved to another for processing, combined with or linked to data in another, and backed
up in still another. The precise location at any given moment in time is less important than
the quality of protections and services delivered by the cloud provider.
Myth Two: “Cloud computing is a completely new concept.” No. Remote computing has
been around since the 1960s. What is new is the scale. The large-scale deployment of
broadband has allowed the provision of remote services far beyond what was possible
before, and this will allow the industry to naturally evolve toward the provision of more
and more services on a remote basis.
Myth Three: “Cloud computing is just the new name for the Internet.” No. Cloud services
are provided over the Internet, but many other non-cloud services are dependent on the
Internet as well. When you download a song from iTunes onto your computer or digital
music player, you are using the Internet but not necessarily the cloud. When you store your
music in a remote server, such as Amazon’s or Google’s, and have device-independent
access to it, you are using both the Internet and the cloud.
Myth Four: “New legislation is needed to allow the growth of cloud computing.” No. Some
public policies such as localization laws and restrictions on data flows can hurt the cloud,
and they should be avoided. But industry best practices, fostered and encouraged by
partnerships with government and civil society and enforced through contract, will address
concerns and provide for industry growth.
Myth Five: “Cloud computing is less secure than on-premises data storage.” No. Remote
data storage has been part of the computing industry for decades and can be made as
secure as the customer requirements dictate. Good security practices in centralized data
centers can be more effective and less expensive than trying to protect data in every
customer’s premises.
Myth Six: “The primary employment benefits of cloud computing come from building and
maintaining of data centers.” No. The primary economic benefit of cloud computing is the
boost it can give to other economic activity through the provision of more effective and less
expensive computing capabilities. This is especially advantageous for new firms and small
and medium sized enterprises, where much of the employment growth can be found. The
biggest employment gains for a country or region derive from this more efficient provision of
computing services to other businesses and enterprises.
6 Important Questions to Answer Before Selecting a Cloud Computing Provider
Cloud Computing Providers are popping up everywhere. According to several studies, many Cloud Computing models have already moved from the startup into the mature product stage which means, among other things, that adoption rates will start to sky rocket. When selecting a cloud services provider, bigger is not always better.
Start by using these 6 questions to evaluate a potential cloud provider.
Privileged User Access & Controls:
By outsourcing critical IT Data you by-pass the typical, familiar in-house control procedures over such data. Be sure to gather as much information as possible about your Cloud Provider’s employees assigned to handling your data. What are their hiring practices? What are their own internal controls and what type of oversight is exercised over the administrators of your data?
Regulatory Compliance
Understand that if you are presently responsible for the security and integrity of your own data and bound by certain regulatory controls, switching to a cloud services provider does not relieve you of that obligation. If there is a data breach you will be responsible for it even if it was your provider’s fault. Traditional Data Center IT Service providers have been subject to external security audits and certifications. Any cloud services provider should be meeting the same requirements and should be willing to share the results with you.
Data Location
Larger cloud service providers can potentially house your data in multiple locations. Be sure your provider is willing to and has the ability to track and disclose the physical location of your data.
Data Segregation
Data in many cloud environments is housed in a “shared” environment- typically alongside other customers’ data. Security is usually accomplished in the form of encryption and is typically effective. Be sure this data handling method meets the guidelines you are presently bound to. If it does not, consider a “Private Cloud” service. Be sure you thoroughly understand how your cloud services provider handles your data in proximity to other customers’ data.
Recovery
Ask your cloud services provider what their plan is for data and disaster recovery. Can your provider completely restore your data? How long will that take? What is the SLA they are offering with respect to lost data in the event your provider suffers a disaster?
Long Term Viability
Your cloud provider should be able to provide tangible evidence that they are financially viable and healthy. Even if they do provide such evidence, there is always the issue of Merger/Acquisition (M&A). Most companies are not legally obligated to disclose if an M&A is in the works, in fact most are forbidden from discussing such activity by non-disclosure agreement. However you might be able to read between the lines by asking such a question. Be sure you clearly understand how accessible your data might be in such an event.
Although not exhaustive, this list gets you well on the path to a thorough evaluation of a Cloud Computing Services provider.
Questions about SolutionPro Cloud Computing Services? Contact us.
Where Does Your Business Fit In?
Here’s an Interesting Blog Re-post from an Intuit Blog.
http://blog.intuit.com/trends/support-group-the-shape-of-i-t-in-small-business/
Its time to have the talk again…It’s about your passwords.
They’re super cute and all but they just aren’t secure.
For some reason there’s been a run on hacked free email accounts. I’m not sure exactly why, but I’m guessing it has something to do with weak passwords and also lax social media security policies.
I almost fell for it last week. I received an email from a family member with no subject line and in the body of the email was just a link. Something didn’t seem quite right- the email didn’t match the normal style of writing for that individual. Reflexively, I nearly clicked the link from this trusted source but I paused at the last moment.
A quick glance at the address field revealed the email had been sent to everyone on this person’s contact list- He’d been hacked. One quick call and text message revealed he’d already figured it out and changed his yahoo password- disaster averted.
Weak password policies are costing free email providers like Hotmail and Yahoo a lot of Money and IT resources so they’ve announced a change…
No More 123456 passwords, no more “ilove(insert your favorite animal,human,game,car,sport,etc,etc here)” passwords.
If you have a Hotmail account, in the near future you may be asked to change your password to a more secure one. Additionally, you may be asked to add what’s called “account proofs”. Account Proofs allow the true account owner to prove ownership in the event the mail account becomes compromised. While this may be annoying, it’s an important and good quality.
Free email accounts are much more important to people now than 10 years ago. They serve a legitimate business purpose and often contain valuable and sensitive information.
It’s probably time to ditch the cutesy password phrase and step into the next era with a more secure one. No offense to cats and unicorns and such.
Here’s a great link to help you create a secure password that you can remember.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/passwords-create.aspx
Another great password management resource that I’ve employed is KeePass – it’s safe, legitimate, free of spyware and, best of all, free.
And one last thing- It’s perfectly ok to write down your password- just make sure you keep it somewhere safe.
Part 2 of a 2-part blog post.
Cloud Computing Is Our Best Hope for Merging Disparate Technologies
Part 1 of this blog post discussed a few key business drivers fueling the adoption of cloud computing services.
Merging disparate technologies has become an important challenge given that fact that we access IT resources through such a wide variety of devices now.
In order to merge disparate technologies we must evolve our current IT infrastructure.
The traditional data center model has been around now for nearly two decades, probably longer. It’s moved away from the One-customer-One-Server model already. Rack Density has increased along with power and cooling requirements.
Cloud computing takes this model the Nth degree and allows us to merge multiple server resources into one large elastic pool of computing power. It allows us to merge storage and other network resources into one large pool as well.
Server Virtualization Software: A Gateway to Cloud Computing
On a very simple level, virtualization software has allowed the IT world to merge multiple server resources and use them in a pooled fashion.
How does Server Virtualization allow us to pool computing resources?
Prior to Server Virtualization Software, IT managers and server Administrators were faced with some difficult business decisions when servers reached capacity. Upgrade, Add-On or Replace?
All options came with additional capital costs. These decisions become even more difficult when you have an expensive server that is reaching the end of its life-cycle and you are faced with the decision to either upgrade an old server or move up to the next size newer server which is incrementally more expensive.
For those who depend on their server resources as a main source of revenue generation the decision becomes even more difficult. What do you do with a server that is close to capacity? That server is probably not providing acceptable service to your customers. An upgrade means a significant capital investment with little or no guaranteed additional revenue. It’s the typical growth problem- Expand by 50% for a 3% increase in revenues.
With virtualization software you are able to merge several high capacity servers’ processor and memory resources into multiple Virtual Machines (VMs). Each VM functions as an independent server. Memory and Processing resources can be allocated instantly as needed. Storage resources are pooled too but the servers themselves don’t have their own hard drive arrays. Instead, the Virtualization software talks to some sort of network storage device- one example could be a Storage Area Network (SAN) which is basically one very large bank of drives that can be configured a number of ways. It’s all fairly transparent to the end user. Network resources are pooled in a similar fashion, decreasing the need to purchase large capacity, dedicated bandwidth connections to the server.
True Pay-for-Access
As a consumer of this type of cloud computing service you benefit from true Pay-for-Access products and pricing. The provider can turn resources up or down almost instantly and you no longer need to make the tough capital decisions that come with growth. The provider bears the brunt of the up-front investment in the server bank, storage & network resources and virtualization software licensing. These capital costs recovered by providers in the retail pricing they charge their customers. It makes a lot of sense. It really makes sense for Data Center Operators too. Data Centers have to purchase large internet connections, large storage resources already.
Re-Think End-User Computing
If we don’t respond to the market changes happening before us, then we will be left behind. Cell phone and other portable data companies are leveraging the cloud computing model and offering millions of applications which are making those little hand-held devices increasingly powerful.
End-users are adopting the technology and their IT resource usage habits are being reshaped. Accessing IT resources via the Cloud brings us closer to one single source of IT resources that is elastic, cohesive across different platforms, and secure.
Questions about Cloud Computing Services offered at SolutionPro? Contact us.
Blogs and Websites are buzzing with Cloud Computing Service offerings.
In part 1 of a 2-part blog post we discuss a few of the top business needs and challenges driving the adoption of cloud computing services.
Efficiency
CIO: “I need to provide the business with the services it needs, when it needs it and within the constraints of my resources- I’m essentially a supplier of IT Resources”
Agility
CEO: “Its my responsibility to create sustainable value to customers while responding to a changing market and business environment- I’m essentially a consumer of IT resources”
Business Agility/Innovation is the Top Driver for Cloud Computing
In a January 2011 CIO Magazine Cloud Computing Survey, 7 out of 10 respondents viewed Cloud Computing as an important enabler of business innovation and over 50% felt that Cloud Technology investments are beginning to shape overall business strategy. (http://mkting.cio.com/pdf/CIOCloudSummary.pdf)
Three Ways Cloud Computing Increases Business Efficiency and Agility
1. IT-as-a-Service
Whether you are the IT Manager of a Web Hosting Company, A Real-estate Company, or a Major Hotel Chain, The IT Department is charged with several tasks. One of those tasks is provisioning and delivering IT resources. IT Management and Maintenance resources comprise a large share of IT department costs and work load.
Cloud Computing models reduce the workload of provisioning servers and conducting maintenance by pooling Server, Storage and Network resources, thus consolidating and standardizing these tasks. IT is now truly delivered “as-a-service” on an as-needed basis.
2. True Pay-for-Use Access to Top Tier IT Resources
Because of the way Cloud Computing resources are allocated, they are able to scale up and down pretty much on-demand. If the cloud services are delivered properly, the same SLA’s should be available as have been traditionally available to users of dedicated and shared platforms. The real plus with Pay-for-Access models is the fact that it shifts the Cost of Ownership from the end-user to the provider. Is it a little more expensive up front? In some cases, yes, but you have to understand what you are getting. See the earlier blog post about comparing cloud computing costs to dedicated servers.
3. Consolidation of Disparate Technologies
Currently we have so many means of delivering IT resources. Data Centers, Public Cloud Providers (presumably housed within data centers) In-House IT Departments, Shared Platforms, etc, etc..
And then there are all the existing applications out there we’ve been using for the last couple decades on what we could call “traditional” platforms.
Then we have Saas(Software as a Service) apps- the apps like Sales Force and Cloud-based free email services (Hotmail&gmail) and millions of web-based loyalty programs like hotel points clubs, and credit card rewards points programs and airline mileage clubs -too many to list.
And finally we have the mobile data movement- Ipods, Iphones, Ipads, SmartPhones with Droid OS and others, Miniature Notebooks (small laptops)- web connected learning devices for children, web connected e-book readers- The list goes on and on and on.
Everything talks to everything now.
The challenge is to weave all these IT services into a secure, cohesive, compliant whole.
Be sure to read Part two of this Blog Post- How Does Cloud Computing Consolidate Disparate Technologies?
Questions about Cloud Computing Services, Colocation Hosting or Dedicated Hosting? Contact at SolutionPro account manager.
Cloud Services, Dedicated Hosting, Shared Hosting- A comparison
While lurking on a favorite forum of mine, webhostingtalk.com, I happened across a question which caught my attention:
“Why do Cloud Servers tend to have a higher price than a Dedicated Server?”
The truth is, all other factors being equal, Cloud Services probably are not more expensive than Dedicated Servers but it often may appear that way. You have to really compare what you are getting with each type of service.
I was amazed at the number of well written answers to this person’s question.
1. Compare Apples-to-Apples
“If you really compare the cost of a dedicated solution that has the features of the cloud, then the cost of the dedicated server would be far higher”
2. Storage Costs
A dedicated server usually has its own storage. A cloud server must access one or more SANs- Sans are are more expensive up front but their cost is spread out over multiple users- so the cost of the SAN must be factored into the Cloud Service offering. SANs are technically superior to a single disk storage array.
3. Over subscription vs under subscription
The concept of over subscription has long been the profit model for Internet and Data Center Service providers.
The example of over subscription using a shared hosting model
You have a server platform capable of hosting potentially 100’s or 1000’s of websites. The server platform has a finite amount of CPU power, Memory and Disk storage. You sell more than the server is capable of delivering if every single website was operating at full capacity with the understanding that not all of your clients may operate at the same time or at full capacity. This is how a company pays its expenses and continues to generate a profit in the shared hosting business. What separates the good providers from the bad providers is how well they manage their over subscription rate.
Cloud hosting is tougher to oversubscribe. It’s kind of a hybrid of the shared and dedicated models.
The following graphic does a great job depicting the concept of over subscription and where Cloud hosting falls into the spectrum:
 ImageCourtesyof ditlev.dk If you’re trying to decide what’s best for your business situation- Contact a SolutionPro account manager or start a chat session so we can get you some answers.
Can a business go green while reducing capital expenses and improving IT resource availability and scaling?
I’ve read plenty of articles about LEEDS certifications and businesses that are going green. I’ve evaluated several green upgrade options myself. While I’m no expert the common theme is many green options have a payoff period. So there tend to be slightly higher up-front expenses but after a certain capitalization period the asset begins to make a return.
Example: Adding Solar Panels to a 2500 Sq. Foot House.
Upfront costs are in the neighborhood of $15,000. The panels will only generate about 65% of the house’s total energy consumption based on the average consumption of a house that size. The payoff period is about 10 years even after federal tax incentives.
That’s a tough sell for a retro fit and still a tough one for a new build-out. But….People are doing it. If you are planning on staying in your house longer than 10 years or doing it for resale value then there may be a compelling argument.
In Contrast let’s examine the case of Cloud Computing
What is Cloud Computing?
There are several definitions- Here are a few of the better ones:
Providing IT Infrastructure and environments to develop/host/run services and applications, on demand, with pay-as-you-go pricing, as a service.
From World Wide Web to World Wide Computing.- Ubiquitous Access to IT Resources.
For an In-depth look at cloud computing- check out this earlier SolutionPro Blog Post
Practical Examples of Cloud Computing:
My personal favorites- Hotmail & Gmail
Access your Hotmail/Gmail on your laptop, your desktop, your Iphone/ipad or any other smart phone/smart device seamlessly with no concept of needing to “sync” up in boxes, calendars etc.
Another Business Favorite- Hosted Microsoft Exchange Email
If you have an internet connection you have access to your exchange email inbox and other folders as well as your calendars. The exchange server lives in a data center that is connected to “The Cloud”. Your device(s) access it by any means available and everything stays in sync.
Is Cloud Computing Green? Yes! Cloud Computing is Green!
1. Less “Stuff”, More Efficiency- Companies and individuals who purchase cloud computing services reduce their environmental footprint by reducing the need for individual resources. Cloud computing services tend to be delivered from a condensed Data Center environment. This means there are literally fewer actual computer peripherals required to deliver the same service that other companies may provide privately, in-house. So…Decreased manufacturing of parts, decreased amount of waste going to landfills and needing to be recycled. More efficient energy usage, more efficient space usage and more efficient human resource usage. Yes, Companies can provide Cloud Computing Services In-house if they wish. Whether or not its cost-effective to do so depends on the size of the company.
2. Virtualization=Higher Server Density & Efficiencies
Companies, like SolutionPro or Microsoft or Google for that matter, that deliver cloud computing services generally deliver those services over a virtualized environment. Server and Storage Virtualization allow a Cloud Computing provider to create a multi-server environment without needing to employ physical server resources on a per customer basis. Even if true server virtualization is not used, many similar efficiencies still exist in a Cloud Services provider.
The result is greatly reduced physical footprint and highly available and robust systems to the end-user.
Cloud Computing is one of the “Green” IT services that allows the End-User the following benefits:
-Decreased Capital Costs
-Increased level of Service
-Location Independency
-Device Independency
-Scalability and Agility-Secure Multi-Tenancy
-Shifts Acquisition and Capital Costs from the End-use to the Provider
SolutionPro Provides Cloud Computing Services
Hop on the SolutionPro Cloud and gain access to speedy scalability, high bandwidth and low acquisition costs.
Whether it’s a shared or a dedicated solution your company needs- we have it on the SolutionPro Cloud. Is your in-house mail server running low on storage? Time to make a major hardware purchase? Talk to SolutionPro first about how Cloud Computing Services may help.
Posted in Cloud Computing, Data Center, Information Technology, Uncategorized, colocation hosting
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Tagged business continuity, cloud computing services, colocation server hosting, Data Center Services, dedicated hosting, Green IT Solutions, Virtual Servers
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