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According to a recent survey by IT research firm Neovise as reported by CIOInsight.com of over 800 IT decision-makers in the U.S., enterprise cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is the most widely adopted form of cloud computing. Thirty-seven percent of organizations use private, on-premise IaaS, while 35 percent use private, off-premise IaaS clouds. Another 37 percent use public IaaS clouds. When it comes to the importance of enterprise private cloud attributes, security for sensitive data is rated as highly or somewhat important, at 93 percent of respondents. For concerns around security, check your cloud provider’s dates and reports of independent audits, including SSAE 16, SOC 2, HIPAA (for healthcare) and PCI DSS (for ecommerce and retail). Or, ask for a tour of their facilities to verify their physical, administrative and technical security safeguards. A close second in desired private cloud attributes is better provisioning (91 percent) and third, advanced management (87 percent). Ask your cloud provider what kind of access they give your organization for control – typically they will provide a web portal you can log into and use to start, stop, and take snapshots of your servers. Ninety-four percent surveyed reported cloud application usage included disaster recovery,…
A recent article by CIO.com reports on the growing trend of outsourcing IT infrastructure to service providers – according to the IDC, service providers currently account for 13 percent of new data center space, with projected growth to be more than 30 percent by 2017. The State of Michigan’s Mi-Cloud initiative saw the consolidation of data centers and the widespread use of the cloud across its agencies for increased efficiency and lowering costs. Shifting mission-critical applications to service providers means lightening the workload in-house, an effective way to streamline workflows. The CIO article reports that staffing is one of the reasons why CIOs are transferring data center operations to third-party hosting providers – the concern is around staffing personnel with the needed skill-set to manage, update and maintain technical environments. Partnering with a hosting provider means clients can benefit from their investment in the needed professional certifications and training, as well as benefit from the available technical support. Cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is the fastest-growing segment of the cloud market, having grown 42 percent in 2012, and projected to grow to $131 billion in 2013, according to Gartner. But according to CIO.com, 72 percent of users lack the…
There’s been quite a bit of talk around Michigan as an incredibly fast-growing IT state. What you may not have heard as much about, is the prospect of Michigan blossoming into a very effective shipping hub for North America. I know that seems strange. A peninsula doesn’t really strike anyone as the ideal place to concentrate shipping and logistic processes throughout the rest of the country. However, it’s got some real perks, as explained within a Forbes article written earlier this week. The first of which is the traffic already running through the area. The Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit are the busiest US-Canada border crossings in the country. Michigan also has access to four deep water ports, as well as the Canadian National Railway. Then there’s the win for business efficiency. Jim Smiertka of Prima Civitas Foundation explained to Forbes, “If you go through Chicago, your freight will be delayed five days. In Michigan, it would take one day.” Chipping four days off of cargo transportation can mean a very noticeable difference in a business’ bottom line. I’d be interested to see a business owner argue with that. Let’s not forget possibly…
The latest report from the Ponemon Institute, located in Traverse City, Michigan, sought to analyze trends in cloud computing security among organizations that use software as a service (SaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Only half of organizations are assessing the effect of the cloud on the ability to protect confidential information, and similarly, 51 percent are concerned about the security of cloud computing resources, per usual. Only 43 percent of organizations audit or assess cloud computing resources before deployment. While vetting cloud computing providers for security may seem time-consuming, organizations should ask if their cloud infrastructure as a service providers (IaaS) can provide an updated audit report of their services and data center facilities. What types of audits should you look for in a cloud computing/data center provider? SSAE 16 The Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 16 replaced SAS 70 in June 2011. A SSAE 16 audit measures the controls relevant to financial reporting; it verifies that the controls and processes set in place by a data center are actually followed. There are two types: Type I – A data center’s description and assertion of controls, as reported by the company. Type II – Auditors test…
Yesterday, Online Tech and Comcast Business Class co-hosted a luncheon at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) that included a brief performance by acrobats and talk about cloud computing applications powering high-tech vehicles, many of which were showcased at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan. As we wrote about in our press release, Michigan Automotive Innovation Takes Flight with Cloud Computing, apps are working to deliver better consumer experiences and support critical manufacturing processes. Online Tech co-CEO Mike Klein delivers a talk about how the cloud is changing the auto industry. In-car apps, as can be seen above, include the ability to access real-time data on navigation and insight into any current obstacles, including car crashes or other traffic delays. One example is the Lexus dashboard that also lets you browse local landmarks and tell you how far away they are from your current location. Customizable settings allow your car to become as personal as your smartphone. Cloud computing allows access to all of these data-rich features that create a unique driver experience. Similarly, the trend in mobile computing and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in the workplace relies on the cloud for secure and reliable access to big…
According to a Gartner market analysis report on cloud services over 2012-2016, cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) spending will exceed $72 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42 percent. Cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers offer virtual machines and supporting resources, including networks, firewalls, Internet connection, electrical/facility and other infrastructure needs. Additional managed services might include IT disaster recovery, cloud-based disaster recovery, offsite backup, SAN-to-SAN replication and more managed by certified professionals. A projected 19 percent CAGR in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud-based business application services from 2011-2016 ($13.4-32.2B) provides a healthy market to parallel expected cloud IaaS growth. [Read Global IT Spending, Cloud Computing & Top Growing Industries for a breakdown of each industry by IT spending opportunities]. Gartner reports the IaaS market to have grown from less than one-third of the SaaS market in 2011 to almost equal the size by 2016. Cloud SaaS is a term for any application available via the Internet and hosted on a remote server. SaaS requires vendors to manage the application code and database, while the infrastructure is typically outsourced and managed by a data center operator/hosting provider (cloud IaaS provider). Fronting capital expenses as well as…
As 2012 comes to a close, we look with optimism to 2013 as Gartner predicts that worldwide IT spending will surpass $3.7 trillion dollars next year. According to Peter Sondergaard, senior VP at Gartner, we will see a new trend of spending outside of IT departments. “Every budget is an IT budget,” said Sondergaard during the annual Gartner Symposium/ITexpo. The major influencers are corporate-wide adoptions of cloud computing, big data projects and use of mobile technologies. Sondergaard gives the examples of how sales departments are using cloud-based CRM packages and marketing departments are increasing social media use. This trend will only accelerate as different departments adopt more and more cloud and mobile technologies. With growing technology demands, Gartner analysts also predict that 1.9 million IT jobs will be created in the United States by 2015. Sondergaard believes that only one-third of job positions will be filled due to lack of skilled applicants. So in the upcoming years, CIOs will be tasked with both supporting cloud and mobile technologies while developing their workforce. These predictions solidify the importance for CIOs to look at outside data centers for colocation, managed servers and cloud hosting. If outside department demands accelerate as Gartner thinks,…
A new Gartner report that focused on the adoption patterns of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) globally, found its use increasing dramatically both in new as well as established markets in the ten countries around the world that were polled. Much of this adoption is new, Gartner citing that 71% of the organizations polled said that they had been using it less than three years. While this is being found in emerging markets, it is not exclusively so. On-premises applications that were being used are even being replaced with SaaS, and the majority of companies plan to increase their SaaS investments. The report goes on to explain a couple of factors that may have resulted in this SaaS boom: “Initial concerns about security, response time and service availability have diminished for many organizations as SaaS business and computing models have matured and adoption has become more widespread.” Also, it’s projected that SaaS and cloud-based application services will have a 19% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). With SaaS becoming a larger component in companies, IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) cloud hosting is also on the rise. Outsourcing to an IaaS cloud hosting provider can help take the time and costs of your business away from the IT infrastructure and management…
A few weeks ago, a New York Time’s article, the first in a series about cloud computing, The Cloud Factories: Power, Pollution and the Internet, (initially titled Data Centers Waste Vast Amounts of Energy, Belying Industry Image), revealed findings from a yearlong study on data centers conducted by the media company and consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Although there is valid reason to turn attention to these big technology hubs with the advance of the information age, I’d like to address a few points (blockquotes below) the article made: User Demand & Data Center Management Most data centers, by design, consume vast amounts of energy in an incongruously wasteful manner…On average, they [data centers] were using only 6 percent to 12 percent of the electricity powering their servers to perform computations. According to VMware.com, “virtualization lets you run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine, with each virtual machine sharing the resources of that one physical computer across multiple environments. Different virtual machines can run different operating systems and multiple applications on the same physical computer.” This means more can get done with less – resulting in serious energy savings (see Switching to the Cloud below, and the infographic…
Considering outsourcing security management of your data vs. keeping it in-house? InformationWeek.com and DarkReading.com’s report on Finding the Right Security Outsourcing Balance sheds some light on the benefits and potential pitfalls of outsourcing, as well as the criteria your organization needs to have for any potential providers in order to keep security at a premium. The report recommends asking potential providers questions that speak directly to their level of experience, expertise, employees and workflow: How long has your company been in business, and on average, how long have your current employees been employed? Do you perform background checks on employees, and if so, what type of checks? What kind of security certifications and experience do your employees have? Is there any type of ongoing training to keep employees updated on the latest vulnerabilities and threats, and how to mitigate them? Are your employees trained on how to handle sensitive data to avoid a data breach? Will it be easy to integrate with your company’s services? Can you provide sample reports and documentation of its processes? Who has access to my information? Is data stored, sent or processed offshore? Other well-known advantages of outsourcing include no capital investments; monthly or annual…