Cloud

In order to gain a competitive edge marketers are keen to gain insight from customer data. But the information may be spread across various systems and the cloud, making it hard to access.

In response to this problem marketing software company AgilOne is launching a product built from the ground up to unify online and offline data integration, cleansing, insights and campaigns, seamlessly bridging the worlds of digital and offline marketing.

Public cloud services put a lot of resources into managing their systems in order to provide an efficient service with automated infrastructure and self-service features.

For businesses wanting to implement their own private clouds, however, achieving a similar level of service can be difficult. They often turn to solutions like OpenStack but fail to reach its full potential thanks to a lack of the resources and skills required.

You just gotta love Amazon. This morning, at long last, I received my invitation for Echo, the sizzlingly voice-controled streaming speaker that I raved about just two months ago. As a Prime member, I pay half-price, just $99. What a deal! Since then, I jealously waited while reading what others blogged about how much they enjoyed their Echoes. The device fits squarely where I contend is the next iteration in user interfaces: voice. Touch is just so passé.

In retail, customer impressions are everything. My first reaction was excitement, but the second turned it to dust. This thing won't ship until sometime between May and July? Seriously? It's like a bad Consumer Electronics Show joke, where the hottest tech device in this solar system debuts in January, but sales don't start until November. Don't sell me something I can't get for at least five fraking months!

Legacy systems and the cloud. The two do sound incongruous. When we think of legacy systems, we often recall those old cartoons where a computer took up the better part of a wall and was attended by harried-looking attendants in white lab coats. Of course, it has been a while since legacy systems have been quite so physically massive. They’re often still massive enough, though, to consume a lot of hardware. Maybe that’s why it’s still hard to imagine legacy systems taking up residence in the cloud, though that’s more and more frequently exactly what they’re doing.

And they’re often doing quite well in their cloud abodes, which sometimes represent a significant savings on their old legacy hardware. In fact, moving these old applications can drastically cut the data center budget.

Moving systems and data to the cloud is increasingly common, but it inevitably leads to concerns about security and those worries are now reaching the boardroom.

This is according to new research by the non-profit Cloud Security Alliance which looks at how companies are currently approaching the cloud, including their views on shadow IT, obstacles preventing cloud adoption, and security priorities.

It’s been a fascinating 2014 for the cloud. Some very niche technologies are hitting the mainstream, while the debate over data protection and governance clearly isn’t going away any time soon.

So, we predict the cloud will rise high in 2015 -- but how (and where) it is tethered to the ground will matter more than ever:

Three weeks ago I asked "What tech changed your life in 2014?" You answered here and on Google+. As the new year starts, I wonder what will make all our lives better. Apple Watch? I doubt it. Shake me awake from the nightmare if the wearable isn't the most successful flop of 2015. Windows 10? Skipping nine is a good sign, but is giving users more of what they don't want to let go life changing? Eh, no.

At the precipice of looking ahead, this is a last look behind. Once Consumer Electronics Show leaks and early announcements rush the InterWebs, all eyes will turn forward -- blind to what many people have, focusing on what they want instead. That's because "aspiration" is the defining word of the technology era, and the promise if you buy newfangled This or That your life will be better for it. Sometimes the promise is true, but too often not, which is why I asked the important question three weeks ago.

Looking back on this last day of the year, I wonder how my daily tech changed so much since the first. On Jan. 1, 2014, my core computing comprised Chromebook, Nexus tablet, and Nexus smartphone. Midyear, I switched out to all Microsoft—buying Surface Pro 3 and Nokia Lumia Icon. While commendable the effort, Windows poorly fit my lifestyle. Today, I'm all Apple—13-inch MacBook Pro Retina Display with 512GB SSD, iPhone 6 128GB, and iPad Air 128GB. I can't imagine using anything else.

Following the lead of my BetaNews colleagues Mihaita Bamburic, Ian Barker, Alan Buckingham, Brian Fagioli, and Wayne Williams, I review my year in tech, and unlike 2013 focus on products that released during the year. I present my 2014 personal tech alphabetically, from company name, rather than order of importance—because they all matter. Note: While the list looks like four, it's five because the first is two combined.

I'm not easily impressed. Lots of tech products see the light of day each year, but only a few I consider to be truly great. And by that I mean technology that I want to have in my life, that brings value, and, last but not least, that makes me feel good. The subjective factor is just as important, I believe, when it comes to the things that I have to look at and interact with on a daily basis. That's just the way it is, and I'm fine with it.

Because of this, a pretty long list can get really, really short in no time. My colleagues have already shared their favorite tech products of 2014 with you, and now the time has come for me to do the same. It's BetaNews tradition, after all. So, without further ado, here they are.

So what technological marvels can we expect to see next year?

We spoke to Mark O’Neill, VP of innovation at Axway, about his predictions for 2015, which include Bring Your Own Internet of Things, B2B in the cloud, and connected vehicles.

The Cloud world is evolving fast, furiously gaining greater momentum as we go into 2015 and leaving legacy/on premise systems light years behind. Cloud has the ability to transform the way organizations work, but with any change comes a time of adjustment and the process of cloud adoption comes with its own set of challenges.

Questions about expected service levels, support contracts and technical flexibility are just some of the issues keeping IT leaders awake at night. So, what solutions can we expect to see sprinting to the rescue in 2015? What are our predictions?

You lazy son of a bitch. It's Sunday, Christmas is Thursday, and you still haven't started shopping for gifts? Don't worry, we've got your ass covered with a quick, down-and-dirty gift bonanza. It's an eclectic mix because we have the attention spans of mice intoxicated by coffee and Krispy Kremes.

Lucky you. Many U.S. online shops grub for dollars by offering last-minute, free one-day shipping. Ha! There are some rewards waiting until Santa attaches reindeer to the sleigh. Read fast, because some of these are deals that won't last -- and when we say this grab bag is random, we mean it.

Staff members present the biggest security risk to a company, and the most likely weak point when it comes to data in the cloud.

According to the recent State of SMB Cybersecurity report from CloudEntr, which took in the opinions of 438 IT pros across 20+ different industries, 77 percent said that staff members are the weakest link in their security infrastructure, and a liability when it comes to cloud usage.

Enterprise computing is more and more centered around the user, but how will this trend affect the workplace and what changes will it make to productivity and the way systems are managed and delivered?

We spoke to Torsten Volk, VP of product management, cloud at business software specialist ASG Software Solutions to find out.

Avast has long been a favorite with home PC users thanks to its free antivirus offering, and protects 175 million computers worldwide. It also launched a free mobile product in 2011 and now protects around 50 million smartphones too.

In 2015 it's looking to move into the business market and is seeking beta testers to help perfect its product before launch.