Data center market will show massive change over the next two years
Four major factors will bring about dramatic change in the data center market by the end of 2016, according to a new report released by Gartner.
The factors are: highly disruptive competition, big cloud provider dominance, economic warfare, and nationalism. All of these will occur with different intensities over different time frames but will have a significant impact on the market.
Fewer than half of European businesses are ready for the cloud
Given the hype surrounding it, it’s easy to believe that the cloud is increasingly the first choice when it comes to business systems.
Yet a new survey by IDC reveals that a majority of European IT departments have yet to fully embrace its benefits. When asked about their readiness to move to a cloud-based strategy levels of confidence were low.
Shippable wants to help developer teams innovate faster
In a fast-changing world there's demand for new applications to be delivered quickly and traditional development processes often can't keep pace.
Seattle-based startup Shippable has announced a new version of its platform that helps developers to innovate and deliver more quickly using open source Docker containers. Docker -- in case you didn't know -- isolates resources of the Linux kernel to allow independent software containers to run on one Linux platform without the need to launch virtual machines. Docker containers can be run on any Linux machine whether on site or in the cloud.
Dyreza trojan may pose a risk for Salesforce users
A warning has gone out to customers of Salesforce.com that the Dyreza trojan, previously targeted at banking sites, may be a risk to users of the CRM solution.
The malware uses social engineering techniques to get the victim to infect the system via email. Once installed it uses "browser hooking" to allow Dyreza to intercept content entered by the user into the web browser before that content is transmitted over the network to a web site. Critically this allows the interception to occur before the data is encrypted.
IBM and Intel offer new security features to improve confidence in the cloud
IBM has announced that SoftLayer will be the first cloud platform to offer customers bare metal service that provides monitoring and security down to the microchip level.
Working in combination with Intel's Trusted Execution Technology (TXT), the security platform will help businesses determine if a workload from a known location on SoftLayer infrastructure is running on trusted hardware.
What's next for cloud storage?
The cloud infrastructure industry is in a bit of a price war that will ultimately benefit consumers. However, while some organizations may see this as an opportunity to move to the cloud, cost is not the only consideration, nor is it the most important. First and foremost, when it comes to data management, measures need to be taken to ensure the information is secure and accessible whether it’s stored on premises or in the cloud. The allure of low prices will certainly attract more customers and open up new markets for the cloud services industry. Yet, if end-user data is not managed holistically -- with a single view of data regardless of location -- ensuring that only the appropriate data is in the cloud in the first place, the cost and complexity in the future will negate any bargain entry costs.
It’s time to focus on what an investment in cloud storage can bring back to a business, from the ability to wipe data from a mobile device to end-to-end access, we are entering a time where it’s no longer what you can give to the cloud, but what the cloud can give to you.
On Sept. 9th, Apple's Tim Cook era begins
I must disagree with colleague Mark Wilson, who last week asserted: "There is no reason for anyone to care about the iPhone 6", which as I write has 124 comments. I'm a big fan of provocative posts, because they engage the readership. But my feelings differ about commentaries that bluster without substance. Mark is absolutely wrong. There is every reason for everyone to care about the next iPhone.
Mark asserts that iPhone "used to be aspirational and high-end. Now the world and his dog has an Apple handset and it's turned from something special into a poor substitute for one of the countless alternatives...The iPhone is run-of-the-mill. It is predictable. It's just plain boring". In many ways, I agree, but his boring assessment is every reason to "care about the iPhone 6".
Employees opt to stick with consumer file sharing tools at work
Most of us prefer to stay with familiar consumer file syncing and sharing tools at work rather than use the alternatives provided by the IT department.
This is the finding of new research by global analyst company Ovum. The survey of 5,187 full-time employees shows that 89 percent are using consumer products and only nine percent are happy with the commercial tools on offer from their companies.
Apple confirms that celebrity accounts were compromised in targeted attack
Since a cache of nude photos of celebrities appeared online, Apple has remained fairly tight-lipped about what may or may not have happened. Right from the start rumors were flying around that Apple's iCloud service may have been comprised or that Find My iPhone may have been to blame. The company said that it was "actively investigating" the suggestions but then things went quiet again. The FBI became involved, but it has been a frustrating 48 hours for anyone trying to find out what happened. Now Apple has issued a statement making it clear that a security attack did indeed take place.
Entitled Update to Celebrity Photo Investigation the statement reads:
Cloudfinder for Box free for business users until January 2015
As the market for storing and sharing files in the cloud has grown, Box has become one of the most popular solutions. As a result lots of other add-on products have grown up around it offering added security, compliance and more.
The latest to join the Box ecosystem is backup specialist eFolder with its Cloudfinder product, a multi-platform cloud-to-cloud backup service.
Zetta.net integrates cloud backup with ConnectWise to help MSPs add value
The ConnectWise system management platform is popular with managed services providers, with more than half of MSPs worldwide using it to enhance efficiency and control for their clients.
Now cloud backup company Zetta.net has announced that it's integrated its enterprise-grade cloud backup and disaster recovery platform with ConnectWise to allow MSPs to offer an extra layer of service.
Yo, about that security! We're good, right?
In case you haven't heard of Yo, it's the latest breakout mobile app to go viral. Despite its single-feature capability, or perhaps because of it, the app struck a chord and rocketed to the top of Apple's App Store. Even Yo's own developers describe the app as "a fine line between stupid and genius".
While Yo was basking in the unexpected spotlight at the top of the apps chart, the next thing that happened was also unexpected. Yo got hacked. Three college students exploited a way into the app, snagged 300,000 Yo users and engaged in message spoofing. Yet Yo is hardly the first app, nor will it be the last, to get hacked.
Microsoft raises Azure availability, lowers prices
Microsoft has announced service enhancements and a reduced price scheme for its Azure SQL database, as a result of customer feedback.
Microsoft has now promised to deliver a service-level agreement (SLA) of 99.99 percent availability, equivalent to a downtime of just 53 minutes per year.
Your personal porn is public
The Internet is buzzing about celebrity nude photos pilfered from iCloud. The problem is bigger than Apple's security, if breached, which I doubt. Behavior is the larger concern, and how people adapt during the contextual cloud computing era. If your phone automatically syncs pictures or videos to any cloud service -- Google Photos, iCloud, OneDrive, or another -- you must assume that nothing is private.
That personal nude video you shoot on the HandyCam is very different from the one taken on Galaxy S5, iPhone 5s, or another device. I should be stating the obvious, but given pervasive attitudes about the Internet -- where people feel safe browsing in the sanctity of their domicile or WiFi coffee shop -- carelessness must be the presumption. These leaked celeb nudes, if real rather than Photoshopped, are good example. Simple rule: Don't shoot any photos or videos on a cloud-connected device you don't want everyone to see.
Project Wing is Google's drone-based goods delivery system
Drones tend to be associated with surveillance and crowd control, but Google is the latest firm to express an interest in using the unmanned machines as a delivery service. Facebook has previously talked about using drones to "deliver the internet to everyone", and Amazon has also toyed with the idea, but now the search giant wants a piece of the action. The company's development team, Google X, has been beavering away on a delivery system powered by drones, and details of how it works have now been released.
Unlike other drones that tend to take a quad-copter design, Google's take on the idea sees a merging of a plane with a helicopter. Fitted out with a single wing and four propellers which move into different positions when flying, the drones have a housing unit for packages in the center of the wing. The Atlantic has a great deal of background about the project and it looks as though rather than being used to ship things that shoppers have bought, it is more likely to be used to help in disaster areas where aid is needed.
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