IBM teams up with DocuSign to boost cloud services
Clients of IBM’s software and services will soon be capable of embedding eSignature and Digital Transaction Management through the IT giant’s new strategic global partnership with DocuSign.
DocuSign is working with IBM Cloud -- with a 47-data center footprint -- to provide customers with access to public, private, and hybrid cloud services. DocuSign’s APIs will also be available through Bluemix, which will be key to embedding eSignature and DTM functionalities within IBM’s Cloud platform.
Microsoft releases Cloud App Security to protect SaaS apps and data
Back in September of last year we reported that Microsoft had announced its purchase of cloud security firm Adallom to help its customers protect their cloud-based data and applications.
In February it teased that a new Cloud App Security offering based on Adallom's technology would be released in April. Well, today the wait is over and the product becomes generally available as a cloud-delivered service to help IT and security teams gain visibility and control over cloud apps.
The cloud revolution you probably haven't heard about yet
Like the PC, World Wide Web, and virtualization, the cloud is considered a revolutionary technology because it completely changes business processes, cost structures, and time to value. Volumes of information have been written about the benefits of the cloud, with most stories focusing on low-cost storage, reducing hardware costs, anywhere access to applications, and relocating and scaling compute resources.
But another cloud benefit, a cloud-based application integration framework, is just beginning to resonate in many c-suites. This framework has the potential to completely transform application economics by dramatically simplifying business processes, reducing costs and accelerating time to value. Best of all, this particular cloud revolution can be introduced into an organization incrementally, leveraging existing investments.
Tidal: one year and 3M subscribers later
April 1st marks my first-year anniversary subscribing to Tidal, which relaunched the same day last year, under new ownership of Jay Z. I love and loathe the music streaming service, which I cancelled at least five times and always renewed—typically before the billing cycle ticked over. But checking archived emails, I see that my sub completely expired thrice but not since July.
Gotta ask: What fool starts a business on April Fools, and what does the day foreshadow; if anything? Apple did it, 40 years ago today. Many commentators have called Jay Z the fool for buying Tidal, which competes against established players like Spotify and newcomer Apple Music. The service claimed to have 540,000 subscribers when acquired last year. This week, Tidal revealed globally there are now 3 million subscribers. Someone correct my math—456 percent increase, right? If Jay Z's the fool, gimme some of that foolishness.
Businesses want their infrastructure in the cloud, but it will take time
IT management software firm SolarWinds recently polled 166 IT practitioners, gaining valuable insights into business cloud adoption, security concerns and new and valuable skill sets. The results are quite interesting -- 92 percent said cloud adoption is important to their business, while 27 percent said it was "extremely important".
However, despite cloud technology growing rapidly, businesses are not eager to place their entire infrastructure in it -- 43 percent believe half or more of their infrastructure will be in the cloud within the next three to five years. Sixty percent believe their organization will never fully migrate.
How enterprises can benefit from archiving in the cloud
Most businesses have information they need to keep for compliance and other reasons. Traditionally this has been in the form of paper archives, but the availability of low-cost cloud storage offers an attractive alternative.
Data management company Solix Technologies has produced an infographic looking at the advantages of cloud archiving.
The benefits and challenges of building a hybrid cloud
The growth of cloud computing over the last decade has been unprecedented. From a relatively unheard-of concept, the cloud has become a key part of the boardroom conversation amongst CIOs and IT directors at companies across industries, sizes, and revenues for its promise of organizational transformation.
A large amount of enterprises have already built their own private cloud networks, hosting essential applications and providing anywhere, anytime access to mission critical data for employees scattered across the world. In many cases, the effort pays off, resulting in increased productivity, reduced costs and ease of access.
New research helps isolate real threats from suspicious activity
Security teams often spend a lot of their time investigating anomalies and suspicious behavior, leaving them less time to focus on true threats.
Cloud security specialist CloudLock is tackling this problem with research into what it calls a Cloud Threat Funnel. Based on analysis of user behavior patterns it can isolate truly malicious threats from the noise of other potentially suspicious or unusual behaviors.
PETYA ransomware targets enterprise users via the cloud and overwrites MBRs
Crypto-ransomware is the malware du jour, and the likes of TelsaCrypt 4 and KeRanger are just some of the names to hit the headlines recently. One of the latest examples of ransomware, PETYA, is taking a slightly different and more worrying approach -- it not only targets enterprise users, but also encrypts entire hard drives rather than just a selection of files.
PETYA -- also known as RANSOM_PETYA.A -- goes to some lengths to make sure that victims know that their computers are infected, overwriting the MBR (Master Boot Record) to display a ransom note during the boot process. The malware uses a "military grade encryption algorithm" to lock users out of their files, and victims are directed to venture onto the dark web using the Tor browser to make a Bitcoin ransom payment.
User error is the leading cause of data loss in SaaS applications
Accidental deletion of information is the leading cause of data loss from SaaS applications, responsible for 43 percent in the US and 41 percent in the UK, ahead of data loss caused by malicious insiders and hackers.
This is among the findings of a new survey of IT professionals in the US and UK from cloud backup specialist Spanning which also has insights into who is responsible for SaaS data protection, organizational confidence in SaaS data protection, and the top concerns surrounding moving data to the cloud.
New platform aims to break down barriers to big data adoption
Big data deployments are increasingly shifting from lab settings to full production environments. But there are a number of security and QoS (quality of service) challenges that can slow this process.
Big data company BlueData is launching the latest release of its EPIC software platform, introducing several security and other upgrades to provide a smoother Big-Data-as-a-Service experience as well as support for new applications and frameworks.
Kyvos brings big data to Microsoft Azure
Many organizations are looking at the benefits they can gain from big data but are put off by the infrastructure costs involved.
Analytics company Kyvos Insights is aiming to make big data more accessible by making its scalable, self-service online analytical processing (OLAP) solution available to users of Microsoft Azure HDInsight.
Webscale offers a fast track to delivering web applications
Running an application or server in the cloud has many advantages, but it doesn't guarantee scalability. It can be hard to predict demand, leading to infrastructure having to play catch up at peak periods.
Application delivery specialist Webscale Networks is aiming to improve things with the launch of its new platform offering mid-market e-commerce and enterprise companies a fast track to the cloud.
Druva extends data protection to popular enterprise cloud apps
The increasingly decentralized world of work means that data can be in many different places, on desktops, mobile devices, or in the cloud.
This creates challenges for security and governance, especially if there's a need to adhere to legal and compliance rules. Data protection company Druva wants to guard information wherever it's stored and is extending its inSync offering to cover Box, Google Apps for Work and Exchange Online.
Dropbox moves away from AWS, now stores 90 percent of user data
Look at Dropbox, all grown up and moving away from home. The company has announced that it is now using, almost entirely, its own custom-built infrastructure to hold data.
Dropbox says this is an important milestone, as it moves away from Amazon Web Services it relied on before. Still, it will continue to partner with Amazon, when "it makes sense for our users", Dropbox says.
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