A Look at Apple’s iCloud
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/a-look-at-icloud/
7:13 p.m. | Updated to note user reports of e-mail problems today.
This week in The New York Times, I reviewed Apple’s new iPhone 4S. But the new phone is only one of the big Apple news items this week. On Wednesday, iCloud went live.
This new service is the latest incarnation of what has been called iTools, then .Mac, then MobileMe.
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There are three bits of good news about iCloud.
First, it’s free. (MobileMe was $100 a year.)
Second, it does more than MobileMe.
Third, it’s solid. Like a rock. It would be understandable if you wanted to steer clear; plenty of people remember the data loss and foul-ups of the early MobileMe — but this time, it looks as if Apple nailed it.
So what is iCloud?
• A synchronizing service. It keeps your calendar, address book, documents updated and identical on all your gadgets: Macs, PCs, iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches. In other words, pretty much what MobileMe was.
This is a huge convenience. Change, add or delete an appointment or address-book entry on one device, and the change is instantly, wirelessly, automatically reflected on all the others.
iCloud also includes a free e-mail account, ending in @me.com. Same deal here: Delete a message on one gadget, and you’ll find it in the Deleted Mail folder on another. Send a message from your iPad, and you’ll find it in the Sent Mail folder on your Mac. And so on.
Some programs are available for more than one machine — including Apple’s own iWork suite (Numbers, Pages, Keynote). Those programs are available for Mac, iPhone/iPod Touch, and iPad. In that situation, you can create or edit a document on one kind of machine, and marvel as iCloud automatically syncs it with all your other devices. (Well, sort of. Create or edit a document on an iPhone/iPad/Touch, and it appears on the iCloud.com site for manual downloading by your Mac; the transfer isn’t automatic. Similarly, you have to manually upload these files to iCloud.com before they are transmitted to your iGadgets.)
• An online locker. Anything you buy from Apple — music, TV shows, e-books, and apps — is stored online, for easy access at any time. For example, whenever you buy a song or a TV show from the online iTunes store, it can appear automatically on all your i-gadgets and computers. Or you can re-download it manually at any time, no charge.
• Photo Stream. Every time a new photo enters your life — when you take a picture with an iPhone/iPad/Touch, for example, or import one from a camera onto your computer — it is added to a special folder called Photo Stream. In other words, it appears automatically on all your other iCloud machines: iPhone, iPad, Touch, Mac, PC, Apple TV.
Now, your iGadget doesn’t have nearly as much storage available as your Mac or PC; you can’t yet buy an iPad with 750 gigabytes of storage. That’s why, on your iGadget, your Photo Stream consists of just the last 1,000 photos.
(There’s another limitation, too: the iCloud servers store your photos for 30 days. As long as your gadgets go online at least once a month, they’ll remain current with the Photo Stream. And it doesn’t sync over the cellular airwaves. It sends photos around only when you’re in a Wi-Fi hot spot or connected to a wired network.)
You don’t have to worry about that 30-day, 1,000-photo business on your Mac or PC. Once they appear here, they’re here until you delete them.
On an iGadget, once a photo arrives, you can copy it to your Camera Roll, where it’s permanently saved.
This, in its way, is one of the best features in all of iCloudland, because it means you don’t have to sync your iPhone over a USB cable to get your photos onto your computer. It all happens automatically, wirelessly over WiFi.
It’s also a great way to send photos the other direction — from your Mac or PC. You can drag photos into the Photo Stream folder there, and marvel as they show up on your iGadget.
The one weirdness is that, to preserve its simplicity, Apple designed Photo Stream to be literal and rigid. Every photo that enters your photographic bloodstream becomes part of the Photo Stream. You can’t choose which ones. And more alarmingly, you can’t delete one. All your terrible shots, all your muffed shots, all your scandalous shots become part of the stream, and therefore get propagated across all of your iCloud devices. This is not great news for politicians.
(If something unfortunate enters your own stream, you can visit iCloud.com and use the Reset Photo Stream function. Just be sure to turn Photo Stream off and on again on each of your devices, too, to make them “notice” the newly empty Photo Stream.)
• Back to My Mac. This option lets you access the files on one Mac from another one across the Internet. It isn’t new, but it survives in iCloud.
• Find My iPhone — and Mac. Find My iPhone, the one free former MobileMe feature, pinpoints the current location of your iPhone or iPad on a map. It’s great for helping you find your iGadget if it’s been stolen or lost.
You can also make your lost gadget start making a loud pinging sound for a couple of minutes by remote control — even if it was set to Vibrate mode. That’s brilliantly effective when your phone has slipped under the couch cushions. In dire situations, you can even erase the phone by remote control, preventing sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.
In iCloud, this feature can find your Mac, too. That might seem like a silly idea; how often do you misplace your iMac? But remember that 75 percent of all computers Apple sells are laptops.
• Automatic backup. iCloud automatically backs up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Completely, automatically and wirelessly (over WiFi, not over cellular connections). It’s a quick backup, since iCloud backs up only whatever data has changed since the last backup.
But in some ways, iCloud is MobileMe Minus; some MobileMe features didn’t survive the cut. For example:
• iWeb. The beauty of this easy-to-use Web-site design program was that, with one click, you could publish your work on the actual Web — the MobileMe site “hosted” your pages. (As a replacement, you might consider the free www.weebly.com service, which makes it super-simple to design a Web site.)
• The iDisk. This “virtual hard drive in the sky” was a great way to transfer big files between computers. (As a replacement, consider DropBox or SugarSync; they let you create desktop folders that behave exactly like the iDisk. You can make them appear — and synchronize them — on any computer, or the iPhone or iPad. Free for up to 2two gigabytes (DropBox) or five gigs (SugarSync).
• Photo Gallery. Apple’s online galleries were a beautiful, uncluttered and ad-free way to present your digital slide shows to your adoring fans. And now they’re gone (the galleries, not the fans). (Replacements include www.picasa.com and www.flickr.com. And, of course, there’s Facebook.)
• Data sync. Some of the things MobileMe could sync no longer sync in iCloud: Dashboard widgets, Dock items, Keychains and all the trappings of your e-mail accounts, like settings, signatures, rules and preferences.
Apple will keep MobileMe around until June 30, 2012. At that point, it goes away forever.
A free iCloud account gives you five gigabytes of online storage. Fortunately, anything you buy from Apple — like music, apps, books and TV shows — doesn’t count against that five-gigabyte amount. Neither do the photos in your Photo Stream. (You can expand your storage if you find five gigs constricting — for $2 a gigabyte a year. So you’ll pay $20, $40 or $100 a year for an extra 10, 20, or 50 gigs. You can upgrade your storage right from your iGadget or computer.)
This must sound like a lot of stuff and a lot of complexity. And it is. (Of course, you choose which features you want to use, or you can ignore all of it and just not sign up.)
Still, that’s nothing compared to the complexity that must have been involved in engineering all of this to work smoothly from Day 1. Imagine the strain on Apple’s servers when its 300 million iGadget and Mac customers descended simultaneously on iCloud on Wednesday. (Update: Actually, some people are having iCloud e-mail problems today.)
But the bottom line is that there is real gold in them thar clouds. The syncing of address book and calendar is essential. Photo Stream is fantastic — you never have to curse the fact that some great photo is stuck on another machine (although I wish there were a way to delete individual photos).
And all of this is free?
What can I say? It’s a banner week for Apple.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
the intelligent usage of shareware
shareware is used by startups
but
Enterprise resists for fear of being "locked out" if the shareware should be withdrawn or fail.
Isn't it time to start using shareware?
also
commercial sales don't want people using shareware
Jack Welch said think like the corner country store
but
large enterprise likes risk averse methods
but
Enterprise resists for fear of being "locked out" if the shareware should be withdrawn or fail.
Isn't it time to start using shareware?
also
commercial sales don't want people using shareware
Jack Welch said think like the corner country store
but
large enterprise likes risk averse methods
Friday, October 14, 2011
Orion a start up Cloud Infrastructure company
http://orionvm.com.au/blog/is-cloud-a-commodity-or-will-it-be/
Sign Up Login Performance - Reliability - Simplicityhomefeaturespricingblog
Is cloud a commodity ( or will it be? )
Joseph Glanville | 27 September 2011
As it is often cited many people believe that cloud computing is another step in the commodisation of compute capacity and data storage. By what is commoditization, how does it relate to cloud computing and is cloud really a commodity? ( or will it be )
Firstly the term commodity is well described in this excerpt from Wikipedia:
"A commodity is a good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. A commodity has full or partial fungibility; that is, the market treats it as equivalent or nearly so no matter who produces it. Examples are petroleum and copper. The price of copper is universal, and fluctuates daily based on global supply and demand. Stereo systems, on the other hand, have many aspects of product differentiation, such as the brand, the user interface, the perceived quality etc. And, the more valuable a stereo is perceived to be, the more it will cost."
Now, the important aspect of this passage is that the wares offered, in this case - cloud computing, need to be standardized across all sources in order for a global commodity market to emerge. In it's current state without formal open standards or even agreed industry standards cloud computing is a far stretch from achieving this. There is however some initiatives like the Open Virtualization Format and the Open Cloud Computing Interface that are gaining steam but wide spread adoption has not yet taken place.
Because of this cloud computing is about as far from commodity as it can get currently, vendors offer many levels of differentiation - be it varying interfaces, performance, value-added products and support.
For the sake of argument and pondering of possibilities lets assume that cloud will be standardized (at the container and API layer) at some later stage. If this can be achieved nothing stands in the way of a global market for compute.
Another interesting fact about cloud computing as a commodity is it's more of a utility, in this way it is comparable to power and mobile phone networks for instance. Conversely it is also global, free of the geographical constraints of the two former examples, I can use OrionVM from Bangladesh for instance, but I probably can't use Telstra Next-G. :P
The consequences of this are enormous as it places it in the realm of natural resources like copper and coal - being global markets that intrinsically change in value according to demand, yet still retaining some requirement of locality due to the properties of latency.
But can this last gap really be achieved? Is it possible to standardize soft qualities like customer service and support? How about geographical locality what part would that play considering hot topics like data sovereignty, latency and local support?
I believe what represents the largest barriers to commoditization are what I like to refer to as "People Problems", more scientifically - political, emotional, sociological and business (read profit) problems, whether real or perceived.
Technology has already gotten us 80% of the way there, but the last 20% is going to take 80% of the time as per the omni-present 80/20 rule.
To summarize, cloud is not yet a commodity but it's quickly heading in that direction. Is that good or bad? Maybe the topic of another blog post...
Sign Up Login Performance - Reliability - Simplicityhomefeaturespricingblog
Is cloud a commodity ( or will it be? )
Joseph Glanville | 27 September 2011
As it is often cited many people believe that cloud computing is another step in the commodisation of compute capacity and data storage. By what is commoditization, how does it relate to cloud computing and is cloud really a commodity? ( or will it be )
Firstly the term commodity is well described in this excerpt from Wikipedia:
"A commodity is a good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. A commodity has full or partial fungibility; that is, the market treats it as equivalent or nearly so no matter who produces it. Examples are petroleum and copper. The price of copper is universal, and fluctuates daily based on global supply and demand. Stereo systems, on the other hand, have many aspects of product differentiation, such as the brand, the user interface, the perceived quality etc. And, the more valuable a stereo is perceived to be, the more it will cost."
Now, the important aspect of this passage is that the wares offered, in this case - cloud computing, need to be standardized across all sources in order for a global commodity market to emerge. In it's current state without formal open standards or even agreed industry standards cloud computing is a far stretch from achieving this. There is however some initiatives like the Open Virtualization Format and the Open Cloud Computing Interface that are gaining steam but wide spread adoption has not yet taken place.
Because of this cloud computing is about as far from commodity as it can get currently, vendors offer many levels of differentiation - be it varying interfaces, performance, value-added products and support.
For the sake of argument and pondering of possibilities lets assume that cloud will be standardized (at the container and API layer) at some later stage. If this can be achieved nothing stands in the way of a global market for compute.
Another interesting fact about cloud computing as a commodity is it's more of a utility, in this way it is comparable to power and mobile phone networks for instance. Conversely it is also global, free of the geographical constraints of the two former examples, I can use OrionVM from Bangladesh for instance, but I probably can't use Telstra Next-G. :P
The consequences of this are enormous as it places it in the realm of natural resources like copper and coal - being global markets that intrinsically change in value according to demand, yet still retaining some requirement of locality due to the properties of latency.
But can this last gap really be achieved? Is it possible to standardize soft qualities like customer service and support? How about geographical locality what part would that play considering hot topics like data sovereignty, latency and local support?
I believe what represents the largest barriers to commoditization are what I like to refer to as "People Problems", more scientifically - political, emotional, sociological and business (read profit) problems, whether real or perceived.
Technology has already gotten us 80% of the way there, but the last 20% is going to take 80% of the time as per the omni-present 80/20 rule.
To summarize, cloud is not yet a commodity but it's quickly heading in that direction. Is that good or bad? Maybe the topic of another blog post...
Thursday, October 13, 2011
mobile payment system
http://www.datamation.com/feature/cloud-computing-data-storage-buying-guide-1.html
Square Processing $2B In Payments Per Year, Has Signed Up 800K Merchants
LEENA RAO
posted 7 hours ago13 Comments
Disruptive mobile payments company Square is making a number of announcements today relating to growth and new user features. First, the company is dropping its new user limits.
For background, Square offers an iPhone, Android and iPad app which allows merchants to process and manage credit card transactions with a handy little credit card swiping device that plugs into the headset/microphone jack. The device and service is the brainchild of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. In May, the company debuted a new service to replace the cash register and loyalty card, and in June, Square raised a $100 million in funding, which valued the company above $1 billion.
Historically, if a new Square user processed more than $1000 in transactions per week, anything above that $1000 will be held for a certain amount of time. This time period ranged from a few hours to as long as a month. How much was help was also a variable amount based on an algorithm that scored merchants. Users had the ability to negotiate and work with Square to raise these limits, but it was on a case by case basis.
Today, Square, which launched to the public exactly a year ago today, is abolishing those limits so all new businesses who use card reader will have funds triggered for processing the same day, the proceeds arriving in the merchants bank accounts the next business day. Clearly this ability to provide merchant money as fast as possible despite being a new user is just another way Square is trying to disrupt the payments space for businesses, especially small businesses who may feel the loss of these limits more than a large enterprise. As you may remember, Square also dropped its $0.15 per transaction charge for businesses a few months ago earlier this year.
Square’s Keith Rabois also revealed a number of growth statistics for the company, including that the payments service is now processing $2 billion in payments volume per year. To date, Square has been activated by 800,000 merchants which is up from 500,000 card readers shipped in May. Rabois says that Square’s merchants are now 10% of the reach of the Visa/MasterCard world.
Rabois says that the new user limit drop is part of Square’s greater vision of eliminating the need for a merchant account, and giving businesses one simple and easy to use product without the fees, and limitations associated with most payments product.
“We’re not going to sleep until we improve the entire experience of buying and selling,” he says. “Every month we’ll have improvements to the product.” In August, Square updated its mobile apps for a more fast, and seamless payments experience.
With more products and improvements set to debut soon, it should be interesting to see how Square continues to innovate and build out its user base. Stay tuned.
CRUNCHBASE
SQUARE
Company:
Square
Website:
squareup.com
Funding:
$169M
Square is a revolutionary service that enables anyone to accept credit cards anywhere. Square offers an easy to use, free credit card reader that plugs into a phone or iPad. It’s simple to sign up. There is no extra equipment, complicated contracts, monthly fees or merchant account required. Co-founded by Jim McKelvey and Jack Dorsey in 2009, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in Saint Louis and New York City.
Square Processing $2B In Payments Per Year, Has Signed Up 800K Merchants
LEENA RAO
posted 7 hours ago13 Comments
Disruptive mobile payments company Square is making a number of announcements today relating to growth and new user features. First, the company is dropping its new user limits.
For background, Square offers an iPhone, Android and iPad app which allows merchants to process and manage credit card transactions with a handy little credit card swiping device that plugs into the headset/microphone jack. The device and service is the brainchild of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. In May, the company debuted a new service to replace the cash register and loyalty card, and in June, Square raised a $100 million in funding, which valued the company above $1 billion.
Historically, if a new Square user processed more than $1000 in transactions per week, anything above that $1000 will be held for a certain amount of time. This time period ranged from a few hours to as long as a month. How much was help was also a variable amount based on an algorithm that scored merchants. Users had the ability to negotiate and work with Square to raise these limits, but it was on a case by case basis.
Today, Square, which launched to the public exactly a year ago today, is abolishing those limits so all new businesses who use card reader will have funds triggered for processing the same day, the proceeds arriving in the merchants bank accounts the next business day. Clearly this ability to provide merchant money as fast as possible despite being a new user is just another way Square is trying to disrupt the payments space for businesses, especially small businesses who may feel the loss of these limits more than a large enterprise. As you may remember, Square also dropped its $0.15 per transaction charge for businesses a few months ago earlier this year.
Square’s Keith Rabois also revealed a number of growth statistics for the company, including that the payments service is now processing $2 billion in payments volume per year. To date, Square has been activated by 800,000 merchants which is up from 500,000 card readers shipped in May. Rabois says that Square’s merchants are now 10% of the reach of the Visa/MasterCard world.
Rabois says that the new user limit drop is part of Square’s greater vision of eliminating the need for a merchant account, and giving businesses one simple and easy to use product without the fees, and limitations associated with most payments product.
“We’re not going to sleep until we improve the entire experience of buying and selling,” he says. “Every month we’ll have improvements to the product.” In August, Square updated its mobile apps for a more fast, and seamless payments experience.
With more products and improvements set to debut soon, it should be interesting to see how Square continues to innovate and build out its user base. Stay tuned.
CRUNCHBASE
SQUARE
Company:
Square
Website:
squareup.com
Funding:
$169M
Square is a revolutionary service that enables anyone to accept credit cards anywhere. Square offers an easy to use, free credit card reader that plugs into a phone or iPad. It’s simple to sign up. There is no extra equipment, complicated contracts, monthly fees or merchant account required. Co-founded by Jim McKelvey and Jack Dorsey in 2009, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in Saint Louis and New York City.
Cloud Computing buying guide
Cloud Computing Data Storage: Buying Guide
Using cloud computing for data storage offers a number of advantages -- if you ask potential vendors the right questions.
Email ArticlePrint ArticleComment on this article Share Articles
September 26, 2011
By Jeff Vance
Submit Feedback »
More Articles »
(Page 1 of 2)
Although many enterprises are moving applications and other processes to the cloud, data backups and storage are still often local. On-site storage seem easier to control and secure, yet it’s costly to administer and leaves organizations vulnerable should a natural disaster hit.
Moreover, bottlenecks often form at the local level, especially when integrating remote applications and assets with those managed on-site.
Most organizations with a cloud presence have an eye toward using the cloud for data storage. But with a variety of cloud storage vendors to choose from, it’s important to ask the following questions to assure valuable digital assets are managed efficiently and effectively:
1. Are files and backups persistently (and quickly) available?
If your business is looking to the cloud as a primary location for file storage and backups, availability is key. For Nhan Nguyen, Chief Scientist and CTO at CIC, being able to access files quickly and at any time is the cornerstone of providing customers with the quality of service they expect.
CIC provides electronic signature solutions for the time-sensitive financial services industry. So its technologists needed to know that their cloud storage solution would maintain the same level of availability and speed as an on-site option.
Nguyen explained, “We support a very high number of concurrent users. Maintaining very high uptime and guaranteed document load performance of less than three seconds are our main goals.”
CIC needed a solution that would meet these goals and satisfy customer SLAs. After some research, they decided to deploy Gluster’s File System (GlusterFS), which complemented their existing cloud technology infrastructure.
Using GlusterFS, CIC was able to pool, aggregate, and virtualize their existing Amazon Web Services Elastic Block Storage (EBS). By utilizing both synchronous and asynchronous replication, files are retrieved quickly–even surpassing customer expectations.
2. Can the solution scale to keep up with future growth?
Related Articles
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7 Emerging Cloud Computing Vendors Providing Performance and Optimization Services
For Stanley Kania, CEO of Software Link, a hosted ERP provider, looking to the cloud was a way to meet expanding storage needs.
“Using local disc storage on servers became unmanageable and unsustainable, especially as we began to virtualize our infrastructure. At the same time, we need to store more and more data,” Kania said. With over 2,000 customers and growing, Kania and his team found a solution in Coraid.
Coraid’s EtherDrive platform enabled faster performance and allowed for adding new storage as-needed, scaling to meet Software Link’s growing storage needs.
“We chose Coraid because we got the most bang for our buck. Coraid provides the kind of advanced storage virtualization and data availability we required to successfully continue expanding our business,” Kania said.
Software Link is now able to host far more applications and has seen an increase in spindle speed and high demand IL. When they need additional storage, additional EtherDrive shelves can be configured and deployed in a matter of minutes.
3. Will the solution fit with existing applications and infrastructures?
For both Software Link and CIC, integrating a storage solution with existing applications and infrastructures was a key requirement. Both companies were looking for complementary solutions that would accommodate existing workflows.
“The solution we were looking for had to fit with current applications,” says Kania, whose business primarily provides hosted ERP solutions from Sage and SMB solutions from QuickBooks.
For Nyguen and his staff at CIC, a streamlined transition from their preexisting storage to the cloud was a main requirement. The staff at CIC had already selected the RightScale Cloud Management Platform as the foundation for their operations, and had decided on Amazon’s EBS.
As Nyguen says, “It was crucial to select a cloud storage solution that required no change to our existing infrastructure.”
Page 1 of 2
1 2 Next Page
Cloud Computing Data Storage: Buying Guide: Page 2
Using cloud computing for data storage offers a number of advantages -- if you ask potential vendors the right questions.
Email ArticlePrint ArticleComment on this article Share Articles
September 26, 2011
By Jeff Vance
Submit Feedback »
More Articles »
(Page 2 of 2)
4. Is the solution secure?
The year 2011 was a record year for natural disasters and catastrophic weather in terms of number of events and their devastating costs. Earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes and other events have made an indelible impact on many communities and businesses both in the US and around the world.
This trend made Veronica Barnes, Directory of Technology for the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, nervous about the future and what would happen in the event of a disaster. The town was performing local backups and was not fully protected from the potential risks.
“The number of recent disasters in other parts of the country really raised my level of urgency,” Barnes stated.
The town looked to Zetta for a solution that would backup a majority of their critical data off-site. ZettaMirror automatically replicates and syncs local data for on-demand access. The data is transferred and stored in encrypted format, and a current copy is persistently available through either a web browser or directly through the remote file system.
Although the Town of Dedham has not had a disaster from which they had to recover data through Zetta, the solution has given the town and their IT staff peace of mind. “Zetta took a lot of pressure off us. Before, we were going home at night and worrying a lot.”
Kania of Software Link echoes concerns over the increasing need to protect against catastrophic events. “You want to look for a data center in a location that’s not prone to a lot of disasters. You want a place where you know your data will be okay, and where security is solid.”
5. Does it deliver ROI?
Usually when organizations think about moving to the cloud, cost savings is one of the big drivers. With storage, solid ROI is certainly a consideration, but it’s not necessarily the most important consideration.
Yes, your CEO will probably demand ROI, but CIOs and IT managers would be well served to educate the business side of the organization on the fact that not every benefit can be accurately captured by ROI calculations – which for services like cloud storage are often fictions anyway.
A recent blog post by JP Morgenthal sums it up nicely:
Cloud computing is about an effective use of compute resources that provides agility and flexibility to my business in a cost-effective manner. I’m not investing in cloud computing, I’m consuming a service. Do you discuss the ROI of eating at McDonalds or having your car washed? Of course not, because there’s no ROI in using a service since using a service is not an investment. Using services is about effective use of cash flow relative as an alternative to using your own resources and assets.
Cloud storage is about keeping up with the changing computing landscape. Disaster recovery is a must, and in many industries is mandated. Workers are spending more time working from home and in remote locations. More organizations are outsourcing key tasks that used to be completed within the corporate walls, and they must provide access to digital assets to partners and contractors.
Cloud storage rolls all of these features together into a single service. Even though all of those benefits may be tough to quantify, it still delivers solid value to the organization. And isn’t that what ROI is supposed to be about in the first place?
To use an analogy, I’m enough of a backyard mechanic to fix my vehicle’s transmission, but is it worth it? Today’s mechanics have specialized diagnostic tools, expensive lifts and benefit from a number of other efficiencies. The same is true of specialized services like cloud storage.
Why would you want the headache of owning your own storage when it’s so easy to consume?
(Lindsay Armstrong contributed to this story.)
Page 2 of 2
Previous Page 1 2
Tags: data storage, cloud computing
Using cloud computing for data storage offers a number of advantages -- if you ask potential vendors the right questions.
Email ArticlePrint ArticleComment on this article Share Articles
September 26, 2011
By Jeff Vance
Submit Feedback »
More Articles »
(Page 1 of 2)
Although many enterprises are moving applications and other processes to the cloud, data backups and storage are still often local. On-site storage seem easier to control and secure, yet it’s costly to administer and leaves organizations vulnerable should a natural disaster hit.
Moreover, bottlenecks often form at the local level, especially when integrating remote applications and assets with those managed on-site.
Most organizations with a cloud presence have an eye toward using the cloud for data storage. But with a variety of cloud storage vendors to choose from, it’s important to ask the following questions to assure valuable digital assets are managed efficiently and effectively:
1. Are files and backups persistently (and quickly) available?
If your business is looking to the cloud as a primary location for file storage and backups, availability is key. For Nhan Nguyen, Chief Scientist and CTO at CIC, being able to access files quickly and at any time is the cornerstone of providing customers with the quality of service they expect.
CIC provides electronic signature solutions for the time-sensitive financial services industry. So its technologists needed to know that their cloud storage solution would maintain the same level of availability and speed as an on-site option.
Nguyen explained, “We support a very high number of concurrent users. Maintaining very high uptime and guaranteed document load performance of less than three seconds are our main goals.”
CIC needed a solution that would meet these goals and satisfy customer SLAs. After some research, they decided to deploy Gluster’s File System (GlusterFS), which complemented their existing cloud technology infrastructure.
Using GlusterFS, CIC was able to pool, aggregate, and virtualize their existing Amazon Web Services Elastic Block Storage (EBS). By utilizing both synchronous and asynchronous replication, files are retrieved quickly–even surpassing customer expectations.
2. Can the solution scale to keep up with future growth?
Related Articles
Cloud Computing Management Tools: Buying Guide
Building the Optimal Private Cloud Computing Deployment
Cloud Computing: The Road Ahead
What Buyers Look for in Cloud Computing Solutions
Cloud Computing Could Lead to Billions in Energy Savings
7 Emerging Cloud Computing Vendors Providing Performance and Optimization Services
For Stanley Kania, CEO of Software Link, a hosted ERP provider, looking to the cloud was a way to meet expanding storage needs.
“Using local disc storage on servers became unmanageable and unsustainable, especially as we began to virtualize our infrastructure. At the same time, we need to store more and more data,” Kania said. With over 2,000 customers and growing, Kania and his team found a solution in Coraid.
Coraid’s EtherDrive platform enabled faster performance and allowed for adding new storage as-needed, scaling to meet Software Link’s growing storage needs.
“We chose Coraid because we got the most bang for our buck. Coraid provides the kind of advanced storage virtualization and data availability we required to successfully continue expanding our business,” Kania said.
Software Link is now able to host far more applications and has seen an increase in spindle speed and high demand IL. When they need additional storage, additional EtherDrive shelves can be configured and deployed in a matter of minutes.
3. Will the solution fit with existing applications and infrastructures?
For both Software Link and CIC, integrating a storage solution with existing applications and infrastructures was a key requirement. Both companies were looking for complementary solutions that would accommodate existing workflows.
“The solution we were looking for had to fit with current applications,” says Kania, whose business primarily provides hosted ERP solutions from Sage and SMB solutions from QuickBooks.
For Nyguen and his staff at CIC, a streamlined transition from their preexisting storage to the cloud was a main requirement. The staff at CIC had already selected the RightScale Cloud Management Platform as the foundation for their operations, and had decided on Amazon’s EBS.
As Nyguen says, “It was crucial to select a cloud storage solution that required no change to our existing infrastructure.”
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Using cloud computing for data storage offers a number of advantages -- if you ask potential vendors the right questions.
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4. Is the solution secure?
The year 2011 was a record year for natural disasters and catastrophic weather in terms of number of events and their devastating costs. Earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes and other events have made an indelible impact on many communities and businesses both in the US and around the world.
This trend made Veronica Barnes, Directory of Technology for the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, nervous about the future and what would happen in the event of a disaster. The town was performing local backups and was not fully protected from the potential risks.
“The number of recent disasters in other parts of the country really raised my level of urgency,” Barnes stated.
The town looked to Zetta for a solution that would backup a majority of their critical data off-site. ZettaMirror automatically replicates and syncs local data for on-demand access. The data is transferred and stored in encrypted format, and a current copy is persistently available through either a web browser or directly through the remote file system.
Although the Town of Dedham has not had a disaster from which they had to recover data through Zetta, the solution has given the town and their IT staff peace of mind. “Zetta took a lot of pressure off us. Before, we were going home at night and worrying a lot.”
Kania of Software Link echoes concerns over the increasing need to protect against catastrophic events. “You want to look for a data center in a location that’s not prone to a lot of disasters. You want a place where you know your data will be okay, and where security is solid.”
5. Does it deliver ROI?
Usually when organizations think about moving to the cloud, cost savings is one of the big drivers. With storage, solid ROI is certainly a consideration, but it’s not necessarily the most important consideration.
Yes, your CEO will probably demand ROI, but CIOs and IT managers would be well served to educate the business side of the organization on the fact that not every benefit can be accurately captured by ROI calculations – which for services like cloud storage are often fictions anyway.
A recent blog post by JP Morgenthal sums it up nicely:
Cloud computing is about an effective use of compute resources that provides agility and flexibility to my business in a cost-effective manner. I’m not investing in cloud computing, I’m consuming a service. Do you discuss the ROI of eating at McDonalds or having your car washed? Of course not, because there’s no ROI in using a service since using a service is not an investment. Using services is about effective use of cash flow relative as an alternative to using your own resources and assets.
Cloud storage is about keeping up with the changing computing landscape. Disaster recovery is a must, and in many industries is mandated. Workers are spending more time working from home and in remote locations. More organizations are outsourcing key tasks that used to be completed within the corporate walls, and they must provide access to digital assets to partners and contractors.
Cloud storage rolls all of these features together into a single service. Even though all of those benefits may be tough to quantify, it still delivers solid value to the organization. And isn’t that what ROI is supposed to be about in the first place?
To use an analogy, I’m enough of a backyard mechanic to fix my vehicle’s transmission, but is it worth it? Today’s mechanics have specialized diagnostic tools, expensive lifts and benefit from a number of other efficiencies. The same is true of specialized services like cloud storage.
Why would you want the headache of owning your own storage when it’s so easy to consume?
(Lindsay Armstrong contributed to this story.)
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Tags: data storage, cloud computing
Mobile payments systems
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/small-business/mobile-payments-taking-off/story-e6frg9hf-1225954637652
Mobile payments taking off
BY: SHOW ME THE MONEY: ED CHARLES From: The Australian November 26, 2010 12:00AM
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WITH the arrival of the iPhone and smartphones in Australia in mid-2008, 2009 was the year mobile internet browsing took off.
Now PayPal reports that this year mobile payments took off in Australia, opening the battlelines between payment systems, some that use SMS and others smartphone apps.
PayPal's figures indicate a twelvefold increase in mobile payments from $2.7 million last year to $35m this year. And the mobile commerce market is estimated to reach $26.9bn in value by 2013 according to research by PayPal, Forrester Research and the Leading Edge.
PayPal is one of the payment solution success stories, having reached critical mass as a viable business through online commerce. It is making inroads into the mobile and micro-payments sector, having opened up its technology for software developers to create payment systems and apps to order research, and order and pay for goods by phone.
Related Coverage
Opening your virtual wallet
Perth Now, 24 Sep 2011
EBay profit falls on charges
Perth Now, 21 Jul 2011
Smartphone pay systems on hold
The Australian, 5 Jul 2011
Calls to secure cyber wallets
Courier Mail, 7 Jun 2011
Google to fight mobile 'wallet' lawsuit
Adelaide Now, 28 May 2011
For example, Melbourne-based event booking and ticketing system Eventarc.com uses PayPal and the Event Cinemas app allows users to browse film session times on a smartphone and buy tickets using PayPal.
Companies can send invoices for PayPal payment via SMS.
Later this year PayPal is launching internationally its answer to the Apple store in allowing simple two-click micro-payments using PayPal's Express Checkout while browsing the web.
"We want to make it as easy as putting 20c in the slot," PayPal spokesman Adrian Christie says. He says the secret to a successful mobile payment solution is the ability to make a payment with a simple password, rather than having to type in a 16-digit credit card number on a tiny keyboard.
There is also a raft of emerging companies worldwide, and in Australia, looking to develop the mobile platform. Canberra-based mHITs has developed a simple platform for micro-payments that can be made from any mobile phone that can send an SMS.
At its most simple, an mHITs account holder can make payments via SMS for free to any individual in Australia, the system establishing a free account for whoever receives the payment for no cost. An account holder can text a cafe to order and pay for a coffee. The cost is 3.5 per cent of the transaction, or a minimum of 25c.
"It's like PayPal through SMS," mHITs chief executive Harold Dimpel says. "The advantage is that you can use any phone. You don't need a smartphone and you don't need an app."
Dimpel says SMS payment is proving popular with drive-through coffee shops, where business throughput is capped by the queues caused by payment delays.
The latest drive-through to sign-up is Ticos Coffee shop on the Geelong Road in Brooklyn, Victoria, where drivers can text orders -- from stationary vehicles -- straight to the cash register.
"Coffee [shops] are a really good example because they have long queues," Dimpel says.
"Anywhere where there is queuing we can provide a benefit. It helps reduce queues."
At present, mHITs is conducting a trial of its Q-Jumper payments system, which allows consumers to order from a set menu and automatically works out the price, with a trial running at Subway in Rouse Hill, Sydney.
Another company sidestepping, as well as embracing, the smartphone is QPay, which provides the payment engine and is seeking partners for its technology in Australia. The QPay system allows account holders to purchase online, or through the mobile web, without having to enter credit card details or repeat any data.
Instead, users set up an account and then simply enter a mobile phone number. They are then called and asked to verify the purchase whether the purchase is online or on a mobile phone.
"Most importantly, you don't have to enter a credit card number," QPay chairman Greg Walter says. "You can't do what you can do online on a mobile phone. We set out to develop a system that takes out the keystrokes," he says.
There are other payment systems emerging. In the US, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey is launching Square, a smartphone app that accepts card payments; it is not yet available here.
In April ANZ announced plans to launch an EFTPOS and mobile phone-based system to accept credit card payments for businesses, although its release has been delayed.
The eWay and SecurePay online payment gateways also have launched a free app that allows payments to be taken on an iPhone.
Other independent card acceptance apps are finding the going tough to reach critical mass. ICCPay, which costs $43.99 through the Apple app store, was launched in January and has sold 125 apps to date.
PHONE-Y MONEY
Chipped phones
Visa and National Australia Bank have trialled contactless mobile phones, which contain a special payment chip, as an alternative to card payments.
Nokia backs a system called Obopay, which allows payments to be made by mobile phone but doesn't require a special chip.
Smartphone apps
Most payment electronic gateways have apps developed for smartphones such as the iPhone to receive payments. ANZ has announced that it will release one, and inevitably the other banks will follow. Squared from the US is a system that allows smartphones to swipe cards and receive payments; it is backed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
There are apps that allow smartphone users to buy good and services. For instance, Plastic Fork is an app that allows takeaways to be ordered and paid for from about 300 restaurants across Australia without the repeated entry of credit card numbers.
SMS
Canberra-based mHITs offers a peer-to-peer payment service that allows micropayments by SMS from any mobile phone. It also offers a service that allows people to order and pay for meals by phone.
Paypal
PayPal has opened itself to developers to create their own apps and portals for payment solutions using its systems. Blingnation.com in the US and eventarc.com, which was developed in Melbourne, are examples.
Has a smartphone app that allows users to make payments and exchange money by bumping (that is, simultaneously shaking iPhones.
Plans to launch a contextual micropayments system, which will allow users to click on links in content and purchase music, games and other content.
QPay
Qpay works across the mobile and regular web. Account holders simply enter their mobile phone number to purchase and a transaction is verified by a call to the mobile in question.
Mobile payments taking off
BY: SHOW ME THE MONEY: ED CHARLES From: The Australian November 26, 2010 12:00AM
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size
Share
WITH the arrival of the iPhone and smartphones in Australia in mid-2008, 2009 was the year mobile internet browsing took off.
Now PayPal reports that this year mobile payments took off in Australia, opening the battlelines between payment systems, some that use SMS and others smartphone apps.
PayPal's figures indicate a twelvefold increase in mobile payments from $2.7 million last year to $35m this year. And the mobile commerce market is estimated to reach $26.9bn in value by 2013 according to research by PayPal, Forrester Research and the Leading Edge.
PayPal is one of the payment solution success stories, having reached critical mass as a viable business through online commerce. It is making inroads into the mobile and micro-payments sector, having opened up its technology for software developers to create payment systems and apps to order research, and order and pay for goods by phone.
Related Coverage
Opening your virtual wallet
Perth Now, 24 Sep 2011
EBay profit falls on charges
Perth Now, 21 Jul 2011
Smartphone pay systems on hold
The Australian, 5 Jul 2011
Calls to secure cyber wallets
Courier Mail, 7 Jun 2011
Google to fight mobile 'wallet' lawsuit
Adelaide Now, 28 May 2011
For example, Melbourne-based event booking and ticketing system Eventarc.com uses PayPal and the Event Cinemas app allows users to browse film session times on a smartphone and buy tickets using PayPal.
Companies can send invoices for PayPal payment via SMS.
Later this year PayPal is launching internationally its answer to the Apple store in allowing simple two-click micro-payments using PayPal's Express Checkout while browsing the web.
"We want to make it as easy as putting 20c in the slot," PayPal spokesman Adrian Christie says. He says the secret to a successful mobile payment solution is the ability to make a payment with a simple password, rather than having to type in a 16-digit credit card number on a tiny keyboard.
There is also a raft of emerging companies worldwide, and in Australia, looking to develop the mobile platform. Canberra-based mHITs has developed a simple platform for micro-payments that can be made from any mobile phone that can send an SMS.
At its most simple, an mHITs account holder can make payments via SMS for free to any individual in Australia, the system establishing a free account for whoever receives the payment for no cost. An account holder can text a cafe to order and pay for a coffee. The cost is 3.5 per cent of the transaction, or a minimum of 25c.
"It's like PayPal through SMS," mHITs chief executive Harold Dimpel says. "The advantage is that you can use any phone. You don't need a smartphone and you don't need an app."
Dimpel says SMS payment is proving popular with drive-through coffee shops, where business throughput is capped by the queues caused by payment delays.
The latest drive-through to sign-up is Ticos Coffee shop on the Geelong Road in Brooklyn, Victoria, where drivers can text orders -- from stationary vehicles -- straight to the cash register.
"Coffee [shops] are a really good example because they have long queues," Dimpel says.
"Anywhere where there is queuing we can provide a benefit. It helps reduce queues."
At present, mHITs is conducting a trial of its Q-Jumper payments system, which allows consumers to order from a set menu and automatically works out the price, with a trial running at Subway in Rouse Hill, Sydney.
Another company sidestepping, as well as embracing, the smartphone is QPay, which provides the payment engine and is seeking partners for its technology in Australia. The QPay system allows account holders to purchase online, or through the mobile web, without having to enter credit card details or repeat any data.
Instead, users set up an account and then simply enter a mobile phone number. They are then called and asked to verify the purchase whether the purchase is online or on a mobile phone.
"Most importantly, you don't have to enter a credit card number," QPay chairman Greg Walter says. "You can't do what you can do online on a mobile phone. We set out to develop a system that takes out the keystrokes," he says.
There are other payment systems emerging. In the US, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey is launching Square, a smartphone app that accepts card payments; it is not yet available here.
In April ANZ announced plans to launch an EFTPOS and mobile phone-based system to accept credit card payments for businesses, although its release has been delayed.
The eWay and SecurePay online payment gateways also have launched a free app that allows payments to be taken on an iPhone.
Other independent card acceptance apps are finding the going tough to reach critical mass. ICCPay, which costs $43.99 through the Apple app store, was launched in January and has sold 125 apps to date.
PHONE-Y MONEY
Chipped phones
Visa and National Australia Bank have trialled contactless mobile phones, which contain a special payment chip, as an alternative to card payments.
Nokia backs a system called Obopay, which allows payments to be made by mobile phone but doesn't require a special chip.
Smartphone apps
Most payment electronic gateways have apps developed for smartphones such as the iPhone to receive payments. ANZ has announced that it will release one, and inevitably the other banks will follow. Squared from the US is a system that allows smartphones to swipe cards and receive payments; it is backed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
There are apps that allow smartphone users to buy good and services. For instance, Plastic Fork is an app that allows takeaways to be ordered and paid for from about 300 restaurants across Australia without the repeated entry of credit card numbers.
SMS
Canberra-based mHITs offers a peer-to-peer payment service that allows micropayments by SMS from any mobile phone. It also offers a service that allows people to order and pay for meals by phone.
Paypal
PayPal has opened itself to developers to create their own apps and portals for payment solutions using its systems. Blingnation.com in the US and eventarc.com, which was developed in Melbourne, are examples.
Has a smartphone app that allows users to make payments and exchange money by bumping (that is, simultaneously shaking iPhones.
Plans to launch a contextual micropayments system, which will allow users to click on links in content and purchase music, games and other content.
QPay
Qpay works across the mobile and regular web. Account holders simply enter their mobile phone number to purchase and a transaction is verified by a call to the mobile in question.
Dell's Cloud Computing
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/11520_3939301_1/Cloud-Computing-Tips-for-Small-Business.htm
Cloud Computing Tips for Small Business
By Jill Billhorn , September 19, 2011
Email | Print | Comment
Related Articles
Dell's Approach to Cloud Computing for SMBs
Apple's iCloud Takes Cloud Computing Mainstream
5 Best Online Backup Services for Small Businesses
Cloud computing technology offers both time- and money-saving benefits, which makes it a great fit for small business. As cloud computing benefits become more tangible, more small businesses are moving to the cloud. Still, as with any technology, you don’t want to jump in without proper preparation.
First, it is important to recognize that there are several fundamentally different approaches to cloud computing, including:
Public cloud: The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or to a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. Most commonly used services here are application-specific -- for example, Salesforce.com or Microsoft Office 365 -- and pricing is often on a simple, cost-per-seat-per-month basis.
Private cloud: The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for one organization. It may be managed by the organization itself or by a third party, and it may exist on premises or off-premises. CDW’s Cloud Computing Tracking Poll found that most IT decision makers, in SMB as well as other markets, would prefer the private option. However, the private option requires more knowledge and capabilities to manage, so getting there is a challenge for many organizations, and it is not for everyone.
Cloud computing has a lot to offer, and for small businesses with limited resources, public cloud services offer especially attractive benefits. For example, using applications in the public cloud can help address networking issues without requiring small businesses to invest in their own servers or expand their IT staff.
With public cloud services, businesses pay only for the seats or capacity they use at any given time, which is ideal for small business IT budgets. However, before making the move, small businesses need to be sure that they have a clear picture of all that the cloud entails, and then determine whether it is the right solution for them.
Make a Cloud Computing Plan
The availability and cost of public cloud services makes starting so easy that many IT departments discover some of their employees are using them before the IT team even has a plan. However, a plan -- even a simple one -- is essential to get the most value from cloud services. Look at how your IT staff spends its time and budget, and consider cloud services that will take pressure off them. For example:
• Software management: Is your business challenged by support and management requirements for widely used applications? A cloud-based service such as Microsoft Office 365 usually includes support and certainly eliminates the requirement to do patches and upgrades at every client device.
• What is the current state of your data storage? Are your storage needs close to exceeding your physical capacity? According to CDW’s Cloud Computing Tracking Poll, storage services are one of the most commonly used cloud applications.
Some businesses, as their servers near end of life, consider moving at least a significant portion of their infrastructure requirements to the cloud -- the variant of cloud called infrastructure-as-a-service, or IaaS. Comparing the cost of using IaaS versus the cost of owning and managing data center equipment is a more complicated calculation. But transferring less critical items, or backup data, to the cloud can help reduce the time you spend managing less important data and avoid having to upgrade onsite storage.
It’s important to understand that cloud computing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each business is unique, with varying budgets and capacities, so your business may need a custom solution. The unique requirements of small businesses make cloud computing customization a key selling point to companies that may be undecided about cloud computing.
Tags: software, IT, cloud computing, small business, tips
Cloud Computing Tips for Small Business
By Jill Billhorn , September 19, 2011
Email | Print | Comment
Related Articles
Dell's Approach to Cloud Computing for SMBs
Apple's iCloud Takes Cloud Computing Mainstream
5 Best Online Backup Services for Small Businesses
Factor In Cloud Security
Cloud computing security is one of the big unknowns for companies. According to the CDW Cloud Computing Tracking Poll, 41 percent survey respondents noted “security concerns” as the top factor hindering adoption of the cloud. Data security breaches show no sign of slowing down; as a result, some businesses are reluctant to store sensitive, business-critical data in the cloud.
When it comes to security and cloud computing, small business owners and/or their IT professionals should consider layers of security. It may mean tightening up existing security or adding additional layers to match the cloud provider’s security measures.
The added security uniformly protects a company’s assets whether they are inside the public cloud or within the company's own domain. When an organization uses multiple cloud services, IT professionals may consider using single sign-on access to multiple cloud applications. Another critical security measure: organizations should always encrypt their data, both while it's in transit and at rest.
Another aspect of IT security to consider includes firewalls and proxies. Companies need to look at whether the security technologies being used within internal clouds match up to those of potential public cloud providers. It’s also important to consider how data flows through the firewall-based perimeter to the external cloud. In some cases, you may want your IT provider to deploy proxy servers that intercept sensitive data for local delivery rather than via the cloud.
If your business deals with highly sensitive data, a private cloud may be your best bet. A private cloud combines the benefits of a public cloud, such as scalability and metering, with the benefits of private “ownership.” In other words, businesses own the infrastructure (e.g., servers) in which their data is stored, and only authorized people within their network can access it.
Businesses that can’t afford going private can consider a hybrid approach, which combines aspects of public and private clouds, giving businesses the option of maintaining their more sensitive data on the private cloud.
Budget Carefully
In the face of economic realities, many small businesses have had to reduce both budgets and staff, but that doesn’t mean that a business’ IT needs or requests lessen. Cloud computing can deliver, augment and improve the round-the-clock service your organization relies on.
With guaranteed services from a cloud provider, small businesses can achieve the level of support their large enterprise counterparts have, without the additional costs. The bottom line is that cloud computing can ease the demands on smaller in-house IT departments, and let IT professionals focus on mission-critical projects.
The Cloud Computing Tracking Poll found that 35 percent of small businesses have a written strategic plan for the adoption of cloud. Furthermore, 76 percent of the small businesses implementing or maintaining cloud computing have successfully reduced the cost of applications by moving them to the cloud.
While the benefits of cloud computing are clear, don’t pursue the cloud on a whim. Take the time to have a network assessment done by a vendor-neutral service provider to determine your needs and whether a cloud solution is right for your business.
If your current IT infrastructure needs improving, cloud computing may offer a more cost-efficient option than rebuilding your entire infrastructure. Whatever your needs may be, the cloud’s customizable and flexible solutions are the perfect option for expanding small businesses, and even for companies just looking to consolidate and de-clutter.
Jill Billhorn is the vice president, small business at CDW.
Small Business Computing is on Facebook. Join us on Facebook and interact with the site's editors, post messages, share your small business challenges and successes, discuss technology and suggest topics you'd like covered on Small Business Computing.
Cloud Computing Tips for Small Business
By Jill Billhorn , September 19, 2011
Email | Print | Comment
Related Articles
Dell's Approach to Cloud Computing for SMBs
Apple's iCloud Takes Cloud Computing Mainstream
5 Best Online Backup Services for Small Businesses
Cloud computing technology offers both time- and money-saving benefits, which makes it a great fit for small business. As cloud computing benefits become more tangible, more small businesses are moving to the cloud. Still, as with any technology, you don’t want to jump in without proper preparation.
First, it is important to recognize that there are several fundamentally different approaches to cloud computing, including:
Public cloud: The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or to a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. Most commonly used services here are application-specific -- for example, Salesforce.com or Microsoft Office 365 -- and pricing is often on a simple, cost-per-seat-per-month basis.
Private cloud: The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for one organization. It may be managed by the organization itself or by a third party, and it may exist on premises or off-premises. CDW’s Cloud Computing Tracking Poll found that most IT decision makers, in SMB as well as other markets, would prefer the private option. However, the private option requires more knowledge and capabilities to manage, so getting there is a challenge for many organizations, and it is not for everyone.
Cloud computing has a lot to offer, and for small businesses with limited resources, public cloud services offer especially attractive benefits. For example, using applications in the public cloud can help address networking issues without requiring small businesses to invest in their own servers or expand their IT staff.
With public cloud services, businesses pay only for the seats or capacity they use at any given time, which is ideal for small business IT budgets. However, before making the move, small businesses need to be sure that they have a clear picture of all that the cloud entails, and then determine whether it is the right solution for them.
Make a Cloud Computing Plan
The availability and cost of public cloud services makes starting so easy that many IT departments discover some of their employees are using them before the IT team even has a plan. However, a plan -- even a simple one -- is essential to get the most value from cloud services. Look at how your IT staff spends its time and budget, and consider cloud services that will take pressure off them. For example:
• Software management: Is your business challenged by support and management requirements for widely used applications? A cloud-based service such as Microsoft Office 365 usually includes support and certainly eliminates the requirement to do patches and upgrades at every client device.
• What is the current state of your data storage? Are your storage needs close to exceeding your physical capacity? According to CDW’s Cloud Computing Tracking Poll, storage services are one of the most commonly used cloud applications.
Some businesses, as their servers near end of life, consider moving at least a significant portion of their infrastructure requirements to the cloud -- the variant of cloud called infrastructure-as-a-service, or IaaS. Comparing the cost of using IaaS versus the cost of owning and managing data center equipment is a more complicated calculation. But transferring less critical items, or backup data, to the cloud can help reduce the time you spend managing less important data and avoid having to upgrade onsite storage.
It’s important to understand that cloud computing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each business is unique, with varying budgets and capacities, so your business may need a custom solution. The unique requirements of small businesses make cloud computing customization a key selling point to companies that may be undecided about cloud computing.
Tags: software, IT, cloud computing, small business, tips
Cloud Computing Tips for Small Business
By Jill Billhorn , September 19, 2011
Email | Print | Comment
Related Articles
Dell's Approach to Cloud Computing for SMBs
Apple's iCloud Takes Cloud Computing Mainstream
5 Best Online Backup Services for Small Businesses
Factor In Cloud Security
Cloud computing security is one of the big unknowns for companies. According to the CDW Cloud Computing Tracking Poll, 41 percent survey respondents noted “security concerns” as the top factor hindering adoption of the cloud. Data security breaches show no sign of slowing down; as a result, some businesses are reluctant to store sensitive, business-critical data in the cloud.
When it comes to security and cloud computing, small business owners and/or their IT professionals should consider layers of security. It may mean tightening up existing security or adding additional layers to match the cloud provider’s security measures.
The added security uniformly protects a company’s assets whether they are inside the public cloud or within the company's own domain. When an organization uses multiple cloud services, IT professionals may consider using single sign-on access to multiple cloud applications. Another critical security measure: organizations should always encrypt their data, both while it's in transit and at rest.
Another aspect of IT security to consider includes firewalls and proxies. Companies need to look at whether the security technologies being used within internal clouds match up to those of potential public cloud providers. It’s also important to consider how data flows through the firewall-based perimeter to the external cloud. In some cases, you may want your IT provider to deploy proxy servers that intercept sensitive data for local delivery rather than via the cloud.
If your business deals with highly sensitive data, a private cloud may be your best bet. A private cloud combines the benefits of a public cloud, such as scalability and metering, with the benefits of private “ownership.” In other words, businesses own the infrastructure (e.g., servers) in which their data is stored, and only authorized people within their network can access it.
Businesses that can’t afford going private can consider a hybrid approach, which combines aspects of public and private clouds, giving businesses the option of maintaining their more sensitive data on the private cloud.
Budget Carefully
In the face of economic realities, many small businesses have had to reduce both budgets and staff, but that doesn’t mean that a business’ IT needs or requests lessen. Cloud computing can deliver, augment and improve the round-the-clock service your organization relies on.
With guaranteed services from a cloud provider, small businesses can achieve the level of support their large enterprise counterparts have, without the additional costs. The bottom line is that cloud computing can ease the demands on smaller in-house IT departments, and let IT professionals focus on mission-critical projects.
The Cloud Computing Tracking Poll found that 35 percent of small businesses have a written strategic plan for the adoption of cloud. Furthermore, 76 percent of the small businesses implementing or maintaining cloud computing have successfully reduced the cost of applications by moving them to the cloud.
While the benefits of cloud computing are clear, don’t pursue the cloud on a whim. Take the time to have a network assessment done by a vendor-neutral service provider to determine your needs and whether a cloud solution is right for your business.
If your current IT infrastructure needs improving, cloud computing may offer a more cost-efficient option than rebuilding your entire infrastructure. Whatever your needs may be, the cloud’s customizable and flexible solutions are the perfect option for expanding small businesses, and even for companies just looking to consolidate and de-clutter.
Jill Billhorn is the vice president, small business at CDW.
Small Business Computing is on Facebook. Join us on Facebook and interact with the site's editors, post messages, share your small business challenges and successes, discuss technology and suggest topics you'd like covered on Small Business Computing.
Cloud computing tips for smb
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/11520_3939301_2/Cloud-Computing-Tips-for-Small-Business.htm
Article - Too much mobile payment systems
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/3939301
Square CEO sees a bubble
Square executive sees mobile bubble
Many new startups will fail because they have too many startup rivals, COO Rabois said
Stephen Lawson (IDG News Service)13 July, 2011 05:18Comments
There is a venture investment bubble in the mobile industry as countless startups draw interest for what might be the next big application or tool, the chief operating officer of payments vendor Square said Tuesday.
Though some high-profile technology companies probably represent long-term value, there are so many small companies in the mobile arena that many are likely to fail, said Keith Rabois, chief operating officer of Square. He spoke at the MobileBeat conference in San Francisco. Good times can actually hurt a new company's prospects, he said.
"It is absolutely the case that with 1,000 companies funded every year, there is no way that all of them are going to be successful. And actually, there is going to be a suboptimal number of them that actually thrive, because they're all competing with each other," Rabois said.
The veteran of PayPal and other startups said that PayPal and Google both benefited from starting out in the aftermath of the 2000 tech-stock implosion because there were so few jobs for smart people in technology to choose from.
"In a tougher economic time, it would be very possible to take 200 of the companies and combine them with the founders of the other 750 and build a team that was talented enough that it actually had a shot at succeeding," Rabois said.
Rabois said Square is seeing rapid growth for its mobile payments system, which is based on apps for iPhones and iPads, plus a small, square dongle for swiping credit cards. The payment volume on Square is doubling every two or three months, he said.
Square is designed to make it easy for small merchants such as cab drivers to start accepting credit-card payments quickly. There are 26 million businesses in the U.S. that don't yet accept credit cards, but Square's challenge is to reach them with its message, Rabois acknowledged.
"We need to make sure that every American knows about Square, which is not a trivial exercise," he said.
Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com
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Many new startups will fail because they have too many startup rivals, COO Rabois said
Stephen Lawson (IDG News Service)13 July, 2011 05:18Comments
There is a venture investment bubble in the mobile industry as countless startups draw interest for what might be the next big application or tool, the chief operating officer of payments vendor Square said Tuesday.
Though some high-profile technology companies probably represent long-term value, there are so many small companies in the mobile arena that many are likely to fail, said Keith Rabois, chief operating officer of Square. He spoke at the MobileBeat conference in San Francisco. Good times can actually hurt a new company's prospects, he said.
"It is absolutely the case that with 1,000 companies funded every year, there is no way that all of them are going to be successful. And actually, there is going to be a suboptimal number of them that actually thrive, because they're all competing with each other," Rabois said.
The veteran of PayPal and other startups said that PayPal and Google both benefited from starting out in the aftermath of the 2000 tech-stock implosion because there were so few jobs for smart people in technology to choose from.
"In a tougher economic time, it would be very possible to take 200 of the companies and combine them with the founders of the other 750 and build a team that was talented enough that it actually had a shot at succeeding," Rabois said.
Rabois said Square is seeing rapid growth for its mobile payments system, which is based on apps for iPhones and iPads, plus a small, square dongle for swiping credit cards. The payment volume on Square is doubling every two or three months, he said.
Square is designed to make it easy for small merchants such as cab drivers to start accepting credit-card payments quickly. There are 26 million businesses in the U.S. that don't yet accept credit cards, but Square's challenge is to reach them with its message, Rabois acknowledged.
"We need to make sure that every American knows about Square, which is not a trivial exercise," he said.
Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com
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Cloud for SMB
cloud for SMB
http://lauriemccabe.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/dell-cloud-business-applications-one-stop-shop-for-smbs/
http://lauriemccabe.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/dell-cloud-business-applications-one-stop-shop-for-smbs/
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