Africa: Cloud Computing’s Secret Weapon Cloud computing’s best opportunity for unparalleled progress and worldwide relevance lies in how deeply and effectively it penetrates the African information technology community. Point blank. Why is this so? Simply because the massive continent remains in the dark ages of technology of all sorts, a condition which has fostered as many difficulties in thwarting this lack of progress as it has defined Africa as a potential gold mine for the cloud computing set. Reconnaissance of Africa’s technologically stunted growth provides vital context. As the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania concludes, “Africa seems
Jeff Norman
Can the Gov’t Avoid Gaffes in the Cloud? It’s no surprise that programs that shape our government on all levels of jurisdiction are rapidly and eagerly enlisting into the cloud computing fray. Finally, several of cloud’s noteworthy assets — scalable and streamlined storage and infrastructure, and services purchasable a la carte, for example — have started to beguile departments and bureaucracies frazzled by tightening budgets and increased demand for high-quality service to constituents. But governmental involvement frequently means thwarting several of risks in cloud that could hamper the experience. How can government companies enter cloud without fear of making major
Cloud 2012: What to Expect in the Latter Six Months Don’t blink — it’s already mid-June. Indeed, 2012 has flown by, but not without cloud computing extending its reach and fame, both in the IT community and with the general public. The increased ease with which cloud is regarded by businesses and everyday folk from Boise to Ashtabula has led to a noticeable change in the trends and fashions emerging within the technology. Three of the most promising areas for change via cloud computing include ERPs, mobile technology, and optimization, each concept elucidated below. For those not in the know,
What the HECK is the Uppernet from Verizon?! Been watching television lately? If so, the odds are more or less strong that you’ve come across yet another of Verizon’s slickly produced commercials, touting the grandeur of a superhero action movie, boldly hailing the company’s latest venture, the “Uppernet,” in all capital letters. Impressive, Grandiose, Important: the three words that immediately entered my head once the storm of a commercial subsided. But another descriptor — one that could potentially harm Verizon’s aims — surfaced as well: Confusing. “Our cloud is not soft and fluffy,” says an authoritative baritone to open the
Why Tablets Would Tank Without The Cloud If the late 1800s were notable for the telegram, and the 20th century is best known for the advent of the telephone, the early 2010s will go down in history as the epoch in which the tablet emerged as technological star. This is not to say that tablets immediately endeared themselves to techies; the first models of the device repelled many with their clunky structure and dearth of high-quality applications. Tablets’ tech quality grew over time, however, and cloud computing has factored in as crucial to their functionality and following popularity. What precisely
US to Europe: “Eat My Cloud Dust” Europe may trump the United States in such matters as academic prosperity in mathematics and sciences, as we know it celebrates its monarchs with far more compelling pomp and circumstance that we could possibly muster for our heads of state. But clout in cloud remains one discipline in which America continues to exert overwhelming dominance over the continent across the pond. This isn’t to say that nations like France, Germany, and even economically beleaguered Greece aren’t curious about cloud and the shot in the arm it could offer to their collective IT acumen.
Kidney Research Reconfirms Cloud’s Importance The National Kidney Registry has embraced cloud computing as a critical component of its mission to streamline and improve its organ matching processes. The NKR’s primary matching system, known as SMELAC, was recently relocated to Microsoft Windows Azure, in a move to significantly quicken the pace of processing new organ match-related data. MarketWire reports that Azure has boosted SMELAC’s computing capacity by 400%, fast enough to allow for researchers to synchronize their efforts in producing a new organ match. Organizations from disciplines with precious and sensitive data, such as banks and hospitals, have typically been
