Cloud Computing: Risks vs Benefits – Part 1 “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” – Mark Twain (1835-1910), noted American author and humorist. By quoting the most famous American author on how statistics are often used to bolster unreasonable arguments, I may have showed my hand prematurely, but here are a few figures that do give one cause for thought: on the average, over the last decade more than 40,000 people have been killed annually in automobile accidents in the United States. Now, this may give the impression that road travel is dangerous, and, if
8×8 Acquires Cloud Call Center Services Provider Contactual 8×8 has acquired cloud-based call center and customer interaction management solutions provider Contactual acting on its intent to buy the company on September 12, 2011. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Contactual provides small businesses and enterprise departments with an efficient way to improve customer satisfaction while lowering costs. The company has been acquired for 6,700,000 shares of unregistered 8×8 common stock on September 15, 2011. The companies note that this share amount was reduced at closing by 215,100 shares as 8×8 agreed to pay statutory tax withholding on behalf of five former
HP CloudSystem Matrix: Managing at a Higher Level This Illuminata Spotlight discusses HP CloudSystem Matrix and its use as an out-of-the-box platform for private clouds suited to enterprise IT. Many now look to the idea of “cloud computing” as their future ideal state. Clouds emerged first as a mechanism for Web and network computing, but have rapidly captured the imagination of enterprises and service providers as well. But what suits Web and network computing isn’t necessarily what enterprises and service providers need. This Illuminata Spotlight discusses HP CloudSystem Matrix, a ready-to-run IT infrastructure, and its use as an out-of-the-box platform
Vyatta Supports the Amazon Web Services Cloud Vyatta Network OS 6.3 is now available as an Amazon Machine Images (AMI). The new release offers comprehensive network security for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud with new AMI custom support packages, notes Vyatta, a specialist in software-based networking for physical, virtual and cloud infrastructures. For those unaware, an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is a special type of pre-configured operating system and virtual application software that aid in creating a virtual machine within the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). According to Amazon, AMI serves as the basic unit of deployment for services
Cloud Computing Standards – is it time? In a previous article, Top 5 Cloud Computing Trends, I said that an alignment of standards in cloud computing is necessary, since cloud computing is at a relatively early stage of development and its evolution is moving at a high rate of speed. There are many organizations developing standards but the risk is fragmentation or diffusion, which instead of strengthening cloud computing, may make everybody more wary. A high level of trust is needed before any business will move into the cloud. And this level of trust is based on knowing exactly what
FireHost, Inc. Secures $10 Million in Series B Funding Led by The Stephens Group, LLC Investors Confident in FireHost’s Position as the Go-To Cloud Host for Security (DALLAS, TX – Sept. 15, 2011) — FireHost, a secure cloud hosting company, announces today a growth investment by The Stephens Group, LLC, as well as earlier-round investors. This capital infusion validates FireHost’s position that security is a top priority for businesses using the cloud and will help the company scale rapidly in the next 12 months, including an expansion to Europe. FireHost has strategically positioned itself as the premium managed hosting provider










