Working On A Cloud Software Service Level Agreement As more and more consumers outsource their infrastructure to cloud providers, Service Level Agreements between consumers and providers is a key topic. According to IBM a Service Level Agreement, defines how the consumer will use the services and how the provider will deliver them”. It is essential for the consumer of cloud services to understand all the terms of the cloud’s provider and to consider the needs and objectives of his enterprise before signing an agreement. A Service Level Agreement should contain the following aspects: A list of the services the provider will
IBM
BYOD Is In—Bring Your Own Cloud, Not So Much As employees continue to bring personal mobile devices and laptops into the workplace, most businesses have resigned themselves to dealing with the security and management headaches of the new BYOD reality. But now, with the growing popularity of cloud storage and synchronization services, companies have found themselves facing the next wave in the consumerization of IT: “Bring your own cloud” or BYOC. In large part due to the flexibility of cloud collaboration services, it’s not uncommon for employees to telecommute from home or from one office to another. Many of these
Should Cloud Computing Service Providers Screen Potential Customers? The World Wide Web is full of articles advising consumers on what they should look for when choosing a cloud provider, how they should negotiate contracts with providers, what danger signs they should be aware of and a plethora of other advice. However, an extremely illuminating article that I read recently on IT World (See: What should cloud providers know about their customers?) made me think from the other side of the fence – “Should cloud computing service providers screen potential customers?” Many would consider this line of thinking ludicrous. After all,
Public-Private Cloud Partnership: Ontario Government and IBM Join Hands Government agencies encouraging new technologies through grants and partnerships with private entities are not a recent phenomenon. From DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to NSF (National Science Foundation), a lot of agencies have gone down that path, and American society has benefited as a whole. Even cloud computing has been part of the process (See: Knowledge Sharing on Cloud Computing Between Government and Public Sectors and US Military Asks for Private Sector’s Help to Understand Cloud Computing). Recently, individual lawmakers have started lobbying for
Microsoft Gives Cloud Computing Center Stage in Certification Program Revamp For several years now, a Microsoft certification has opened doors to IT employment throughout the world. Whatever be the platform or application, a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) has found life easier on the job market. Almost every year we hear about a new contender to the title of youngest MCP, with the recent death of Pakistani prodigy Arfa Karim grabbing international headlines. Now that cloud computing is set to rule the IT landscape and create millions of jobs worldwide (See: Cloud Hiring Reaches New Heights and Cloud Computing to Fuel
Christmas For the Cloud Comes in June Break out your naughty-or-nice list! Bake those cookies, and pour a complementary glass of milk. Structure 2012, one of the most important gatherings of the year, nigh on holiday, for true cloud cognoscenti. And once you arrive at the event in San Francisco, being held this year from June 20-21, don’t be surprised if your eyes catch passing glances of DropBox elves or iCloud Kris Kringles. For the fifth year, the Structure cloud conference has been produced by GigaOM, the online news network heralded for its coverage of emergent technologies and the shifting
The Top Five Threats To Cloud Computing With hundreds of enterprises migrating to cloud services every day, it looks like the march to cloud everything is inevitable and unstoppable. However, cloud computing is not without its risks, and in this post, I will cover the top five issues that pose a threat to increased cloud adoption by enterprises. Highly fragmented market In most areas of computing, it is a winner-take-all market. Whether it is Facebook or Google search, or Windows or iPhone, most markets in our world face either a monopoly or a duopoly. While such markets pose their own
Taiwan’s Cloud Trinity – Medicine, Tourism and Culture Innovation Over the last year, Taiwan has become synonymous with cloud computing development. From government support (See: Cloud Computing: Taiwan’s Next Trillion Dollar Industry) to international acclaim (See: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the Taiwanese Clouds), everyone seems to repose faith in the Taiwanese cloud. Now, the government has decided to increase the stakes. Taiwanese Minister and deputy convener of the Board of Science and Technology in the Cabinet (Executive Yuan), Cyrus Chu, has announced the government’s intention to complete three major plans for a medical cloud, a tourism cloud, and a
