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
Terremark
When Cloud Computing Failed: Harris Corporation Steps Away From the Cloud Amidst all the news of cloud computing successes, the occasional cloud computing failure does draw attention. However, before we write off this incident as an aberration, it’s important to examine the context and reasons why a company that launched cloud computing services with much fanfare only a year ago is now closing down an expensive facility, incurring a loss in the process. Harris Corporation, a Florida-based international communications equipment company that is one of the top Federal contractors, recently announced the intended closure of its cloud computing facility outside
Women and Cloud Computing, Part III: Spotlighting the Top Laureled Ladies This past Valentine’s Day, CloudNOW (NOW an acronym for “Network of Women”), the leading organization of women in cloud computing, gathered to celebrate its own. Helmswoman Jocelyn DeGance Graham led CloudNOW’s first ever formal awards ceremony, which this year focused on offering praise to 10 exceptional women in the cloud. The event took place at the Cloud Connect Exposition held in Santa Clara, California. Frequently regarded as the preeminent event for members of the cloud computing community, Cloud Connect provided a sterling backdrop for the feting of individuals who’d
Deutsche Bank Conquers the Cloud Considering the dynamic, constantly-changing nature of cloud computing, “conquering” it may be an exaggeration; however, that was the title bestowed onto Deutsche Bank by its peers in the Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA). Late last month, the ODCA announced that Deutsche Bank won the “Conquering the Cloud Challenge,” a competition to identify best practices for cloud and data center solutions. The ODCA is an independent IT consortium comprised of several reputed companies who have come together “to provide a unified customer vision for long-term data center requirements.” It has twelve members on its Board –
What Does Verizon Expect from the CloudSwitch Acquisition? Verizon is betting big on cloud computing. After this year’s $1.4 billion acquisition of data center operator Terremark, Verizon has once again loosened its purse strings to buy cloud computing startup CloudSwitch. The latter develops software that eases the transition of company applications from in-house servers to the cloud. So, what does Verizon expect from this acquisition? For one, Verizon expects to use CloudSwitch’s capabilities to offer its customers seamless migration to the cloud. CloudSwitch integrates with cloud providers’ public application program interfaces (APIs) to make moving an application or workload to the cloud
Breakout Quarter for Cloud Computing Stocks Some time back I had discussed the possibility of cloud computing stocks being valued more than they are worth (See: Are Cloud Computing Stocks Overvalued?). While, personally speaking, I believe that cloud computing stocks have more solidity than their vaporous counterparts during the Dotcom Bubble, I did recommend caution. Perhaps this quarter will be a good time to examine the fundamentals of cloud computing stocks, considering they have had the best time in the markets in recent times. A lot of the exuberance was fueled by consolidation in the space, with some bigger companies
Does Gartner understand cloud computing? By Simon Ellis of Labslice – CloudTweaks Contributor I like the Gartner Magic Quadrant. It provides for a quick overview of a specific domain, lists the key players and assigns them a high-level effectiveness rank. It’s a great tool, and also a very dangerous one. For those who understand a domain it provides reinforcement and a third-party perspective. And for those who don’t, it affords a quick way to select a vendor or choose a technology — the modern equivalent of “no-one gets fired for selecting IBM”. Having placed many IaaS bets as a cloud
Source: BBC Some of the world’s biggest companies are using their market clout to demand that computer equipment makers change the way they make their machines. The 70 firms, which includes BMW, Shell and Marriott Hotels, said systems that do not work together are holding back the spread of cloud computing. The companies have formed the Open Data Alliance Centre to push for unified standards for technology. The businesses involved account for more than $50bn (£32bn) in IT spending. “The old way just won’t work anymore,” said Andrew Feig, an executive director at Swiss bank UBS. “We want to pay
