Double Taxing the Cloud New cloud taxes in Idaho are further proof that it’s time to look for a standardized solution. The news hasn’t made waves in the wider media, but when I heard that Idaho might start taxing cloud services, it definitely made me sit up and take notice. If you haven’t read about it, the Wall Street Journal has a great breakdown of exactly what happened. Some of the details of the case really jump out. In particular, Idaho doesn’t normally tax services. That means an accountant in Idaho isn’t subject to sales tax, while a cloud provider
Wall Street Journal
Accessing the Real Risk of Cloud Computing: Is the Sky is Falling or are the Failures a Blip on the Radar Screen? It’s interesting to follow the big money that big companies are spending. It’s a lot like watching a huge ocean liner set sail for exotic places or a stretch limousine glide though town. These oddities can’t help but be seen but I often wonder if anyone is really watching. According to a Wall Street Journal article from last spring entitled, “The Sun Shines on The Cloud” the research firm IDC reported 16 billion in cloud revenue for 2009
Microsoft Works To Challenge Google As more research comes out, it appears Microsoft is working as hard as ever to challenge Google in the cloud. Microsoft’s hybrid cloud solution, Office 365, has been pitted against Google’s cloud service, Google Apps, for the past year since Office 365’s inception. And ever since, Google has proved time and again that it is the authority in the cloud. Most recently, Gartner Inc., a research firm, was the one to confirm Google’s lead in the cloud competition. This May, the firm released new data showing that between one-third and one-half of businesses moving to
Your Neighborhood ATM May Go On the Cloud to Improve Security In our fast-moving world, if there’s one piece of public equipment we can’t do without it’s the Automated Teller Machine. The ATM, or Any Time Money as it’s often called, is an innovative device that has made life easier for us, the same way as gas pumps – you arrive, swipe a card and then take as much as you need. Now, according to the latest in ATM technology, this friendly neighborhood device may soon go on the cloud. And what’s more, it’s all in the name of increased
Apple Looks To Augment Its Cloud Computing Staff As cloud computing grew increasingly popular by the day, there were fears that it would lead to drastic job losses. I had explored this issue in earlier articles, arguing against the idea (See: IT Workers Will Survive In a World on the Cloud). In fact, in spite of some downsizing, cloud computing is expected to create jobs (See: How Cloud Computing Can Create Jobs), and this was one of my arguments when I proposed the field as a lucrative career choice (See: Should You Train To Be A Cloud Computing Professional? –
This is the latest in a series of articles that covers the Federal Government’s move towards increasing use of cloud computing. You may want to look at these earlier articles for an understanding of the official stance on this emerging technology and actions taken: 1. Governments and Cloud Computing – Where Do They Stand? 2. Cloud Computing in the US Government 3. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra Plans to Shut Down 100 Data Centers by 2012, 800 by 2015 4. The Architect of the Official Cloud Computing Revolution – CIO Vivek Kundra 5. Knowledge Sharing on Cloud Computing Between Government and
Runa Capital Sets Aside USD 50 Million to Back Cloud Computing and IT Companies Moscow-based venture capital company Runa Capital decided to increase its funding program to USD 50 million aimed at backing technology and Cloud Computing companies in Russia and abroad. The goal of the venture capital fund is to invest in early-stage Russian IT companies and growing number of investors share the company’s vision that Russia’s technology market has huge potential, the company said in a press release. Competing on a global level is often a problem for Russian IT companies although the government in Moscow announced a
