Latest News from The VITO Report

Dude, Roll Your Own Cloud Computing, You Cool with That?

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EDT

The benefits of private clouds are fairly well documented, but at the end of the day, the best way to gauge the value of this computing model within an enterprise is to jump in and start small. However, starting small doesn't mean sacrificing functionality like elasticity, self service, programmatic access, and automation. In this session, technology visionary and creator of the Java Virtual Machine at Sun Microsystems, Sheng Liang, will discuss how to set-up a small private cloud using commodity infrastructure. He will present the challenges and potential pitfalls associated with rolling your own cloud, and then explain how to evaluate cloud software platforms and select the right servers, storage, hypervisor, and networking infrastructure.

Cloud Computing and "The New Normal"

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:15:00 EDT

Cloud technology and virtualization of virtually everything means rethinking the economic models around physical infrastructure, the emergence of a new class of providers as well as a greater degree of standardization around virtualized OS & Middleware configurations. There are increasing expectations from consumers of data center services - instant provisioning & de-provisioning, just for openers. And with a new generation of workers that expect anytime, anywhere access to corporate data, securing your data outside of your data center walls has become a greater business imperative albeit far more difficult. In this session, Cloud Expo delegates will learn what you need to consider to ensure your enterprise’s foray into cloud computing successfully and securely meets the needs of your enterprise, today and tomorrow.

Cloud Computing: MySQL Leader Mickos Named Eucalyptus CEO

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EDT

“Mårten is unmatched in his ability to blend open-source business techniques and technologies to build an industry leading company. We are thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to work with him and look forward to seeing his knowledge and boundless energy move Eucalyptus forward,” said Rich Wolski, CTO and co-founder at Eucalyptus Systems.

Google Apps and Cordys Collaborate in Cloud Computing

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:23:00 EDT

From internal collaboration to supplier and customer interactions, enterprises are discovering new ways of increasing productivity, process accountability, and connecting those challenging "white spaces" that exist between processes, ERP, andd legacy systems. Consider how you can embark on quick-win opportunities that provide a demonstrable ROI, and address a complex or often broken process. For example, see how you can integrate your mail, desktop applications, and legacy systems/data with Google Apps and the Cordys Process Factory.

Cloud Computing Server Farms? In Doha?

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 07:49:00 EDT

The recent tech conference in Doha also had discussions about enterprise mashups, retail and mobile commerce, social networking, and enterprise eLearning portals. The Cloud Computing presentation was delivered by Karl Roe, MEEZA's director of strategic alliances. (Among MEEZA's alliance is one signed a year ago Fuego Digital Media QSTP-LLC, a software-on-demand company headquartered at the QSTP. Fuego is building the ‘Fuego OnDemand’ Service to provide simple Web-based business applications in Arabic, English and French to what it refers to as "the 5.3 million small and medium-size enterprises (SME) across the 22 countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region." With an average of less than 3 inches of rain per year, there are not many clouds in Doha's sky; but on the ground, it appears that Cloud Computing is starting to catch on here, as it is throughout the world.

Cloud Computing Science--and Business

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 03:56:00 EDT

Workloads manifest the demand of the business from applications and services. These workloads have common patterns and known qualities, as do the applications and infrastructure deployment models that support them. During his keynote, Tony Bishop will describe Adaptivity’s systematic and prescriptive approach that combines Fit-for-Purpose infrastructure technologies and management capabilities in order to create the optimal economics, environment and autonomics needed for the business to leverage cloud services.

Cloud Computing: Cloud Expo Keynote is "All New, All the Same"

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:21:00 EDT

Richard Sarwal is SVP of Development for Oracle Enterprise Manager. He brings more than 18 years of industry experience with a proven track record of database and systems management skills covering the critical areas of scalability, availability and performance, to his role as Senior Vice President of Product Development for Oracle Corporation. Sarwal is responsible for the development of all aspects of Enterprise Systems Management covering all products—OS, Database, Middleware, Applications - including Provisioning, Patching, Configuration Management, Performance and Application Service Level Management. Prior to joining Oracle in 1989, he began his career as a programmer, DBA and systems engineer. Hasan Rizvi is Senior Vice President of Oracle Fusion Middleware Products. He is responsible for Oracle's SOA, Application Server, Communications and Identity Management and Security product development, product management and architecture. Previously he was vice president of Oracle Enterprise Manager responsible for the company's Data Center Automation products. Prior to returning to Oracle in 2001, izvi was VP of Engineering for Corio, Inc. where he led the development of key technologies to enable efficient delivery of software as a service. Prior to that, he served as director of OLTP technologies for Oracle, where he was instrumental in development of transaction processing, messaging and queuing and high-end scalability technologies for Oracle Database products. Rizvi holds eight patents in the database management area.

The Importance of DaaS in Cloud Computing

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:40:00 EDT

Organizations embracing Cloud Computing are quickly realizing how Data Grid technology can solve many of the challenges associated from running applications on distributed shared infrastructure across the globe. From hosting data as a service, sharing application state across applications, parallel processing of transactions, events and messages, Data Grids provide the perfect combination of extensibility, reliability and performance needed to meet the demands of Cloud Computing. This session will map the evolution of Data Grid technology and how it is being successfully integrated into Cloud Computing.

Cloud Computing Transparency and Pitfalls

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:34:00 EDT

NaviCloud is a next-generation platform that combines the economic efficiencies of cloud computing with true enterprise-class reliability and security. With built-in high-availability, a state of the art operations center, and a highly-resilient service delivery infrastructure spanning multiple data centers, NaviCloud ensures business continuity. NaviCloud also employs a multi-pronged approach to ensuring and enforcing the security, privacy, and integrity of enterprise applications and data. NaviSite CTO Denis Martin will deep dive into the architecture and the real building blocks of NaviCloud.

Cloud Computing in India--and in New York

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EDT

But, as much as I like developing nations and the potential of cloud for them, the Big Kahuna is still found in the Big Apple, with Cloud Expo, opening April 19 at the Javits Center in New York. This is not an event with a single track, or a few tracks. There are, in fact, eight of them, as follows: Enterprise Cloud; Moving to the Cloud; two tracks on Security, Management, and Compliance; The Cloud from All Angles; Performance, Standards, Storage, and Hosting; Virtualization; and of course, Hot Topics.

A Practical Framework for Successful Private Cloud Computing Design

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:06:00 EDT

Not all clouds are created equal. A successful private cloud starts with a good design, its form following the key requirements set by business users and IT leadership: for example, sizing available compute infrastructure, defining expected peak and off peak workloads, and creating use cases for business services.

Cloud Computing: You're Virtualized; Now What Do You Do?

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EDT

You have a virtualized environment, now what do you do? Well, hey, that's a good question! It's probably a question that's being asked of IT managers and CIOs from uncomprehending top execs all over this world. It's also the title of a session at Cloud Expo, to be presented by Daniel Weis, Director of IT Management Advisory Support. I liked the title, so I read what Daniel has to say on the topic so far:

Cloud Expo Coming to Javits Center in New York April 19-21

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:45:00 EDT

"Cloud" has become synonymous with "computing" and "software" in two short years. Cloud Expo is the new PC Expo, Comdex, and InternetWorld of our decade. By 2012, more than 50,000 delegates per year will participate in Cloud Expo worldwide. The cloud is certainly a compelling alternative to running all applications within a traditional corporate data center. But moving from theory into practice is where things get complicated, and this is where attending a top industry event like Cloud Expo comes in. No one can take full advantage of cloud computing without first becoming familiar with the latest issues and trends, which is why the organizing principle of the 5th International Cloud Conference & Expo on April 19-21, 2010 - is to ensure - through an intensive three-day schedule of keynotes, general and breakout sessions, and our bustling Expo Floor - that attending delegates leave the Jacob Javits Convention Center with abundant resources, ideas and examples they can apply immediately to leveraging the Cloud, helping them to maximize performance, minimize cost and improve the scalability of their Enterprise IT endeavors.

That Which We Call Cloud Computing By Any Other Name...

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:47:00 EDT

Cloud Computing is marching through the hype cycle at double speed. The mainstream media has ahold of it before it's been thoroughly geeked through. So far, I haven't seen a crime attributed to Cloud Computing (in the way crimes are attributed to the Internet and Craig's List), but the technology industry needs to embrace the term Cloud Computing fully and get out in front of how it is defined.

Cloud Computing Has More Linux In Its Future, According to IBM

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:28:00 EDT

Economic forces are putting pressure on CIOs and enterprise IT managers to reduce the complexity and cost of the technology within their data centers. Cloud computing has become the most talked-about solution to these problems, but not without the right approach and the right platform. This is where Linux comes in.

Cloud Computing Stirs Discussions in China, India

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:07:00 EST

"China has been plagued by piracy for the last 20 years and that unfortunately has caused China not to have a software industry," Lee told Reuters in an interview at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit. "But it's irrelevant now, because software distribution is shifting from packaged software, from end user license, to cloud Internet distribution. and when you're on the cloud you gotta pay," he said. Lee resigned from Google last year, a few months before the company reported a large-scale hacking incident that caused it to threaten to withdraw from China. Google is in talks with the Chinese government and expects an outcome soon.

CA Layers Nimsoft Into Cloud Computing Mix

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:32:00 EST

CA Inc., today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Nimsoft, Inc.--a leading provider of IT performance and availability monitoring solutions for emerging enterprises and Managed Service Providers (MSPs)--in an all-cash transaction valued at $350 million. The acquisition significantly extends CA's ability to meet the unique IT management needs of emerging enterprises and MSPs, both of which are playing leading roles in the growth of cloud computing. CA estimates that emerging enterprises, which it categorizes as organizations with annual revenues from $300 million to $2 billion, will account for approximately a quarter of the software spending in CA's market space by 2013. By leveraging Nimsoft's market expertise and technology, CA expects to add an entirely new set of customers to its base, which historically has been comprised of large enterprises.

New GITEC Report Says Feds Lacking Cloud Computing Vision

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

Market Connections, Inc., a leading provider of full-service government market research services in the mid-Atlantic region, conducted the survey in February on behalf of the Government Information Technology Council (GITEC). GITEC is a group of senior-level government executives organized to support the delivery of high-quality and cost-effective IT services to their customers. Market Connections released the findings at the GITEC annual summit, a forum for government leaders, industry and academia to share ideas, challenges and successes surrounding the implementation, management and use of Information Technology. Lisa Dezzutti, president of Market Connections, said, "The findings show real progress in some emerging technology and application areas. But technology engines don't seem to be revving to keep up with needs. When asked if innovations have found their way into daily applications, more federal decision-makers compare their agencies to vintage cars rather than today's hybrids." The majority of the 223 survey respondents serve in management, operations, or IT/MIS roles, with 39% of them employed in defense/military agencies and 61% employed in federal civilian or independent agencies.

Microsoft Backs Cloud Computing; Dvorak Says "The Cloud Stinks"

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:46:00 EST

In a recent column for PC Mag, John Dvorak urged Microsoft not to do what it seems to be doing: Why isn't Microsoft trying to derail cloud computing? That's what I would be doing it its position. It should think about killing Hotmail on a whim and saying, "there's your cloud computing. Look what happened!" That, ultimately, is the real issue with the cloud. It's not like your shrink wrapped software or even a stand alone download software package, which you essentially own and control. What would happen if Microsoft killed Hotmail? What would users do?

James River, IceWEB, NASA and Cloud Computing

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:41:00 EST

As a prime contract holder on NASA's SEWP IV GWAC, JRTI, Inc. works with a host of government agencies and end-users to design, deliver and support information technology solutions within the federal government market. JRTI has strategic alliances with leading IT providers like Dell, Cray, NVIDIA and others to offer the latest in technology solutions. "We're working hard to distinguish ourselves by bringing innovation and a fresh approach to the delivery of IT product solutions in the federal market," said Leo Iantosca, CEO at JRTI. "IceWEB offers storage solutions that are sought after in the federal marketplace. Working together, we will be able to create more exposure for IceWEB storage while providing our Federal customers with the industry leading products they need." "We are pleased to work with such a well regarded organization as James River Technical to team in providing mission critical solutions to the government marketplace," stated John R. Signorello, CEO of IceWEB. "Having JRTI include our family of products on the NASA SEWP IV contract significantly shortens the procurement path for federal customers that require the latest in data storage features for virtualization and cloud computing."

IBM Chides Cloud Computing Security "Bolt-Ons," Creates New Institute

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:54:00 EST

IBM's initiative will enable others to embrace a strategic approach to managing cybersecurity, building on the security rich systems and software that have earned the trust of IBM clients around the world for decades. For instance, the U.S. Air Force recently selected IBM to design and demonstrate a highly secure cloud computing infrastructure that can support defense and intelligence networks. The Institute also will provide a forum for clients to better understand how recent IBM Research advances, such as the fully homomorphic encryption breakthrough, can help them to operate in more intelligent ways, while protecting the privacy and security of critical information. "There is no lack of security products and services available today, but adding security after a system is developed or implemented seldom works. Moreover, today's rapidly-evolving threats make such 'bolt-on' approaches even less effective at a time when clients are wary of not realizing a return from their security investments," said Charles Palmer, director of the Institute for Advanced Security and chief technologist of Cybersecurity and Privacy for IBM Research. "IBM will engage with government clients and other constituents to help them comprehensively understand how to develop and integrate effective security protections into the fabric of their critical systems and services."

Will Government Agencies Shun Cloud Computing?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:02:00 EST

The top modernization objective cited by respondents was to move to Web-enabled systems (54 percent), with Windows cited as their systems’ most likely platform (38 percent) after modernization. Long-term cost savings was noted as the most important benefit of modernization, with ease-of-use a close second.

NetSuite Goes After "ALot" of Cloud Computing Business

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:45:00 EST

Vertro, which provides millions of home pages and / or toolbars to Internet users, selected NetSuite OneWorld to replace its SAP BusinessOne installation. In the old environment, subsidiary rollup had to be managed by a cumbersome bolt-on interface, data entry for transactions was tedious, and the CRM support was not integrated. Additionally, the accounting package was "client-based" causing the company to incur additional IT staffing, hardware, administrative, and maintenance expense. Now Vertro entrusts its financial operation, including key procure-to-pay and order-to-cash processes, to NetSuite OneWorld.

Cloud Computing Integrated into Logistics Solution

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST

The partnership will offer customers a wide variety of unique and customizable services that span supply chain planning, execution, and fulfillment functions including transportation, order management, asset tracking, reverse logistics, and managed delivery services. The benefit to customers is the flexibility and visibility that will be available to support these processes. As a result, the partnership creates an opportunity for companies to outsource logistics processes and to manage projects using the latest technology with the highest possible service and the fastest time to value thus giving them a more profitable and competitive supply chain.

"Avoid Big Consulting" for Cloud Computing Initiatives

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:45:00 EST

Most big consulting firms lead with well-polished presentations and, perhaps, some pretty smart people. However, when it comes time to do the real work, you're staring across the table at very inexperienced individuals whose knowledge of cloud computing is limited by the number of article printouts they could read on the plane flight out.

Is Long-Term Planning Possible for Cloud Computing?

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:00:00 EST

Many caution against thinking that governance and security come in "one-size-fits-all" form. Instead, you should emphasize that these considerations be systemic to a specific company's cloud architecture, incorporating these concerns into every stage of planning, design and implementation. With so much company data and processes relocated to the cloud, an expensive one-time consultation with a large firm is an unnecessary investment. Instead, companies interested in cloud computing should look to those whose knowledge and analysis is as fresh and innovative as cloud computing technology itself - such advisers are unlikely to be employed at giant consultancy firms.

Building a Social Site with Ruby and Rails

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Over the past year or so I’ve been working on an application that serves as a framework for building a feature rich social networking site. I’ve called this project EngineY. EngineY is a Ruby application that uses the Ruby on Rails framework as its base. As I was building EngineY, I used a real community [...]

CyberMedia CEO Pradeep Gupta Innovates, Pushes the Envelope

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:45:00 EST

CyberMedia is headquartered in Gurgaon in the National Capital Region centered around New Delhi in northern India. The company has additional offices throughout India, in Singapore, and in three subsidiary locations in the US.

Global Sourcing in the Philippines: Makati and Beyond

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:34:00 EST

The vibrant success of Makati over the past two decades or so has created a number of improvements in education and social services for its half a million residents--many of whom live the very difficult life common to so many millions in the Philippines and other countries throughout Southeast Asia.

Philippines: BPAP Chief Oscar Sanez Leads Global Sourcing Marathon

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:26:00 EST

The Philippines has recently been rated as the world's top outsourcing destination by the UK's National Outsourcing Association (NOA). This was, in fact, the second time the country has won this award, winning the award over other finalists Russia, Egypt, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. The industry now surpasses $6 billion USD in revenue and has created more than 400,000 jobs, and continues to grow.

MDeC CEO Ghazali Drives Innovation in Malaysia's Knowledge-Based Economy (Part 2)

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:23:00 EST

Datuk Badlisham Ghazali is the CEO of Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). (“Datuk” is an honorific term in Malaysian society that can be used as a rough approximation of “Sir” in the UK.) The MSC covers an area of about 175,000 acres, stretching approximately 30 miles from the famed Petronas Towers in the center of Kuala Lumpur, through a planned “Silicon Valley” region that encompasses the district of Sepang (and the palnned cities of Cyberjaya and Putrajaya), to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Introducing Indicee Cloud Reporting Company

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:45:00 EST

I received an email letting me know about a new company, Indicee, that will be publicly launching within the next few weeks. The Indicee story includes a few key elements: a notable team, an innovative product and impressive financing. Indicee is a new arrival on a very competitive landscape but is filling a void left by most BI and reporting software available – allowing users and businesses to avoid the pain of dealing with spreadsheets and mashing data to create reports.

IBM Introduces New Cloud Offerings

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST

IBM Rational Software Delivery Services for Cloud Computing include a set of ready-to-use application lifecycle management tools for developing and testing in the IBM Cloud, and use infrastructure management capabilities, to help organizations build software applications in the cloud. With these new services, clients can lower costs and respond quicker to organizational demands. For example, organizations can reduce the time it takes to provision a test environment from weeks to hours, and in some cases even minutes.

MDeC CEO Badlisham Ghazali Helps Drive Innovation, Malaysia's Knowledge-Based Economy

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST

Datuk Badlisham Ghazali is the CEO of Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). (“Datuk” is an honorific term in Malaysian society that can be used as a rough approximation of “Sir” in the UK.) MdeC is responsible for the country’s MSC, or Multimedia Super Corridor, as it was known when it was conceived in 1996. The MSC covers an area of about 175,000 acres, stretching approximately 30 miles from the famed Petronas Towers in the center of Kuala Lumpur, through a planned “Silicon Valley” region that encompasses the district of Sepang (and the palnned cities of Cyberjaya and Putrajaya), to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Show Report: Reality Check at 4th Cloud Expo

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:15:00 EST

The talk at the Cloud Computing Expo this week in Santa Clara was all about enterprise cloud adoption. Is it real? Is it already happening? If so, who’s doing it, which applications are they running and which clouds are being tested? To a large extent, cloud computing is a victim of its own somewhat out-of-control hype cycle. Since so much has been written and discussed about the cloud in 2009, there is now a growing impatience for actual results. The fact that 2000 people showed up at the Cloud Expo in Santa Clara this week (double the number from last year’s show) suggests that at the very least, interest in enterprise cloud computing remains very real, and the need for practical solutions and use cases is growing more urgent.

Google Says "Cloud Computing Is" ...

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:15:00 EST

Techcrunch reports that Google has some implicit suggestions about newspapers, based on the drop-down suggestions it gives when you begin a search with "Newspapers are." It's a nice example of the hive mind at work. But check out the first suggestion Google gives you if you type "Cloud Computing is" into a Google search bar. I won't spoil the surprise here. Interestingly, Google used to give similar suggestions for "SOA is", but the results are now a lot less frank and confrontational than they were a month ago. Does this show a change in general attitude about SOA, or is it just that Google cleaned up the results? hmm.

CCT CEO Jonathan Rosenberg Drives Revenue Through CRM in the Philippines

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:45:00 EST

“The first thing I want to be clear about is that we don’t view ourselves as a solution for companies to reduce costs,” he told me in a recent interview at CCT’s headquarters in the Clark Special Economic Zone, a couple hours north of Manila in the state of Pampanga. “The most important issue for business executives is driving topline revenue, and we help our clients do that.”

Extending SOA to Cloud Computing

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST

WSO2, the open source SOA company, today announced the launch of the WSO2 Cloud Platform. Available today, the new WSO2 Cloud Platform features a family of WSO2 Cloud Virtual Machines; WSO2 Cloud Connectors for enabling fast, secure cloud services; and the multi-tenant WSO2 Governance-as-a-Service. All WSO2 Cloud Platform services are based on open software standards, and they support all applicable interoperable protocols, as well as relevant open data standards. Additionally, they allow users to take complete control of their data, ensuring that enterprises can protect and preserve their information.

Zeus Software Now Available on Amazon EC2

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST

Zeus Technology today announces its flagship web traffic management solution, Zeus Traffic Manager 6.0, is available on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). The solution gives companies access to extra computing power with the tools to deliver exceptional online services on a pay-as-you-go basis. The platform will make web development easier for companies and developers. Using a simple web service interface, users can monitor and control web traffic and automate maintenance to ensure online services are always fast and available even during high peaks in web traffic.

Installing Geneva Beta 2 on Windows 7

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

Recently I installed the Beta 2 version of "Geneva", or ADFS 2.0. All of my machines are now Windows 7 machines, including just about all of my VHDs and virtual machines. The only time I use Win2k8 R2 is when the product I'm installing specifically requires me to do that. So when I installed Geneva on my Win7 box, I thought everything would be fine. Then I rebooted. The "Modify STS Reference..." and "Update federation metadata" menu items that are supposed to be added to the list of available options on an ASP.NET web application were gone. They were there before I rebooted but they were gone after. I also noticed something funny with the Identity training kit install. Every single directory and file in there was marked as "read only". I would unset the read-only flag, right click the file, get properties, and sure enough, it was still set to read only. WTF?

WaveMaker 6.0 SaaS-enables Web Apps in Minutes

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Until today, web developers creating SaaS apps have been faced with an ugly choice: use proprietary development platforms like Force.com or build an open solution from scratch. WaveMaker released the first open cloud development platform. WaveMaker 6.0 is a visual development platform that runs in a browser. WaveMaker makes it ridiculously easy for anyone to prototype, develop and customize great looking web applications.

Cloud Converter for Force.com Now Available

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST

Salesforce.com Dreamforce Conference -- Model Metrics, the leader in cloud computing services for the enterprise and a premier partner of salesforce.com, today announced the availability of Cloud Converter for Force.com on the salesforce.com AppExchange. With Cloud Converter, Salesforce CRM and Force.com users can convert an Excel spreadsheet into an application on Force.com with just a few simple clicks. The announcement was made today at Dreamforce 2009, salesforce.com's user and developer conference.

Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) for Service Providers

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:45:00 EST

You might have already seen the announcement regarding the Virtual Computing Environment (VCE). We believe this is wonderful news for our customers and partners; and represents an unprecedented collaboration between three highly regarded leaders in the IT industry: Cisco, EMC with VMware. This coalition was created to increase customers’ business agility – specifically, through greater enterprise IT infrastructure flexibility, and lower IT, energy and real estate costs through pervasive data center virtualization and a transition to private cloud infrastructures.

Amazon Adding Active Directory Support

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:45:00 EST

I was surprised to find an Amazon Web Services booth at the Microsoft PDC yesterday. They had nothing specific to say regarding additional Windows support or capabilities - at least not officially. What I did get was a wink-wink, nudge, nudge when I commented on Azure's integration with Active Directory and other touchpoints. "This is coming soon," I was then told. Then they saw that I had a media badge and that ended the discussion... Looks like the enterprise is the battleground - which was only a matter of time. Following the great enterprise roadmap preview I saw last week at the RightScale user meeting in Santa Clara, this is quickly becoming a great market for business computing.

Social Media Marketing for Telcos

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:45:00 EST

This is the first of multiple-part series of interviews with David where we’ll look into buyer personnas, marketing tools-to-use and ask the question of whether social media is simply a fad.

Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control Plug-in for BIG-IP LTM Beta

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:45:00 EST

If you’re an OEM user and an F5 customer, we’ve got an updated version of the OEM Grid Control Plug-in for BIG-IP in beta testing right now. It’s been in limited beta for a while, but we wanted to make certain that both TMOS 9.x and 10.x were supported before we talked about it publicly. The plug-in, jointly developed by F5 and Oracle, allows you to monitor your BIG-IP like any other infrastructure in the Oracle Enterprise Manager, and if you’re part of the beta program, you can download the source to see how the developers did it too! No, I wasn’t on the dev team for this one, there just aren’t enough hours in the day for me to play with all the toys. Though large pieces of it are based upon my Java Wrappers for iControl, so I can claim a little bit of the fun ;-).

Nice Screens, Shame About the Dancing

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST

I have not seen the stores in person, but from a distance I really, really like what Microsoft has done with its retail presence. Sure it looks vaguely familiar to Apple's stores, but big whoop. The wall to wall screens are brilliant.

However, I am now second-guessing whether I'd actually want to step inside a store and be trampled by line-dancing geeks rocking out to Will.I.Am and Fergie. Sheesh.

I'd love to see the look on the guy who walked up to cash to buy his Windows 7 upgrade and got stuck watching this horror show. "Umm, can I, excuse me, can I pay for this ... EXCUSE ME!!!"

And check the "Oh please God don't let my buddies see this" look on the face of some of the staffers."

As spotted in Gizmodo ...

ActionPacked! Networks Announces Rebate for PacketShaper Users

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:25 EST

ActionPacked! Networks, a developer of software that provides intelligent visual interaction and control of network devices, announced today that it is providing cash rebates as high as 25 percent for users of PacketShaper appliances who purchase the company’s LiveAction software.

Mailscape V4.5 Delivers Customizable Reporting and Proactive Monitoring

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:16:15 EST

Provides unique approach to preventing email outages

ComponentOne Studio Enterprise 2009 v3 - Expands Cross Platfo

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:04:00 EST

A Brand New Technology and Controls for Every Aspect of Application Development