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This Week in Cloud, August 18, 2011: Microsoft Outage, Credits or Cloud Insurance? Amazon GovCloud, Gartner Updates Hype Cycle
Cloud News
- Microsoft will be issuing credits to customers who were affected by the recent power outages in Dublin that took down Microsoft's BPOS cloud service. The outage was caused by a transformer failure that also impacted Amazon EC2. Microsoft customers that did experience the outage will receive a 25 percent credit on a future invoice. You can read more about the outage in this CRN article.
- Computer Services Inc. (CSI) plans to enhance its cloud-based managed compliance, security, infrastructure, and IT services to financial institutions through the acquisition of Heit. Its acquisition of the managed service provider will expand CSI’s customer base and also enable them to offer on-demand technology and services to their customers. To know more about how the acquisition, read this CRN article.
- On Tuesday, Amazon announced a new cloud service that was created specifically for the government. Amazon Web Services GovCloud is a cloud service that is intended to meet government-specific regulatory requirements. To know more, read the Information Week article.
- F5 Networks has purchased the intellectual properties of the Israel-based company Crescendo Networks in order to expand its Application Delivery Networking expertise. You can read more about the acquisition and Crescendo’s liquidation in this ZDNet blog.
- Gartner has added more technologies to its Hype Cycle chart this year including consumerization, gamification, Internet of Things, and big data. This year's chart also reveals that private clouds are currently at the height of the Hype Cycle, an area they call the “peak of inflated expectations.” Read more about this year's Hype Cycle and view the chart in this ReadWriteWeb article.
- Parallels, a hosting and cloud services enablement company, launched Parallels Automation for Cloud Applications this week at HostingCon 2011. Parallels Automation includes a portfolio of SaaS applications from independent software vendors (ISVs) that is made available to service providers. You can read more about the offering in this infoTech article.
- Data Center Knowledge provided a short summary of the keynotes and other content from HostingCon 2011. The article also includes links to The WHIR’s HostingCon channel, with lots of blogs and news from the week in San Diego.
Feature article
Managing Conflicts between Needs of the Core Business Simultaneously with Innovating for the Future
By Kamesh Pemmaraju
Many executives in the Sand Hill Leaders in the Cloud study said that they felt decidedly tied down by historical investments in infrastructure, data files, and organizational obstacles to cloud adoption. At the same time, they were keenly aware that cloud computing offers a compelling opportunity to renovate their philosophies, skill sets, and service models and boost their business value in the cloud era. In many cases, the respondents sought to foster cloud innovation for new initiatives while retaining traditional systems for their core businesses. Read the full article.
Cloud Views
- In this GigaOm blog, Derrick Harris discusses the importance of an insurance model to cover future cloud outages and security breaches. He goes on to detail CloudInsure, a company that is currently working to provide auto-like insurance for the cloud.
- In this ComputerWorld article, Bob Violino relays the thoughts of IT executives on potential issues to be aware of before moving to the cloud. These obstacles include application integration, performance issues, and costs. Although many of the executives remain cautious, they also expect to see improvement as cloud computing matures.
- This CNN.com article identifies the four biggest threats facing cloud computing adoption, which include cloud outages, security, servers, and general confusion on the definition of the cloud.
MSP Corner
- A new study by CIT Group revealed that many SMBs don't fully understand the benefits of offloading IT services, such as reducing costs and lowering IT headcount. However, the survey also revealed that the cloud is making it easier for MSPs to sell to SMBs as customers become familiarized with the concept of SaaS. Read more in this ChannelInsider article.
- In The ABCs of Managed Services - B is for Cloud Backup, Ted Roller details the importance of a clear and effective backup practice for MSPs. He also lists the steps involved in choosing an appropriate solution and offers suggestions on how to understand your customer’s expectation when it comes to backup and recovery.
Upcoming Cloud Events
- VMworld 2011: August 29 – September 1, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Dreamforce 2011: August 30 – September 2, San Francisco, California
- MSPWorld: September 13 – 15, Austin, Texas
- Cloud APAC 2011: September 15, Shanghai, China
- Hosting & Transformation Summit 2011: September 25 – 27, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Virtual Cloud Connect: September 29, virtual
