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This Week in Cloud, March 7, 2012: NIST announces security standards for Cloud, Azure outage, AMD’s SeaMicro acquisition. And more…
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Cloud New
- NIST has released a major revision to the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). The public draft of the Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations provides a set of security standards that are meant to help protect government agencies from threats that are emerging from mobile and cloud computing, according to this InformationWeek article.
- Users may have had a difficult time logging into Microsoft Azure last Wednesday as the leap year threw the platform for a loop. The most high-profile account to be impacted by the Azure outage was the UK government’s G-Cloud, according to this v3.co.uk article.
- AMD announced that it will acquire SeaMicro, a microserver firm, for $334 million, according to this v3.co.uk article. SeaMicro will help AMD expand into the cloud datacenter market.
- The European Space Agency (ESA), CERN physics lab, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) are hoping to use the new Helix Nebula to run large and complicated calculations to try to solve some of the mysteries of the universe, according to this LiveScience article. The Helix Nebula was launched by European IT companies and research firms.
- The number of enterprises adopting the cloud is set to double by 2015, according to a recent IBM study that surveyed over 500 business and technology executives worldwide. Read more in this eWeek article.
- Price cuts were announced this week for Amazon’s core cloud services and Google Cloud Storage. This is the nineteenth time in the last six years that Amazon has announced a price cut, according to this ZDNet blog. Google cut their fees between 8 and 15 percent for Cloud Storage, according to this ITWorld article.
Featured Content on Cloud Commons
Gartner Report: The New IT: Drivers, Challenges and Opportunities
This research explores the driving forces that are changing the role of IT in the enterprise, and examines the challenges and opportunities facing CIOs. The report also recommends some approaches CIOs can pursue to enable IT to fuel the successful execution of the enterprise's business strategy, accelerate organizational change and drive innovative business solutions for increased competitive advantage. We believe that the recommendations in this report by Gartner (available compliments of Cloud Commons) will help you better navigate the dynamic and complex IT landscape that has emerged from the advancement in cloud, mobile and social computing.
Feature article
Readying for the inevitable - A cloud services provider breach
By George Hulme, Independent Writer
One of the best places to start preparing for the eventuality of a cloud services provider of yours being breached is not only asking about the security defenses they have in place - but rather nailing down the appropriate contract conditions.
If you find yourself asking questions about how the provider may - or may not - handle a breach after the fact - you’re way, way too late. Read the full blog.
Cloud Views
- The go-to source for the definition of cloud computing has been the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), but is the NIST definition accurate? In this ZDNet blog, Joe McKendrick agrees with a recent blog by Dave Linthicum that suggests the definition isn’t suited for non-government agencies.
- Will the evolution of IT cause the extinction of inadaptable IT professionals? In this CIO.com blog, Bernard Golden discusses presentations from Cloud Connect that are showing a rapid evolution of IT and compares its effects to evolutionary change in a living ecosystem.
- Can cloud collaboration tools replace email? In this Nextgov article, Joseph Marks gives an overview of cloud computing and its potential to disrupt, in a good way, federal agencies.
- What’s the difference between on-premise and cloud computing accounting software? In this CloudTweaks article, the risks and benefits of both are examined.
MSP Corner
- GreenPages, a cloud computing and virtualization consulting company, recently announced the acquisition of LogicasOne to expand its consulting team to the Southeastern United States, according to this MSPmentor article. LogicasOne is a virtualization, storage, and cloud consulting and management provider located in Atlanta.
- IBM recently launched a new strategy that aims to recruit MSPs, according MSPNews. In the past, IBM viewed MSPs as competitors, but they have come around to the idea of partnering with providers that have specialized managed services.
- Iomega has announced an integration between EMC Atmos and Iomega network storage solutions, according to this eChannelLine article. The integration is meant to simplify cloud storage so service providers can better service SMBs and distributed enterprises.
Upcoming Cloud Events
- ComputerWorld IT Leaders Conference: March 11 – 13, Phoenix, AZ
- Cloud Computing Imperative 2012: March 12 – 14, Dubai, UAE
- Global Services Conference: March 15, New York, NY
- Cisco Live APJ: March 20 – 23, Melbourne, Australia
- 4th Annual Cloud Computing Summit 2012: March 23. London, UK
- Closer 2012: 2nd International Conference on Cloud: April 18 – 21, Porto, Portugal
