Let’s take a closer look at what’s new in the cloud computing space for the enterprise. A good place to start might be with a company that is trying to set the bar for how to fully bring ERP into the future. NetSuite is a cloud-based ERP solution vendor who is making a lot of noise around cloud and ERP, and since it boasts 12,000 customers including Magellan GPS, Guitar Center, and Igloo, it may be onto something. Read my full story about ERP and Cloud on IT Briefcase.net.
It’s that time of year again, when the entire technology community is abuzz with predictions for the coming year. What will change dramatically in enterprise computing? I believe that 2013 will be the year of cloud. Here are a few ways I see the cloud computing impacting enterprise computing:
1) Cloud adoption will move toward critical mass.
2) Cloud solutions will become more trustworthy.
3) Hybrid cloud will be the flavor of choice.
For the rest of my 2013 cloud predictions, and all the details, read my latest IT Briefcase column on 2013 Enterprise Cloud Predictions.
Big mergers in the cloud! Recently announced blockbuster merger between JDA Software and Red Prairie occurred Thursday, Nov. 1st, followed just days after news reports that JDA was shopping around for a buyer. The details of the merger are of interest. JDA will be taken private by privately-held Red Prairie, with the help of New Mountain Capital LLC, the private-equity firm that owns Red Prairie. For our full update on the JDA Software / Red Prairie merger check out our IT Briefcase column.
Toxic data, as one recent definition states, is any data that has leaked out of an organization that might become harmful. Essentially, it’s important information that the company has lost control of. There are a wide range of types of data that can become toxic—from the personal data like a social security number, credit cards, or health care information, to corporate considerations, such as business plans, sales figures, or even product designs. Think of sensitive customer or corporate records and you have an idea of the type of data that could become “toxic” if it got into the wrong hands. For more perspective, read my recent IT Briefcase column on toxic data.
What’s the status of cloud computing? There’s been so much talk and hype about cloud over the past few years, it can be hard to tell where it is, and what you should be doing about it. My latest IT Briefcase column dives into the current state of cloud computing.
Like it or not, Big Data is coming. In order to be ready, it’s important to also consider the security implications of a Big Data strategy. Read my recent IT Briefcase column on Big Data and Security for all the details.
There is no doubt that Big Data and Cloud Computing are taking the enterprise computing landscape by storm hand-in-hand. Big Data — the ability to effectively capture, manage, and utilize large swaths of different-structure data – has companies with their head in the clouds, as the first enterprise-grade version of a Big Data software platform became available in January. Read the full story on Big Data in my recent IT Briefcase column.
We’ve seen lots of recent announcements about new cloud computing solutions. But one that caught our eyes was HP’s announcement of its first public cloud services available as a public beta. On May 10, 2012, HP released three beta services that are the first of their kind under the company’s Converged Cloud portfolio. HP Cloud Compute (on-demand virtual servers), HP Cloud Object Store (online storage), and HP Cloud Content Delivery Network (global content delivery) are all available via a pay-as-you-go model. Pricing is tiered – for example, a standard medium instance for HP Cloud Compute that delivers 4GB of RAM and 120GB local disk is $0.16 per hour. Pricing is 50% off for a limited time as HP establishes its service levels.
For the complete story on HP’s new cloud offerings, check out my recent column IT Briefcase column on HP’s Cloud Computing.
There’s no doubt that cloud computing will be a big part of most organization’s future IT plans.
The real question, though, is how to get there. That’s why I’ve pulled together some considerations that organizations should think about to start mapping out their move to cloud in this IT Briefcase post on Cloud Computing Considerations.
IBM recently announced new offerings under its SmartCloud Foundation, many of them in response to some notable statistics around cloud computing adoption by enterprises.
According to a study published recently by IBM, the number of enterprises who use cloud computing to transform their existing business model will more than double in the next three years. The shift seems to be occurring away from viewing cloud as a means for gaining efficiencies and cost savings and toward using cloud to transform business models and drive new revenue streams. A recent IBM Institute for Business Value study found that 90 percent of enterprises expect to adopt or deploy cloud services of some sort by 2015. The impact of this adoption rate will be significant.
For more details on the impact, consult my recent IT Briefcase column on IBM’s SmartCloud Foundation.