Department of Defense pursues cloud storage options for classified documents

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The Department of Defense has announced its intention to store sensitive documents in the cloud, and is in the process of vetting service providers interested in supporting the agency's platform. The DoD currently utilizes cloud services to store low-level documents, but this marks the first time cloud storage has been proposed for highly classified files. The information suggested for storage in the cloud is labeled Level 6, which is assessed as information that could put people in grave danger.

To address security fears, the agency is pursuing two methods of keeping documents protected. The first involves the DoD leasing floor space to vendors who would then install an on-site system. The second would see cloud providers send the agency server equipment that the DoD would set up and manage. The latter method calls for a cloud vendor to create a bespoke data center within a standard shipping container. The container would be outfitted with all the necessary equipment and then sent to the DoD, where it would be installed and provided with power and cooling capabilities.

Whichever method the agency follows through with, it will involve creating a physical connection to a government data server instead of sending encrypted documents over the Internet. While the DoD is employing a private cloud solution and is suggesting some unusual methods, the proposal to store highly sensitive federal documents in the cloud points to a change in view on the security of cloud computing.

The agency has clearly embraced the technology as not only efficient and convenient, but also safe and secure. By utilizing a cloud-based storage service, the DoD will be able to reduce costs dramatically. Everything will be kept in a central location and physical documents can be removed, saving valuable building space and lower the amount of money spent on paper and ink.

Enterprise cloud adoption on the rise, new study finds

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According to a newly-released Verizon report, enterprise IT departments are rapidly adopting cloud computing to deliver applications and services.

The "State of the Market: Enterprise Cloud 2014" study, which collected data from June 2013 and July 2014, found that cloud services have been a driving force behind business innovation. Cloud computing is becoming a more prominent feature in enterprise IT deployments, with current cloud users expecting to spend 54 percent of their IT budgets on cloud services over the next two years. The report revealed that 65 percent of organizations are currently utilizing the cloud, and spending on cloud services by enterprises has increased almost 40 percent from the year before.

Over 70 percent of survey respondents reported having plans to utilize the cloud to run public-facing production applications by 2017, an 11 percent increase. The study also discovered that 72 percent of participants plan to put the majority of their workloads in the cloud by 2017, which shows significant growth from the 58 percent of enterprises taking advantage of application support today. 

Marking a major shift in perceptions of security, 41 percent of companies reported relying on public cloud infrastructures to host mission-critical workloads. In fact, 100 percent of the enterprises that reported currently using cloud services said they did not believe the cloud put their IT systems at risk. One-third of organizations actually reported an improvement in security after deploying a cloud infrastructure.

Another interesting discovery made by the study was that companies are no longer focused solely on reducing expense when turning to the cloud. While cost savings are expected from the use of cloud services, they are no longer the biggest factor in adopting the technology. Agility was the biggest reason participants reported implementing the cloud, with 32 percent citing it as a factor for adoption.​While the cloud is beneficial to all companies, smaller organizations receive an even bigger advantage from the increased agility offered as it helps to create a level playing field with larger enterprises. 

State governments have their heads in the cloud

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Across the country, states are increasingly adopting cloud services. According to a recent TechAmerica survey, the number of states with high investments in the cloud has increased 14 percent since last year. The number of states that utilize at least some cloud services has also increased 5 percent, with 73 percent of states employing the technology in some form and considering the use of other cloud services.

Delaware was the first state in the U.S. to use the cloud to store the data, applications and operating systems of government departments on centralized servers that can be accessed remotely by employees. The state moved its computer servers to a consolidated data center to create a virtual computing climate seven years ago. Now, Delaware is looking into utilizing a third-party service provider to handle its cloud computing infrastructure to increase ease-of-use and allow IT departments to focus on more business-critical processes.

States find savings in the cloud 
​California was also an early adopter of cloud technology, being one of the first states to adopt cloud computing for government agencies. The state has implemented a shared-services strategy called CalCloud that allows agencies to share resources and information among themselves and their constituents. The model used by California government departments allows the state to minimize upfront capital investment, as cloud services offer states increased computing power at a time when their IT budgets are shrinking.

Many states have turned to the use of cloud services in order to benefit from its cost savings. States have seen estimated savings of between 25 and 50 percent for their computing operations. The first year Delaware's cloud operations were fully functional, the state saved $5 million, according to Delaware's acting CIO William Hickox. The federal government's "cloud first" strategy has also helped states feel more comfortable about adopting cloud strategies.

Starbucks experiencing competitive advantage with the cloud

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As cloud becomes an increasingly prevalent enterprise technology, companies are responding to the real world advantages it offers to create new business models, enhance client relationships and incorporate employee and partner expertise into operational processes. During the recent IP Expo 2014, Starbucks Coffee’s EMEA IT director Robert Teagle discussed how the company is experiencing advantages and maintaining a competitive advantage through the use of cloud services, ComputerWeekly reported.

Starbucks has been employing a variety of cloud services for some time now, like utilizing cloud-based email solutions and tying client relationship management tools to data from their loyalty card program. This is because the cloud provides an effective way to deploy changes in business processes and find new ways to connect with clients, creating a more agile enterprise.

Organizations are also utilizing the cloud to create flexible assembly models, allowing them to integrate previous investments with current innovations and quickly transform their business models whenever necessary. In the case of Starbucks, the coffee chain’s point-of-sale systems’ data warehouse is integrated with a cloud infrastructure which has allowed the company to seamlessly migrate its existing warehouse into an expanded platform that offers insight through big data tools.

Many large organizations are finding advantages through use of hybrid cloud environments, which offer the ability to host automated services in a protected environment that is still easily accessible. This ensures the security and privacy of the information stored within the cloud while still providing flexibility and ease of use.

Cloud platforms drive enterprise innovation
During the expo, Teagle noted how one of the major benefits of the cloud is its ability to drive innovation.

“IT innovation has to be aligned with business goals and when we are trying to manage innovations, cloud IT certainly helps,” Teagle said.

He added that IT is able to respond more quickly to business needs through the flexibility and agility provided by the cloud.

Another major benefit of utilizing an enterprise cloud platform is that it allows companies to develop and experiment with new systems and processes in a safe environment. Starbucks has certainly taken advantage of this. Teagle said in his talk that enterprises can more effectively manage their innovations through experimentation and testing frequently before deployment.

“Being innovative really helps and all IT teams looking to drive their businesses forward bust start innovating,” Teagle said. “And cloud certainly helps in facilitating innovations.”

Majority of companies using hosted virtual servers, new study finds

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A report recently released by Kaspersky Lab has found that the large majority of enterprises utilize third-party providers to host their virtualization servers. IT managers appear to prefer the lower costs offered by third-party providers, as well as the ability to have someone else take care of system maintenance.

The study, which included surveys of more than 2,000 IT professionals who use virtual servers revealed that 67 percent of organizations employ at least a partially hosted system. Firms with smaller IT departments were more likely to implement virtual servers. According to the report, 41 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses reported using a virtualization service.

More than half of survey participants reported housing business-critical applications and core parts of their IT infrastructure in their virtual environments. Of those using virtual servers for important systems, 68 percent stored email and other communication applications, 65 percent hosted database programs and 56 percent used the virtual servers to host accounting packages.

Hosted virtual servers offer enterprises a variety of benefits, including reduced costs and lowered complexity for onsite IT staff. Through the use of server virtualization, capacity can be easily added by third-party service providers and support growing enterprises.

Server virtualization also provides companies with a cost-effective way to detect security breaches, which offers protection for not just servers but an entire network. Virtualized servers are capable of detecting compromised and unstable applications, providing increased malware identification, enabling enterprises to quickly and effectively separate any compromised systems from the rest of the network.

Organizations using virtual servers can easily have systems remotely monitored by administrators in one virtual location, allowing for enhanced visibility of traffic activity and user access. A master image of the server can be created, enabling IT departments to quickly identify abnormal behavior, improving the security posture of the enterprise.

Schools see benefits with cloud computing

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Businesses have been reaping the benefits of cloud environments for years now, but other organizations have been slower to follow along. Now, the education sector is also beginning to experience advantages by virtualizing, storing and analyzing their data in the cloud. However, the benefits of cloud adoption by schools are greater than simply being able to automate daily operations.

Students are able to get more individual attentions through use of the cloud, as teachers can track individual progress. This enables teachers to get a more comprehensive view of the classroom's strengths and weaknesses and allow them to identify potential issues before they arise. Sharing and collaboration are also enhanced through use of the cloud, as students can work on a document together from multiple locations or share notes for an upcoming test through a convenient Web portal. Cloud platforms offer students the ability to interact more with their lessons. Presentations and assignments can be shared with the class through the cloud environment and include videos, links to related site and webinars.

Cloud computing beneficial to student learning
Educational cloud environments have been found to help improve student performance. Google performed a case study of NYC Intermediate School 339, tracking performance before and after a cloud platform was implemented. Prior to the use of cloud computing, 22 percent of the school's students completed grade-level math. After introducing cloud technology, 47 percent were able to complete the course. According to the principal, Jason Levy, behavior was also improved and attendance increased after the school started using the cloud.

As well as enhancing learning and improving students' performance, cloud computing also save teachers time by reducing the number of mundane tasks required on a day to day basis. Activities like photocopying, hole punching and making packets for students are no longer necessary because worksheets and homework can be provided electronically, which also reduces paper waste and saves money on materials.

The cost-effectiveness of the cloud can be especially beneficial for budget conscious schools. According to Public School Review, Oregon has adopted cloud computing within all of its public schools and estimates it will save the state's Department of Education $1.5 million annually. Overhead and maintenance costs can be dramatically reduced by implementing an educational cloud environment. Machines such as printers and copiers are no longer needed, saving money on costly materials like ink. Physical storage space within school buildings can also be re-purposed, creating lucrative real estate space at zero cost.

Demand for data center power solutions growing

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As the use of technology continues to increase, the amount of data created grows as well and the need for a place to store all of that information becomes more urgent. The demand for data center space and the ability to safely and efficiently process information are rising, creating a sharp rise in the need for data center providers to expand their capacity. However, to support the growing number of new data centers, a massive amount of energy is required.

Along with the creation of new computing facilities, the demand for efficient power solutions for data centers is also expected to grow at a strong pace over the next few years, according to a new study by MarketsandMarkets. Nearly half of the total cost associated with the operation of a data center comes from power usage, causing companies to develop increasingly efficient energy solutions to help facility managers reduce their power expenditures, as well as their total cost of ownership.

According to the study, providers of power solutions are beginning to broaden their offerings in order to meet the business demands of their data center clients. Vendors are helping facility managers to reduce their infrastructure and operational costs by providing efficient electrical solutions, which also servers to increase data center capacity. A growing number of facilities are employing high-density zones in which each server rack uses more than 10kW, and to fully leverage the benefits of these zones, efficient power solutions are necessary.

Data center power market to grow over next five years
As a result of the growing use of efficient energy, the global data center industry has seen a decreased consumption of electricity over the last two years. While electricity usage is declining, the use of energy in data centers is growing rapidly, and the report estimates that the global data center power market will rise from $15.19 billion this year to more than $23 billion by 2019, increasing at a compound annual growth of 9.3 percent.

Data center power solutions currently contribute to a variety of industry verticals in a vital way, as they offer cost-effective ways to network, as well as enabling facilities to increase their capabilities while maintaining the life cycle of their IT equipment. Energy efficient data center practices are becoming more popular across the globe, but the report expects North America to be the largest region for the global data center power market.

ISG operates multiple data centers in the Midwest and is actively employing energy efficient strategies to keep costs down for clients and protect the environment. At ISG’s Wichita data center, the company has been testing a hot aisle-cool aisle system that captures heat from servers before it can circulate. Heat generated from active servers is captured and directed immediately out of the room to be cooled before it can raise the heat of the surrounding area, while in alternating aisles cool air is pumped in through the floor to keep the room at a constant temperature. Curtis Mead, head of sales for ISG’s data center services segment, says the limited testing of the technique has been so successful that the company plans to expand its use to other aisles within the facility.

Virtualization driving global SDN market

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As businesses increasingly look for the most effective and efficient technologies to power their operations, software defined networking continues to become more popular within the larger enterprise and cloud service provider markets in regards to data center networking.

SDN refers to an innovative architectural model that delivers network virtualization, automated provisioning and network programmability to enterprise networks and data centers. Companies are quickly realizing that SDN offers tremendous value to tech-based organizations, and the technology has shown itself to be a driving force for change and innovation in the sector. While SDN is still fairly new to many companies, the landscape of the technology is likely to change in the next three to four years as vendors continue to make large investments in the area and enterprises keep acquiring the technology, according to Cloud Times.

"SDN is taking center stage among innovative approaches to some of the networking challenges brought about by the rise of the third platform, particularly virtualization and cloud computing," said Rohit Mehra, Vice President of Network Infrastructure at International Data Corporation. "With SDN's growing traction in the datacenter for cloud deployments, enterprise IT is beginning to see the value in potentially extending SDN to the WAN and into the campus to meet the demand for more agile approaches to network architecture, provisioning, and operations."

Global SDN market expanding rapidly
A study conducted by IDC predicted that the enterprise SDN market will grow by 89 percent annually, increasing from $960 million in 2014 to $8 billion in 2018, due in large part to the implementation of software virtualization, physical infrastructure, network controllers and security services. A separate report published by MarketsandMarkets estimated that the software defined data center market will rise to $5.4 billion over the next four years. The growth in that market is mostly attributed to more frequent use of network virtualization and the practice of corporate data center consolidation. The study also found that network controllers and switches will also contribute to higher market share.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the major industries driving the SDN market are financial services, government, telecom and education. All of the sectors most commonly utilizing SDN can benefit from the technology's simplified network designs and operations, directly programmable network control, ability to increase the network's agility in adjusting to traffic flow and single interface management capabilities.

Cloud computing, virtualization offer benefits to healthcare industry

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Recent advancements in technology have impacted every industry, but none more so than healthcare. The emergence of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets have influenced medical providers, as those devices are beginning to replace traditional monitoring and recording systems and allowing patients more flexibility in their treatment. The growing use of cloud computing has especially had an effect on healthcare, improving communication, data storage and ease-of-use.

One of the biggest advantages technology has brought to the healthcare industry is an improvement in the way doctors and patients communicate with one another. It can often be hard for patients to get ahold of their physicians, but with a variety of cloud communication options like voice and video conferencing, as well as technology focused solely on connecting doctors and patients, the burden is being eased.

Remote monitoring is another major benefit of the use of technology in medicine. Just as it can be difficult for patients to get in touch with their doctors, it can also be hard for many people to make it to the hospital at all. Home monitoring technology allows patients to use a small device designed specifically for their health problem from the comfort of their home. According to a report by Research and Markets, 2.8 million patients worldwide were utilizing home monitoring by the end of 2012. This provides patients with reliable care while reducing the cost of multiple visits to the doctor and lowering the risk of having to be readmitted. Readmission rates for cardiac patients using home monitoring dropped from 25 percent to just 2 percent, Becker's Hospital Review reported.

Cloud computing and virtualization are now also able to take remote monitoring one step further and provide patients with complete medical treatment from their homes using a telehealth platform. Just as home monitoring helped to reduce expenses, telemedicine is also cost-effective as it reduces travel times for patients and allows doctors to see more people each day. For patients living in rural or underserved areas, being able to have a doctor's visit over a video conference and receive prescriptions and medical records through a cloud-based portal is a dramatic improvement from having to travel long distances to see a physician, or not getting any treatment at all.

Health workers look to the cloud to prevent infectious diseases

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As the cloud becomes more widely adopted, the uses for the technology continue to grow. One of the sectors where the uses for cloud computing are advancing rapidly is healthcare.

In hospitals across the country, doctors and nurses are operating over the cloud on virtual desktops in order to access their desktops wherever they are. With the use of virtualization, medical staff are able to access their computers from the nearest thin clients instead of going back to their offices. Not only does this improve patient care, as charts can be updated more quickly and checked more frequently, but less movement helps to stop the spread of infection and decreases contamination. Fewer doctors and nurses entering the rooms of highly contagious people means a lower chance of spreading the disease, and virtual desktops enable medical staff to continue treating patients with a minimal risk of contamination. 

Aid workers look to the cloud for data sharing
On a larger scale, the University of California, San Francisco is in the process of creating a cloud-based platform that would utilize data from the Google Earth Engine to provide health workers around the world with actionable information to predict areas where malaria transmission is the most likely. Google Earth Engine is an aggregator of trillions of satellite images dating back almost 40 years ago, paired with online tools to help researchers map trends, identify changes and quantify differences in the Earth's surface. The project is aiming to provide resource-poor nations with the tools to more narrowly and effectively target campaigns against malaria, which kills 600,000 people each year.

The new tool will look at the relationship between occurrences of the disease and environmental factors like rainfall. Maps of the local areas on the Earth Engine will also help scientists and aid workers learn more about what drives malaria transmission. The malaria prediction tool will also allow health workers to share their information from the field about where and when malaria cases have occurred. By combining real time information with satellite data on environmental conditions within Earth Engine, the tool will be able to pinpoint where new cases are most likely to emerge. With more specific locations of expected outbreaks, healthcare officials can distribute bed nets, spray insecticides and give medicines directly to the people who need them most. 

The cloud platform will be launched in Swaziland, but there are plans to make the tool available to workers within the Global Health Group initiative operating in other countries. The program's creators are also looking into adapting the platform to help predict other infectious diseases.

Cloud helps hospitals treat patients more effectively 
​Cloud-based medical programs are also being used in hospitals across the country, including Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas which recently launched a cloud platform that monitors patients for signs of infections. The technology monitors all of its hospitals' patients simultaneously and continuously for signs of sepsis, a life-threatening infection complication that affects nearly 750,000 people nationwide each year and has a 50 percent mortality rate.

The sepsis monitoring system uses precise calculations to detect signs of infection in patients and alerts staff when at least two signs have been found, including rapid breathing, low blood pressure or fever. The tool alerts medical staff to the infection and enables them to quickly begin procedures to treat the condition.