Take the guesswork out of cloud deployment with a third-party provider

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While the government has made great strides in adopting modern technology platforms, it was recently revealed that the Department of Defense has fallen into a common technology mistake while implementing its new cloud environment.

According to a recent audit by the inspector general, a plan was created in July 2012 to transition to the cloud in an effort to experience the benefits and cost savings associated with the technology, but the entirety of the plan has yet to be implemented. The report found that elements of the cloud environment and guidance on specific roles of the platform have not been fully deployed two years after the program was introduced. By stalling on the implementation, the department is facing potential losses in cost savings, decreased effectiveness and lowered security.

The initial intent of the DoD's cloud program was to cut down on redundant efforts. Part of the issue currently causing delays is that the agency has yet to create an implementation plan to assign roles, responsibilities and goals for the transition, preventing a successful adoption.

"By failing to execute all elements identified in the cloud computing strategy, DoD may not realize the full benefits of cloud computing, which include cost savings, increased mission effectiveness, and increased cybersecurity," the report stated.

Be prepared for the cloud transition
While government agencies have more stringent requirements than most civilian organizations, a similar scenario could easily happen to an enterprise attempting to deploy a cloud platform without a clear strategy. Before migrating to a cloud environment, businesses must take stock of the systems and applications that will be moving to the cloud. Migration planning allows redundant programs to be detected and eliminated before they are transitioned, which increases cost savings in the long run. Assigning benchmarks and goals for implementation can be helpful to ensure expectations are met and the cloud platform is set up in a way that is most beneficial to a company. 

Utilizing the services of a third-party cloud provider can help make the transition to cloud computing simple and painless. Once an inventory has been taken of the necessary systems, a provider like ISG Technology can handle the transition as well as the maintenance of the environment. Working with a trusted, reliable third-party provider takes the hassle out of cloud deployment, allowing enterprises to experience only the benefits that come with use of the cloud. 

New study finds Internet of Things continuing to expand

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A new study recently released by Gartner has found that use of the Internet of Things is growing, and an increasing number of devices now have IoT capabilities.

According to the report, 4.9 billion connected things are expected to be in use next year, an increase of 30 percent from 2014. The number of IoT devices is believed to be on track to reach 25 billion by 2020. Gartner researchers estimated that total spending on services supported by the IoT will reach $70 billion in 2015 before rising dramatically to $263 billion in 2020.

Part of the reason connected devices have seen such a dramatic growth recently is due to the powerful force the IoT has shown itself to be in terms of business transformation. The report discovered that while the increased number of connected things is being driven by consumer applications, enterprises will account for most of the revenue in the market.

"The number of connected intelligent devices will continue to grow exponentially, giving 'smart things' the ability to sense, interpret, communicate and negotiate, and effectively have a digital 'voice,'" said Steve Prentice, Gartner fellow and vice president. "CIOs must look for opportunities to create new services, usage scenarios and business models based on this growth."

Researchers also noted that traditional, mainstream products will start to be reinvented to include computing capabilities and provide them with a digital voice. The enhancement of objects once viewed as passive products will completely change their value propositions and create new services and business models. The study found that by 2020, the three industries with the highest level of IoT use will be utilities, manufacturing and government.

Security a major part of IoT expansion 
​A major point touched on by the report is the security repercussions of the IoT, as dozens of new platform options are brought into enterprise digital security architecture. Increased use of the IoT will also bring new security standards to each industry individually and provide a new view of applications. These changes will cause IT leaders to create a more comprehensive technological approach to IoT risk and security going forward. According to the study, 20 percent of companies will have digital security services devoted to protecting business initiatives using IoT devices and services in the next two years.

"The IoT highlights the tight linkages between information security, information technology security, operational technology security and physical security like never before," a statement from Gartner noted. "Executives now face a decision regarding the future of security in their enterprise and who governs, manages and operates it."

Data center downtime can cost companies millions

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As computing power and information storage grow increasingly necessary for businesses, data centers will become even more important in the coming years. The use of cloud computing and virtualization has caused a rise in data center use, but has also created new challenges that can cause downtime to occur, which can be disastrous for enterprises.

According to a data center industry study, each month, one-third of websites experience downtime and 90 percent of organizations have experienced an unexpected loss of access to their critical systems, CloudTweaks reported. Modern businesses are highly reliant on connectivity, making outages a costly occurrence for organizations that are unprepared to mitigate the effects. The report found that the average North American website outage lasts nearly eight hours, while European outages last an average of 10.3 hours, meaning an entire day’s business can be lost simply due to downtime.

Security, revenue lost due to downtime
Productivity also decreases when downtime effects enterprise systems, dropping between 33 and 43 percent depending on the size of the company. According to the report, employees often resort to the use of USB drives and other commercial storage devices, putting organizations at risk for malware and infection and the possibility of lost files. Almost two-thirds of employees surveyed in the study reported utilized such storage solutions, greatly increasing the threat environment for their firms.

Perhaps the most costly part of experiencing downtime is loss of revenue. According to the report, one in six enterprises lose $1 million for each hour of downtime that takes place. In order to offset the effects of downtime and system outages, organizations must implement data center  monitoring and visibility in order to determine threat vulnerabilities, understand the user experience and maximize data center performance. Implementing these systems also serve to lower the total cost of managing a data center, as processes can be automated and the disruptions associated with downtime are eliminated.

Organizations looking to implement more reliable and consistent data center services, ISG offers a network of Midwest regional data centers with the ability to support the business and performance objectives of each client. ISG is a single-source supplier of essential enterprise cloud-computing equipment, putting them in a better position than any other provider to offer organizations continuous, harmonious operations while also enabling firms to experience the most possible benefits from their data center infrastructure.

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.

Universities increasingly look to the cloud for data storage solutions

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The demand for access to data at large universities is increasing at an incredible rate with the advent of online classes, analytics services and expanding levels of research. In an interview with TechTarget, Michigan State University CIO Joanna Young explained that the current influx of data is posing a challenge for universities in regards to how best to store information and retain records in the most secure, efficient way possible.

Young noted that it's important for schools to be able to keep up with the growing demand for the multimedia content teachers share in class to be available to students online at anytime. As professors start to offer more content to students that is based somewhere besides a textbook, schools need to become more effective and efficient in their use of data storage and the cloud is an especially helpful solution. At the same time, cloud storage is almost a necessity for universities looking to offer online education options, according to Young.

"Because the video requirements for these online classes are huge – every week, two to four hours or more worth of video content – that would have quickly overwhelmed the storage we had on campus," Young said.

The cloud as a recruitment tool
In her interview with TechTarget, Young mentioned that data storage options can also be a helpful tool in incentivizing professors to come to the university to perform groundbreaking research or start important programs.

"As a CIO, the trick is to say to people…'You don't have to worry about storage. You don't have to worry about servers. Here's how we can provide that for you in a way that's easy for you to use, is going to give you enough space and access that you need, and the type of speed set is OK for you,'" explained Young. "[You] become a partner and get them to align with you, because I find particularly in higher education, you've got to stick with the carrot approach."

The increased ability to conduct advanced research provided by the cloud has even gotten the attention of the National Science Foundation. The NSF recently announced that it would be launching two $10 million projects to create test beds for cloud computing at universities. The aim is to enable the academic research community to pursue and develop new ways to utilize the cloud for next-generation applications used in medical devices, power grids and transportation systems. The first cloud program will be colocated between the University of Chicago and the University of Texas Austin, while the second will be a joint project with a large-scale, distributed infrastructure shared between the University of Wisconsin, Clemson University and the University of Utah.

With cloud platforms growing larger and more complex, Young noted that it can become impractical to solely purchase cloud storage services at such great volumes. In her previous role as CIO for the University of New Hampshire, she looked into software-as-a-service offerings that included storage as a package deal as a way to reduce costs. She also mentioned the need for schools interested in implementing a cloud infrastructure, especially large universities, to have a strong network and reliable broadband service.

Top 4 benefits of cloud storage services

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As technology becomes an increasingly important part of business, many companies are looking for solutions that will provide the most advantages for the least amount of money, time and complexity. One technology that is growing in popularity is cloud computing, and specifically cloud storage services. While there are many benefits to storing sensitive documents and information in the cloud, keep reading to find out the top four.

1) Cost-Effectiveness:
Backing up data can be extremely expensive, especially when considering the necessary equipment and hardware. Labor costs become an issue too, as manual backups are time-consuming and complicated. Cloud storage solves these problems by leaving the maintenance and equipment costs to a third party provider. Cloud storage solutions are easily scaled, allowing businesses to only pay for the amount of storage necessary for their business and making it simple to increase or reduce space as client needs change.

2) Security:
Storing information in the cloud is much more secure than keeping paper documents or using physical devices for file storage. Hard drives and USBs can be stolen or lost, while information in the cloud will always stay put. At the same time, security is not a core competency for many companies, but it is for cloud service providers. Because of this, providers who are mainly focused on data security are much more adept at keeping information protected than a business with an IT team focused on dozens of projects and problems at once.

Cloud storage also creates an extra layer of security between privileged data and cybercriminals. Backup files are kept separate from originals so hackers cannot steal everything at once.

3) Disaster Recovery:
In the same way that it is safer to keep duplicate files away from the originals to protect them from malicious actors, it also helps to protect against natural disasters. After a storm or fire, regular systems may not be accessible, but information stored in the cloud will be.

4) Accessibility:
Professionals are using more devices than ever before and cloud storage allows files to be accessed from any of them. Sharing is also made easier with this increased flexibility, as files can be put in the cloud and then accessed by any authorized party. This helps to increase collaboration between in-house and remote employees, as well as improving productivity.

Small businesses increasingly utilizing the cloud, studies find

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As technology becomes an increasingly important part of conducting business, companies are starting to hone in on what really works and what doesn't. A growing number of small and medium-sized businesses are realizing that one technology that is worth their time is cloud computing. Cloud computing essentially democratizes business technology, reducing costs and increasing ease-of-use. The cloud makes it cheaper and easier to start a business or create a new product, as well as providing access to technology and capabilities that were once solely the domain of large companies.

Because of the benefits offered by the cloud, more and more small businesses are adopting it. A recent study on SMB cloud use projected the global market for cloud services to expand to $95 billion over the next year and SMB Group estimates the number of small and medium-sized businesses using cloud computing will grow to 44 percent by 2015.

"I think eventually every business has to have somewhere in its portfolio and go-to-market approach a range of cloud services," said IBM Midmarket Business General Manager John Mason in an interview with Forbes. "This is changing the landscape for small and midsize businesses by allowing them to focus on their own innovations and making them more competitive with larger, established companies."

Mason went on to say that the cloud, along with other innovative business tools, has three distinct impacts on SMBs.

  • It makes it possible for companies to go to market with products much quicker by removing large, upfront investments in technology and personnel.
  • Cloud dramatically increases scalability and allows for greater flexibility.
  • It removes geographic strains holding organizations back and offers the ability to work collaboratively with anyone from anywhere.

Reasons for cloud use vary, but all find benefits 
​A new report conducted by Intuit and Emergent Research has also highlighted the benefits the cloud offers SMBs, as well as some of the driving factors behind why companies are adopting the technology. 

"Today, the U.S. and global economy is going through a series of shifts and changes that are reshaping the economic landscape," said Steve King, a partner at Emergent Research, in an interview with Small Business Trends. " In this new landscape, many people are using the power of the cloud to re-imagine the idea of small business and create new, innovative models that work for their needs."

The study projected that 78 percent of small business will have adopted a cloud platform over the next six years. Research from the two companies also found specific types of cloud use among SMBs. Hives, for instance, are small businesses that are able to work together through the cloud and rarely meet in person. Another group, plug-in players, are organizations that utilize cloud services to handle back-end tasks so they are able to stay focused on tasks and processes that are more critical to the business. This group implements solutions such as cloud storage services and applications for accounting, marketing or human resources.

Data center networking market to reach $22 billion

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A recent study by research firm MarketsandMarkets projects the global data center networking market to reach $21.8 billion by 2018. According to the report, North America is expected to hold the largest share of it over the next five years.

The study noted the dramatic market potential created by the demand for cloud technologies and software-defined networking in data centers. The increased use of mobile, driven by bring-your-own device policies, and the use of cloud services have caused data center providers to shift their network offerings from traditional models to those more capable of providing the flexibility necessary to quickly transfer workloads between servers.

This shift in data center architecture was originally driven by the demand for virtualization, but a variety of new changes in the market have persuaded providers to favor faster and flatter models over traditional core-distribution-edge designs. Some of the new challenges facing data center managers include heavy inter-server traffic, burst speeds faster than 1 gigabit and the shift from fiber channels to Ethernet networks.

Data centers can no longer be built the way they were even just a few years ago, as the fundamental structure of enterprise applications have changed and with them the needs of users. The adoption of new, more advanced hardware is placing greater demands on data center networks and fueling a boom in the market.

"Data center networks are being re-architected as part of a transition to the next generation of data centers, reimagining how applications and data centers are built," wrote Biztech Magazine contributor Joel Snyder. "This change extends from the power and cooling to the servers and storage, as well as the networking."

As new data centers are built and their designs continue to shift, requirements for increased security and greater distributed and managed services will be front of mind. Other factors will help to shape the creation of the next generation of data centers, including higher speed, reduced latency, layer 2 flattening and high availability. Demand for the installation of new virtualization and storage equipment will offer data center providers the opportunity to rethink facility design and create truly modern data centers.

Cities increasingly utilizing the cloud for disaster recovery services

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With state and local governments increasingly feeling the pressure to streamline IT operations to control costs and enhance performance, a growing number of cities are beginning to pursue the most up-to-date tools and hardware architectures to modernize their data centers.

At the same time as there is an emphasis on physical devices, city IT managers and CIOs are also utilizing the cloud in their data center renovations. Instead of using tight budgets on new data center facilities, cities are able to implement pay-as-you-go cloud services to consolidate data and programs from different government agencies in an effective way. Many local agencies are employing the cloud to handle spikes in data center workloads, or as a backup service or a disaster recovery utility.

Under the supervision of CIO Vijay Sammeta, the city of San Jose is implementing plans to use the cloud as a backup mechanism for the city’s critical IT infrastructure. In the next 12 to 18 months San Jose will be transitional virtual machines to the cloud and using the technology to manage various applications, as well as for backup and disaster recovery services.

“When you think about all the components of a highly available service delivery stack: network, servers, database and the applications, it starts [to] make a lot of sense to simply let someone else worry about that and just build redundancy to the Internet,” said Sammeta.

The cloud an alternative to physical facilities
The city of Asheville, North Carolina has also turned to the cloud for its disaster recovery plan. The city was set to build a $200,000 disaster recovery center as part of a fire station construction project, but it never came together so Asheville needed a plan B. Utilizing the cloud allows the city to enter disaster recovery mode only when it is critically necessary. The ability to scale for need saves Asheville thousands of dollars a year as compared to the cost of maintaining hardware in a physical facility. With the new system, the city is also able to encompass a number of applications into the disaster recovery plan that were previously uncovered.

In Michigan, Oakland County is using the cloud to supplement its overworked data center facilities, according to CIO Phil Bertolini. Implementing a cloud infrastructure allows the county to transition some systems to the cloud, taking computing pressure off of the data centers’ servers. The town of Newington, Massachusetts is also getting in on the cloud craze, implementing services to extend the city’s business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities.

New study finds companies increasingly utilizing cloud for disaster recovery

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As technology becomes more prevalent in business and companies increasingly rely on massive amounts of data to complete work, the need for a secure backup service and disaster recovery plan is more necessary than ever. In a recent webinar sponsored by Microsoft, Forrester analyst Noel Yuhanna recommended that enterprises strategically implement public cloud services for disaster recovery to ensure business continuity.

According to Yuhanna, more than 70 percent of enterprises currently have to manage at least two terabytes of data, but at the rate new information is being created that could become petabytes in just a few years. In the webinar, Yuhanna praised the cloud for its ability to automate the data backup process and include encryption while not requiring staff to manage the day-to-day operations of the servers and storage platform.

Forrester recently conducted a survey of more than 200 database backup and operations professionals on three continents and found that 15 percent of companies are currently utilizing the cloud for database backups. This number has doubled in the last year, according to Yuhanna. The report also found that users were driven to the cloud for backup and disaster recovery services due to the need for constant application availability, cost savings and organizational agility.

Cloud offers multiple DR benefits
The cloud is ideally suited for disaster recovery because it is able to replicate data that resides in a physical location without having to create a redundant facility to house it. It is also a cost-effective option, as backups and archived data often sit unused for years at a time with few updates and don’t need to be stored in an expensive physical facility. The cloud therefore creates a dual benefit of storing information in a cost-effective environment that is also offsite in case of a disaster.

The Forrester survey also discovered that the key reasons companies utilized the cloud for backup and disaster recovery services were the ability to save money on data storage and administrative costs and provide more frequent backups.

“You could almost be guaranteed that if you decide to put some data in the cloud that, whether it’s an archive or backup, the next year it’s going to be cheaper to store it there,” explained Forrester principal analyst Dave Bartoletti.

Finally, the report found that 57 percent of respondents reported the use of cloud backup and disaster recovery services actually helped to improve their company’s service level agreements, as processes and systems become more reliable with the cloud.