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."

Winter is coming – Time to think about disaster recovery

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As the weather begins to turn colder and the snow and ice of winter starts to creep closer, it’s important for enterprises to think about their disaster recovery solutions before severe weather and downed power lines cause serious network outages. Last year’s polar vortex brought with it record snowfalls and massive disruptions, leaving people without power for days at a time. Modern businesses can’t afford to be offline for even a few hours, let alone days. This is where a cloud disaster recovery solution comes in. By hosting duplicate information in the cloud, organizations can still make the necessary networks and systems available even if their primary facility is experiencing downtime. Cloud-based disaster recovery solutions are useful to companies of all sizes, and capacity can easily be scaled up or down to meet an organization’s changing needs.

There are a variety of cloud-based technologies that can assist businesses in their disaster recovery operations. Cloud storage services have made great advances in recent years, allowing enterprises to duplicate sensitive data, control multitenancy operations and improve the speed of site-to-site replication. Virtualization is also a helpful tool for companies looking to enhance a disaster recovery solution. Through the use of virtualization, organizations are able to share, replicate and back up sensitive data, which can span global data centers if necessary.

Utilizing third-party DR services
Disaster recovery-as-a-service is another option available to companies, in which a cloud service provider will maintain and operate an enterprise DR solution. This option, along with other types of cloud-based disaster recovery services, is extremely cost-effective. Instead of organizations having to invest heavily in hardware and maintenance of a private data center, information is stored in the cloud and maintained by a third-party provider. Hosting disaster recovery operations in the cloud also enables enterprises to frequently test their backup systems without disrupting regular business processes, ensuring backup operations will work properly when they are needed.

Despite the increasing use of cloud services among enterprise clients, some organizations still have concerns about information security in the cloud. However, the cloud is actually one of the safer places a company could store its data. Cloud service providers treat security as one of their core competencies, and are tasked solely with maintaining and securing the data they host. Any organization that keeps its information in house will not be as prepared to defend against a cyberattack as a provider that has data protection as a main focus.

ISG Emerging Tech Tour Informs Elected Officials

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ISG Technology, a full spectrum Data Center and IT Infrastructure partner and leader in Cloud services played host to business leaders and elected officials for its first-ever ISG Technology Tour on Friday, October 17 at the Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City, MO.  The event featured a full day of presentations by technology innovators and was designed to pair attendees with leading-edge technology experts for a hands-on learning experience that would ultimately benefit the business community as a whole.

“Bringing together a diverse team of government officials, K-12 and higher education technology leaders, startup incubators, and industry experts to discuss new frontiers of technology sparks ideas and enables connections,” said Bob Etzel, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for ISG Technology. “ISG Technology sponsoring this event makes a lot of sense. We bring together on-premises IT infrastructure solutions, along with Cloud, IT services and the robust bandwidth needed to tie it all together.”

Presentations were given throughout the day on a variety of cutting-edge technology topics including the role of the Sprint Accelerator in Kansas Economic Development, the mobility application revolution, the role of the KC Start Up Village in bringing entrepreneurs to the Kansas City area, the use of drones in Kansas agriculture and industry, the impact of the Cloud as a data storage solution, an overview of big data analytics and 3D printing and the rapid growth of biotechnology in the Kansas Corridor.

Presenters included Doug Dresslaer of the Sprint Accelerator, Darrin Clawson of Engage Mobile, Adam Arrendondo, Matthew Marcus and Melissa Roberts of the Kansas City Start Up Village (KCSV), Eric Tabor of ISG Technology, Terry Pallotto of Tukuh Technologies, Laurie Kistler of Laurie Kistler Consulting and Mark Hoffman of UMKC.

Technology is fueling the Kansas City entrepreneurial scene.  During the event, common themes included how to bring tech talent to Kansas City and provide proof of business concepts using technology.  Discussions were held around involving students as participants for high growth projects, increasing awareness and encouraging participation.

“Find someone who likes to play in the space and engage,” said Laurie Kistler of Laurie Kistler Consulting.

Those elected officials in attendance included Senator Julia Lynn of Olathe, Representative Barbara Bollier of Fairway, Representative Tom Sloan of Lawrence, Representative Jon Wilson of Lawrence and Lenexa City Councilman Andy Huckaba.

Another highlight of the event was a lunchtime presentation by Stan Herd, the internationally acclaimed sculptor of huge earthwork projects or crop art as it’s known.  Herd spoke about the important role that connecting with others in the business community has had not only on his artwork but on his ability to positively impact communities where he completes his projects.

“It’s not so much about the work—it’s about building a community and engaging in the dance to build a startup, or a monumental crop artwork,” said artist Stan Herd. “We get everyone—the local population, technology people, universities, kids—involved.”

  • Artist Stan Herd discusses the importance of building a community to accomplish huge earthworks.
  • Technology experts Miles Franz from ISG Technology, and Vince Miller from Johnson County Community College.
  • Steve Kearney from Kearney and Associates discusses the implications of technology with Representative Barbara Bollier.
  • Senator Julia Lynn meets with Adam Arredondo and Melissa Roberts of the Kansas City Start Up Village.

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.

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.

California breach report highlights need for secure data storage

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The California attorney general, Kamala D. Harris, recently released a study revealing the state’s current cyberthreat landscape.

According to the investigation, 167 data breaches were reported in California last year, jumping 28 percent from 2012. Those breaches exposed the information of more than 18.5 million residents, significantly more than the 2.5 million compromised in 2012.

The retail industry appears to have borne the brunt of the damage last year. Breaches targeting retail companies affected 84 percent of the total records compromised in 2013. The financial services sector came in a distant second, accounting for 20 percent of total breaches.

Theft of payment card and Social Security information also increased this year, resulting in financial losses for victims. While the report did not provide exact numbers on how much California residents have lost or what number have experienced fraud as a result of a breach, it did cite a Javelin Strategy and Research study that estimates more than one-third of breach victims will suffer financial fraud as a result.

In an interview with The New York Times, Harris said that 2014 is shaping up to be even worse for client data than last year, as breaches have already increased 30 percent in the first 10 months.

“We are increasingly adopting technology that is putting our data in systems that are ripe for penetration,”said Harris. “We have not sufficiently inoculated ourselves. The bad guys have figured out where the vulnerabilities are and learned there is much to be profited and gained from exploiting them.”

Organizations looking to protect sensitive personal information stored on their servers can implement cloud storage services to keep privileged data secure and private. Records kept within a cloud environment can be easily encrypted and kept off enterprise networks, increasing security and reducing the risk of hackers discovering sensitive data during a breach of a company system. Cloud services also provide organizations with enhanced business continuity, as records kept in the cloud are safe in case of a disaster or network outage.

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. 

Growing digital health market highlights need for secure data storage solutions

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A recently released study by Juniper Research revealed that the digital health market is making dramatic gains, especially in the area of wearable tech and mobile phones. According to the report, applications targeting healthcare will be a driving factor behind the digital market for that industry reaching more than $3 billion over the next five years. The market is rising so fast, in fact, that other research has suggested it may grow to more than twice that size in an even shorter amount of time, with Visiongain predicting the market will be worth $6.7 billion by the end of this year.

Wearable technology has found its way into a variety of industries, but healthcare shows the biggest opportunity for success, according to the study. Healthcare apps are being widely adopted because of the myriad benefits they offer. Wearable health devices can collect a massive amount of user data that can then be analyzed to track trends in a variety of healthcare populations. Having the ability to connect smartphones and tablets to medical devices like heart rate monitors and blood pressure cuffs offers a variety of benefits, like improved in-home monitoring and an enhanced ability to screen for related health issues.

The report suggests that the advancement of electronic health records will create an enhanced and widened digital health environment, as the records can provide a baseline for mobile health databases.The data collected through healthcare applications can also be used to help reduce the price of medical insurance for users. Existing federal laws allow information gathered by wearables and mobile devices to influence the price of health insurance as long as they meet a predefined set of requirements that constitute an employee wellness program. However, now that the growing amount of personal medical data can be integrated into insurance information, it's only a matter of time before more modern frameworks is developed to utilize this new data.

Protect sensitive medial data in the cloud
As more hospitals and healthcare providers adopt the use of wearable medical devices, the ability to store and protect the vast amounts of information created will become a top priority. A reliable way to increase the security of sensitive patient data is to employ cloud storage services. Storing sensitive information in the cloud provides organizations automatic encryption, as well as disaster recovery solutions that ensure necessary data will be available even a primary system were to fail or be damaged. Cloud services are also a cost-effective solution, as they are easy to scale to meet needs. 

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.

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.