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Hybrid cloud market grows as CIOs embrace the platform

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With cloud computing becoming an increasingly important part of enterprise IT infrastructure, service providers are beginning to offer a growing number of custom or semi-custom options for businesses interested in creating a unique environment to store their sensitive data. Hybrid cloud solutions, which mix both private and public platforms to give organizations the benefits associated with both environments, are realizing increased popularity as more enterprises want to create solutions unique to their operations.

According to a recent report from market research firm MarketsandMarkets, hybrid cloud platforms offer businesses high-end solutions like integration, networking, consulting, cloud management and security. Because of these benefits, nearly half of enterprises surveyed said they were planning to adopt a hybrid cloud solution in the near future. Hybrid cloud services are becoming so popular, in fact, that the report estimates the market will be worth nearly $85 billion in 2019, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 27 percent for the next four years. The biggest regional market for such services is expected to be North America, with all other regions except Europe expected to increase their share rapidly with high annual growth rates.

Researchers working on the report noted that adoption rates would likely be even higher than they currently are if not for data security concerns from consumers and worry about technological constraints causing problems with performance for networks and applications. While all forms of cloud computing have their downsides, innovations in the industry and improvements to security, functionality and operability are constantly being introduced.

Hybrid makes the transition to cloud easier
Making the move to a hybrid environment allows IT administrators to gain a better understanding of what elements they like and dislike from each type of platform and decide how to meet the company's needs. As Cloud Tech contributor James Butler noted, adopting a hybrid cloud strategy in which workloads are moved over slowly from one platform to another, companies are able to take control of their IT infrastructure and encourage real change.

"Taking an incremental approach to hybrid cloud gives CIOs a platform to lead real business change from the center, and avoid being bypassed or replaced," said Butler. "By driving the strategy and promoting the positive benefits of cloud, CIOs will reduce risks and maximize investments; rather than simply ignoring cloud and falling behind."

Using a hybrid strategy offers enterprises the ability to test new ideas in a secure environment before moving them out into a public arena, dramatically reducing development time and costs and improving troubleshooting efforts. At the same time, moving workloads to a public cloud environment in incremental stages helps companies avoid the challenges presented by traditional IT infrastructures and experience agile and cost-effective service. Benefits can also be realized in a much shorter time frame – in as little as 12 to 18 months with a hybrid platform as opposed to five to 10 years with traditional approaches.

ISG Technology Named to CRN Solution Provider 500

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ISG Technology,  a full spectrum Data Center and IT Infrastructure partner, has been named to The Channel Company’s 2015 CRN® Solution Provider 500. The annual list, spanning eight categories, from hardware and software sales to managed IT services, recognizes the top revenue-generating technology integrators, MSPs and IT consultants in North America. Solution providers are ranked based on revenue, determined by product and services sales during 2014.

In the fast changing IT sector, ISG Technology stays ahead of the curve by leveraging ongoing engineer training and certifications. Using a consultative partnership sales approach, ISG engineers create highly customized solutions to help clients manage, access, transport, store and secure data through hybrid deployments of both IT infrastructure and cloud services.

“It’s an honor to be the recipient of this award, and we are encouraged by the 25% year over year improvement in the standings,” says President and CEO of ISG Technology Ben Foster. “CRN has recognized our continual improvement as we deploy our collaborative growth strategies.”

“The companies represented here are truly dedicated to the needs of clients today. With an evolving IT landscape, this prestigious list serves as a valuable industry resource to help vendors navigate the solution provider community and identify the best partners for their business,” said Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company. “We congratulate the featured solution providers for their forward-thinking approach to solutions sales and look ahead to their continued success.”

Top 3 IT trends impacting data center infrastructure

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As technology continues to play an increasingly large role in the enterprise, the investment in infrastructure to sustain the necessary hardware and software has become overwhelming for many organizations, especially those in the public sector. Managing in-house IT systems without the help of an expert third party can sometimes be incredibly expensive and complicated, and few agencies have the budget or manpower to address server sprawl or maintain outdated systems and infrastructure components on their own. Conversely, while many organizations are offloading assets to the public cloud, such a strategy involves giving up a lot of control and direct oversight over data, something that government agencies simply can't do.

In order to cope with growing technological demands, many public sector organizations are now looking to take advantage of emerging IT trends – hybrid cloud computing, mobility, big data –  to offload their data center operations. State and local agencies are beginning to take advantage of the increased capabilities these new innovations offer by modernizing their data center technologies and applying hybrid cloud services wherever possible. These changes help to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of their data center infrastructure, as well as protect against hardware and software failure.

Mobility
Public sector IT administrators find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place with new mobile technologies, as they offer employees a variety of benefits but also present widespread security and infrastructure challenges. Network strain, increased bandwidth demands, additional storage needs and more strict security measures all become necessary when an increased number of mobile devices are put to work within an organization. Most public sector IT departments do not have the human or fiscal resources necessary to improve and secure mobile access as they are already at their limits trying to support current data center operations. To solve this problem, many organizations are employing virtualized machines and storage to keep up with the bandwidth demands and user expectations.

Hybrid cloud computing
The ability of cloud solutions – when properly paired with on-premises options – to reduce server sprawl and maintenance worries are drawing many government agencies to the technology, and many have adopted cloud services for all of their routine business processes. A survey of government IT executives conducted last year by American City & County magazine revealed that almost half of all respondents utilized cloud services, with the most common use case being email and data storage. Participants reported experiencing a number of advantages after employing a cloud platform, including better accessibility from mobile devices, reduced IT infrastructure build-out and maintenance cost and improved management efficiency. While many government agencies aren't able to use public cloud providers because they do not hold the necessary state and local certifications, alternative solutions like colocation and shared private cloud environments are rapidly being employed. 

Big data
With so many business functions revolving around the Internet these days, government agencies and public sector organizations are dealing with massive amounts of data on a daily basis. The advent of big data analytics is making these data stockpiles incredibly useful by allowing groups to improve efficiency and decision-making, as well as creating a better understanding of citizens' needs. However, most agencies have less than half of the necessary storage capacity and computing power to effectively leverage their big data initiatives, according to the American City & County survey.

A major hurdle when employing data analytics is sufficiently meeting federal, state and local regulations regarding the proper collection and storage of data. In order to effectively secure their information, IT departments should look to utilize a tiered storage model. Each tier is dictated by specific spending, access and capacity requirements, providing each type of data with the right amount of access and security, which is generally more cost effective. Different categories of data are assigned to different types of storage solutions, placing the most sensitive information that is frequently accessed in storage from which it can be retrieved easily and data that is less critical would be kept in lower storage.

Increasing focus on data center infrastructure
Taking advantage of the hybrid cloud, mobility and big data can completely transform public sector IT operations, but changes must be made to data center infrastructure. Agencies can improve the way they manage their computing facilit​ies and boost data center efficiency by making enhancements in key areas like power usage, virtualization, data storage and network infrastructure. Changes in any of these categories would contribute to the improved efficiency, performance and cost savings of data center infrastructure, as well as creating more resilient facility. 

5 steps to preventing data loss in the cloud

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Anyone operating in the enterprise today has come in contact with the cloud in some form. But, despite the ubiquitous nature of the technology, not all users are as well versed in cloud best practices as they need to be in order to prevent data loss. Security continues to lead the pack with it comes to CIOs’ concerns about cloud computing despite the fact that the technology has been around for nearly a decade already. The online threat landscape has grown more dangerous and many companies are at a loss as to how to improve security. For any enterprise looking for a way to use the cloud safely and prevent data loss, here are five basic tips:

1: Perform a cloud risk assessment
The main goal of this process is for companies to take an inventory of all the cloud applications in use and find where their data is actually being stored within the network. With that information in hand, IT decision-makers can develop an ‘as is’ cloud assessment and accurately understand what’s really going on. After inventory has been completed, the enterprise network should be surveyed to identify the company’s current cloud footprint and a data flow map should be created. Once applications are cataloged and all data is accounted for, each program should be given a risk score that takes into account the level of trust the organization has for the service and process.

2: Find any gaps between perceived security and actual security
This step helps businesses find any discrepancies between regulatory compliance needs – like PCI or HIPAA – and what is actually going on in the network. Discovering what areas have the biggest gaps can help decision-makers find the best way to address the issue and improve enterprise compliance.

There are a few simple steps every company can take to make their cloud safer.There are a few simple steps every company can take to make their cloud deployment safer.

3: Build a plan to combat shadow IT
One of the biggest cloud security issues facing companies today is shadow IT, or employees using unapproved programs for work purposes. To address this problem, organizations should take the data gathered during the first two steps and use it to create an action plan. Consulting with legal, security and procurement specialists can be beneficial during this process as well.

4: Choose a cloud framework to deploy
Once a comprehensive analysis of the enterprise’s needs has been done, it’s time to find a cloud platform that will successfully meet those demands. First, IT executives have to decide between a public, private or hybrid environment and then look for a service provider that offers the reliability, features and client service necessary to keep operations up and running smoothly.

” Look for a service provider that offers the necessary reliability, features and client service.”

5: Determine and implement cloud best practices
There are specific policies that each company will need to create on its own in order to accommodate and protect business functions, but there are other, more general recommendations that apply to anyone using the cloud. In order to get started when creating enterprise best practices, the Cloud Security Alliance offers a list of common policies  and the Cloud Best Practices Network provides case studies to help build better long term strategies.

How the cloud is like PCs: An IT history lesson

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Technology has always played a role in creating freedom within an organization, either by breaking down boundaries or by providing an avenue through which to reach new horizons. For a long time, the most innovative force in enterprise technology was the computer. When the first PC was introduced, it changed everything by making real computing power affordable and available to businesses and individual employees. The analysis made possible by PCs resulted in increased operating efficiency, faster innovation and dramatically improved client experiences. While computers are still the main focus of every organization, they no longer driving the freedom of innovation they once did. Cloud computing, however, has taken up the mantle, and has changed the face of enterprise IT in much the same way PCs did when they were first introduced. Businesses can learn from their own IT history and put the cloud to work for them the way they did with PCs in the following three ways:

“Cloud computing has changed the face of enterprise IT.”

1) Embrace the freedom to build
One of the reasons PCs became so popular so quickly was because they offered employees the ability to build applications, which freed them from the practical constraints of the IT department. Each user was able to pursue his or her own ideas independently and follow the ones that would make the biggest difference to the company. Any technology that expands a user’s possibilities is unstoppable, and cloud enables the same freedom as PCs before it.

Before the cloud arrived, innovative employees who wanted to create a new application to improve operating procedures had to go through an endless series of steps to get approval before anything could move forward. Now the cloud puts a massive number of resources right at users’ fingertips, allowing them to create, test and distribute programs that may never have gotten made otherwise.

The cloud is poised to change the enterprise the same way PCs did in the '80s.The cloud is poised to change the enterprise the same way PCs did in the ’80s.

2) Focus on the value of data
One of the biggest benefits PCs offered businesses in the ’80s and ’90s was the ability to gather and use data at a level previously unheard of. Now, the cloud offers businesses a similar opportunity. Not only can massive amounts of data be created through countless apps and services, but an even greater amount can be collected and analyzed through those same features to offer insights into business processes and operations.

As a recent Forbes article noted, “This changes the way IT practitioners and leaders need to think about IT. Now it’s not just about building and running data centers. It’s about marshaling tools and applications that acquire, transform, apply and protect the data that runs the organization.”

3) Recognize the power to disrupt
After PCs crashed onto the tech scene in the early ’80s, network storage systems followed closely behind. After that, PC technology moved into the data center and created even more innovations. PCs quickly became a dominate force in the data center, fundamentally changing the economics of how they were built and operated. Now cloud is here to usher in the next wave of data center disruption.

Cloud is poised to create a deep and lasting impact on the future of IT. Hybrid cloud especially is becoming a defining trend. The majority of enterprises around the world are already using multiple cloud environments for at least part of their IT workloads, changing the way people think about data.

The bottom line is that the cloud won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, and organizations would do well to look at the examples set by earlier disruptive technologies and apply them now to make the most out of their technological investments.

ISG on CRN's Elite 150 of the MSP 500 List

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ISG Technology has been named to CRN’s 2015 list of the Elite 150 of the Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500. This annual list recognizes IT solution providers with high technical expertise and unparalleled certifications. These companies represent an elite group of the top technology providers and consultants whose cutting-edge approach to managed services puts end-user clients in the best position to cut costs, speed time to market for their own products and services and improve efficiencies.

CRN’s MSP500 list is divided into three groups: MSP Elite 150, who are large data center-focused solution providers with both on premises professional services and off-premises services; the MSP Pioneer 250, who have a business model heavily weighted toward managed services focused on the small- and midsize-business market; and the MSP Hosting 100, who own and operate their own data centers, providing a wide array of subscription-based outsourced services.

In the fast changing IT sector, ISG Technology stays ahead of the curve by leveraging ongoing engineer training and certifications. Using a consultative partnership sales approach, ISG engineers create highly customized solutions to help clients manage, access, transport, store and secure data through hybrid deployments of both IT infrastructure and cloud services

“The allure of Everything-as-a-Service to organizations is largely rooted in the appeal of predictable operational expenses, cost-cutting, resource allocation and access to on-demand/pay-as-you-go technology. Therein lies a great need for the expertise of managed service providers,” said Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company. “We congratulate the managed service providers who have engineered, or re-engineered, their businesses to deliver the services their clients rely on for future growth and ongoing success.”

“Winning an award like the CRN Elite 150 proves that we’re making the right decisions to fully support our client’s business needs for the long-term,” said Ben Foster, President and CEO of ISG Technology. “IT infrastructure and data center services are both critical components of our continued success. Because of our full spectrum approach, our engineers can deliver the right technology solution to solve client challenges in a highly responsive manner.”

4 trends for the data center in 2015

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Data centers have been growing increasingly important to the functions of the enterprise in recent years, and as a result the technologies and processes that run the data centers have rapidly evolved and changed. This year will be the biggest one yet for the data center industry, as there will be more demand for their product than ever before. Below are four of the biggest trends ready to change the industry in 2015:

"This year will be the biggest one yet for the data center industry, as there will be more demand for their product than ever before."

1) Increase in virtualization 
This IT constant has been driving growing change in the data center recently, but as an increasing number of organizations understand the benefits of the technology, it will become an even more prominent fixture. Virtualization offers users improved testing, faster redeployments and simpler backups, as well as a whole host of other advantages. Its use is a relatively new development, and technologies are emerging all the time that help improve its performance. One such improvement, the virtual storage area network, helps to make the data center more flexible, as well as increasing automation. Similar innovations will start to appear more rapidly, constantly changing the processes in play for data center operations.

2) AI finds the data center
A growing number of companies are making strides in the area of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the next logical step for such technology is to utilize it in a data center. Google announced last year that it had started using machine learning via neural networks in order to optimize its computing facilities. In Google's case, AI was used mainly to manage and optimize operations in the data center concerning IT load, temperature and the effectiveness of their cooling equipment and allowed the company to experience greater energy efficiency.

Big changes are coming to the <a data-cke-saved-href=Big changes are coming to the data center in 2015.

Shift to IPv6
As use of the Internet has increased dramatically throughout the last decade, options regarding addresses on the current version of Internet Protocol, IPv4, have been almost entirely exhausted. The addresses have run out and routing tables have grown too large, creating serious problems. IPv6 is intended to replace the existing protocol and alleviate the issue, though large scale adoption may still be a ways away.

Though it hasn't arrived yet globally, IPv6 will have a major impact on the data center. Addresses for IPv6 are made up of eight groups of four hexadecimal numbers, each separated by colons. This type of grouping opens up a massive new set of possible IP addresses, but it will also likely have to be compatible with IPv4. Not only will the new version offer more addresses, it will also increase efficiency, improve security and provide new services support. U.S. adoption of the new version is currently around 14.5 percent, but that number will continue to grow in the coming years and data centers have to be ready. 

More companies adopt cloud solutions
Hybrid cloud seems to be the enterprise trend of 2015, with a rising number of organizations transitioning to a mixed cloud environment. A hybrid solution allows enterprises to mix security with performance, bringing in those who were once skeptical about the ability of the technology to handle all aspects of their business' workload. As more companies migrate to the cloud, data centers will have to be prepared to handle the increase in demand.

Changes in store for enterprise cloud in 2015

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While 2014 was a big year for technology in general, cloud computing in particular experienced multiple advances last year. Major tech companies have enhanced their public cloud offerings and investment in enterprise cloud solutions saw a dramatic increase. Gartner has named cloud computing as one of the top 10 strategic trends for 2015, and as the cloud becomes an even more prominent fixture in the business world, more big changes are in store for the technology this year.

Increased use of hybrid cloud
One of the biggest changes coming for enterprise cloud storage services is a more rapid shift from either public or private environments to a mixture of both. Many organizations are realizing that utilizing a single infrastructure is not sufficient to meet their availability and security needs at once. By employing a hybrid platform, companies are able to increase access for less secure applications by hosting them in a public environment and more business-critical programs can be kept secure in a private infrastructure.

CIOs already ramped up their adoption of hybrid cloud platforms in 2014, and experts expect this trend to continue into this year. The number of organizations shifting to a hybrid solution will rapidly increase as they realize the benefits of utilizing a platform that allows them to achieve a properly managed and governed IT portfolio.

Rise of hybrid cloud management
With adoption of hybrid cloud environments growing at a dramatic rate, use of a management platform to handle the new infrastructure is bound to follow. The ability to maintain governance over business-critical data and increasing compliance within an organization will become a major selling point in 2015, leading to a rise in the use of hybrid cloud management platforms.

There are a lot of changes happening in cloud computing, and it can be difficult to make the transition without a little help. When looking to implement any type of cloud infrastructure, the most important step is to find a reliable service provider to make the transition as simple and seamless as possible. ISG Technology offers the experience and knowledge required to create the right environment for every client, as well unmatched service to keep it running at prime capacity. Working with a trusted partner like ISG can help to make the process simpler and more straightforward, ensuring reliable access and service that will improve business. 

Cloud computing market to increase through 2016

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While many new innovative technologies are surely going to emerge in 2015, one proven technology is poised to become even more prominent in the enterprise this year. According to a recent report by Market Monitor, revenue from the cloud computing market is expected to continue increasing throughout the next two years, likely resulting in a value of just under $20 billion by the end of 2016.

The study projected the cloud computing market will rise at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 36 percent. Individual segments of the market were also analyzed. The fastest growing cloud computing offering is infrastructure-as-as-service, with IaaS making up the majority of the total market revenue and more than half of the total market share for public cloud. The annual growth for IaaS offerings is expected to be even higher than the overall market, at 37 percent. However, platform-as-a-service is predicted to be the fastest growing segment of the cloud market, with a projected annual growth rate of 41 percent between 2012 and 2016. PaaS offerings accounted for almost one-quarter of total public cloud revenue.

"Cloud computing is on the upswing and demand for public cloud services remains strong," stated Yulitza Peraza, a quantitative services analyst with 451 Research and co-author of the report. "However, public cloud adoption continues to face hurdles including security concerns, transparency and trust issues, workload readiness and internal non-IT-related organizational issues."

Because of the security concerns associated with solely public cloud environments, many organizations have started to adopt hybrid solutions. A mix of public and private platforms, hybrid cloud allows enterprises to experience the accessibility and availability of a public environment for less sensitive applications and the security of a private infrastructure for programs that are more business-critical.

Fears about cloud security can be calmed with improved enterprise awareness

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As the use of cloud computing becomes more prevalent, a major topic of discussion within enterprises has been the safety of the technology. While many organizations have implemented the cloud, some are still skeptical of its ability to sufficiently protect sensitive information and reduce the chance of a data breach. In fact, a survey of CIOs earlier this year revealed that 70 percent consider security concerns to be the biggest barrier to cloud deployment, NetworkComputing reported.

Another survey recently released by InformationWeek Reports found that IT decision-makers are most worried about security and data resiliency when considering the cloud. Four of the top 10 concerns about cloud computing were related to those two topics. However, there seemed to be a discrepancy in the level of concern about security and the level of trust in the cloud's ability to protect an enterprise network. While 17 percent of those surveyed said the cloud significantly increases the chances of a data breach, 14 percent said the technology decreases the likelihood and 35 percent reported that the cloud has no impact on the occurrence of a security intrusion at all.

According to a separate study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, the cloud is safer depending on what segment of the enterprise you ask. Almost two-thirds of business leaders surveyed said that IT security is not compromised by use of cloud computing, and 35 percent reported an increase in security due to the cloud.

Increased enterprise oversight greatly improves cloud security
One reason there is a perceived lack of security in the cloud is due to an overall insufficient use of encryption. According to information from SafeNet, only 38 percent of U.S. companies encrypt important data. Such statistics reveal that cloud computing isn't unsafe so much as enterprises don't take the steps to secure their information residing in the cloud. Another easily avoidable security issue is the lack of involvement of IT security staff in cloud decision-making. In a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, nearly 40 percent of IT security professionals reported that they were rarely involved in decisions related to procuring cloud services, and 9 percent reported never being included at all.

Many of the security risks enterprise decision-makers believe are caused by the cloud are actually the result of insufficient data security policies and a lack of involvement from in-house IT staff. While it is nearly impossible to completely prevent a data breach from ever occurring on an accessible network, there are ways to greatly reduce the likelihood of a breach and dramatically improve the security of enterprise information storage.

Organizations commonly have concerns about the privacy of information stored with a third-party provider in a multi-tenant environment. These fears can easily be quelled through the use of a private cloud platform or a hybrid solution. Only one company's information is stored within a private environment, which eliminates the chance of outside eyes prying on sensitive data. With a hybrid option, the most privileged information is stored in a private environment and less critical data and applications are kept in a more accessible public area.