BSA Cloud Computing Policy Agenda for Europe - The issue for Security is Global

The Business Software Alliance recently published their 2011 - 2012 Policy Agenda for Europe.  In this article, BSA Cloud Computing Policy Agenda for Europe, they state:

 "We believe these 10 policy actions—some legislative, others not—are essential elements of a comprehensive cloud computing policy framework in Europe needed to boost users’ privacy and security in the cloud, promote the development of necessary standards and infrastructures, and ensure the clarity necessary to promote investments in cloud computing technologies."


The issue of security is not German nor European alone. Before data is put into the cloud, we must know that it will be secure. What is clear from the principles being laid down in these recommendations is that software and hardware security is insufficient in the view of this group. They believe that breaches will occur and that laws must be written to punish those who breach that security. 


We don't agree. We believe with the right hardware and software, data in the cloud can be secure. That's where our decades of experience with VM and MVS operating systems come in. There were no breaches of security, despite significant rewards for such breaches.

OK, there can be holes, for people are involved, and with extortion and bribery someone could gain access to password-protected data. We don't read that in these recommendations, though. We read a belief that security can be by-passed because the software - particularly Unix and Windows operating systems - is/are flawed and can be broken. That continues to be demonstrated daily. What is also daily demonstrated is the safety of the MVS operating system.


Guest contributor Nicholas Rawlings

If Twitter had Dark Star Cloud, This wouldn't happen!

How often have we seen this?  If Twitter had the most scalable enterprise class cloud computing solution, they wouldn't have this!

Even the bankers are seeing the benefits that can be provided by Dark Star Cloud's solution

Morgan Stanley Research identified key software themes for 2011 as Apps, Analytics and Accelerating Cloud (15 Feb, 2011).  They see cloud adoption spreading from SMB's to enterprises and they see an accelerated adoption path of 2-3 years.  
Dark Star Cloud is the ideal solution.

Government is cutting IT funding ...but it could save money with Dark Star Cloud

Washington Technology: OMB puts $2B in IT spending on chopping block

The way for the government to save money is to move most of its applications to the cloud. But since most of these applications are mainframe the government needs to find a solution similar to Dark Star - but there is only one Dark Star.  The other choice would be to spend billions and billions of more dollars on a less capable and less secure platform conversion.

OMB states agencies spend about $20 billion a year on technology infrastructure that could be moved to the cloud.

Recently, Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller commented on the release of the Federal Government Cloud Computing Strategy: OMB strategy lays a path to the cloud.  There are a number of points key to the need for stable and secure enterprise class cloud computing identified in this article.

One of the most significant is that although the mandate for the cloud computing strategy is already moving through Federal Government Agencies, there is not a "one size fits all" strategy for the development and deployment of the strategy.  Both the SEC and the VA have begun utilizing cloud computing albeit with different concerns, strategies, benefits and needs.

Dark Star Cloud was created to support the breadth of requirements and goals for success of enterprise class cloud computing like these agencies and other agencies are facing - they need to be able to migrate, they need flexibility in their strategy, they need absolute security, improved network uptime and stability, and they need to become more efficient.

Create a business strategy - your cloud strategy will emerge!

Having been in the technology industry for thirty years, i've seen trends come and go.  There seems to be a cycle for bringing technology in-house and outsourcing; each swing is based on slightly different reasons, but the swing happens just the same.  When it starts, the early adopters face many challenges, but just like any explorer, find part of the success of the achievement in the excitement of the journey and navigating the issues faced.  Everyone else works to catch up.

Once the early adopters have paved the way and more of the critical mass start to see the benefits of the solution, all of a sudden there is a rush to "be there".  The terminology is all about the solution and companies work to get their business in the new model.

How many articles are you reading about Cloud Computing?  There are a myriad of definitions of what the "Cloud" is, what you should send to the cloud, and what structure you should use.  All of this leaves most people confused and definitely concerned about critical areas of business including costs, security and success.

Don't move to the cloud for the sake of moving to the cloud.  Leverage your business strategy.  What does your business need to do to be successful in the years to come?  As you answer this question, how, when and where the cloud will benefit you will become more obvious.

To quote Rob McWhirter, owner of CRW Solutions, "What becomes your differentiator if everyone moves to the same systems and to the cloud?   The benefit of a good cloud computing solution and provider is it gives you an enterprise look at your business, leverages existing technologies that do not need to be ripped and replaced yet, and strengthens your business through the utilization of a shared business process and collaboration in your value chain. "

This is why Dark Star Cloud created the only truly enterprise class cloud computing solution.  It recognizes the issues of the breadth of the enterprise.  It supports your entire organizational requirements no matter what the size and supports multiple underlying architectures to let you decide how and when to migrate your components,  Leverage cloud computing effectively to bring maximum value to the investments you are making both in your business and your technology.

Accenture Identifies Eight Trends Driving the Future of IT

In this report Accenture predicts new databases will grow such as Dark Star Cloud's true enterprise multitenancy hierarchical database...Read full article

Cisco offer glum outlook

Time for them to move their strategy forward and offer solutions like Dark Star Cloud's enterprise class cloud development environment....

Cisco Systems on Wednesday released quarterly earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, but offered a disappointing outlook for the current quarter, sending its share price down in after-hours trading. The networking company cited slowing spending by government agencies and cable operators, as well as soft sales of consumer products and switches. (New York Times, Feb 10, 2011)

Salesforce.com Acquires Social Productivity Tool

Read Information Week article 
It is interesting to watch a lot of companies try to get to mass markets for things like mobile phones etc. Consider this....If the Chinese government is moving its railway system from cash to credit cards it will require millions of point of sale terminals and a sophisticated enterprise class billing application.  Who is providing applications that are enterprise class in the cloud? Dark Star Cloud!

So Google I/O sold out in 59 minutes, so why so slow?

Thanks to Robert Gaydos for the following...
Google in this press release is touting how fast the conference sold out.
They want me to be impressed how fast it sold out. I'm not impressed, users experienced a site that was very slow and even timed out as they jumped between the pages. 59 minutes is quick, but the sign up site was very slow.
This shows the importance of a scalable cloud solution, maybe if they were using Dark Star Cloud technology users trying to sign up would have had a better experience and Google I/O would have sold out in 5 minutes.

You cannot win database wars with technology

San Francisco-based Clustrix, which develops clustered database systems for Internet-based applications, has raised $12 million in Series B financing.  Read article

Oracle. For 30 years I have watched hundreds of "database companies" come and go with groovy new technology. The only survivors are those that find a niche at the business model level. You cannot win "database wars" with technology. If there is a business for these solutions, Oracle has thousands of smart Indians in Bangalore that can create this sort of solution. Dark Star Cloud is a proven robust technology that has thousands of enterprise customers and it will be very difficult to replicate its capability.

Microsoft patches met with new flaws

Microsoft's latest round of 12 security patches -- covering 22 vulnerabilities, including at least one being actively exploited -- arrived a day after a fresh batch of zero-day flaws announced by HP/TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative. The 21 flaws noted by ZDI also include vulnerabilities in software from Adobe and Oracle, which are slated to issue their own security updates later this month. Read full article

When we talk about enterprise class cloud computing with Dark Star Cloud it does not involve patching as with Microsoft. Dark Star Cloud is a robust secure scalable enterprise platform and for its customers patching is unacceptable!

BT Launches Virtual Data Centre Private

The VDC Private is a data centre infrastructure service that essentially allows for customers to build their own dedicated private clouds.  Read full BT article

Now if they had Dark Star Cloud’s solution they would drive an unprecedented amount of traffic through their switches as Dark Star Cloud is an enterprise class Cloud development environment.

Salesforce.com Takes on Oracle in the Database Market

Cloud-based software maker Salesforce.com Inc is entering the business of selling database programs that manage vast arrays of corporate data, challenging leader Oracle Corp in the $21 billion a year market. Reuters article 

Dark Star Cloud offers Database in the cloud, but it is mainframe (enterprise class), proven, robust... what you would use to run an application that calculates the tax returns of 1 billion Chinese !

Grasping the Cloud's Business Impact

As quoted in Sandhill.com article "Software and cloud service vendors must understand the real-world business impact of the cloud-based delivery of IT services in order to help make these deployments successful at client organizations over the long term."

Dark Star Cloud's eApps Store revolutionizes the delivery of  enterprise class cloud applications.

Mainframe is Essential in a Cloud-Computing World

We applaud CA promoting the true statement that the Mainframe is the only enterprise capable hardware platform....

CA Technologies and other IT Executives are hosting a series of interactive IT Executive Forums to discuss why the unique virtues of the mainframe make it an ideal platform for cloud-computing workloads. They will explore why the mainframe’s unparalleled virtualization, availability, security, efficiency and scalability have made it an essential component of IT environments. www.ca.com/iiefmf

Thanks Bill for the article. Storage is currently a hot market for acquisitions what will come next?

Aivars Lode, Dark Star Cloud

Time Warner Cable to Acquire Navisite for $230 Million in Cloud Expansion

Source: Bloomberg
By Amy Thomson - Feb 1, 2011

Time Warner Cable Inc. agreed to buy NaviSite Inc. for $230 million as the second-largest U.S. cable- television operator expands into services that will let businesses store data online.

The deal, which values Andover, Massachusetts-based NaviSite at $5.50 a share, represents a 33 percent premium to the company’s closing price today. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, Time Warner Cable said in a statement today.

NaviSite will help Time Warner Cable win business customers who are looking for new ways to store and manage electronic data and software, Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt said in the statement. The deal follows Verizon Communications Inc.’s agreement to buy Terremark Worldwide Inc. for $1.4 billion last week.

The industry for Web-based data storage and services, known as cloud computing, may reach $148.8 billion by 2014 from $68.3 billion last year, according to researcher Gartner Inc.

NaviSite rose 13 cents, or 3.3 percent, to close at $4.13 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The shares have gained 38 percent in the last 12 months. New York-based Time Warner Cable, up 55 percent in the past year, gained 90 cents to $68.73 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4:15 p.m.

BMC Software, Inc.: Mixed Results

Companies like BMC need to provide differentiated solutions for the cloud otherwise they will lose relevance.

Aivars Lode

North America Equity Research

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BMC Software, Inc.: Mixed Results

Underweight

Click here for the full Note and disclaimers.

BMC reported mixed results for its fiscal third quarter ending December, as revenue and cash flow were better than expected, but gross margins had a negative effect on the bottom line.

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Verizon Terremark Deal May Spur Cloud Acquisitions

Verizon Communications Inc.’s acquisition of cloud-computing company Terremark Worldwide Inc. may prompt rival carriers to enter the fast-growing industry, said Michael Nelson, an analyst at Mizuho Securities USA Inc.  Read full Bloomberg article.

Of course it makes sense for global telcos to offer cloud solutions. The question is will these solutions be just a "me-too", or will they attack a large un-penetrated market with a differentiated solution?