"Cloud" isn't about a feature, it's about performance, scale and security

Up until now the competition has seemed to focus solely on being able to call themselves "cloud" and sell the incredible features it creates as fast as humanly possible.


But what about the functionality of the system you're running?  


As we see in example after example of twitter going down, EC2 failing and a myriad of issues associated with Windows, Linux, and Ruby/Rails programming "in the cloud," there is an incredible instability in this market.


Dark Star Cloud is designed not to have these issues.


We are market-proven with decades of testimonials, hundreds of millions spent in development, mainframe-based database technology that is scalable and secure.  


What is curious is that people still flock to solutions that are not secure and that can't scale.  

The Dark Star Cloud design specifically prevents what happened to Amazon

The recent New York Times Article brings emphasis on one of the reasons the Dark Star Cloud solution was created.  We created Dark Star Cloud to ensure there is an enterprise class alternative to linux and unix on a hugely robust, secure and scalable mainframe platform. 

Leverage the benefits of moving to the cloud without the uncertainty of outages, security and scalability.

Cloud Computing's Hard Realities Set In

It is becoming apparent that cloud computing isn't as easy as it sounds.  Federal agencies are racing to comply with the Office of Management and Budget's "cloud first" policy, which requires them, where possible, to use cloud computing in lieu of investing in servers and software. It's a laudable goal, but the pace of implementation has become too much, too soon.

Federal CIO Vivek Kundra laid out the expectations in December, when he instructed each agency to identify three services that could be--indeed, must be--moved to the cloud within 18 months. Agency CIOs are taking the mandate seriously. Our just completed survey of federal IT pros' cloud plans reveals that 29% of agencies are using cloud computing and another 29% expect to do so within 12 months. That means they will cross the 50% threshold sometime this year. (See "Cloud Computing's Tipping Point" for more analysis of our 2011 Federal Government Cloud Computing Survey.) by John Foley, Information Week.

That why there is Dark Star Cloud... with over 40 years of development and thousands of customers utilizing it in an enterprise mainframe environment. Immature technologies just won’t cut it for enterprise secure scalable applications.

 

The Naples Technology Group (TNTG) Founded by IT Capital

Business Wire recently published this latest press release for The Naples Technology Group and  Dark Star Cloud:

NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IT Capital announced today the founding of The Naples Technology Group (TNTG), a research think tank and funding organization dedicated to creating a technology hub on Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast.

“The think tank is identifying technology businesses that will benefit from relocating or launching a business in Southwest Florida due to its modern infrastructure, educated workforce, tax advantages and transportation network. Typically, these technology businesses focus on driving greater efficiency and effectiveness within major corporations and governments globally, have highly educated employees, and benefit from the mature recurring nature of their business,” said IT Capital Founder Aivars Lode.

One of the Naples based technology companies benefitting from TNTG is Dark Star Cloud, the first cloud computing platform that satisfies both the desire for cloud computing and the proven benefits of the mainframe culture and technology.

“There are plenty of options to build departmental and Web2.0 applications in the cloud, including Amazon’s EC2, Microsoft’s Azure, Salesforce.com’s Force.com; however, each of these clouds are built on Linux or Windows. There are still thousands of mission critical applications running on mainframe computers. These users are wedded to enterprise class mainframe technology for its proven robustness, reliability and scalability. Dark Star Cloud has bought together 50 technology professionals from around the world to participate in this initiative based out of Naples,” Lode said.

Another company Lode encouraged to move to Naples through TNTG initiatives is Best Results, a technology company formerly based in Sydney, Australia. Best Results leverages the Florida Gulf Coast University business department providing graduates to assist global corporations in maximizing profitability.

“The implementation of Best Results’ Integrated Resource Platform (IRP®) delivers unparalleled value and return on investment. It is the most significant value-generating initiative available and deployed in business operations in the last 100 years," said Best Results co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Robert McWhirter.

The Naples Technology Group is a member of the Peace to Barron Foundation, a non-governmental philanthropic organization of leading business executives dedicated to promoting the business advantages of Southwest Florida -- from Punta Gorda and the Peace River in the North, all the way down to the Barron River in the South. Rob Tholemeier, founding member of the Peace to Barron Foundation, is also a Dark Star Cloud founding member.

Oracle's recent security issue just doesn't happen on the mainframe!

Oracle recently announced a huge security-patch release to 73 security flaws.  According to Oracle:

“Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, Oracle strongly recommends that customers apply Critical Patch Update fixes as soon as possible.”

This just does not happen on the mainframe.  With a legacy of development over the last 50 years the platform is more robust, as evidenced with over 70% of the planets financial transaction flowing through it. What is the backend system for VISA card?   Just one big enterprise class mainframe.

There are many options for cloud computing solutions available in the marketplace today.  There are many choices for how you select what portion(s) of your enterprise you move to the cloud and why.  

Some of the questions you have to ask a potential provider are:

• How will you protect my data?
• How can you scale?
• What are my real savings?
• How will moving to the cloud transform my business?

How long will it take companies like this to build out a solution without bugs?

Basho raises $7.5M to expand NoSQL databases sales.   Read more...

Darkstar Cloud's solution is mature and has millions of lines of code that have been deployed in Fortune 500 companies on mission critical applications on the mainframe. Bank of New York clears most of the worlds stock trades ...do you think that is on windows or Unix? NO! It's engine is the mainframe. If you trade stocks online guess what it all goes back into? ... a mainframe.  For a reliable solution...Dark Star Cloud

The Value Enterprise - The New Way of Doing Business

With the speed of business and change, gone are the days when corporations can focus within and be dependent on their suppliers for what they need. Today individual enterprises need the participation of their entire value network to improve visibility, collaboration, innovation and profitability.  

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions provide efficiencies to the view within the enterprise and support their strategies.  Leverage these efficiencies with innovation and value creation through the entire value network.  This creates your Value Enterprise - every individual enterprise that is part of the creation of the products and / or services you provide. 

Immediate awareness to value network supply and demand allows you to respond to change more quickly, efficiently, and effectively.  Your Value Enterprise drives out cost and risk while improving performance throughout the network.  Innovation through participation keeps each individual enterprise more dynamic and structured for success.  The success of your Value Enterprise is increased as more individual enterprises in the value network are connected.

This critical need is why Best Results created and patented the Integrated Resource Platform (IRP).  It drives maximum innovation, performance and profitability through your value network.  connects all the enterprises of your value network, and creates the flexibility required to adapt to rapidly changing market demands.

Mainframes are stable, secure and under your control - perfect for anchoring a private cloud...

As we said, the only thing that can scale the mainframe....Dark Star Cloud....
Read Computerworld article - New Job for Mainframes: Cloud Platform

Dell plans to spend $1B on cloud services

Dell said Thursday it plans to invest some $1 billion this year in new-product development as well as construction of "many" new data centers. The investment, part of Dell's planned expansion beyond computer hardware, will include research and development into virtualization services for customers.

Dell is pushing into higher value services such as those that Dark Star Cloud Provides however not necessarily enterprise class due the inability to scale like a mainframe can.

Microsoft sets new Patch Tuesday record

Microsoft said it will fix 64 vulnerabilities with 17 security patches -- nine of them rated "critical" -- at its next Tuesday update, a record for the the software giant. One security expert said a large release had been expected, but the number of vulnerabilities this time is "out of line with anything normal for Microsoft." Read Computerworld article

This just does not happen on the mainframe.  For enterprise class applications it is just another reason why you would not want your mission critical enterprise apps on anything but a mainframe.