Archive for the ‘Virtualization’ Category

Research Highlights 10 Key Obstacles to Cloud Computing

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

SO just what do UC Berkeley researchers think about cloud computing. For a start, they believe cloud computing presents a great opportunity to exploit unprecedented IT resources, but only if vendors can overcome a litany of obstacles. Okay, nothing new there that we could work out oustide the lab.

But then they came up with the real gem that a key key necessary enabler of Cloud Computing was “the construction and operation of extremely large-scale, commodity-computer data centers at low-cost locations” – wow, mind blowing stuff!!

Okay – just joking around. The research did pinpoint the 10 key obstacles to cloud computing – so go check it out, download the PDF research report. The research group works in the Reliable Adaptive Distributed Systems Laboratory (RAD Lab), a 3-year-old outfit funded by companies such as Google, Microsoft, IBM and Sun. So I guess they have a fair amount of human computing power behind their suggestions.

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Hot Technology For 2007

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

As we enter the last quarter of 2007, we take a look back over the year at what technologies are hot with business right now. The three that stand out are:

  1. Virtualization – large enterprises and SMB’s
  2. Mobile – Location based services for consumers
  3. Business Intelligence – enterprise initiatives

Virtualization

Small and medium size business users are adopting server virtualization technology more frequently than in years past. SMB users are discovering the cost and operational efficiencies that virtualization brings to their smaller IT operation. To learn more about the business benefits virtualization delivers to SMB’s http://www.accelacomm.com/jlp/temv.1/7/80144402/ .

Mobile LBS

A survey conducted earlier in the year by PocketPC Wire found consumers were finally ‘getting’ location-based services (LBS). With LBS, users can receive directions or find out where nearest gas station, bus stop or Starbucks is etc. They can personalize their information requests during set up to for instance, receive only traffic information that relates to their routes.

39 percent of respondents said their next mobile device would ‘most definitely’ include global positing system (GPS) technology. An additional 21 percent answered ‘probably,’ depending on the cost. Of the remaining respondents, 14 percent weren’t sure yet, 12 percent said probably not and 14 percent answered no.

A key driver for LBS is the growing number of cellphones and smartphones and cell phones that include integrated global positioning system (GPS) capability. As more of the market becomes GPS / LBS available, more products can be expected.

Business Intelligence

Business intelligence is the capture and use of enterprise data in a way that makes it readily available to business users using analytic tools at the desktop, to support good decision making.

The key to successful BI programs is in understanding that BI is NOT like most other IT programs. It is largely business driven and requires a completely different set of IT skills than other application development. This is a key stumbling block for businesses to overcome. Once they do, and get the right skills on board, the difference in adoption and success of the program is amazing.

Analytic tools have also got a lot smarter over the past year – and more affordable. With the recent rollout of Microsoft PerformancePoint, business intelligence is able to be integrated into standard Microsoft Office 2007 programs.

Key resources for Business Intelligence

The IQX.com – understanding business intelligence

TheBusinessIntelligenceGuide.com – implementing BI programs

Posted in Business Intelligence, Mobile Services, Virtualization | 1 Comment »