Archives : August 2009

Enterprise cloud computing gaining ground

published on 2009/08/31 by Anthony Plewes

More than 80% of large enterprises are at least in the trial stages for public and private cloud computing deployments, although there is still significant confusion and concern about the definition of the concept, according to a survey conducted by Applied Research on behalf of application delivery networking company F5 Networks. Some 250 responses were received from companies with 2,500 or more employees.Enterprises are being drawn to cloud computing by "the promise of an agile, scalable IT infrastructure and reduced costs". But widespread adoption is dependent on certain hurdles being overcome, primarily related to access, security and performance concerns. Jason......

Accidental security breaches posing threat to businesses

published on 2009/08/27 by

"Accidental" security incidents by company insiders happen more frequently and have the potential for greater negative impact than "malicious" insider acts, according to a whitepaper from research house IDC. It also found a misalignment of security concerns by the majority of executives, who prioritised protecting against the latter rather than the former.It was noted that no single technology will be able to protect against the actions of insiders, which is in itself a large group that includes consultants, outsourcing partners, contractors and business partners alongside employees and executives. IDC argues that "a comprehensive risk management framework is the only way......

Is Office application support a must for smartphone users?

published on 2009/08/25 by

Microsoft's mobile enterprise activities have been in the spotlight during the last few weeks, with the company inking an alliance with Nokia to address this market, and reports that the company is planning to support mobile browser access to its web-based Office applications. But the news raises some important questions with regard to how enterprise users interact with their devices, and what smartphones are used for in the real-world.Starting with the mobile browser access to web applications rumours first, online publication Ars Technica reported that Microsoft had confirmed this is planned, but the software giant had stated "we are still......

Lean times driving managed services uptick

published on 2009/08/21 by Stewart Baines

Analyst firm Forrester Research said that almost 20% of IT professionals are purchasing more managed services as a result of the tough economic climate, but rather than cost savings being the key driver, the decision is being motivated by a desire to focus on their core business. In addition to a desire for more flexible payment methods, companies also have a need to keep their technology up-to-date.According to Forrester, managed or outsourced telecoms services have already been purchased by 47% of enterprises and 37% of small businesses.It has become somewhat hackneyed, but undoubtedly cost control is vital for businesses, as......

Energy-aware routing could save businesses millions

published on 2009/08/20 by

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology published an article discussing "energy-aware internet routing", which it argues could save data-intensive businesses millions of dollars every year in electricity costs. But as with most IT developments, the potential gains are not as easy to come by as headline statistics would suggest, with a number of issues that will limit the benefits available.Working with distributed computing company Akami, the research suggests that business could reduce their data center power consumption by as much as 40% by re-routing tasks to locations where electricity prices are lowest on a particular day. By shifting the most computing-intensive......