Latest News from Cloud Hosting Journal

Technology Tiering, Servers Storage and Snow Removal

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:30:00 EST

Granted it is winter in the northern hemisphere and thus snow storms should not be a surprise.

However between December 2009 and early 2010, there has been plenty of record activity from in the U.K. (or here), to the U.S. east coast including New York, Boston and Washington DC, across the midwest and out to California, it made for a white christmas and SANta fun along with snow fun in general in the new year.

2010 Snow Storm via www.star-telegram.com

What does this have to do with Information Factories aka IT resources including public or private clouds, facilities, server, storage, networking along with data management let alone tiering?

What does this have to do with tiered snow removal, or even snow fun?

Simple, different tools are needed for addressing various types of snow from wet and heavy to light powdery or dustings to deep downfalls. Likewise, there are different types of servers, storage, data networks along with operating systems, management tools and even hyper visors to deal with various application needs or requirements.

First, lets look at tiered IT resources (servers, storage, networks, facilities, data protection and hyper visors) to meet various efficiency, optimization and service level needs.

Do you have tiered IT resources?

Let me rephrase that question to do you have different types of servers with various performance, availability, connectivity and software that support various applications and cost levels?

Thus the whole notion of tiered IT resources is to be abe to have different resources that can be aligned to the task at hand in order to meet performance, availability, capacity, energy along with economic along with service level agreement (SLA) requirements.

Computers or servers are targeted for different markets including Small Office Home Office (SOHO), Small Medium Business (SMB), Small Medium Enterprise (SME) and ultra large scale or extreme scaling, including high performance super computing. Servers are also positioned for different price bands and deployment scenarios.

General categories of tiered servers and computers include:

Laptops, desktops and workstations
Small floor standing towers or rack mounted 1U and 2U servers
Medium sizes floor standing towers or larger rack mounted servers
Blade Centers and Blade Servers
Large size floor standing servers, including mainframes
Specialized fault tolerant, rugged and embedded processing or real time servers

Servers have different names email server, database server, application server, web server, and video or file server, network server, security server, backup server or storage server associated with them depending on their use. In each of the previous examples, what defines the type of server is the type of software is being used to deliver a type of service. Sometimes the term appliance will be used for a server; this is indicative of the type of service the combined hardware and software solution are providing. For example, the same physical server running different software could be a general purpose applications server, a database server running for example Oracle, IBM, Microsoft or Teradata among other databases, an email server or a storage server.

This can lead to confusion when looking at servers in that a server may be able to support different types of workloads thus it should be considered a server, storage, networking or application platform. It depends on the type of software being used on the server. If, for example, storage software in the form a clustered and parallel file system is installed on a server to create highly scalable network attached storage (NAS) or cloud based storage service solution, then the server is a storage server. If the server has a general purpose operating system such as Microsoft Windows, Linux or UNIX and a database on it, it is a database server.

While not technically a type of server, some manufacturers use the term tin wrapped software in an attempt to not be classified as an appliance, server or hardware vendor but want their software to be positioned more as a turnkey solution. The idea is to avoid being perceived as a software only solution that requires integration with hardware. The solution is to use off the shelf commercially available general purpose servers with the vendors software technology pre integrated and installed ready for use. Thus, tin wrapped software is a turnkey software solution with some tin, or hardware, wrapped around it.

How about the same with tiered storage?

That is different tiers (Figure 1) of fast high performance disk including RAM or flash based SSD, fast Fibre Channel or SAS disk drives, or high capacity SAS and SATA disk drives along with magnetic tape as well as cloud based backup or archive?

Figure 1: Tiered Storage resources

Tiered storage is also sometimes thought of in terms large enterprise class solutions or midrange, entry level, primary, secondary, near line and offline. Not to be forgotten, there are also tiered networks that support various speeds, convergence, multi tenancy and other capabilities from IO Virtualization (IOV) to traditional LAN, SAN, MAN and WANs including 1Gb Ethernet (1GbE), 10GbE up to emerging 40GbE and 100GbE not to mention various Fibre Channel speeds supporting various protocols.

The notion around tiered networks is like with servers and storage to enable aligning the right technology to be used for the task at hand economically while meeting service needs.

Two other common IT resource tiering techniques include facilities and data protection. Tiered facilities can indicate size, availability, resiliency among other characteristics. Likewise, tiered data protection is aligning the applicable technology to support different RTO and RPO requirements for example using synchronous replication where applicable vs. asynchronous time delayed for longer distance combined with snapshots. Other forms of tiered data protection include traditional backups either to disk, tape or cloud.

There is a new emerging form of tiering in many IT environments and that is tiered virtualization or specifically tiered server hyper visors in virtual data centers with similar objectives to having different server, storage, network, data protection or facilities tiers. Instead of an environment running all VMware, Microsoft HyperV or Zen among other hyper visors may be deployed to meet different application service class requirements. For example, VMware may be used for premium features and functionality on some applications, where others that do not need those features along with requiring lower operating costs leverage HyperV or Zen based solutions. Taking the tiering approach a step further, one could also declare tiered databases for example Oracle legacy vs. MySQL or Microsoft SQLserver among other examples.

What about IT clouds, are those different types of resources, or, essentially an extension of existing IT capabilities for example cloud storage being another tier of data storage?

There is another form of tiering, particularly during the winter months in the northern hemisphere where there is an abundance of snow this time of the year. That is, tiered snow management, removal or movement technologies.

What about tiered snow removal?

Well lets get back to that then.

Like IT resources, there are different technologies that can be used for moving, removing, melting or managing snow.

For example, I cant do much about getting ready of snow other than pushing it all down the hill and into the river, something that would take time and lots of fuel, or, I can manage where I put snow piles to be prepared for next storm, plus, to help put it where the piles of snow will melt and help avoid spring flood. Some technologies can be used for relocating snow elsewhere, kind of like archiving data onto different tiers of storage.

Regardless of if snowstorm or IT clouds (public or private), virtual, managed service provider (MSP), hosted or traditional IT data centers, all require physical servers, storage, I/O and data networks along with software including management tools.

Granted not all servers, storage or networking technology let alone software are the same as they address different needs. IT resources including servers, storage, networks, operating systems and even hyper visors for virtual machines are often categorized and aligned to different tiers corresponding to needs and characteristics (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Tiered IT resources

For example, in figure 3 there is a light weight plastic shovel (Shove 1) for moving small amounts of snow in a wide stripe or pass. Then there is a narrow shovel for digging things out, or breaking up snow piles (Shovel 2). Also shown are a light duty snow blower (snow thrower) capable of dealing with powdery or non wet snow, grooming in tight corners or small areas.

Figure 3: Tiered Snow management and migration tools

For other light dustings, a yard leaf blower does double duty for migrating or moving snow in small or tight corners such as decks, patios or for cleanup. Larger snowfalls, or, where there is a lot of area to clear involves heavier duty tools such as the Kawasaki mule with 5 foot curtis plow. The mule is a multifunction, multi protocol tool capable of being used for hauling items, towing, pulling or recreational tasks.

When all else fails, there is a pickup truck to get or go out and about, not to mention to pull other vehicles out of ditches or piles of snow when they become stuck!

Figure 4: Sometimes the snow light making for fast, low latency migration

Figure 5: And sometimes even snow migration technology goes off line!

And that is it for now!

Enjoy the northern hemisphere winter and snow while it lasts, make the best of it with the right tools to simplify the tasks of movement and management, similar to IT resources.

Keep in mind, its about the tools and when along with how to use them for various tasks for efficiency and effectiveness, and, a bit of snow fun.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - Author The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
twitter @storageio

Twitter Prank Grows Small Business

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:00:21 EST

In the age old tradition of marriage, there stands an even older tradition: the prank pulled off by the best man on the bride and groom. While the practice is ancient, it has taken on a new twist in the viral microblogging world of Twitter.

Intel and Microsoft Tap FedScoop for Online Cloud Computing Campaign

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:11:16 EST

Cbeyond to Present at the Deutsche Bank Small and Mid Cap Conference

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:32:34 EST

Cbeyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBEY), a provider of communications and IT solutions to small businesses, today announced that it will participate in the Deutsche Bank Small and Mid Cap Conference on February 9, 2010, at the Ritz-Carlton Resort in Naples, Florida.

Cbeyond to Present at the Thomas Weisel Partners Technology and Telecom Conference

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:31:22 EST

Cbeyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBEY), a provider of communications and IT solutions to small businesses, today announced that it will participate in the Thomas Weisel Partners Technology and Telecom Conference on February 9, 2010, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California.

Death to Personal Storage Table Files

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:15:00 EST

The flow of email in most companies is constantly increasing – the average corporate email user sends and receives 167 messages per day. To comply with regulatory requirements, a company must give employees constant access to their email accounts and retain copies of every important email, which makes managing email more difficult than ever.

SAS 70 Type II Audit Boosts NetDepot's Data Center Offering

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:14:10 EST

NetDepot's commitment to operational excellence is recognized by third-party audit

BlueLock Introduces Cloud Computing Solutions with BlueLock CloudSuite

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:15:00 EST

BlueLock, a provider of cloud computing and managed IT services, announced on Monday the BlueLock CloudSuite, a comprehensive set of cloud computing solutions, offering a tailored selection of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) environments to best fit the specific needs of individual applications. BlueLock CloudSuite is an array of public and private cloud computing solutions.

Down-to-Earth Contracts that Keep the Cloud Aloft

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:45:00 EST

This article looks at the basic interoperability requirements when communicating with the Cloud, and in particular at techniques and standards used to express and enforce wire-level contracts between communicating parties, as these parties are increasingly also contracting parties in a Cloud environment. Many standards already developed for Web services and service-oriented architectures provide to the communicating parties a good understanding and control of the expected quality of service at the most basic level of the interaction.

Migrate to Google Docs and Consolidate Your Storage

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:45:00 EST

In the IT departments of many companies around the world, data volume is growing exponentially. Every day, companies gather more and more data to meet business and regulatory requirements. This challenge is often met with the purchase of more and more servers with more and more disks. This creates a data management nightmare which is not only unwieldy but expensive. It is also unsustainable. Fortunately, there are solutions in the cloud. With the introduction of support for any file type in Google Storage, it is now possible to satisfy the storage needs of your IT department with Google Storage. Sounds good, but it introduces another problem: it may not be so easy to upload your existing data which may be stored on FTP servers, WebDav servers, and a variety of other file servers. There may even be data stored in other cloud storage services that may be cheaper to house in Google Storage given its industry leading low cost of $.25 per gigabyte per year.

The Cloud Storage Wars: Windows Azure vs. Google

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST

Google Storage is shared between Gmail, Picasa Web Albums and Google Docs, all of which have web interfaces to use and share with friends. For the desktop PC UI interface, you have client side GUI tools such as Google Picasa, Gladinet Cloud Desktop or Memeo Connect to connect your Google Storage account directly into your Desktop PC. Azure on the other hand, is more geared toward developers. You won’t be able to use Azure Storage until you write some code. You can use some 3rd parties’ tools to use Azure Storage, such as Azure Storage Explorer, Cloud Storage Studio, Azure MMC plug-in, Gladinet and others. Google Storage is more usable out of the box. However, Azure storage may have more tools available down the road.

Selecting Your Hosted Security Services Provider

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:15:00 EST

Hosted security providers offer a wealth of similar services and qualifications. How do you make an accurate comparison to determine total cost of ownership (TCO) and understand associated risks and rewards when considering an investment in hosted security? This buyer's guide, written for IT managers in midmarket organizations, goes through the benefits of hosted security and identifies questions you should be asking in your vendor selection process.

Savvis registra una mejora en los ingresos para 2009

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:23:24 EST

Savvis, Inc. (Nasdaq: SVVS), un líder global en servicios de infraestructura de Internet externalizados, ha publicado hoy sus resultados financieros para el cuarto trimestre de 2009, con unos ingresos de 219,8 millones de dólares estadounidenses, en comparación con los 222,4 millones de dólares estadounidenses en el cuarto trimestre de 2008. El EBITDA ajustado fue de 54,9 millones de dólares estadounidenses, en comparación con los 52,0 millones de dólares estadounidenses de EBITDA ajustado en el cuarto trimestre de 2008.

Ready to Move Your Enterprise Apps to the Cloud?

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:15:00 EST

CloudSwitch’s innovative software appliance enables enterprises to move their existing applications to the right cloud computing environment – securely, simply and without changes. With CloudSwitch, applications remain tightly integrated with enterprise data center tools and policies, and can be moved easily between different cloud environments and back into the data center based on the requirements of the business. CloudSwitch protects enterprises from the complexity, risks and potential lock-in of cloud computing, freeing them to leverage the cloud’s advantages in cost and business agility.

Enomaly & Intel Participate in New Cloud Builder Program

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:42:00 EST

It's been a little quiet on the blog front lately because of my crazy travel schedule. I'm currently in Shanghai on business and have had limited access to the my favorite social media tools while I've been in the Peoples Republic. Today I have some exciting news, something that's been a long time in the making. As many of you know over the last few years we've been working very closely with the team at Intel on various cloud and virtualization related efforts. In terms of a technology partner, they have been ideal both in going the extra mile technically allowing us access to their world class technical team around the globe (in places including China, India, Korea, Japan, Taiwan U.S) as well as market access to both their customers and partners. Intel was among the first to full understand the opportunity in enabling a truly secure virtualized cloud computing environments for service providers and Telco's. I'm happy to announce that Enomaly has joined the Intel® Cloud Builder Program to enable ease and scale of cloud deployments.

The purpose of the Intel® Cloud Builder Program enables easier deployment of cloud solutions. The program provides a starting point to setup, deploy and manage a cloud infrastructure. The primary goal is to simplify the effort to deploy cloud-based solutions for service providers, hosters and enterprise customers looking to use cloud architectures. The program provides tools and best practices for cloud service providers to create a cloud environment based on a defined software and hardware stack.

Our participation in the Intel Cloud Builder Program aligns closely with our other efforts to enable Service Providers to deliver enterprise-class cloud computing services to their customers. Our work with the Intel Cloud Builder Program will help to accelerate our efforts to deliver a massively-scalable, highly-available, high-security cloud platform to our customers.

A proven cloud computing technology platform, Enomaly's Service Provider Edition and High Assurance Edition provide a strong platform with which service providers can deliver revenue generating cloud services to their customers. Simple and easy to use by end-users, Enomaly provides a feature rich, customizable platform that will enable its Service Provider customers to gain competitive advantage in this fast moving market.

According to Billy Cox, director Cloud Computing Strategy, Intel Corporation; "Enomaly is one of the important industry influencers, Intel and Enomaly are working together with the goal to reduce the implementation time for our customers. Enomaly's participation in Intel® Cloud Builder Program can help enterprises and service providers move to cloud computing more easily."

I'm looking forward to continuing to work closely with Billy, Jake and the rest of the Intel team. Thanks again for believing in us.

About Enomaly

Enomaly is a global leader in the fast-growing Cloud Computing space. Enomaly empowers service providers (carriers, hosting companies, and others) to deliver revenue- generating infrastructure on demand (Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS) services to their customers. Enomaly's Elastic Computing Platform, first released in 2004, was the world's first IaaS platform, and is used today in over 1000 working installations.

For more information, please visit www.enomaly.com

For more information on Intel® Cloud Builder program, please visit here.

All names referred to are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Superb Internet Launches Fully Redesigned Affiliate Marketing Program for New, Higher Payout Options

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:47:21 EST

The Internet has revolutionized the way we do business; and now there are more legitimate ways than ever to profit by partnering with industry leaders. As an unprecedented number of people turn to the Internet to pay their bills, expand their careers, or start up businesses, Superb Internet Corporation (www.superb.net) has responded by offering a new sales Affiliate Program that offers high-conversion sales and multiple ways to participate. Now there’s a program to fit every need, from the chance referral that leads to a high one-time payout, to the possibility of building an entire business based on referrals.

Cloud Computing - The New Rock n' Roll

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST

Two news items have caught the attention this week, and both brought the John Lennon and Paul McCartney penned Beatles classic “The Fool on the Hill” to mind (more specifically the line “Well on his way, his head in a cloud”). One piece compares data centers with rock stars and the second, globally reported, contained President Obama’s $3.8 trillion 2011 budget blueprint designed to pull the US economy’s deficit out of the danger zone. Although the headlines might appear unrelated, the actual content of both pieces reveal two sides of the same coin. The coin being Cloud computing. On one side we have the private sector investing heavily in the ‘sexy’ future of computing by plowing millions into new data centers (Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Amazon etc) and on the other we have the public sector seeking to cut costs and balance the books by reducing its dependence on in-house IT infrastructure. A potentially heady mix of supply and demand or to put it another way: an opportunity for companies to make money and politicians to win votes.

IceWEB Announces Iplicity Converged Storage Environment

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:23:25 EST

IceWEB, Inc.™ (OTCBB: IWEB), www.IceWEB.com, a leading provider of Unified Data Storage, building blocks for cloud storage networks and of purpose built appliances announced today that the Company’s Iplicity™ Unified Storage Platform has been proven to provide a true Converged Storage Environment (CSE™).

Chinese Community Health Plan Focuses on Quality Improvement with TriZetto Software and Services

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:07:09 EST

The TriZetto Group, Inc. today announced that Chinese Community Health Plan (CCHP) has successfully implemented several TriZetto systems, including the Facets^®, NetworX Pricer^® and Clinical CareAdvance^®applications. The products are enabling the health plan to more efficiently administer its enrollment, membership billing, claims and customer service, as well as its network and health management programs. TriZetto is managing and hosting all of the applications for CCHP.

Secure Web Hosting Company FireHost Now Provides RioRey's Advanced Protection for Every Customer

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:52:03 EST

FireHost, a secure Web hosting company, is making protection against Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS) attacks available for all customers as a standard part of every secure hosting plan. The company is joining forces with RioRey, a leading worldwide DoS/DDoS mitigation provider, to give superior protection to all current and future customers against one of the most devastating kinds of cyber attacks a business can face.

EarthLink Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2009 Results

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:00:13 EST

Could Cloud Exchanges Work For Storage?

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:45:00 EST

CNET's Gordon Haff wrote a great piece on the shortcomings of the exchange model for cloud computing. His prognosis is right there in his title: "Why cloud exchanges won't work." I've done some thinking and writing on the topic, and it's easy to see Haff's point: Interoperability, security, and inertia threaten to derail this new concept before it starts.

Shortcomings of the Exchange Model

Haff's concept is centered on the following three simple qualifiers for cloud exchanges:

Any platform involved in an exchange must be compatible, allowing a workload to seamlessly move between interoperable systems. This is both critical and absent with many of the cloud computing services available today. Most are incompatible on a basic level, using different hypervisors for example. No cloud exchange can seamlessly move an EC2 Xen instance to a Terremark VMware environment, although Rightscale is working on clever translation systems.
Not all service providers are equal when it comes to security and compliance, either. I've often bemoaned the fact that so many service providers are not enterprise-ready, and this will be even more of an issue with an intermediary deciding where to run a particular job. How can a buyer be sure his workload will be safe?
Haff also points out that a compelling service must be cost-effective, and certain elements stand in the way of this. He questions the value economies of scale will bring to very-large service providers. He also wisely points out that additional costs to move supporting stored data could derail the return on investment

These are not intractable problems, but they are real concerns. The issue of portability is especially thorny for cloud computing, as vendors focus more on basic functionality and innovative features than compatibility. Yet one can envision a future in which even these issues are resolved: Haff worries about service providers moving "up the stack", but this is exactly where compatibility is likely to emerge. It is easier for me to imagine a number of interoperable Java or .NET platforms than truly compatible Xen environments!

It also seems that the current efforts to define cloud service description and provisioning APIs addresses many of these concerns. If a standard API could specify compatibility, the network environment, and security requirements, an exchange could offer a wide variety of service providers with these capabilities. I imagine an airline model, where not every airport is served by every airline, but there is enough competition even at the fringes to keep the resellers viable.

I am also much less concerned about return on investment than Haff. I have seen amazing economies of scale achieved at Nirvanix (where I am Director of Consulting) and can imagine these in many areas. Cloud service providers are driving cost out of many areas by standardizing and centralizing management operation and provisioning as well as hardware and environmental costs. As cloud providers set up shop in super-efficient data centers and train highly focused management staff, they are likely to surpass the economies of even the largest abd best-run end user environment.

What About Storage?

As I wrote in December, spot pricing for cloud storage is much less attractive due to the sheer inertia of data. But an exchange model might actually be attractive even after this is taken into account. The major public cloud storage providers have already moved up from the infrastructure (bytes and blocks) to the platform (object) level, though the "ammo provider" private cloud market remains focused on the former. And many efforts are already underway to create basic standard interfaces for both provisioning and access across these major vendors.

Let's take Haff's concerns in order:

Interoperability of cloud storage is likely to come well before compute thanks to the more constrained workload involved. While a compute platform could be asked to perform almost any task, storage in general is focused on a simple usage model sometimes called CRUD: Data is created, read, updated, and deleted. This has already led to a proliferation of pre-standard or de-facto standard generic interfaces to multiple cloud storage services. SNIA's rapid work on a standard cloud data management interface shows that interoperable public cloud storage isn't that far off.
Security and compliance is much less standardized among private and public cloud storage providers. I believe that all enterprise-focused public cloud storage providers should focus their efforts on offering solid, reliable, and secure systems, but this has clearly not been the case universally. And although efforts like the SNIA CDMI would standardize provisioning of services, we will need a much more robust vocabulary to specify the level of security and compliance required for a specific application. But not every application is right for cloud storage anyway. Surely a minimum standard for security can be agreed upon by multiple providers, allowing at least some bulky applications to use cloud storage without worry. We will eventually develop a more complete mechanism which will allow more sensitive applications to use a cloud exchange.
Cost effectiveness is another thorny issue. Public cloud storage for the enterprise isn't a race to the bottom in terms of cost; it has to be about more than just cheap capacity. Indeed, the public cloud storage market is already splitting into three categories: Cheap personal storage and backup, inexpensive storage for developers and web applications, and feature-rich enterprise-grade offerings for businesses. But cost will always be a factor, and cloud storage must prove its value. An exchange that resulted in higher prices or surprise fees to move data wouldn't be a success. This last is worth noting: Since moving storage between providers will always require time and costly bandwidth, I expect such an exchange to focus on net-new data, not migration of existing capacity to a cheaper provider.

Cloud storage is significantly different from cloud compute, and spot pricing and exchanges might make more sense for data. Indeed, many of the concerns voiced by CNET's Haff are less troubling in the storage world. But the issue of return on investment remains: Could a business cost-effectively use varying cloud storage providers? I suspect some will soon set up shop and try to find out!

BLADE Network Technologies Going Strong

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:54:00 EST

BLADE Network Technologies, Inc. (BLADE), the trusted leader in data center networking, enters 2010 well positioned to sustain its record-setting growth and address demand for faster, virtual and proven enterprise data center networks. In 2009, BLADE posted its highest shipments ($79 million), double digit growth and record market share gains since its establishment as an independent company in February 2006. In August 2009, BLADE also closed a Series B funding round valuing the company at $240 million. 2009 was also a landmark year in expanding the company's strategic alliances with major partnership agreements with several companies including Juniper Networks and Netezza. The company also took aggressive steps to expand global sales and distribution operations. The company surpassed 7.5 million data centers ports installed and is well on track to exceed $100 million in shipments in its FY2010.

Extreme Networks BlackDiamond 8900-Series Modules Recognized Globally as Innovative Data Center Solution and Product of the Year

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:40:39 EST

Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR) today announced that its high performance Ethernet data center solution, the BlackDiamond® 8900-series modules, were recognized by leading publications around the globe for innovative features and a unique approach to boosting network performance in the data center.

Savvis Reports Improvement in Revenue for 2009

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST

Savvis, a provider of outsourced internet infrastructure services for enterprises, today reported its fourth quarter 2009 financial results, with revenue of US$219.8 million, compared to US$222.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Adjusted EBITDA was US$54.9 million, compared to US$52.0 million of adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2008.

GigeNet Selects ParaScale Software for its HIVE Cloud Storage Platform

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:30:50 EST

ParaScale, Inc., a leader in developing cloud storage software solutions, announced today that GigeNet, a Chicago-based service provider offering dedicated and virtual compute resources, has selected ParaScale software as the cloud storage platform to power its compute and storage cloud solution, HIVE.

Meridian Knowledge Solutions Earns Second Award of Excellence for Best Enterprise LMS

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:33:03 EST

For the second consecutive year, readers of Elearning! Magazine gave Meridian Knowledge Solutions' Meridian Global LMS (Learning Management System) a Best of Elearning! Excellence Award in the category "Best Enterprise LMS." Meridian was one of only five companies worldwide to earn an award in this year's Enterprise LMS group.

RemoteRelief Selects Hosted Solutions' Stratus Trusted Cloud(TM) for Infrastructure and Managed Services

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:24:26 EST

Mezeo Software Appoints Vice President of Business Development

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:18:38 EST

Mezeo Software (www.mezeo.com), the leading provider of a deployable cloud storage platform for service providers, today announced that Marty Fluke has been appointed Vice President of Business Development. Fluke will be responsible for developing, driving and managing Mezeo business partner relationships. He reports to President and CEO Steve Lesem.

Terremark to Present at Deutsche Bank Conference

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:20:46 EST

Terremark Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMRK), a leading global provider of managed IT infrastructure services, today announced that its executives will be presenting at the Deutsche Bank Small and Mid Cap Conference in Naples, Florida. Terremark’s presentation will take place on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at 2:40 p.m. ET.

Savvis Reports Improvement in Revenue for 2009

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:00:23 EST

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2009 Adjusted EBITDA* Up 7% Quarterly and 19% Annually

Savvis Expands Chicago Data Center

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:58:18 EST

Responding to growing customer demand in electronic trading and for access to financial markets and internet infrastructure services, Savvis, Inc. (Nasdaq: SVVS), today announced that it is expanding one of its two premier Chicago data centers.

Savvis Expands Chicago Data Center

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:58:04 EST

Electronic Trading, Thomson Reuters Collaboration and Hosting Demand Fueling Growth

Enomaly announces Participation in Intel® Cloud Builder Program

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:24:28 EST

Enomaly, a global leader in Cloud Computing joins Intel® Cloud Builder Program to deliver a reference architecture based on Intel® Xeon® Processor based platforms.

Riverbed Appoints Technology Innovator to Board of Directors

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:23:48 EST

Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ:RVBD), the IT infrastructure performance company for networks, applications and storage, today announced that Mark S. Lewis has been appointed to the board of directors. Lewis currently serves as president of the Content Management and Archiving Division at EMC Corporation. As a Director on the Riverbed® board, Lewis will provide guidance on the company’s corporate vision and technology innovations.

Most Not Interested in Cloud Data Storage

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:30:00 EST

Another dose of reality for the Cloud Computing industry! A new survey by Forrester says that just 3% of companies use cloud storage. Worse, the vast majority of firms don’t plan to put data in the cloud. This is the latest shot of poor showings for the cloud, and I have a theory about it. But first, read on: Forrester interviewed more than 1,200 IT decision makers at enterprises and small and mid-size businesses in North America and Europe. The research company asked IT decision makers if they had plans to adopt cloud storage services such as those offered by Amazon S3, EMC Atmos, Nirvanix, The Planet, or AT&T.

TechLaw Solutions Launches Fully Redundant Backup Data Hosting Center

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:11:49 EST

TechLaw Solutions, Inc., a leading electronic discovery consulting and services provider, has brought a secondary data center online to ensure that clients are fully operational in the event of an outage or failure at the primary Tier 3 Data Hosting Center.

Sayabit Launches 1.0 with Advanced Storage Power

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:00:50 EST

Rounds Out Offering with E-Signature, iPhone Application and Enhanced Micro-Networking for Smart and Secure Virtual Filing Cabinet

SecureCloudReview.com Blog to Provide Best Practices in Cloud Security and Compliance for IT Leaders and Practitioners

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:00:31 EST

SecureCloudReview.com (http://securecloudreview.com/), a blog focused on cloud security insights, observations and analysis from experts in the security space, was formally launched today. Sponsored by Alert Logic, the smartest choice for securing networks and ensuring compliance, SecureCloudReview.com offers perspective and conversation-provoking insights from Gray Hall, CEO of Alert Logic, and Misha Govshteyn, co-founder and CTO of Alert Logic, who bring their IT service provider background to the table with a fresh perspective on cloud security. Both will tap their network of security and hosting industry experts as well as consumers of cloud security and compliance solutions to offer additional opinions and best practices for the SecureCloudReview.com audience.

Myers Internet Chooses LoanSifter to Enhance Mortgage POS Eligibility and Pricing

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:00:26 EST

Alliance delivers automated workflows to users, improving data quality and profitability

Redcats USA and Interval International Select Keynote Systems’ Web Performance Test & Measurement Products

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:19:29 EST

Keynote® Systems (NASDAQ:KEYN), the global leader in on-demand mobile and Internet test and measurement solutions for continuously improving the online experience, today announced that Interval International and Redcats USA have recently adopted Keynote technology. Customers have many options and are choosing to use Keynote because its online test and measurement products are cost-effective, flexible, and comprehensive and deliver accurate data about their Web applications’ performance and availability. These capabilities allow them to proactively address glitches that arise and optimize the end-user experience on their applications.

Super Bowl Viewers Get “News” from Go Daddy

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:18:39 EST

Go Daddy is ready to go with its choice for a second Super Bowl commercial and it’s “News!” The thirty-second ad features morning news anchors conducting a ‘gotcha’ interview with Go Daddy Girl Danica Patrick about commercials known for being ‘too hot for television.’

Core Services Extends OAUG Three-Star Partner Sponsorship

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:23:22 EST

Platinum Sponsor for OAUG Connection Point(R) - Dubai and COLLABORATE 10 - Las Vegas Exhibitor

Local.com Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2009 Financial Results

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:21:22 EST

Local.com Corporation (NASDAQ: LOCM), a leading local search site and network, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter 2009 and the full year ended December 31, 2009 and provided the company’s 2010 outlook.

IceWEB Awarded Consulting Work-Order Contract From Fortune 10 Oil and Gas Company

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:29:20 EST

Company Tasked to Analyze Current Geospatial Data Warehouse to Determine Necessary Improvements

Cloud Integration Mixes CommVault Simpana Management With Cloud Storage

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:33:00 EST

Since cloud storage is not backup in and of itself, anyone wanting to use cloud for backup needs additional software smarts. One of the smartest data protection and archiving suites out there is CommVault's Simpana. Mixing their intelligent software with the benefits of cloud storage for data protection makes a killer combination!

This is precisely what CommVault announced this morning. CommVault's cloud integration brings seamless access in Simpana 8 to public cloud storage from the leading providers as well as local tape and disk. CommVault's traditional strengths in archiving and data management are magnified by the addition of cloud storage. For example, customers can use Simpana to identify and move certain data types to off-site cloud storage for enhanced protection and availability and to take advantage of the lower cost and higher flexibility and scalability of these services. Or they can use the cloud as a disaster recovery location, saving weekly copies to the cloud and leaving everything else local.

CommVault's Simpana includes powerful encryption, data deduplication, and enhanced indexing capabilities, and these work great with cloud storage. The first two will ease two concerns many have voiced about public cloud storage: Privacy and performance. Encryption kills deduplication and vice versa, but by integrating these functions the negatives are removed. These save money, too, since less data is stored and no additional hardware or software is needed.

But it is CommVault's indexing capabilities that really get my imagination going. Simpana knows exactly where all data is stored, whether it's on local disk, offline tape, or online cloud storage. This alone will improve efficiency, but let's take things further. Cloud storage is smart, and capabilities can eventually be moved into the cloud. Imagine a protected deduplicated archive that is accessible on demand. This would be awesome for business intelligence, electronic discovery, or disaster recovery. Future cloud services could really make hay with this capability!

This support is thoroughly engineered and integrated, and CommVault will soon support all of the major cloud platforms. They announced Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, and Nirvanix, and their logo page shows Iron Mountain and EMC Atmos, too. This broad support should help cloud storage adoption. Simpana can easily copy data wherever customers feel most comfortable hosting it, whether it's on-site tape or disk or a public cloud service or any combination of the three. There is no need to install any other software or roll out any hardware - it's all built into Simpana.

This kind of integrated solution is a major step on the way to the storage revolution I've long demanded. An archiving system that can intelligently manage data and move it between disk, tape, and cloud is one thing, but this one really makes use of the programmable and portable nature of cloud storage. I'm looking forward to the creative solutions customers come up with in the near future, as well as the advancements introduced by companies like CommVault!

Read more over at Network World, DGIC, or my personal blog!

Verizon Wireless Launches VZ Navigator 5.0

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:16:14 EST

Service Now Offers Integration with Roadside Assistance and Social Networking Allowing Customers to Get Help and Let Their Friends Know Where They Are

CommVault Joins Iron Mountain’s Developer Program

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:07:16 EST

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), an information management services company, today announced that CommVault has joined the Iron Mountain Developer Program to integrate its Simpana® software with Iron Mountain’s Archive Services Platform. Once the integration is completed, CommVault customers will have access to Iron Mountain’s enterprise-class cloud storage. The Developer Program allows application providers like CommVault to integrate their solutions with Iron Mountain’s cloud archiving services so they can in turn provide their customers with not only secure storage but with added services for accessing and leveraging that data.

Encore Launches New Attorney Document Review Service

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:03:32 EST

Encore Discovery Solutions, a knowledge-based provider of electronic discovery and related services, has announced the launch of its attorney document review service, providing privilege and responsiveness reviews of documents for litigation, government reviews, and investigations. Encore's Attorney Document Review Service is part of its fully integrated discovery services offering spanning the entire discovery lifecycle and is designed to help clients materially reduce the cost of discovery without sacrificing quality.

2010 Will Be the Year Economic Drivers Dictate the Cost Effective Deployment of Storage Solutions Across Multiple Tiers

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:00:54 EST

Permabit Technology Corporation, the leading innovator of value tiered storage solutions for the enterprise, today outlined a series of predictions for the data storage industry in 2010. With IT budgets expected to remain flat and a lack of resources top of mind for every data center manager, Permabit believes the industry will adopt a more cost effective approach to address data storage growth. In 2010, Permabit sees a "New Normal" occurring in the storage market which is driven by increased pricing pressures on storage vendors coupled with the need for more cost effective purchase and deployment of storage across multiple tiers.