Cloud Computing

I've been suggesting for the past few years that a more robust channel ecosystem must emerge for the cloud movement to continue to grow at its current pace. While fundamental nature of the cloud computing business creates significant challenges for traditional channel companies, rapidly rising use...

After years of chipping away at the cloud computing market, IBM on Wednesday announced that it has teamed up with AT&T to offer secure cloud computing as a service. The two companies will combine IBM's SmartCloud Enterprise+ with AT&T's virtual private networking service to Fortune 1,000 com...

After years of chipping away at the cloud computing market, IBM on Wednesday announced that it has teamed up with AT&T to offer secure cloud computing as a service. The two companies will combine IBM's SmartCloud Enterprise+ with AT&T's virtual private networking service to Fortune 1,000 com...

On the first day of OpenWorld, Oracle unveiled a slew of products designed to position the company as the preeminent cloud vendor: a high-end server; an upgraded flagship database, version 12c, which will be released early next year; and a range of new or upgraded applications for the cloud. Given O...

The European Union has announced a strategy to boost the use of cloud computing among its members in the private and public sectors. This includes establishing standards for interoperability, data portability and reversibility, the development of model contracts, government spending on cloud computi...

IBM launched a major initiative on Wednesday with the goal of targeting middle-market companies via their managed service providers. Increasingly, middle market companies are turning to companies that deliver technology solutions on a pay-as-you-go-model, said Mike McClurg, IBM's VP of global mid-ma...

Oracle reported earnings for its first fiscal quarter in 2013 last week, telling a tale of two product lines: Its software operations fared respectably, while its hardware slumped dramatically. Hardware systems product revenue was down 24 percent. "These are tough times, and companies are still not ...

Last month I wrote an article for the E-Commerce Times called "Amazon Spreads its Wings." In it, I talked about the many ventures that Amazon has embarked on, including its rewriting of the rules of publishing and retail sales. I also discussed how Amazon was smart enough to realize that it could do...

Chief executive transitions in the IT industry often tend toward melodrama or at least bald quirkiness: The number of ignominious CEO departures at HP and Yahoo could qualify both companies for their own telenovelas. After successfully acquiring Sun Microsystems, Oracle unceremoniously booted CEO Jo...

Many U.S. government agencies seeking to utilize cloud-based information technology have tilted to one of the most common IT functions as a beginning step -- email systems. Converting existing email operations to cloud-based platforms became much easier for all federal agencies on Aug. 30, when GSA ...

What is the best way to market cloud IT services to the federal government? Any way you can. U.S. government agencies share the same goal: Under a White House mandate, all agencies must give priority to cloud configurations for IT projects. With all agencies pursuing the same "cloud first" goal, mar...

Hardly a day goes by that one IT vendor or another fails to announce one "fastest/biggest/bestest" achievement or another, attempting to poke in the eye or drive straight into a ditch any and all previous claims. But it is ironic that while there is no shortage of ambition in the technology industry...

It seems so easy and so simple. Federal agencies should put most of their efforts into their missions and use management tools which enable them to meet mission goals. One such tool is cloud technology -- an "on demand" option for information technology services. In concept, the simplicity of using ...

Why does Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak think cloud-based computing will bring "horrible problems" over the next few years? Sounds crazy, but to tell you the truth I think Woz is correct -- to a point. The more we transfer everything to the cloud, the less control we will have over it, according to W...

Now that Software as a Service and the broader cloud computing concept have gained widespread recognition and acceptance, it will be interesting to see whether online marketplaces will become a preferred method for acquiring these on-demand resources. Given the proliferation of SaaS/cloud providers...