Cloud Computing

Sat, April 28, 2012 - As IT outsourcing matures, you'd think negotiating IT service deals would get easier. Not so, according to the attorneys who deal with service levels, contract structure and pricing models.

Thu, April 12, 2012 - Tech giants IBM and HP recently made major cloud announcements, but the differences between the two are striking. CIO.com columnist Rob Enderle explains how HP's move was tactical and meshes with the recent leadership change, while IBM is playing the long game with artificially intelligent systems.

Mon, April 02, 2012 - Cloud Apps are inherently loosely coupled -- they're small, simple and separable. But there's still the potential for some serious traffic jams when it comes to deployment. Find out the new rules of the road.

Fri, February 24, 2012 - In shop class, they tell you to measure twice and saw once. IT isn't so different. BMC's cloud workshop offers an object lesson in why it pay offs to bring the vendor, IT and the end user together before a new project is designed and deployed. A little communication can save time and money -- and maybe even your job.

Thu, February 16, 2012 - Apple announced an update Thursday to its OSX operating system, . Notable in the updated features is tighter integration with iCloud, its cloud-based file, apps, and settings syncing service. For businesses, this isn't big news, since iCloud targets individual consumers, and has almost no business-friendly features. What can Apple do to change that?

Thu, February 16, 2012 - Loss of control is one of the main things that gives people pause when they think about putting their data in the cloud. We've all seen how painful a data breach can be, and it can seem almost like asking for trouble to put your data in the hands of someone else. It's hard enough to prepare for a breach when you're in control. How do you do it when you put someone else in charge?

Fri, February 03, 2012 - Is there strength in numbers? The deal VCE recently struck with BMC suggests that a consortium of companies layering in best-in-class technology might be a more effective approach to win large-scale government and enterprise customers in the private cloud space, writes CIO.com's Rob Enderle.

Thu, January 26, 2012 - The whole point of the cloud is that it's location-independent and flexible. But that strength is also a weakness when design decisions are highly distributed and need to be coordinated.

Tue, January 17, 2012 - When your data resides on a cloud provider's infrastructure, your ownership rights could be compromised. For example, what's to prevent the cloud provider from deciding to access your data and use it for its own purposes? That's why any contract for cloud services should include language clearly affirming your ownership of your data.

Mon, January 16, 2012 - Practically everyone working in the cloud says they're doing agile projects. But you'll find some tinges of non-agility, particularly in the support function after you put a system into production. Take this quiz to find out how agile your cloud support organization really is.