I had the pleasure of testing the new iPhone 4g (Mine has not arrived...damn Apple).
Nevertheless, we had the ability to test the phone and here are our initial comments:

#techsummit. Listening to Bernie speak about Social Networks. Great info.

Speaking this am @techsummitt about cloud computing. Come check it out.

This just in as a headline:
Cloud Expo Europe: The Only Bad Cloud Strategy Is No Cloud Strategy

Cloud computing has already established itself as the next disruptive technology in the enterprise, but IT governance in the next few years will be vital as companies feel their way through the transition away from on-site software applications to cloud-based options, independent research firm Ovum said in its latest report.

The benefits of the cloud -- lower costs, a smaller data-center footprint and immediate access to multiple applications for a distributed, international workforce with minimal fuss -- are also some things that can expose companies to degrees of risk that simply weren't possible during the heyday of locally deployed software installations.

Managing this risk -- everything from ensuring the accuracy and privacy of financial and medical data to keeping data-swiping malware from infecting an entire fleet of smartphones downloading sales data from a cloud-based application suite -- will require companies to rethink how they establish and enforce IT governance across their organizations.

In its report, Ovum said that governance of cloud computing thus far is generally "too reactive and piecemeal," and that cloud migrations are suffering from the same pitfalls that impede other IT governance areas.

"Most IT governance efforts are prompted by new regulations or by the need to keep up with uncontrolled SOA software services, virtual machines or public cloud services, whereby governance starts when the public cloud bill is much higher than expected," Laurent Lachal, a senior analyst with Ovum, wrote in the report.

Lachal said that as companies build out their private clouds and begin integrating them with public clouds, IT administrators will have to implement new rules for managing and sharing data that promise to be more complicated than anything they've dealt with before.

"Despite growing interest in IT transitioning from managing technology to providing technology as a service, neither business nor IT executives have been particularly proactive in managing the various changes that such a transition requires at all levels," he added.

Cloud computing makes IT governance more difficult by introducing an additional layer of complexity that businesses need to control in order to make the most of its benefits, the report said.

Earlier this month, computing giant HP (NYSE: HPQ) gave a preview of what its cloud-based future will look like when it announced plans to lay off more than 9,000 workers over the next three years as it starts to implement some of the data-center automation tools and policies it's been selling to its own customers for years.

HP, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) are all vying for leadership in the cloud-computing software space, offering up their take on data management strategies and IT governance as this new tech paradigm develops.

For now, Ovum researchers say the great race to the cloud will more resemble a marathon than a sprint.

"Ovum does not expect a 'big bang' implementation of cloud governance, but rather a gradual build-up that provides an opportunity to launch and/or reinvigorate other governance efforts," the report said.

Ref Source:
http://www.enterpriseitplanet.com/networking/news/article.php/3888316
Larry Barrett is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

FEW IT DUTIES ARE AS UNIVERSAL as the care and
feeding of the corporate desktop. While other aspects of
IT get easier thanks to new technologies such as server
virtualization, there’s still no magic pill to alleviate the dayto-
day drudgery of maintaining and securing hundreds,
thousands, or tens of thousands of desktop systems.
The drawbacks of desktops go beyond the burdens of
management and maintenance. They involve employee
mobility, client hardware refreshes, data security, and
under certain conditions even power consumption and
cooling.

Read The Full White Paper Here

By now, most of you have heard of Cloud Computing...some of it good, some of it bad and mostly all of it confusing. The idea of computing on the cloud and accessing needed files and programs has been around since the early days of the internet with (ASP) and on-demand software services for things like sales, accounting etc. These services met the needs of a specific department, but the idea of moving a company's entire computing process to an offsite cloud where they'll save money, become more efficient and remain secure? Well, lets just say that sounded like the pie in the sky stuff we used to read in those popular science magazines. You know, the stories that had us farming on the ocean floor or setting up colonies on the planet Mars by the year 1999. Well I'm here to tell you, its not pie in the sky. The cloud is here.

Look, I hear varying experiences from people all over the world when speaking on the subject of switching to the cloud. These stories range from outrageous success to calamitous failure and everything else in-between. But here's my theory on the cloud ....if the time is right for you, than take the leap. And if your not ready, then you better start getting ready because like it or not, that ship has already left port. So with that said, here are a few tips to use and questions to ask as you consider navigating this process:

What constitutes Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is the new rave and buzz term in computing and covers a wide array of systems, process and delivery platforms:

1. Storage-as-a-Service (On-Demand Disks): This is the ability to provide remote storage to a user and the most common of the Cloud Computing components.

2. Database-as-a-Service (DaaS): This is a remotely hosted database. This would benefit the company that doesn't want to spend the money on the software and hardware to host this database and serve this database. Databases require administration, and delivery mechanisms such as SQL.

3. Information-as-a-Service: This is simply remotely hosted information commonly delivered through a remote API (Application Programming Interface). A good example of this would be streaming stock quotes and credit reports.

4. Process-as-a-Service (PaaS): This is the remote resource that binds several of the other "as-a-Service" based components. This is the process of creating remote business processes (I know it sounds crazy).

5. Application-as-a-Service (No I am not going to put the acronym here. Let say this is Software-as-a- Service). This is remote application delivery.

6. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): This is your entire infrastructure in the cloud.

There are several other components that industry experts state are important components of cloud computing, however for sake of making this THE most boring article you ever read, I have only included the most important ones.

What are the benefits of Cloud Computing?

1. Lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) Both on a support level and initial capital investment. You save money when it is on someone else's racks. And aside from the software and hardware savings, you may also save on overhead by outsourcing all of your IT services to your cloud provider. And hey, if you don't think your already paying a lot for your current IT department, try this cool little calculator to give you a better idea as to just how much your currently spending: http://hiveve.com/new_site/pricing.php?PHPSESSID=7b4cbed0b6355dbee4f7e9709ffb5e92

2. One-Stop Shop for your technology. Most Cloud companies have made it their mantra to include everything in their cloud offerings.

3. Scalability becomes simple. Add/Remove servers in an instant.

4. Complete Mobility. Remove the "Brick-and-Mortar" mentality of doing business. Many companies ask, "How do we free ourselves from the office". Well Cloud Computing and the Virtual Enterprise is the way...Sit on the beach and work direct from your iPad. It may sound hard to believe, but today, more than 34 million U.S. adults telecommute at least occasionally and that number is expected to swell to 63 million -- or 43 percent of U.S. workers -- by 2016.

5. Disaster Recovery. This fits right into your DRP. Cloud Computing is certainly on the rise. Most C-level people have considered this a viable upgrade/option for some time now.

How do I select a Cloud Provider?
It is no secret that most large enterprises are moving in this direction. With so many companies emerging as the "Leaders in Cloud Computing", how do you know which one is a good fit for your company?

The core steps are to assess the platforms, analyze and test the platforms, select 3 targets, and deploy. The main factors to consider when looking into a cloud company provider is how many clients do they have using the cloud, what their clients are saying, what are your true needs and requests for moving your business into the cloud. You should then ask the target company, "Why should we move into the cloud"? See what responses you get.

Additionally, you should do the following:
1. Research the target company
2. Viability of the target company
3. Make sure their SLA (Service Level Agreement) includes a failover and disaster timeframe with accountability. Also make sure they have tested that failover.
4. Make sure the target company has multiple data centers. A true sign of an unstable cloud provider is one which has only one data center.
5. Make sure the target company provides you a complete "Policies"

None of us can see what the future holds for IT systems and platforms, but I can tell you my forecast for business computing is for the next ten years....Partly Cloudy with a100% chance of participation.

Google and VMWare team up to provide cloud-based virtualization. HIVE is still better :). Hiveve.com

Cat swatting koy pond

Well Apple has done it again! They have made me get excited about spending my money on a device that really can do just a little more then my current iPhone. Nevertheless, the new features are well worth the upgrade costs. Here are some of the features:

And so on...

Since when did me going to the bathroom become a family event. Is trading silly bands while im on the potty just odd or is it me?