Cloud Computing Forecast Bright

By Sheila Shayon

Ford is the first carmaker to make Google Maps a standard in-car feature.  Their SYNC system sends a destination location from your home computer to your car - one turn at a time.

Google Maps has become the lead tool for travel - claiming 15.50% market share, followed by MapQuest with 9.24%, and Expedia at 3.24%. (May Experian Hitwise)

Gizmodo tech blog summarizes it thus:  “It works by pulling Google Maps information from Bluetooth phones, with the navigational directions read aloud for safer driving. While you could just use your in-car sat-nav system instead of syncing with Google Maps, it’ll come in particularly good use if someone emails or texts an address, and you’ve pulled up the map already on your phone.”

This latest addition to the Ford company’s cloud-based architecture brings together titans in the automotive and digital communications industries - a burgeoning crossroads of collaboration.

Available by June, all 2010 Ford models will be equipped with the capability which is powered by Microsoft software. The information is sent via Bluetooth in Google Maps to the cars through an app called Sync Traffic, Directions, and Information.

“It’s obvious that Google wants to be known as a service that consumers can access not only through PCs, tablets and mobile phones, but also in their cars. They are emerging not only as a discovery tool, but rather points of interest for local search. Think of it as pay per action vs. pay per click,” comments Trip Chowdhry, managing director at Global Equities Research.

Ford isn’t the only automaker jumping into the cloud. The field is beginning to rain apps.

Audi is collaborating with Google on its MMI System in the Audi A8 2010 model which offers 3D navigation powered by Google Earth. Next up is the capability to equip cars with local search.

OnStar subscribers can access Google Maps to search and locate destinations via the Turn-by-Turn Navigation Service in their cars, available in all GM vehicles starting with the 2006 year model. OnStar has 24/7 communication between a car, the OnStar backoffice and Android phones. Dana Fecher, OnStar EV Lab manager, told MediaPost, “Most of the features we will focus on in the future include location-based services and constant connectivity. We’re just getting started.”

As for the general state of the cloud industry, a recent article in Tech Crunch suggests we are leaving the Cloud 1 era and moving to Cloud 2:

Cloud 1 ————->Cloud 2

Type/Click————>Touch
Yahoo/Amazon———->Facebook
Tabs————–>Feeds
Chat————–>Video
Pull—————>Push
Create————–>Consume
Location Unknown———>Location Known
Desktop/notebook———>Smart phone/Tablet
Windows/Mac———->Cocoa/HTML 5

Cloud + social + iPad- is predicted to enable a new generation of cloud applications with substantial market clout and social effect.

Following are examples of companies with a solid foothold in the space…if that’s possible in a cloud.

Cloud Sherpas, a cloud computing systems integrator and application developer. Cloud Sherpas is a Google Apps Authorized Reseller and leading Google Enterprise partner. Their expertise is in legacy, on-premise messaging systems (Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise), and a proven record of delivering change management, deployment, support and development services. In May they received $1M in Unattributed funding.

Zumodrive, stores data in the cloud for easy access from any device. File stream capability is comparable to a local drive, and files most needed are stored locally for offline use. This product is tailored for notebooks and mobile devices with smaller hard drives.  Zumodrive  has expanded its mobile offerings with free apps for Android and Palm. In December 2009, The Wall Street Journal proclaimed ZumoDrive “a harbinger of the new world of cloud computing, and it is worth a look.”

Zoho CloudSQL, enables developers to interact with business data stored using SQL language, Structured Query Language, a database language designed to manage data in relational database management systems (RDBMS), and based on relational algebra.

It can handle data query and update, schema creation and modification, and data access control.

Socialtext, has partnered with Ping Identity to integrate its enterprise social software platform with PingFederate. Single Sign-On solution enables companies to manage user identities across all of their cloud-based applications including Salesforce.com, SuccessFactors, ADP and Socialtext.

Service providers ThinkFree, and 37 Signals have been in the cloud business for several years and they epitomize the shift occurring as businesses adapt to new platforms and technologies to better data management.

Comparative newcomers, focused on the travel vertical include iCloud, Myfax and Pipeline Deals.

As enterprise systems migrate to the cloud, hybrid apps that bridge desktops and smartphones will continue to evolve and user confidence in cloud services will also augment - at a rate equal to the development of secure environments.

The cloud genie is out of the bottle and mission critical apps like Ford’s ‘Send to SYNC’ are the tip of the iceberg as to what the cloud will yield. A harbinger of things to come: “Printing paper directions from a website is a relic in our digital age,” said Doug VanDagens, director, Ford Connected Services Solutions Organization. “With Send to SYNC, you can map a destination at home, at work - wherever you have connectivity - and when you get to your car, it already knows where you want to go. It’s convenient and it eliminates the waste and distraction of paper maps, conserving resources while helping drivers keep their eyes on the road.”

Keep your eyes on the cloud. It’s seeding our digital future.

NGOs Get Into Cloud Computing

By Linda Broughton

Non-profit governmental organizations (NGOs) are discovering cloud computing. Cloud computing is a cheap and lightweight Software as a Service (SaaS) option for economically limited and geographically stretched NGOs. Cloud computing removes the cost of purchasing and maintaining hardware and software while nullifying deployment costs and reducing the overall TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). Centralizing software and data greatly simplifies inter-organization collaboration.

The current collaboration between SaaS/PaaS cloud computing company WOLF and the India-based sustainable development NGO, Social Education and Development Society (SEDs) is a perfect example of this trend. According to Aditya Tandon of WOLF, “the Web openness of the cloud allows NGOs to selectively expose operational data/statistics to the public, subscribers or to a private audience (such as donors) in the form of emails, RSS feeds, blogs and website content.” And all this for a price that the NGO can afford and justify - to both its rural stakeholders and more urban resource base.

For example, just like a for-profit business, NGOs get funded for results. It’s essential to have consistent and accurate data that the fundraiser can use to brag and bag more cash. Real-time data can also be used to identify issues and patterns in how money is being spent and which projects need more resources and additional attention from the central office - something best done via a central database that tracks who enters which data when and from where. On top of this, Tandon highlights that online tools like blogging and RSS feeds attract public attention and can even be used to build up an online community that supports (emotionally and financially) the NGO. These marketing capabilities are just one cloud in a very big sky.

Most of these tools exist in the self-sustaining Internet infrastructure that is cloud computing. The trick is selecting the tools and customizing them to meet the NGO’s needs and capabilities.

WOLF provides SEDs, the second largest NGO in India, with customized SaaS and PaaS solutions. WOLF noted that the secret to success with SEDs - as with any NGO - is collaboration. WOLF consulted and provided access to the cloud infrastructure that met the economic, information, communication and altruistic needs of SEDs.

The story of SEDs and WOLF Framework is part of a growing trend. The skill set required for an NGO like SEDs is rarely technical. NGO workers are often social engineers and entrepreneurs seeking long-term community development despite limited resources. For the average NGO field office, the Internet can be a luxury and SaaS can seem out of bounds. But reality demands that NGOs, often at the mercy of public and private donors far away from the field, are at least visible online, and increasingly reality requires that NGOs are capable of collecting and communicating their work and ambitions to these far away funders via the net.

The only limitation to the cloud is the experience and Internet accessibility of an NGO’s staff. Companies like WOLF are addressing this problem through collaborative customization, training, and through exploring remote accessibility options for NGO field staff far from an access center.

Drop.io: Adding Businesses In the Cloud

As companies move to the cloud, office collaboration is following suit. DMB’s Matt Robinson spoke with Steven Greenwood, the VP of Applications at Drop.io. Drop.io is one of the leaders in office collaboration. It was named one of TIME magazine’s 50 Best Websites of 2009, and CNET Webware 100.

Anyone can start a “drop,” which is a custom url where you can upload different types of media - audio, video, pdf, text, photos - and invite others to participate in the drop in real time. Millions of people have used drops in thousands of different ways, from film crews on location and journalists covering disasters, to teachers sharing homework with students, Greenwood says.

With office collaboration continuing to gain momentum, how does Drop.io compete against other players?
Well, here’s one way: sometimes I need to share a large file. One way I can do it is via e-mail. Well, a lot of e-mail services are not really designed to handle lots of large files, or different types of files, or edit videos, etc. And, so businesses see us as a great, cost-effective alternative to sending Fed-Ex’s of stuff, or sending or creating CDs, or DVDs.

Have you had any issues trying to convince businesses about the security of the drops?
For any professional or business account we provide SSL. Additionally, its in the way you name your drops. We offer what we would call “privacy.” Meaning, you could name your drop “Red Dog” and it can be about a secret project you’re working on that may not be about dogs or the color red. We call that decontextualized information. Basically, without getting too theoretical, if we were at a bar talking about what the stock price will be tomorrow of some company; the people right next to us will not have heard what we’re talking about, even if they were a foot away, because it was decontextualized - they didn’t know that was going to be valuable information. The much larger story here is the element of privacy, having information where its literally like a needle in a haystack. For example, something like trying to hack into the Department of Defense’s database - you wouldn’t know where the database is. That’s a pretty interesting paradigm shift, going from a security world to a privacy world.

Where do you see the future FTP servers?
I think FTP serves a very good purpose and many, many people use it; it will continue to be used. I would say I’m not really an expert to diagnose the productions of the FTP market, but what I can say, businesses go to Drop.io for the ease of use, for the robustness of the platform, and for the the ability to interact with media without having to download it and replay it.

So, where do you see the future of office collaboration?
You know, that’s an interesting question.  So, let’s say, you, me and Jeremy and some other folks are working on something together. Instead of a long e-mail chain back and forth of, “Oh, what did you think of this? Did you see this attachment? Look at this.” You have this single location of all the content within this drop, of all the different media types, plus the notes associated with it. So every time I upload something, you and Jeremy and the others would get an e-mail update. You can go into it, make some edits, update it, they update it, etc. So, we make - for IT people and companies - their lives a lot easier by reducing e-mail server loads. And, for the users its great because instead of these e-mail threads that go on & on and get really complicated and confusing, and god forbid you go to lunch and miss out and are out of the loop. Its simple, you can access it from home, you can access it from multiple computers - anyone can access it.

This is how Drop.io is being used, as a very simple collaboration point. The other thing that’s really cool is that each drop is a new point of exchange. Let’s say that you and me and Jeremy are working on a project - we’re all in different locations. So, we use the drop’s conference phone line - we’re all in there via phone - we can all use chat in the drop. And if Jeremy wants to show us something he’s been working on, he can immediately click into Presentation Mode without us downloading anything. He can take over our drop screen and walk us through a Powerpoint, walk us through a PDF, walk us through a Word document video, or all of the above. And do it real time - we’re all interacting. You can share any content in any way with any one in real time, and improve the speed and efficiency in which business works.

Top 5 Cloud Applications

By Sarah Jaferi

Asigra Inc., a leading Cloud Backup and recovery software provider since 1986, recently underscored what analysts and industry experts say are the top five cloud applications that companies are expected to implement or increase their use of in the next year. Explanations for why companies are putting together the transfer en route for cloud computing applications such as cloud backup include reduced capital expense, simple deployment, data mobility, and continuous access to up-to-the-minute software features and functionality. Cloud applications facillitate firms to promptly strap up the power of this new IT platform to streamline operations as the economy pulls through.

“The economic downturn of the last couple of years has forced firms to cut costs across the board, including investments in IT equipment and staff.  Most economists expect business to rebound in 2010, but many companies no longer have the finances to buy the hardware and software needed to take advantage of the recovery,” said Eran Farajun, Executive Vice President for Asigra. “By using cloud-based services, companies are taking advantage of shared hardware and software resources to meet the needs of their customers and their prospects. They can buy as much or as little computing power as they need without the cost and delays of purchasing and installing hardware and software in-house.”

“Many of the most widely adopted use cases for cloud services are data and content-intensive in nature,” noted Richard Villars, Vice President of Storage and IT Executive Strategies at The International Data Corporation (IDC).  “We find that organizations dealing with rapid data growth, extended data retention periods, and the economic realities of lower capital and operational expenditures are among the leading shapers and users of cloud applications.”

According to IDC, the top five cloud applications that organizations are likely to track in 2010 include:

1. Collaboration Applications
2. Web Applications/Web Serving
3. Cloud Backup
4. Business Applications
5. Personal Productivity Applications

As one of the top cloud applications for 2010, cloud backup safeguards data offsite to guarantee against a data loss event due to an IT mishap, power outage or a more devastating local disaster like a hurricane, flood or earthquake. Lost data from merely a simple notebook could cost a company some $50,000, according to a Ponemon Institute study. As a result, the loss of corporate data that is quite a few times more than would be on a single laptop would be that much more costly.

Cloud backup permits companies to swiftly recuperate their information while paying for just the services they need. The software layer is entirely virtual and unattached to the hardware layer, offering further security against equipment failure. The newest cloud solutions provide comprehensive data mobility, pricing flexibility and fast data recovery so that organizations of any size do not miss a beat. Contrasting online backup, cloud backup lets users transfer data amid diverse service providers to get rid of lock-in, the orphaning of backup data, and high-performance data recovery that meets stringent Recovery Time Objectives required by business. Cloud backup is moreover further divided from online backup in that it can be deployed in a hybrid environment (onsite private cloud and using a public cloud backup service provider for maximum economies of scale).

“By utilizing cloud services delivered on a robust and advanced operations platform, companies are able to leverage the latest that technology has to offer while enjoying the efficiencies that make the technology advantageous from a pricing perspective,” said Stacy Hayes, Vice President at Terremark. “At Terremark, our purpose-built datacenters provide access to a massive and diverse network of systems across more than 160 global carriers for a comprehensive suite of managed solutions that help organizations simplify their IT operations.”

Cloudkick

The digital counterpart of that old business chestnut that you can’t manage what you can’t measure may be, “You can’t manage what you can’t monitor.”  Nowhere is that more true than when you’re trying to take advantage of cloud services and are using multiple providers. They all have different dashboards, which makes monitoring their performance an onerous chore. Cloudkick, a Y Combinator-incubated startup, has developed a web application that provides a unified view of multiple service providers to help companies monitor performance. It enables users to monitor and manage cloud service providers that include Rackspace Cloud, Amazon EVC2, Linode, GoGrid Slicehost, RimuHosting and VPOS.NET. Cloudkick is available through subscription-based plans and a free developer plan.

Features:

• Load, CPU, bandwidth, and memory monitoring
• Alerts including SMS and Email
• Advance and innovative performance graphs
• Diagnostics performance
• Autosetup
• Multiple users per account
• Change-log tool

Alex Polvi, CEO and founder, introduced Cloudkick last year at the Under the Radar Conference

UK Launches Semantic Data Site: Will the Rest of the World Follow?

By Linda Broughton

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, credited with conceptualizing if not inventing the World Wide Web, is not finished yet.

Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt, both appointed as Information Advisors to the UK Government, are coordinating Data.gov.uk. Data.gov.uk plans to provide the general public with a single access point to all the United Kingdom’s national, regional and local statistics, surveys and studies - all the information in the UK collected under the umbrella of the national government.

In a passionate speech at TED, Berners-Lee explains that no data is an island - it’s the relationships between different data that make the data valuable, insightful and useful. And these relationships are not often visible to the human eye - if anything, our own preconceptions and individual personalities often interpret rather than understand the relationships between different data, closing us off to real social trends and concerns.

Berners-Lee wants to use the Web to bypass the human attempts to dress up data for personal or political purposes. Instead, he wants the Data.gov.uk platform to expose the real significance buried within the data-to-data relationships through encouraging the digital mapping of raw, unadulterated social, political and economic data. Berners-Lee calls this ‘linked data,’ a precursor to the semantic Web that he believes will one day explain the meaning behind how we collect, calculate, evaluate and use the data that we post online.

Not all of these data relationships will be obviously significant - imagine an application that maps the relationship between data discussing the annual amount of Cadbury chocolate sold in Yorkshire and the corresponding annual number of failed marriages within the same geographical location and time period. However, the project is expected to help identify unexpected and insightful data relationships, insights that would normally take several decades and hundreds or thousands of brilliant socialist scientists, statisticians, psychologists, focus groups and public policy experts to simply suspect.

The automatic data relationship mapping will allow the UK government and the UK public to discover connections, trends and causal relationships that will inform public policy for decades to come. If implemented properly, Data.gov.uk could come very close to comprehensively mapping and explaining the past and real-time behavior of the public - and thus allow platform users to accurately plan the future of a society.

Of course, the key to the concept is the raw data. Currently, there are already third-party applications that map roads and potholes in the UK, provide statistics and information about the location of doctors throughout the UK, and give up-to-date information about local schools. This is useful data to aggregate but it is not yet generating anything that a few quick, targeted searches online can’t. The next push will encourage interested developers to create applications linking the different data to generate data relationship maps that give researchers at think tanks and academic institutions something to ponder and investigate.

Supporters of the open data movement are urging private businesses to follow the UK government’s example and release their raw data to the public. If the private sector keeps its data too close and too secret, the sector risks losing potential profits that would arise from information generated by an external comparison and review of their aggregated data. Moreover, the private sector makes up an important part of modern society. Accurately identifying, explaining and impacting public trends requires more than the government’s analysis of the population’s behavior, it requires an accurate understanding of the public’s practices in commerce and industry.

Data.gov.uk may soon be the way for the UK government (and anyone else interested) to keep several fingers not only on the pulse of modern UK society, but on its stomach, windpipe, eyes, mouth, ears, etc. The platform and its third-party applications may soon provide an in-depth and automatic monitor of modern British, Scottish and Northern Irish daily public life. Do the industries want to jump in now, developing their own applications and supplying their own data to complete the public picture, or will there always be a yawning gap in the data buried in the private sector’s own digital databanks?

http://www.opte.org/maps/tests/

Next Page »