For IT, public cloud providers pose stiff competition. You would like to compete on quality. Everyone knows IT must evolve from sole supplier to service strategist. Get the combination right to deliver a few of what the business needs internally, some using external cloud and non-cloud providers. It is a no-brainer, right? Well, no. The newest InformationWeek Services-Oriented IT Survey of greater than 400 business technology professionals found an opening between those that embrace the theory and people still dragging their feet. Maybe that’s because efforts are out of balance. In my opinion, to do IT-as-a-service well, CIOs must keep process, technology, and cultural aspects in equilibrium. In my work I see ITaaS having positive long-term effects on IT governance, cost transparency, and alignment with corporate strategy. Leaders have the visibility to make smart investments, as I’ll discuss next week at Interop in a session on managing applications in a hybrid environment. ITaaS will not be plug-and-play, and also you can’t buy it from a... Read More »

Let’s put this week’s cloud price cuts in context. Cash-rich Google has made it harder for Amazon to benefit on AWS. Even if Google steals a ton of AWS customers, Google wins. 8 Data Centers For Cloud’s Toughest Jobs (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) In a remarkable display of the cloud’s pricing dynamics, first Google, then Amazon Web Services announced severe price cuts to basic services this week. Prices of popular virtual servers plummeted 30%, and a brand new round of competition was initiated in cloud storage, with prices cut in half. Amazon didn’t quite match the fee cuts that Google made in entry-level storage, so it’s lost the associated fee leader’s mantle there. But it’s maintaining a brave front. Without mentioning Google’s name, AWS said Wednesday it was cutting prices for the 42nd time and it’s in its retailer’s blood to continue to discount prices. “As more companies are available, we’ll take note of what other companies are doing,” said Adam Selipsky,... Read More »

Amazon gets provisional operating authorization to sell cloud services to the Defense Department for work involving low-risk unclassified data. Domestic Drones: 5 Non-Military Uses (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Amazon Web Services won provisional authority to function cloud computing services for the dept of Defense, permitting AWS to deal with unclassified data under the DOD’s Cloud Security Model (CSM). The authorization reopens the DOD marketplace for the company’s cloud-based computing services, which have been shut out of recent deals since 2012 since the DOD required service providers to have a safety certification. The authorization covers five service offerings: Elastic Compute Cloud, Simple Storage Services, Virtual Private Cloud, Elastic Block Store, and Identity and Access Management. “There’s a huge demand for the services in DOD,” said Teresa Carlson, AWS vp of globally public sector. US Navy CIO Terry Halvorsen, for example, recently said the Navy intends to go the department’s unclassified, publicly available data to a commercially provided cloud. AWS is the second one... Read More »

Microsoft reportedly doubles down by itself platforms while also taking a difficult have a look at Android. 7 Mistakes Microsoft Made In 2013 (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Indications of Microsoft’s push to update its Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems continue to mount. Expected new features include a protracted-awaited notification center for Windows Phone and tweaks to make Windows 8.1’s touch-oriented Modern UI more palatable to mouse-and-keyboard users. However, a brand new leak suggests Microsoft is barreling toward certainly one of its new platforms’ most anticipated milestones: the merging of the Windows Phone and Windows app stores. Paradoxically, reports also say Microsoft is thinking about opening Windows to Android apps — a move that can undermine the appeal of a combined app store. A unified app store hasn’t shown up in leaked Windows update builds, but Twitter user @AngelWZR, a known leaker of pre-release Windows information, posted images that indicate Microsoft is tricky at work on one. The pictures, allegedly... Read More »

Google’s rules for Android partners are unlawful, says Harvard professor. 10 Great Google Apps Tips (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Google’s claims in regards to the openness of Android has been called into question by Harvard Business School associate professor Benjamin Edelman, who asserts that the company’s Mobile Application Distribution Agreement suppresses competition and harms consumers. In 2010, Andy Rubin, then head of Android, tweeted his definition of open: the commands essential to fetch the Android source code from its online repository and compile it. While which will qualify as open within the context of open-source software, it only refers to a part of Android, and it fails to explain contractual terms that Google imposes on companies looking to distribute Google’s popular mobile applications on Android hardware. “If you want to obtain key mobile apps, including Google’s own Search, Maps, and YouTube, manufacturers must conform to install each of the apps Google specifies, with the prominence Google requires, including setting these apps as... Read More »