SmartCloud Data Virtualization puts virtualized copies of application data within the cloud, then makes it available wherever it’s most needed. IBM Predicts Next 5 Life-Changing Tech Innovations (Click image for larger view.) IBM has launched SmartCloud Data Virtualization, a cloud storage service that depends Actifio’s Virtual Data Pipeline technology. Actifio’s “one golden copy” option to data may entice enterprises that need multiple copies of every application’s data but try to scale back storage costs. IBM previously recommended a few of its customers store data in now-defunct Nirvanix’s cloud datacenters. Its partnership with Actifio acknowledges that cloud storage have to be backed by stronger vendors with more sophisticated data management systems. SmartCloud Data Virtualization is IBM’s first major foray into data management in accordance with cloud services since Nirvanix declared bankruptcy last October. Actifio can put a front end on multiple applications, each with its own storage system, through IBM’s SmartCloud Data Virtualization service. Enterprise users of the info continue to access it the identical... Read More »

Three initiatives meant to enhance government IT security are languishing from funding challenges, yet CIOs are asked to deliver at the promise of shared services. 6 Cool Apps From Uncle Sam (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) The Obama administration has made an unprecedented commitment to creating government data driven. It has also made cybersecurity a centerpiece of its IT strategy. However it now finds itself mired in controversy on both fronts.   The less-than-stellar rollout of the web site designed to support the Affordable Care Act was a tremendous embarrassment, while the revelations surrounding NSA surveillance methods has cast doubts on the administration’s commitment to privacy as a keystone of national policy. These two story lines symbolize among the many challenges the administration faces in balancing the federal government’s IT investments: It must maintain public support for a sturdy cyberdefense without losing specialize in the civilian agency systems which are the general public interface with “e-government,” but which also must be made safer.   They... Read More »

People who claim Gmail violates anti-wiretapping laws must pursue their claims individually instead of as a set. 10 Great Google Apps Tips (Click image for larger view.) Google on Tuesday won a meaningful victory in a legal conflict that threatens Gmail and the company’s data mining practices. US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, Calif., denied class-action status to plaintiffs who claim that Gmail’s automated content scanning violates state and federal anti-wiretapping statutes. As a result, Gmail privacy claims will proceed individually, all alone merits. Not facing the possibility of an immense aggregated damage claim, Google could possibly reach settlements more easily or prevail outright. The ruling is way more favorable than the only issued by Judge Koh last September, when she denied Google’s motion to dismiss the claims. Google argued that its automated processing of email content falls under allowed “ordinary process business” exemptions and that the plaintiffs consented. The judge rejected the primary justification, saying Google must show its email interception was... Read More »

Cloud services changed the IT ops game, but performance was more iffy than lots of people realized. Google’s Cloud Platform got to benefit from its predecessors. In December, Google announced general availability of its infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) Google Compute Engine. Compute Engine is among the three pillars of the Google Cloud Platform. The alternative two are App Engine (Google’s platform-as-a-service) and cloud storage (Google’s SQL, NoSQL, and object storage). These pillars comprise a totally large-scale compute and storage infrastructure for a diversity of scalable service offerings that Google developers make heavy use of internally and that Google makes available for public consumption via software as-a-service (SaaS) and well-defined programming interfaces (APIs). Many within the blogosphere have discussed the value-performance and particular features of Compute Engine that set it except for its competitors. Last March, GigaOm published a test drive of Compute Engine by Sebastian Stadil and his team at Scalr, a front-end cloud management firm, comparing Google Compute Engine to Amazon Web Services. Google’s writes to... Read More »

Cloud services change how federal agencies acquire, fund, and use IT services. IT managers must realize they’re buying a service, not technology. Cloud computing has introduced a brand new model of acquiring hardware and software. In fact, you are not acquiring anything physical, and far of the worth of moving to the cloud is driven by the transition from using physical resources (hardware, software, and labor hours) to the consumption of online services (infrastructure-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service, and software-as-a-service) that deliver similar functions.  While the technical aspect of this transformation seems to capture all of the headlines, the financial and governance aspects are only as important — but turn out at the back burner. Unfortunately, the mandatory changes in management policy, acquisition processes, and organizational behavior rarely get the planning they deserve or get executed properly upfront. This disconnect can quickly derail any cloud transition. Government IT managers must accept that cloud computing means the acquisition of a service, not the acquisition of technology. This usually represents... Read More »