Officials unveil new FedRAMP Web portal, release details on firms seeking government’s cloud security seal of approval. Internet Of items: 8 Cost-Cutting Ideas For Government (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program), this system that helps agencies migrate to the cloud securely, is making public the names of cloud service providers which are within the technique of obtaining the government’s security certification. The information appears in a brand new FedRAMP resource section at the Federal CIO Council’s cloud.cio.gov site. FedRAMP.gov visitors were redirected to the location beginning last week. The brand new site provides a number of materials that agencies and cloud providers ought to meet FedRAMP requirements. The new FedRAMP site identifies, among other information, 10 previously undisclosed ”cloud systems in process” seeking FedRAMP certification for brand spanking new or additional cloud infrastructure, platform, and software services. The location provides details at the services under review from CenturyLink Technology Solutions, Clear Government Solutions (CGS), Economic Systems, Fiberlink... Read More »

VMware accelerates expansion outside the datacenter in a $1.54 billion deal that might broaden the company’s End-User Computing portfolio. 20 Great Ideas To Steal (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) Virtualization and cloud infrastructure vendor VMware on Wednesday announced an agreement to shop for mobile device management and mobile security vendor AirWatch for $1.54 billion. AirWatch will bolster VMware’s End-User Computing (EUC) group, which was formed in 2010 with the Horizon desktop management product line. Last October, VMware acquired Desktone, which supplies a desktop-as-a-service virtualization platform for delivering Windows desktops and applications as a cloud service. With the AirWatch deal, VMware extends its management grasp to mobile devices. “VMware’s vision for end-user computing have been to create a safe virtual workspace that permits end-users to… move from desktop, to laptop, to pill, to phone, to car,” stated Sanjay Poonen, executive VP  and general manager of the EUC group. Poonen previously headed up mobile strategy at SAP, and was named head of... Read More »

Government study makes a speciality of how privacy-enhancing technologies and massive-scale analytics will shape the way forward for big data. Internet Of items: 8 Cost-Cutting Ideas For Government (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) White House counselor John Podesta is leading a 90-day government study that explores the intersection of huge data and privacy. Consistent with Podesta, now could be the time to take a better take a look at big data analytics and other comprehensive data-mining techniques which could shape future policies. “The study is fundamentally a scoping exercise. We wish to examine the administration’s consumer privacy blueprint and take a harder seriously look into existing policies,” said Podesta during a March 3 workshop on big data, organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, inclusive of privacy and tech experts, joined Podesta on stage to speak about the significance of privacy enhancing technologies and enormous-scale analytics. Experts cited using cryptography in databases and Web applications, and... Read More »

Motorola Mobility updates Android data migration app with ability to address iPhone data. 7 Mistakes Microsoft Made In 2013 (Click image for larger view and slideshow.) A friend should help you progress, but a real friend should help you progress a body, or so it’s said. This witticism might describe the client relationship sought by companies like Motorola Mobility with products like Motorola Migrate, its migration assistance technology. For the sake of your friendship and future patronage, Motorola can help you you progress the corpus of your data from whatever Android or iOS smartphone has fallen from favor. On Tuesday, the Google-owned company updated Motorola Migrate, an Android app designed to transfer data to at least one of 5 Motorola phone models, having the ability to access Apple iPhone data, through that company’s iCloud service. “One of the most biggest pains of a brand new phone is forsaking important stuff to your old phone,” Motorola explains in its Google Play... Read More »

The promise of the cloud is getting the foremost resources on your money. Nonetheless it leaders must carefully evaluate potential cloud services before they take the plunge. Like many technical innovations, the cloud’s value proposition is that it makes IT faster, easier, and less expensive. Put in a different way, the implicit and explicit promise of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS), unified communications as a service (UCaaS), and similar offerings is set getting more for less. Who doesn’t want that? Startups, for instance, can keep investors happy by buying resources from the cloud and only scaling them up only when their creation begins to take off. There’s very little capital investment required. Established companies with legacy technology can migrate functions to compliant platforms with no need to rebuild their infrastructures. Young or old companies with big IT departments might reduce overhead by moving specific workflows and responsibilities to off-site providers. Hooray for the cloud! But... Read More »