Blog Roll 2011
It’s that time of year when we gift and re-gift. And the perfect opportunity to re-post, re-purpose and re-use my 2011 blog entries. If you missed any of the approximately 50 blogs, 11 audio whitepapers or 47 videos, here they are wrapped in one simple entry. I read somewhere that lists in blogs are good. Have a Safe and Happy New Year. F5 Security Vignette Series 2012 IT Staffing Crisis? The Top 10, Top Predictions for 2012 Pearl Harbor, Punchbowl and my Grandparents Cloud Copyright, Capital and The Courts A Blog of Thanks Dynamic Attack Protection and Access Control with BIG-IP v11 F5 BIG-IP Platform Security F5 International Technology Center Video Tour When Personal Security is Compromised London IPEXPO 2011 - The Wrap Up London IPEXPO 2011 F5 EMEA Our Identity Crisis Oracle OpenWorld 2011: The Video Outtakes Oracle OpenWorld 2011: The Wrap Up Oracle OpenWorld 2011: Interview with F5’s Ron Carovano Oracle OpenWorld 2011: Interview with F5's Keith Gillum Oracle OpenWorld 2011: Interview with F5’s Calvin Rowland Oracle OpenWorld 2011: BIG-IP ASM & Oracle Database Firewall Oracle OpenWorld 2011: Interview with F5's Andy Oehler Oracle OpenWorld 2011: F5 ARX & Oracle ZFS Storage Oracle OpenWorld 2011: BIG-IP WANOp & Oracle GoldenGate Oracle OpenWorld 2011 - Aloha:Find F5 Booth 1527 IPS or WAF Dilemma VMworld 2011: F5 BIG-IP v11 iApps for Citrix F5 Case Study: WhiteHat Security Cloud Computing Making Waves Hackers Hit Vacation Spots From the Greenroom VMworld 2011: The Video Outtakes VMworld 2011: VMworld Wrap Up VMworld 2011: VMworld Hands-On Lab VMworld 2011: Interview with Ron Carovano VMworld 2011: Multi-Site Application Deployment with vSphere & vCloud Director VMworld 2011: VDI Single Namespace VMworld 2011: Interview with VMware’s Sanjay Aiyagari VMworld 2011: Sign Up for F5's DevCentral VMworld 2011: Find F5 Networks Audio White Paper - High-Performance DNS Services in BIG-IP Version 11 SANS 20 Critical Security Controls The STAR of Cloud Security Audio White Paper - Application Security in the Cloud with BIG-IP ASM DNSSEC: Is Your Infrastructure Ready? Security Never Takes a Vacation Dynamic Application Control and Attack Protection The Best of…Me Protection from Latest Network and Application Attacks IT Security: Mid-Year Gut Check Audio White Paper - Controlling Migration to IPv6: A Gateway to Tomorrow The Land of a Thousand Twist-Ties Cure Your Big App Attack Drive Identity Into Your Network with F5 Access Solutions Custom Code for Targeted Attacks Audio White Paper - The F5 Dynamic Services Model Who In The World Are You? And The Hits Keep Coming Ixia Xcellon-Ultra XT-80 validates F5 Network's VIPRION 2400 SSL Performance Audio White Paper - Application and Data Security with F5 BIG-IP ASM and Oracle Database Firewall Interop 2011 - TMCNet Interview It’s Show Time Interop 2011 - The Video Outtakes Interop 2011 - Wrapping It Up Interop 2011 - F5 in the Interop NOC Follow Up Interop 2011 - IXIA and VIPRION 2400 Performance Test Interop 2011 - VIPRION 2400 and vCMP EMC World 2011 - ARX Hybrid-Cloud Demo Interop 2011 - F5 in the Interop NOC Interop 2011 - Find F5 Networks Booth 2027 Lost Your Balance? Drop The Load and Deliver! Unplug Everything! Do You Splunk 2.0 Technology Can Only Do So Much 3 Billion Malware Attacks and Counting In 5 Minutes or Less - Enterprise Manager v2.2 The Big Attacks are Back…Not That They Ever Stopped Has The Sky Cleared on Cloud Security? Audio White Paper - Streamlining Oracle Web Application Access Control Defense in Depth in Context Our Digital Life Deciphered Where Do You Wear Your Malware? RSA 2011 Wrap and Blooper Reel RSA2011 F5 Partner Spotlight–NitroSecurity RSA2011 F5 Partner Spotlight - Q1 Labs RSA2011 - Interview with Jeremiah Grossman RSA2011 - BIG-IP Edge Client on iPad RSA2011 F5 Partner Spotlight - PhoneFactor RSA2011 F5 Partner Spotlight - OPSWAT RSA2011 - Welcome to San Francisco On The Way to RSA A Digital Poltergeist On Your Television Identity Theft: Good News-Bad News Edition Radio Killed the Privacy Star Audio White Paper: Achieving Enterprise Agility in the Cloud In 5 Minutes or Less Video Series Audio White Paper: Optimizing Application Delivery in Support of Data Center Consolidation Simplify VMware View Deployments In 5 Minutes or Less Video - BIG-IP APM & Citrix XenApp Audio White Paper: F5 BIG-IP WAN Optimization Module in Data Replication Environments The New Wallet: Is it Dumb to Carry a Smartphone? iDo Declare: iPhone with BIG-IP Audio Tech Brief - Secure iPhone Access to Corporate Web Applications PCI Turns 2.0 In 5 Minutes or Less Video - F5's iHealth System Audio White Paper - Application Delivery Hardware A Critical Component And a couple special holiday themed entries from years past. e-card Malware X marks the Games ps Technorati Tags: blog, social media, 2011, f5, statistics, big-ip, web traffic, digital media, mobile device, analytics, videoCloud Copyright, Capital and The Courts
In 2006, Cablevision was developing a service which allowed customers to record, pause and replay their television content on/from servers located at Cablevision’s data center rather than on the customer’s Digital Video Recorder itself – in the cloud rather than on a local hard drive. A consortium of U.S. television and copyright holders challenged Cablevision in court arguing that Cablevision’s Remote Storage Digital Video Recorder (RS-DVR) infringed on copyrighted content laws in that, they were making copies of protected works and infringing on exclusive right of reproduction; briefly buffering/storing that content also infringes on exclusive reproduction rights; and by transmitting the data back to the customer, they were infringing on exclusive rights to public performance. In 2007, a district court found in favor of the copyright owner but in 2008, the decision was reversed by the Second Court of Appeals. The court clarified that Cablevision was not directly infringing copyright by offering a remote DVR service outside the customer’s home. Viewers could now record and save authorized TV content on a device within Cablevision’s infrastructure. This ruling, according to Josh Lerner, Harvard Business School’s Professor of Investment Banking, had a huge impact on U.S. venture capital moving to cloud computing. A risk was removed. In Europe, where the ruling had no authority, the venture investments in the cloud were much less. This is an important economic topic and ruling due to the relationship between venture, innovation and job growth. The ruling might also be relevant in Australia where Optus is facing the same legal challenge today. They started a service in July called Optus TV Now that does essentially the same thing as Cablevision’s. Allowing customers to record and watch the 15 free-to-air stations that are available. Customers can watch the content directly or over their smartphone or computer via the internet. In their July announcement they even included, ‘it is a breach of copyright to make a copy of a broadcast other than to record it for your private and domestic use. Optus accepts no responsibility for copyright infringement.’ Well, the owners of the copyright material being stored and retrieved are saying breach, especially the AFL and NRL, the football and rugby leagues. Optus is saying it’s no different than people recording on a personal DVR at home. It’ll be interesting to follow this. Back to the ‘funding the cloud’ story. Lerner’s study, 'The Impact of Copyright Policy Changes on Venture Capital Investment in Cloud Computing Companies,' he examines the impact and effect of the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision. The authors found that the decision led to additional incremental investment in U.S. cloud computing companies compared to Europe. Figure 1 of their paper: The same growth did not occur in Europe and in some cases, these types of services have been blocked from even getting to market. Imagine how much different services from Amazon, Apple and Google would be if the court did not reverse the 2007 ruling. ps Related: Clouds, copyright and venture capital: a multibillion dollar nexus? Optus offers free-to-air TV recording for those on the go Technology Neutral Copyright has a Positive Impact on Investment, Job Creation and Innovation in ITC The Cloudy Enterprise: Hours More Important Than Dollars The Business Intelligence--Cloud ParadoxThe STAR of Cloud Security
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), a not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, recently announced that they are launching (Q4 of 2011) a publicly accessible registry that will document the security controls provided by various cloud computing offerings. The idea is to encourage transparency of security practices within cloud providers and help users evaluate and determine the security of their current cloud provider or a provider they are considering. The service will be free. CSA STAR (Security, Trust and Assurance Registry) is open to all cloud providers whether they offer SaaS, PaaS or IaaS and allows them to submit self assessment reports that document compliance in relation to the CSA published best practices. The CSA says that the searchable registry will allow potential cloud customers to review the security practices of providers, accelerating their due diligence and leading to higher-quality procurement experiences. There are two different types of reports that the cloud provider can submit to to indicate their compliance with CSA best practices. The Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ), a 140 question document which provides industry-accepted ways to document what security controls exist in IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS offerings and the Cloud Control Matrix (CCM) which provides a controls framework that gives detailed understanding of security concepts and principles that are aligned to the Cloud Security Alliance guidance in areas like ISACA COBIT, PCI, and NIST. Providers who chose to take part and submit the documents are on the ‘honor system’ since this is a self assessment and users will need to trust that the information is accurate. CSA is encouraging providers to participate and says, in doing so, they will address some of the most urgent and important security questions buyers are asking, and can dramatically speed up the purchasing process for their services. In addition to self-assessments, CSA will provide a list of providers who have integrated CAIQ and CCM and other components from CSA’s Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) stack into their compliance management tools. This should help with those who are still a bit hesitant about Cloud services. The percentage of those claiming ‘security issues’ as a deterrent for cloud deployments has steadily dropped over the last year. Last year around this time on any given survey, anywhere from 42% to 73% of those respondents said cloud technology does not provide adequate security safeguards and that that security concerns have prevented their adoption of cloud computing. In a recent cloud computing study from TheInfoPro, only 13% cited security worries as a cloud roadblock, after up-front costs at 15%. Big difference than a year ago. In this most recent survey, they found that ‘fear of change’ to be the biggest hurdle for cloud adoption. Ahhhh, change. One of the things most difficult for humans. Change is constant yet the basics are still the same - education, preparation, and anticipation of what cloud is about and what it can offer is a necessity for success. ps References: CSA focuses best-practice lens on cloud security Assessing the security of cloud providers CSA Registry Strives for Security Transparency of Providers Cloud Security Alliance Introduces Provider Trust and Assurance Registry Transparency Key To Cloud Security Cloud Security Alliance launches registry: not a moment too soon Fear of Change Impedes Cloud Adoption for Many Companies F5 Cloud Computing SolutionsCloudFucius Shares: Cloud Research and Stats
Sharing is caring, according to some and with the shortened week, CloudFucius decided to share some resources he’s come across during his Cloud exploration in this abbreviated post. A few are aged just to give a perspective of what was predicted and written about over time. Some Interesting Cloud Computing Statistics (2008) Mobile Cloud Computing Subscribers to Total Nearly One Billion by 2014 (2009) Server, Desktop Virtualization To Skyrocket By 2013: Report (2009) Gartner: Brace yourself for cloud computing (2009) A Berkeley View of Cloud Computing (2009) Cloud computing belongs on your three-year roadmap (2009) Twenty-One Experts Define Cloud Computing (2009) 5 cool cloud computing research projects (2009) Research Clouds (2010) Cloud Computing Growth Forecast (2010) Cloud Computing and Security - Statistics Center (2010) Cloud Computing Experts Reveal Top 5 Applications for 2010 (2010) List of Cloud Platforms, Providers, and Enablers 2010 (2010) The Cloud Computing Opportunity by the Numbers (2010) Governance grows more integral to managing cloud computing security risks, says survey (2010) The Cloud Market EC2 Statistics (2010) Experts believe cloud computing will enhance disaster management (2010) Cloud Computing Podcast (2010) Security experts ponder the cost of cloud computing (2010) Cloud Computing Research from Business Exchange (2010) Just how green is cloud computing? (2010) Senior Analyst Guides Investors Through Cloud Computing Sector And Gives His Top Stock Winners (2010) Towards Understanding Cloud Performance Tradeoffs Using Statistical Workload Analysis and Replay (2010) …along with F5’s own Lori MacVittie who writes about this stuff daily. And one from Confucius: Study the past if you would define the future. ps The CloudFucius Series: Intro, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8Has The Sky Cleared on Cloud Security?
Last year I embarked on a blog series, lead by my trusty advisor CloudFucius, that evolved into an exploration of the numerous cloud computing surveys, reports, statistics and other feelings about the technology. At the time, 4-5 surveys a week were being released covering some aspect of cloud computing and security was cited as the biggest hurdle in almost 90% of the surveys. I also found that availability, control and a general lack of understanding were also drivers in challenges to cloud adoption. Almost 6 months have passed since the last CloudFucius entry and I wanted to see if the same fears were still lingering or at least, were the current surveys reporting the same concerns from a year ago about Cloud Computing. First up, is UK based technology publication, Computing. Working with Symantec.cloud, they surveyed 150 IT decision makers and learned that as more companies embrace Cloud Computing, they are finding that the cloud solutions meet or beat, not only their expectations but also their own existing in-house solutions. While on-premise security solutions might be adequate today, as the security threats evolve, the cloud providers may have the advantage over time due to the infrastructure investments in advanced filtering and detection along with 24/7 trained staff. Last year, availability and uptime also emerged as concerns and today there is great interest in the contractual SLAs offered by cloud providers since it often surpasses what they are capable of in-house. Resiliency and disaster recovery across multiple data centers can ensure that if there is an outage in one location, the customers can still access their data. Management and control still create some anxiety but many IT teams are happy to abdicate routine maintenance, like OS patching and hardware upgrades, in exchange for management SLAs. Now that the hype of cloud services has passed and many providers are proving themselves worthy, it is now becoming part of the overall IT strategy. As the perceived threats to data security in the cloud dwindle, trust in the cloud will grow. The Cloud Connect Conference in Santa Clara also released a survey during their gathering. In that one, elasticity and speed of deployment were the top motivators to using cloud services. Elasticity or the flexibility to quickly add or reduce capacity, can greatly influence the availability of data. These folks however were less motivated by improved security or access to the provider’s IT staff. Their top concerns were data privacy and infrastructure control. I do find it interesting that last year the term ‘security,’ which can encompass many things, was the primary apprehension of going to the cloud while today, it has somewhat narrowed to specifically data privacy. That too can mean several things but areas like outsider’s physical access to systems doesn’t seem to worry IT crews as much any more. When it comes to our school/educational system, Panda Security released a study that focused on IT security in K-12 school districts. Like many companies, they must deal with unauthorized user access, malware outbreaks and admit that IT security is time and resource intensive. They do believe however that the cloud can offer security benefits and improve their overall infrastructure. 91% see value in cloud solutions and are planning to implement over the next couple years with 80% saying improved security was a main reason to deploy cloud-based security. Finally on the consumer front, GfK Business & Technology surveyed 1000 adults about cloud services and storing content in the cloud. With all of our connected devices – cell phone, computer, tablet, etc – there will be a greater demand to move data to the cloud. Not real surprising, less than 10% of the consumers surveyed fully understand what the cloud actually does. The know of it, but not what it accomplishes. With what you don’t understand comes fear. 61% said that they were concerned about storing their data in the cloud and almost half said they would never use the cloud unless it was easy to store and retrieve data. As businesses begin to feel content with the cloud, they then need to both educate and communicate cloud benefits to their consumers. So it does appear like comfort with the cloud is beginning to take hold and as cloud offerings mature, especially around security, err ah, I mean data privacy solutions, the fear, uncertainty and doubt from last year is starting to loosen and it sure seems like greater adoption is on the horizon. And one from Confucius: They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom. ps Resources: CloudFucius Closes This Cloud Canon Content security in the cloud - no longer hot air Cloud-based IT Security at a Tipping Point Reader Forum: The importance of cloud computing in mobile security Panda Security Study Reveals 63 Percent of Schools Plagued by IT Security Breaches at Least Twice a Year Cloud computing: What it can do for you and your business Just Don't Call It A 'Cloud' Defining enterprise security best practices for self-provisioned technology What do security auditors really think? Private Cloud Computing No Safer than Public Cloud Survey Shows Businesses Interested, But Still Conflicted, About The Cloud Cloud Computing Has the Power to Enhance Consumer Data Consumption, But Obstacles Hinder Greater Short-Term AdoptionCloudFucius Tunes into Radio KCloud
Set the dial and rip it off – all the hits from the 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond – you’re listening to the K-Cloud. We got The Puffy & Fluffy Show to get you going in the morning, Cumulous takes you through midday with lunchtime legion, Mist and Haze get you home with 5 o’clock funnies and drive-time traffic while Vapor billows overnight for all you insomniacs. K-Cloud; Radio Everywhere. I came across this article which discusses Radio’s analogue to digital transition and it’s slow but eventual move to cloud computing. How ‘Embracing cloud computing requires a complete rethinking of the design, operation and planning of a station’s data center.’ Industries like utilities, technology, insurance, government and others are already using the cloud while the broadcast community is just starting it’s exploration, according to Tom Vernon, a long-time contributor to Radio World. Like many of you, I grew up listening to the radio (music, I’m not that old) and still have a bunch of hole-punched record albums for being the 94th caller. I listened to WHJY (94-HJY) in Providence and still remember the day in 1981 when it switched from JOY, a soft, classical station to Album-Orientated Rock. Yes, I loved the hair-metal, arena rock, new wave, pop and most what they now call classic rock. It’s weird remembering ‘Emotional Rescue’ and ‘Love Rollercoaster’ playing on the radio as Top 40 hits and now they are considered ‘classics.’ Um, what am I then?!? That article prompted me to explore the industries that have not embraced the cloud, and why. Risk adverse industries immediately come to mind, like financial and health care. There have been somewhat contradictory stories and surveys recently indicating both that, they are hesitant to adopt the cloud and ready to embrace the cloud. A survey by LogLogic says that 60% of the financial services sector felt that cloud computing was not a priority or they were risk-averse to cloud computing. This is generally an industry that historically has been an early adopter of new technologies. The survey indicates that they will be spending IT dollars on ‘essential’ needs and that security questions and data governance concerns is what’s holding them back from cloud adoption. About a week later, results from a survey done by The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and IBM reports that there is now a strong interest in cloud computing after a couple years of reluctance. The delay was due to the cost of implementing new technologies and the lack of talent needed to mange those systems. Security is not the barrier that it once was since their cloud strategies include security ramifications. They better understand the security risks and calculate that into their deployment models. This InformationWeek.com story says that the financial services industry is indeed interested in cloud computing, as long as it’s a Private Cloud. The one’s behind the corporate firewall, not Public floaters. And that security was not the real issue, regulations and compliance with international border laws were the real holdback. In the healthcare sector, according to yet another survey, Accenture says that 73% said they are planning cloud movements while nearly one-third already have deployed cloud environments. This story also says that ‘healthcare firms are beginning to realize that cloud providers actually may offer more robust security than is available in-house.’ Is there a contradiction? Maybe. More, I think it shows natural human behavior and progression when facing fears. If you don’t understand something and there is a significant risk involved we’ll generally say, ‘no thanks’ to preserve our safety and security. As the dilemma is better understood and some of the fears are either addressed or accounted for, the threat level is reduced and progress can be made. This time around, while there are still concerns, we are more likely to give it a try since we know what to expect. A risk assessment exercise gives us the tools to manage the fears. Maybe the threat is high but the potential of it occurring is low or the risk is medium but we now know how to handle it. It’s almost like jumping out of a plane. If you’ve never done it, that first 3000ft tethered leap can be freighting – jumping at that height, hoping a huge piece of fabric will hold and glide you to a safe landing on the ground. But once you’ve been through training, practiced it a few times, understand how to deploy your backup ‘chute and realize the odds are in your favor, then it’s not so daunting. This may be what’s happening with risk averse industries and cloud computing. Initially, the concerns, lack of understanding, lack of visibility, lack of maturity, lack of control, lack of security mechanisms and their overall fear kept these entities away, even with the lure of flexibility and potential cost savings. Now that there is a better understanding of what types of security solutions a cloud provider can and cannot offer along with the knowledge of how to address specific security concerns, it’s not so scary any more. Incidentally, I had initially used KCLD and WCLD for my cloud stations until I realized that they were already taken by real radio stations out of Minnesota and Mississippi. And one from Confucius: Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it. ps The CloudFucius Series: Intro, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12CloudFucius Has: Déjà Vu and Amnesia…
…at the same time! Wow, faster than you can mutter, ‘Survey Says…’ more cloud computing survey results appear. Just last week, CloudFucius reported on 4 cloud surveys which confirmed the trend of our Love/Hate Relationship with the cloud. Before the week was over, a couple more surveys reiterated our feelings toward cloud computing. We love it since it helps IT with cost control, yet we’re still very cautious about deployments due to the concerns about security and control. The results of the Eighth Annual Global Information Security Survey were released last week and once again the theme is, ‘we see the value and understand the benefits but still scared about the provider’s ability to secure critical data and IT’s ability to control access to that data. CSO, CIO and PriceWaterhouseCoopers surveyed 12,847 technology and business executives from around the world and 62% of you have little or no confidence in your ability to secure any data in the cloud. 49% have ventured into the cloud but of those, 39% still have major questions about cloud security. Sounds familiar huh? The greatest risk to their own (your own) cloud computing strategy is the ability to enforce security policies at the cloud provider’s site. Inadequate knowledge/training and IT auditing also made the list. If you remember the PhoneFactor survey from last week, the biggest security concern was preventing unauthorized access to company data. Enforce security policy and prevent unauthorized access is almost the same thing. Enforcing a security policy should prevent unauthorized access. There needs to be more specific guidelines as to what types of data are acceptable for the cloud along with how to handle regulatory reporting of data in the cloud. The CSO survey also found security concerns in regards to ‘third parties’. There is a concern about cloud vendors who use third parties to host data centers and hardware along with serious fears about our third party business partners. The vendor issue has to do with not knowing any of the people hired to work on your systems; with partners, many organizations are concerned that their own security is at risk if their associate’s or partner’s security has taken a hit over the last year. 77% felt that their strategic partners had been weakened by the recession over the last year. If you remember Verizon Business' "2009 Data Breach Investigations Report (pdf)" 32% of the data breaches implicated a business partner and in fact, the majority was due to lax security practices at the connection level from the third-party. In 2009, it was usually the third-party systems that were compromised and the attacker used the trusted connection to make inroads to the target. Since it’s coming from a ‘trusted’ authorized connection, these are difficult to detect and stop. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Speaking of surveys, Lauren Carlson, a CRM Market Analyst asked me to share her short survey with you. Software Advice, a company that reviews CRM software, is conducting a survey on their blog to see who the real leader is in CRM. And one from Confucius: Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star. ps The CloudFucius Series: Intro, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Resources: Survey: Cloud Security Still a Struggle for Many Companies Business partners a growing security concern Four Indicators That CIOs Are Ready to Embrace Enterprise Cloud Computing Cloud computing sparks corporate IT budget growth Financial services firms look to cloud, grid, and clusters to allay fears over data explosion Cloud Computing Services on the Rise, Survey Finds Early Adopters Now Running 60 to 70 Percent of Business Applications in the Cloud Can my PAN ride the LAN out the WAN? The Domino EffectCloudFucius Is: Ready for Some Football
With the opening game of the NFL season in the books and a Sunday (and Monday) of Week 1 matchups filling our living rooms, home team stadiums, fantasy leagues and mobile devices, I was curious just how the NFL and sporting events in general are using cloud services. Technology used within the professional sporting realm has always fascinated me from statistics giant Stats Inc to the 1st down graphics from the likes of Sportvision, Princeton Video Image and SportsMEDIA to Skycam, the cable suspended camera giving you a bird’s eye view of the action and of course, the NFL banning Twitter during games. Media companies are jumping all over cloud computing for the elasticity of services (jump in traffic), digital content, storage and to optimize communication and collaboration of workflows of content production, post-production and delivery. Last week, IBM announced that it was bringing cloud computing to the US Open. This allows the US Tennis Association (USTA) to scale up capacity during the event. They can also take real-time and historic sports data, merge them on a common platform and deliver it to their various consumers: media, officials, fans and the players themselves no matter what the platform – web, mobile, broadcast, social media and so forth. They can also analyze data from the courtside radar guns, the umpire systems, the court statistician and TV feeds. The annual NFL Scouting Combine is when college players ‘audition’ for spots on NFL rosters. They are tested for physical performance like the 40 yard dash along with their mental and problem solving skills to determine if they will make it in the NFL. All the information (data) is collected and then evaluated by owners, coaches, scouts, medical staff and team executives. The amount of data is huge and in years past, it was done with paper and pencil and then entered into computer systems or burned to CD’s and then mailed. There were entry errors, delays and the systems were potential targets for breaches. Now, the capturing, collecting and distribution of player data is done in the cloud making it much more efficient. The data is merged with a master database using a secure connection and then a secure website is provided to the NFL teams to login and view content, download collateral and subscribe to feeds. Pretty cool. When the NFL wanted to extend it’s brand to an international audience, they created NFL360, an interactive media site with videos, game history, player profiles and many other goodies available for fans around the world. Here they deployed a system with Digitaria using technology based on cloud computing. The site also has games and other activities for the NFL fan. NY Jets owner Woody Johnson is testing some cool technology in the skybox this year. He’ll have a touch-screen device to keep track of all the game day operations from his device and get a view of the entire stadium's data flow. From concessions to merchandise to ticket info to the traffic jam in the Meadowlands parking lot, he’ll have access to it all. I’m excited to see the Dolphins win the AFC East and my fantasy team kick butt this year. The cloud will be there too, domed stadium or not. And one from Confucius: He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.. ps The CloudFucius Series: Intro, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20CloudFucius Repeats: Money (Really) Moving to the Cloud
Ever wish you saved a blog title for that ‘perfect’ eye-catcher? Well, I do. Last week I wrote about some cloud surveys talking about how financial institutions are using cloud services titled: CloudFucius’ Money: Trickles to the Cloud. I get to this week’s weekly entry and Ka-Chow (with apologies to Lightning McQueen) that would have been the perfect title to this entry. Oh well, as to not be included in the Department of Redundancy Department Hall of Fame, I had to be a little creative with something slightly different. And for all of you looking at the title and wondering, ‘Did this guy just copy his last blog entry?’ I can assure you, this is all new material so let’s get to it. Have you seen the news? Cloud Computing Ranks High on Fujitsu's M&A Shopping List; HP, Dell in Bidding War for Cloud Computing Provider; 6fusion is hiring after raising $3 million; and Nimbula raises $15M to expand cloud service. I guess we’ve moved slightly past the ‘early adopter’ stage and right into the ‘gimmie more’ stage. Throughout the CloudFucius series, we’ve tried to investigate the various surveys showing cloud computing movement and hindrances along with learning about areas we were not so knowledgeable. It’s almost following the same pattern as 26 Short Topics About Security where I filled the entries with stats, surveys, stories, suggestions and as Don MacVittie commented, ‘a link fest’ of articles. I tried to present multiple sides of the story, especially with surveys virtually contradicting themselves when it comes to cloud computing. They want it, they are hesitant; looking into it, waiting until it’s mature; cost saver, virtual sprawl; we’ve deployed, what the heck is it? What is intriguing to me, errr CloudFucius, is that I had always thought – both my impression and what analysts have said – that cloud computing will never take over the world but is simply another option for IT with various benefits. Right now, that’s exactly what it is. With the announcements above, it sure seems like a lot of providers and investors feel that it’ll be a much larger force within the technology industry. Almost every technology company, including F5, are providing some sort of services that ‘play’ in the cloud. Many of us have also been to trade shows where the vendor booth is touting some ‘cloud’ connection and you look at them and go, ‘huh?’ How does that ‘enable’ cloud computing? ‘Ummm, we use the cloud to do this, that or the other thing.’ How will it all turn out? Who knows at this point. Did you expect the level of technology we have today, 10 years ago? Did you expect RF chips in the underwear you are purchasing? Did you expect common thieves going to a cloud to steal your info? Did you think you’d be able to surf the net on an airplane? Maybe we thought it *might* happen at some point, but we are living it now. ♫ Meet George Jetson……♫ And one from Confucius: Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue. ps The CloudFucius Series: Intro, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18CloudFucius’ Money: Trickles to the Cloud
No, I’m not investing some seed money in a cool new company or technology but banks are certainly looking to take advantage of cloud computing services. At least that’s the message from a recent survey by Bank Systems & Technology and InformationWeek Analytics. 70% of those that expressed interest in cloud computing said that the ‘Ability to meet user demands quickly and achieve scale,’ was the top consideration factor. Among the financial services applications that are currently being deployed in the cloud, Payment Applications (23%), Core banking applications (22%) and Retail banking applications (21%) topped the list. Mobile banking applications came in at 19% but another 19% plan to use the cloud for mobile banking and another 32% are currently evaluating the cloud for mobile applications, highest of any financial services apps. Shows where they think future traffic will be coming from. As with most cloud surveys and the financial industry in general, Security along with Compliance/Audit were the top concerns. 58% said ‘cloud technology does not provide adequate security safeguards’ and one-third noted a concern about the audit trail. We’ve mentioned here before that the financial industry usually jumps all over new technologies and is an early adopter for many things tech. No so with Cloud. 38% said that Cloud technology is too new and untested. Another interesting factor that is inhibiting cloud adoption is legacy systems. Most of the current banking applications were written for in-house systems and servers and have not been made ‘cloud-aware’ or ‘cloud-enabled.’ They face a tough choice to either invest now to make those apps ‘cloud-ready’ or wait until cloud vendors have matured and resolved some of the concerns. Yet another issue is spreading the IT mess, according to Ovum senior analyst Laurent Lachal. Today, many banking systems are in a secure data center (or several with GSLB) or located in-house. IT knows which room the data resides rather than somewhere, anywhere out in vapor land. The problem occurs when another department uses a cloud service without IT’s knowledge and the mess that creates across boundaries. The integration headache occurs when the same workflow is being done by two different applications. Cost effectiveness gets negated by inefficiencies. I started thinking about the future of banking and giving the customer the choice of having their data stored in the cloud or on a dedicated, physical server. There is not much we could do if our financial institution decided to put sensitive data in the cloud and I’m sure some of it is there already. But for those many folks who are not comfortable with that (at least for now), I wondered if the ‘dedicated server’ will become the ‘ultra-premium’ service of the future. It’s kinda far-fetched but go with me on this – maybe, when you open a bank account of the future, you get the choice of having your data in the cloud (get free checking with that, if checks are even still around) or you select a dedicated server for a nominal monthly fee. The promotion could go something like: ‘In order to provide you with the most cost effective banking solutions, we have two options for your data storage – a secured cloud environment with our trusted cloud provider (free with any account) or a dedicated physical server housed in our data center (for a small monthly fee). All the security protections and guarantees are built into both options, but we feel that it’s important that you choose and know where we store your data.’ Now, that would be interesting. And one from Confucius: By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart. ps The CloudFucius Series: Intro, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
