Platform as a Service

With the increasing use of SaaS applications and the move towards hybrid architectures, cloud integration has become a mission-critical priority for the enterprise. The challenges of cloud integration have led some SaaS customers to rethink their cloud computing strategies while deterring prospective customers from adopting SaaS in the first place. More than ever, there is a crucial need for cloud integration solutions--and SaaS users are looking to SaaS vendors to provide them. Although SaaS vendors recognize that integration is a major obstacle for end users, they don't always invest the time and resources needed to develop cloud integration technologies and solutions. And their reasons are perfectly understandable. From a business standpoint, it makes sense that SaaS vendors give higher priority to their SaaS offerings than to developing integration solutions. ... (more)

Dell Joins the Cloud Industry Forum

Dell has furthered its dedication to cloud computing, announcing that it has joined the UK Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), the body established to promote trust, security and transparency within the cloud technology marketplace. The move demonstrates growth around Dell's Cloud Computing Solutions portfolio, offering customisation to meet the needs of hyperscale data centres around the world. With cloud set to change the business IT landscape in what is becoming an increasingly Virtual Era, Dell has invested over $1bn globally to deliver solutions, services and cloud-based options to... (more)

Combining Storage Virtualization with Unprecedented Cloud Storage Flexibility

The business case for storage virtualization software isn’t new. System administrators have always sought best of breed data storage from a choice of storage vendors and a centralized management framework. With a variety of data storage devices available today, ranging from high-performance SSD and Flash cards to low-cost SATA arrays, a seamless way to automatically tier data across the diversity of storage devices and purpose-built arrays can maximize utilization and cost-efficiency. Hardware interchangeability and auto-tiering empower consumers with greater cost controls and bu... (more)

AppFog Gets $8 Million

Year-old PHP PaaS hoster AppFog, née PHP Fog, has gotten an $8 million B round led by Ignition Partners with participation from new investors Simon Crosby, Citrix' former data center and virtualization CTO, and VC Matt Ocko as well as existing investors, Madrona Venture Group, First Round Capital and Founders Co-Op. That makes $9.8 million altogether. Ignition gets a board seat and Ignition managing director Frank Artale will fill it. The money's earmarked for integrating broader technologies - it wants to support Node, Ruby, Python, Java and .NET - which explains why it's chang... (more)

How Can I Manage Thee? Let Me Count the Ways . . .

A robust and diverse set of management tools enabling a variety of infrastructure integration options is essential to architecting a dynamic data center In the continuing quest for a more dynamic data center, infrastructure integration must necessarily take center stage. While virtualization has enabled fluidity of server infrastructure, it has not done so for the network and may never be wholly suitable for the task for a variety of reasons. But the agility resulting from virtualization, the ability to manage resources on-demand, must be incorporated into the network infrastruct... (more)