Will the Cloud become a Dominant Enterprise Tool?

As businesses become more familiar with cloud technology, many companies are moving towards enterprise cloud solutions. Enterprise cloud solutions offer a comprehensive set of benefits for a company, and it seems as though many companies are finding these benefits very compelling. The great majority of companies that are using cloud technology expect to increase their cloud technology budgets and the cloud computing market overall is growing at a staggering rate.

What are the benefits of the cloud for enterprises?

The enterprise cloud offers scalable resources such as storage and processing speed. Enterprises can grow their cloud platform to suit them, making the enterprise cloud an extremely cost-effective solution overall. The enterprise cloud also offers elastic resources, which can be very beneficial to a company that needs a reliable enterprise system and experiences strong fluctuations in activity. Finally, storage is one of the most compelling reasons many companies move to an enterprise cloud solution. Companies today collect more structured and unstructured data than ever before, and all of this data can be safely stored in the cloud.

How will the cloud evolve in the future?

Many believe that the hybrid solution involving both public and private clouds will become the dominant form of cloud platform. Companies will need to plan ahead for this development. Already, most companies that are taking advantage of the cloud are using this type of hybrid enterprise cloud. The cloud is expected to gradually take on more computing and more storage, and projections indicate that the cloud will continue to grow as an overall enterprise solution.

Presently, the hybrid enterprise cloud allows a private and public cloud system to work in tandem and fully replicate a traditional enterprise network. In the future, this bridge between private and public cloud will likely become more streamlined and may even enter the consumer market.

Will the cloud become more popular?

All forms of cloud computing are expected to continue growing in popularity. While similar, the enterprise cloud simply offers many benefits that a traditional company network cannot compete with. The enterprise cloud even provides solutions for some traditional IT problems, such as mobile device management.

Twenty percent of all enterprise companies are already intending to use the cloud. The only area in which a traditional network has been seen to exceed an enterprise cloud solution is in the area of security, and security on the cloud can be managed in a variety of ways. With the incredible benefits that the cloud platform offers, it’s very likely that it will continue to grow and that it will eventually become the dominant tool of enterprise companies.

Will the Cloud become a Dominant Enterprise Tool?

Dedicated and cloud servers: the benefits of a partnership

The choice between cloud servers and dedicated servers is often presented as an either-or problem. However, it can be beneficial to look at this choice in terms of a blended solution. Some things make sense to run on a dedicated server while others make sense to host in the cloud. Selecting the right solution for the problem always yields better results. For this reason, we’re going to look at the pros and cons of dedicated and cloud servers before exploring the benefits of blending these solutions.

Dedicated servers

The traditional server that people think of is a dedicated server. It’s the gray box in the corner of the office or the sleek box on a rack in the server room. This computer is similar to a standard desktop, but it’s designed to run 24/7/365. It’s the computer that all the other company systems are connected to and when it goes down, the whole company loses access to data and systems.

When your systems are set up on a dedicated server, your business has complete control of all the resource on that machine. The CPU, memory and hard drive space are all dedicated to the needs of your business. Furthermore, when it’s time to upgrade, you must install new hardware or replace the entire server. This can take time, and it pushes most businesses to purchase a more powerful machine to minimize downtime from future upgrades. On the plus side, over time it costs less to buy server hardware than to rent it through the cloud.

Cloud servers

Unlike dedicated servers, cloud servers are virtual machines that run on a large network of servers pooling resources. Similarly, the resources that are provisioned to you with your cloud server are dedicated to your company alone. This is a major advantage over shared hosting plans, and it makes cloud servers comparable to dedicated servers in terms of performance. However, cloud servers go a little further than a dedicated server by allowing for unlimited hard drive, RAM, and CPU upgrades. This is because the resources provisioned to a cloud server come from multiple physical machines that make up the cloud. Since the resources for a cloud server are being rented, over time they can cost considerably more than a dedicated server.

Portions of a business IT infrastructure that are rapidly expanding can take advantage of these cloud servers by avoiding the expense of upgrading dedicated servers. As the business needs of the company expand or contract, the cloud server can also be easily configured to meet the demand. This can result in a great deal of savings. However, services that require a constant resource configuration for a significant period of time will cost less to operate on a dedicated server.

What would happen if these technologies were blended?

One of the best alternatives to simply choosing between dedicated servers and cloud servers is to create a blended network. The core of your business can be hosted on a dedicated server while cloud servers are used to scale these systems during times of peak traffic. Deploying additional cloud servers is quick and easy compared to setting up a new dedicated server. You can even take your Windows dedicated server assets and complement them with Windows servers running in the cloud, so you don’t have to switch to an entirely different OS platform to switch to the cloud. Additionally, these cloud servers can be taken offline if traffic subsides. This can provide the additional resources your business needs while keeping costs low if they are only needed temporarily.

While it’s impossible to predict the future, all signs appear to indicate that the cloud is here to stay and that it is very likely to become the new industry standard. With all the incredible benefits of the cloud platform, there simply aren’t very many things holding a company back from adopting it. All of the true downsides to a cloud platform can be protected against, and there isn’t any significant competition in the market.

Dedicated and cloud servers: the benefits of a partnership

Tools to Prepare For Your Windows Cloud Server Migration

Windows 2003 is coming off of life support in the next two years, which puts businesses in an unstable position. Until you update to a newer version of Windows Server, you will experience security, server management and performance issues that will cost you time and money. Switching doesn’t have to be painful when you plan ahead for a safe and successful migration and take advantage of utilities designed to help you migrate to the newest Windows Server.

Why now is the time to switch

If you’re still hanging onto your Windows Server 2003, put it to bed in 2014. The last service pack for Windows Server 2003 was released 6 years ago, and Windows Server 2012 has been on the market for a year already. Switching now means you’ll get in on the ground floor of the new Windows Server, while skipping the initial buggy release. Although you are used to your existing Windows Server, the fact that Microsoft will only offer 24 more months of Windows Server support should really have you preparing for a switch in the months ahead.

Windows Server 2012 offers critical support for cloud infrastructure and truly modernizes and transforms the data center for customers. Find more storage for a fraction of the cost, support for hybrid cloud capabilities, software defined networking for increased agility and flexibility, BYOD-support including a device registration process, and Java application monitoring. These are just a few of the exciting features found in the newest release of Windows Server. Windows Server 2012 truly meets the demands of a modern workplace — and if you are still scraping by on an older edition of Windows Server, you are not working at capacity.

Tools that can help you plan

If the thought of switching from a tool you may have used for the last 10 years to a new Windows Server brings on a cold sweat, don’t worry. There are many tools to help you plan the switch, including:

• Cloud Assessment – Plan for the cloud you need without running the metrics yourself using Cloud Assessment. This tool analyzes and reports on server usage and generates a custom set of recommendations for enterprise cloud resource needs.


• Website migration tools – Website mover tools simplify the migration process, saving you time and reducing your stress level. A website mover can assess your system requirements, cloud environment, infrastructure, workflow and assets, then work to ensure the smoothest migration.


• The Microsoft MAP – Microsoft offers a MAP (Microsoft Assessment and Planning) to help businesses transition to Windows Server 2012. Secure inventory, assess and report on your Windows Server environment, then use the data gleaned to prepare for a move. MAP can even assess your IT environment’s readiness for the transition, engineering a to-do list that ensures your move comes off hitch-free.

Chances are the nervousness you are feeling about migrating to Windows Server 2012 is worse than the move itself. For many businesses, winter can be a slow time. Transitioning now ensures that you can acclimate to your new computing power before the demands of the busy season tax capacity.

Tools to Prepare For Your Windows Cloud Server Migration

The Top Five Web Applications of 2013

If you want to keep up on the latest cutting-edge online innovations taking place online, one good resource is the annual Webby award, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The 2013 Webby Award for best web application resulted in one clear winner out of the five nominees, yet each one has a significant following and each offers completely different services.

5. Visual.ly

Sites such as 99Designs and Fiverr help creative people find a market for their work. These sites also help those of us who are less creative find someone who can make our projects look good. Now Visual.ly does the same thing for infographics, videos, presentations, and other interactive creations. With more than 145,000 users, Visually is the marketplace for anyone looking to buy or sell these creative services. Visual.ly is working to help the world bring its stories to life, and they’re off to a great start.

4. SeatGeek

When you’re looking for tickets to the next sporting event, concert or other big happening, you should check out SeatGeek. True to their name, this site geeks out on finding the right seat at the right price. You can search for any team, artist, event or venue to see which tickets are available and exactly where the seats are located on a venue map. The site collects information from multiple ticket outlets and even has an option to track the price of tickets for your favorite events. More than 1.8 million users already use SeatGeek to secure the best deal on tickets.

3. Squarespace

Squarespace was started in a dorm room in 2004 and they’ve grown into a team of 190 people with the goal of helping people give voice to their ideas. The site helps people to create their own website with little to no knowledge of web design. Basically, anyone that can use a word processor can create a good looking website they can be proud of using Squarespace. This has helped the company to launch more than 1.8 million websites already, and they’re poised for continued growth into 2014.

2. Grammarly

English grammar is so complicated that even the word processor on your computer is prone to making mistakes. According to Grammarly, their web application will catch “up to ten times more mistakes than popular word processors.” This has helped the site build a following of more than 3 million registered users. This application makes it easy to correct grammar mistakes, improve your writing, identify contextual misspellings (such as too versus two) and detect plagiarism. It’s like a proofreading buddy on the Web.

1. Dropbox

For many people, Dropbox winning the Web Services & Applications award is no surprise because this free service already has over 200 million users. Certain Windows cloud providers offer similar services, but with a larger amount of free storage than the 2 GB offered by Dropbox. However, Dropbox is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux computers in addition to all the devices running Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Blackberry. Furthermore, there are ways to increase the free storage available on Dropbox.

 

The Top Five Web Applications of 2013

Database Efficiencies Within the Cloud

A primary motivator for a business is beating its competitors to market in every way: with innovation, products and customer service. As cloud computing has developed, it’s been a means for businesses to outsource responsibilities to a cloud vendor so that they can better focus on running their companies and making themselves more competitive. When it comes to storage, cloud databases, which involve storing data online instead of on physical servers, are simplifying database management and giving businesses that sought-after competitive edge.

Businesses are also embracing cloud database management because of its efficiencies in performance and cost. A cloud database allows businesses to take advantage of its architecture as a shared online resource, while benefitting from pay-as-you-go pricing. They can also utilize these services without having to constantly train and hire IT staff with the right skills, or invest in new on-site hardware. Cloud databases are becoming so prevalent throughout the IT field that 2013 was predicted as being the year of the cloud database.

The cloud strategy for databases

Traditionally, businesses have had to maintain multiple databases covering different aspects of their activities. For example, a business may handle a high volume of merchant accounts, a highly geographically dispersed sales force and a complex payments program. The weight of this database management could very well impede a company’s competitiveness.

A cloud database, however, can organize company data together on a single, uniform and scalable platform. It can help employees and management work cooperatively, reducing delays and miscommunications. Colleagues can better share information, with the end result being improved operational efficiencies.

Businesses can even choose between different types of storage, which offer distinct kinds of performance and price. Standard volumes of cloud storage target everyday storage needs, which are typically large volumes without speed requirements but with great performance demands. A strategy that uses solid state drives, or SSD, is better suited to applications with quick access as their top priority. Additionally, cloud database applications are scalable to accommodate new products and services.

Cloud databases gain strong backers

Although businesses may already be sold on the benefits of cloud database applications, they may be more willing to join in as industry giants affirm the technology with new commitments. Tech leaders Oracle and Microsoft recently gave cloud databases a strong vote of confidence by banding together to ensure Oracle’s software runs on Microsoft’s platform, Azure. Before that, Oracle put aside its rivalries with cloud provider Salesforce.com and they’ve fused the Oracle platform’s applications with Salesforce’s finance and human resource cloud-based applications.

Benefits outweigh risks

Despite all the advantages of shared Internet computing, enterprises place a premium on their data. The risk of having this data breached keeps some businesses from taking the cloud database plunge. However, certain methods can be used to secure this cloud database, and cloud hosting providers are implementing the best available security practices. To reduce the threat of risks, enterprises can use a combination of private and public clouds, using each for different storage needs.

As businesses discover the efficiencies of cloud databases, the technology will not only help them get to market faster, but create new business opportunities. Cloud-based databases mean more innovative applications that allow businesses to improve their competitiveness, and pay-as-you-go models allow businesses to start small and progress as their needs dictate. The point is to get started.

Database Efficiencies Within the Cloud