Category: Cloud Enable

Cloud Enable examines the options available to IT departments considering adopting or managing cloud-based architectures in their business environment.

COVID-19: Hyperscalers Ramp Up, Clamp Down to Meet Soaring Demand

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Cloud Enable

 

Amy Larsen DeCarlo – Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services

Summary Bullets:

• Hyperscale cloud providers report a surge in demand for both their on-demand infrastructure services and productivity and collaboration services

• Past experience is so far helping guide capacity planning but there are still some limitations that are impacting performance as some users and applications involved in critical healthcare and emergency services get priority

The COVID-19 pandemic is driving businesses in virtually every field to deploy a remote workforce model overnight. This shift comes with immediate need for cloud-based productivity and collaboration applications. Organizations are also looking to virtualize other elements of their infrastructures, and thus requiring more cloud capacity to support these changes. Continue reading “COVID-19: Hyperscalers Ramp Up, Clamp Down to Meet Soaring Demand” →

Intelligent Process Automation: Best Bet for Easing Business Transformations

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader
C. Dunlap

Summary Bullets:

  • Intelligent process automation (IPA) is the natural evolution of business process automation when coupled with AI, low-code and RPA solutions, and intelligent business process optimization.
  • IPA is used by operations teams, business users, and developers to significantly reduce repetitive tasks associated with the deployment of modern apps in a multi-cloud environment.

A new breed of AI-infused automation technology, referred to as intelligent process automation (IPA), is the result of enterprise operations teams citing complexity and the lack of automation as key barriers to cloud-native app development and modern application deployments. GlobalData defines IPA as the natural evolution of business process automation when coupled with AI technologies (e.g., machine learning and natural language processing), low-code and RPA solutions, and intelligent business process optimization. It is used by operations teams, business users, and developers to significantly reduce repetitive tasks associated with the deployment of modern apps in a multi-cloud environment. Continue reading “Intelligent Process Automation: Best Bet for Easing Business Transformations” →

Cloud Rising: Hyperscale Providers Play a Crucial Role in the Race to Connect During the COVID-19 Outbreak

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Cloud Enable
A. DeCarlo
A. DeCarlo

Summary Bullets:

  • COVID-19 has driven organizations to shift to more virtual and remote operations, highlighting flaws in our connectivity, as well as challenges with our current collaboration and other business applications.
  • While still at a relatively nascent stage, edge computing is beginning to play a role in enabling latency-sensitive use cases such as telemedicine applications for remote diagnostics that could potentially help address future global issues like the coronavirus outbreak.

The COVID-19 outbreak is driving an overwhelming shift to virtual operations for many traditional enterprises and educational institutions. The mass migration to a remote workforce and distance learning exposes technology gaps and inspires some deeper thinking on ways in which organizations can apply innovation to their models. Can more work be done remotely on a longer-term basis? How can students with limited Internet access be connected in a cost-effective and efficient way? What transformational use cases can emerging technologies drive forward that could help resolve the pandemic and address other complex problems around the world? Continue reading “Cloud Rising: Hyperscale Providers Play a Crucial Role in the Race to Connect During the COVID-19 Outbreak” →

COVID-19: Netherlands Innovator Taps Blockchain and AI in the War Against COVID-19

by Charlotte Dunlap, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, Communicate, Internet of Things, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network, Secure

Summary Bullets:

• VirusBlockchain deployed this week to identify and monitor COVID-19 free zones

• The blockchain monitoring system is backed by technology provider Qlikchain

This week the tech industry partnered with a public health consortium to launch a blockchain-enabled monitoring system aimed at keeping communities at bay from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Public Health Blockchain Consortium (PHBC) announced the new system which monitors healthy, uninfected individuals as they move between locations in order to automatically identify zones that are safe or unsafe. The system is built on a blockchain solution which combines AI, geographical information systems (GIS), and real-time information systems provided by virus surveillance providers.

Called VirusBlockchain, the system serves as a systematic, continuous, and anonymous verification of citizens and all workplaces in an effort to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 infection. The project is unlike other approaches that would typically track infected persons. Continue reading “COVID-19: Netherlands Innovator Taps Blockchain and AI in the War Against COVID-19” →

COVID 19: Keep Calm and Corona On – A Global Perspective

by Jonathan Cordwell, posted in Big Data, Cloud Enable, Communicate, Internet of Things, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network, Secure
Jonathan Cordwell – Principal Analyst, UK Health & Social Care Technology

Summary Bullets:               

  • Companies that have yet to jump on the remote working bandwagon may have their hand forced due to the self-isolation and social separation measures put in place by their respective national governments.
  • We will undoubtedly see an uptick in the adoption of telehealth technologies, including remote monitoring.

 

On the 11th March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 (Coronavirus) a pandemic. As of writing, there have been over 130,000 cases reported across 123 countries, areas or territories and almost 5,000 deaths from the virus, which emanated from Wuhan in China. We have witnessed a wide variety of responses to the threat including mass self-isolation in Italy, travel bans, fiscal stimulus packages, health insurance policy allowances, business and school closures, and the cancellation of large events such as Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and HIMSS20 in Orlando, at which U.S. President Trump was scheduled to address the situation. Continue reading “COVID 19: Keep Calm and Corona On – A Global Perspective” →

Data Presentation Made Super-Simple for Those with Little Time for Data

by tcuzzillo, posted in Cloud Enable
Ted Cuzzillo,
Principal Analyst – Data Analytics

Summary Bullets:

• Toucan Toco offers template-driven data presentations for simple and fast production.

• The tool found a market in France, now tries for the U.S.

We’ve heard enough of that tired promise “easy to use,” yet here comes another one — and this one delivers. It pushes “simple” to an extreme. The tool is by Toucan, a software provider based in Paris, France. It introduced Toco in 2014, designed to pick up where data analysis tools leave off: with the presentation.  The French market, where Toucan has its base, loves it. Toucan claims that its Toco SaaS product has won more than 140 Fortune 500 customers since the tool’s introduction in 2014.

The secret sauce is no surprise: templates. The producer builds a Toco “app” on a fast march, on the cloud, from start to finish: Fill in a title in the “title” box, fill in a summary in the “summary” box, and connect one or many data sources. The result, surprising given the ease of production, can contain a wide variety of charts up to several levels deep, all ready to display well on desktops or mobile devices.
Unlike sophisticated data analysis software, which invite exploration, Toco shows only what the producer deems important.  An objection may arise from executives asked to approve a Toco license. What about the tools we have right now? Why the redundancy? Can’t they easily produce such presentations already? Toucan’s answer is, yes, of course those other solutions can do it. But those who’ve tried to make them do it, says Toucan, have found it difficult and time consuming. These complex data analysis tools just aren’t made to gear down fast enough from Ferrari-like performance to a walk in the park.
Data experts may turn up their noses at Toco. But those who know or care nothing about data analysis will turn their heads for Toucan’s Toco and similar solutions. Toco may be one of the first to colonize a frontier that big and sophisticated tools have found impenetrable. An enigmatic 75 percent or so of business users have no use for data. The tool will also work in smart cities. There, data will flow to an audience of whom many will not have the ability or patience to comprehend the analytics process. They just want the results.
Watch for this and similar solutions to gain importance over the next few years.

 

Console Connect Coming to Australia Fills Out PCCW’s SDN Offerings

by Malcolm Rogers, posted in Cloud Enable, IT Leader, Network
M. Rogers

Summary Bullets:

  • The arrival of Console Connect in Australia fleshes out PCCW’s software-defined infrastructure offerings in the market, although integration of some features is still lacking.
  • Software-defined interconnect (SDI) is not new to Australia, and PCCW faces existing competition; however, the company is well positioned to manage cross Australia-to-China workloads.

PCCW’s expansion of the Console Connect platform into Australia is a positive move for the company. PCCW already offers its SD-WAN services (Viptela and VeloCloud) in the country. The addition of its cloud-focused Console Connect to the portfolio of networking services available in the country will complement its SD-WAN offering by giving enterprise customers more visibility and control over bandwidth and performance as enterprise workloads are increasingly hybrid and multi-cloud. Software-defined networking and cloud interconnect are high-growth areas within the Australian market. According to “GlobalData Market Opportunity Forecasts to 2024: ICT in Australia” (February 21, 2020), spend on SD-WAN is expected to grow at a five-year CAGR of 19.6% to reach USD 114 million, while enterprise spend on cloud management platforms will grow at a five-year CAGR of 16.6%, reaching USD 526 million. Continue reading “Console Connect Coming to Australia Fills Out PCCW’s SDN Offerings” →

Alibaba Cloud Continues Its Momentum in ASEAN as Competition Increases

by Alfie Amir, posted in Cloud Enable, Communicate, IT Leader, Mobilize, Network, Secure
A. Amir

Summary Bullets:

  • Alibaba Cloud strengthens its ASEAN presence with a new win in East Malaysia and its first event in Indonesia.
  • As competition intensifies, it is important for the cloud provider to expand its partner ecosystem, especially with the domestic players.

The Southeast Asia region (a.k.a. ASEAN) has been a new battleground for the hyperscalers for a few years. Cloud adoption is still relatively low compared to other markets. As the cloud becomes a commodity and the market grows, this opportunity has attracted global hyperscalers to expand their presence in the region. Alibaba Cloud opened its data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Google announced in October 2018 that it will have its Indonesian data centers ready in early 2020, and AWS responded with a similar announcement in April 2019. These global hyperscalers are also offering their respective cloud stacks (e.g., AWS Outposts, Alibaba Apsara Stack, Google Anthos, and Azure Stack) for deployments in customers or third-party data centers to address the data residency requirement. They have also been strengthening their domestic presence by expanding the in-country sales forces and their partner ecosystem in the region through various collaborations with local providers, governments (such as universities), and other vertical players. Some of Alibaba’s recent initiatives include its partnership with SCC to offer Sabah Pay in East Malaysia and its first Cloud Day event in Indonesia. Continue reading “Alibaba Cloud Continues Its Momentum in ASEAN as Competition Increases” →

Amazon Stays in the JEDI Fight with Filing to Stop Microsoft’s Work on the $10 Billion Project

by Amy Larsen DeCarlo, posted in Cloud Enable
Amy Larsen DeCarlo – Principal Analyst, Security and Data Center Services

Summary Bullets:

• Two months after Amazon filed a protest with the courts over the JEDI contract award to Microsoft, the company asked a judge to suspend work on the project

• Amazon wants the court to halt work on JEDI while it considers whether the bid process was fair

In the latest episode of the DoD Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract saga, Amazon Web Services (AWS) petitioned the U.S. Federal Claims Court to suspend work on the cloud engagement while the Claims Court evaluates whether the contracting process was fair. The move comes two months after Amazon initially filed suit in Federal Court arguing the contract was not awarded fairly. In a November video, AWS CEO Andrew Jassy pressed the Pentagon to “shine a light on what really happened.” Jassy claimed multiple aspects of the evaluation process were deficient and subject to error. Continue reading “Amazon Stays in the JEDI Fight with Filing to Stop Microsoft’s Work on the $10 Billion Project” →

Cloud Computing Giants Expand Environmentally Sustainable IT Battleground

by Chris Drake, posted in Cloud Enable
C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

  • Demonstrating a genuine and broad commitment to environmentally sustainable IT has become a major new competitive battleground for cloud computing giants Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services.
  • Some cloud providers, notably Microsoft, are now extending existing commitments to new areas, including helping customers with their own environmental sustainability objectives.

Demonstrating a genuine and broad commitment to environmentally sustainable IT has become a major new competitive battleground for cloud computing giants Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). All three companies are already committed to improved energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy within their international network of data centers – even if those goals have not yet been fully realized. However, that commitment is now being extended to new areas, including the ability to help customers with their own sustainability objectives. This will open up a whole new competitive battleground between these leading cloud companies. Continue reading “Cloud Computing Giants Expand Environmentally Sustainable IT Battleground” →