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Cloud Computing Future In India

If you are a bit skeptical about the future of cloud computing in India, you need to be acquainted with the fact that India has the highest rate of adoption for mobile phones. That is basically one of the reasons why the larger players in the market have come to the country and have started offering competitive usage based price structures. Now, if that is something to go by, India has an excellent future as far as cloud computing is concerned. Before we take a look at why we think that India has an excellent future as far as cloud computing is concerned, we should first take a look at what cloud computing is all about.

Cloud computing is nothing more than integration off all your personal data into one platform so you can easily access, retrieve and share specific information with specific groups of people without having to worry about data loss and the large amount of space required for storage of huge data. This is totally web-based and almost all companies offering cloud computing services offer pay-as-you-go services so you don’t pay for anything extra.

Now, the very reason why we think that India has an excellent future as far as cloud computing is concerned is because India is one of those few countries that always had very limited access to resources that enable people to embrace innovation. So, infrastructure has always been a problem for the country. With cloud computing in place, people would not have to worry about the investment associated with expensive hardware and software required for storage and maintenance of data and that would simply mean the research and development needs of the country can be easily met through the inexpensive solutions offered by cloud computing.

It goes without mention that India has one of the best and biggest information technology markets and is cloud computing is embraced easily, there would be tremendous scope for the IT companies and the applications and platforms developed by these companies could be easily accessed and used by the small companies dotting the country. So, in a late cloud computing is actually going to create a positive impact on the Indian economy in the near future.

The education system is definitely going to improve because the schools, colleges and universities would be able to spend more time on research and development rather than worrying about the resources required for such things. Apart from the education sector, the small-business and medium business segment is also going to get benefited immensely. We can almost certainly say that in the near future (with the help of cloud computing), we would be able to see more entrepreneurs starting global businesses without having to worry about the huge costs involved with data maintains and storage. These expectations are absolutely practical because we are already accustomed to use electricity, mobile phones, drinking water and several other things that have pay as you go pricing structures, quite similar to cloud computing. So, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

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Cloud Computing will replace PC by 2014

Over the last couple of years, cloud computing has revolutionized the way people communicate with each other and also how the IT departments of different companies work. It is definitely the next big thing in the IT segment and if you were to believe the experts, cloud computing is going to replace the personal computer by 2014. In order to understand why the experts think so, it is very important to understand the concept of cloud computing first. Cloud computing is all about integration of all personal data into one platform that not only allows the user to access any and all data in real-time, but also retrieve and share specific data with specific groups of people without having to worry about data security.

The biggest advantage with cloud computing is that most competing service providers offer pay-as-you-go plans and hands you do not need to pay a penny extra over your actual usage. Google, Amazon and Hewlett-Packard have already invested a lot of money in the development of cloud computing and the day is not far when we would be able to sift through personal clouds to access any and all information that make up our lives through some inexpensive handheld device.

If you take a look at the computing hardware available in the market today, you would see that everything from the iPhone to the android-based mobile phones are continuously striving to collate all your personal information and also integrating them with your personal preferences to make your life simpler. The iPad is another impressive piece of computing hardware that allows you to shrink your entire world into a plastic tablet. As of now, the technology savvy companies are seeing cloud computing as a business strategy to send profits through the roof, but very soon it is going to become a way of life.

Be it the Google platforms on the Apple platforms, there are already a number of cloud computing compatible devices available on the market, but what actually needs to be changed is the way cloud computing is being looked upon by the corporations - as on date, it is mostly the large enterprises that have started to realize the benefits of cloud computing and the deploy the same; it is get to spill over into mainstream, but going by the current trends, it seems that the day is not far than a single tablet or handheld device would be more than enough to manage our lives. According to the experts, such a day could be witnessed as soon as the year 2014 and hopefully we would be able to save goodbye forever to our personal computers.

If you are thinking that it’s going to be a costly proposition, you might be wrong because cloud computing is going to eliminate on your needs for expenditure on hardware and software and also give you peace of mind at the same time. Let’s hope the experts are right and let personal clouds take over personal computers!

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Cloud Computing Certification and Training companies

Cloud computing is definitely poised to change the way people do business and communicate over the Internet. It is considered to be the next big revolution in the information technology industry. So, it goes without mention that if you are a certified and trained cloud computing professional, you would have a high demand in the job market and since this is an emerging field, you would also get to learn a lot. Here’s a list of the top cloud computing certification and training companies across the globe

  • 3Tera Cloud Certifications - This is one of the first companies to start a cloud computing certification and training course and they basically offer two different types of courses. The first one is aimed at training professionals for front-end cloud computing applications and the second one is for professionals who want to become a certified cloud architect. The second program is more in demand because it is aimed at creating system architects and application developers that can develop and deploy cloud computing frameworks and architectures in organizations.
  • IBM Cloud Academy - The course provided by IBM is aimed at training professionals so they can use cloud computing platforms in the real world. This course is mostly sought after by nationals working in the education industry because this course drastically helps to reduce the barriers of teaching students new subjects.
  • Cloud Security Alliance - The course offered by this company is comparatively new, but is very much sought after because this is one of the very few horses that offers professionals training and knowledge about the security issues clouding cloud computing. It would be pertinent to mention here that the very reason why cloud computing has yet to become a hot sellout is because of the security issues associated with it. It is very difficult for business owners who trust third parties with their data because in many cases it has been seen that significant data gets lost during upgrades and a transfer from one service provider to another. The modern systems have password-protected platforms, but then we do get to hear horror stories about hackers breaking into such platforms and corrupting data. So, a course in cloud computing security is definitely going to equip you with the knowledge required to develop better security solutions and also understand the current scenario.
  • Red Hat Certified Virtualization Administrator - Red Hat has always been known for certification courses for IT professionals and now they have come up with certification courses for the development of IT professionals who are Microsoft certified and Cisco certified system administrators. This is a highly sought after course and a bit difficult to get into, but it’s definitely worth it because Red Hat certified virtualization administrators receive extensive hands-on training on open source Linux solutions and have a thorough know-how of cloud computing security systems.

As more and more people get inclined towards cloud computing, the demand for cloud computing certified professionals is going to rise and this is the right time to get enrolled in certificate courses in cloud computing.

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Benefits of cloud computing for the small Business

Cloud computing is all set to revolutionize the way we compute and communicate with each other. It is so that a lot of work still needs to go in, but many significant developments have already been done over the last couple of years and if you have a small business you could be immensely benefited from cloud computing. The following are a couple of benefits that could directly impact the way you do business:

  • Reduced cost - If you have a robust cloud computing platform in place, you do not need to shell out a lot of money for buying hardware such as computers and all other things related to setting up computers. You don’t need to buy expensive software and software licenses (and upgrades) for networking management and information technology infrastructure. You just need to pay for whatever you use and nothing more.
  • Scalability - Almost all cloud computing service providers offer pay-as-you-go plans and hands it can just pay for the storage needs of your business. You don’t need to pay for expensive software and stuff to find out how much web space your business requires - you just pay for whatever is being used.
  • Automatic updates - If you have a small business, your information-technology department must be spending sleepless nights worrying about updating your software that play a crucial role in your business. With cloud computing in place, you don’t need to worry about updates at all - automatic updates are provided and you don’t need to worry about ablation of software and hardware anymore.
  • Access from remote locations - One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is that it allows all your employees and shareholders to update, receive and share information from remote locations; you can just say goodbye to your back office!
  • Better security - It doesn’t really matter how expensive hardware and software you have - if there is a fire or an earthquake, your hardware is going to go for a toss and so is your data! If you go with a reputed cloud computing service provider, you can just get back to work after the hurricane is over and run your business smoothly as long as you have an Internet connection without having to worry about data loss.
  • Easy to implement - Frankly speaking, if you have cloud computing services installed, you’ll need a lot IT people on your payrolls - cloud computing is very easy to implement and even a 10-year-old can take care of everything!
  • Skilled professionals - It doesn’t really matter how skilled your staff are; there is always the risk of your data getting corrupted or lost because of unforeseen problems. That is not going to happen with cloud computing because the service providers spend tons of money on security solutions and have very skilled professionals take care of your data.
  • You can brush shoulders with bigger firms - If you embrace cloud computing, you can play in the same field as larger businesses by using the same tools they use.
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HP to launch Amazon’s cloud computing competitor soon

The popular computer and computing services producer HP has decided to foray in the cloud computing scenario. According to a recent report from the New York Times, the cloud computing service that HP is planning to roll out in just a couple of months is going to give the popular cloud computing service provider Amazon a run for its money. However, the company senior vice president and general manager has been quoted saying that they are not just trying to make and entry in the cloud computing scenario - they are actually planning to offer a platform layer that would consist of a handful of third party services.

HP has always been a leader in the computer arena and they also hold a significant share of the hosting and server market across the globe. There was a lot of speculation as to whether or not HP was really coming out with cloud hosting services and the news from the New York Times has confirmed that. Now, we are not yet sure about the exact services that the company is planning to roll out, we can almost certainly say that the cloud computing services from HP are going to be diverse and would be aimed at grabbing the customer share of Amazon and Google. Going by the current trends, every cloud computing service provider out there would charge you a hefty amount to begin with and then the prices gradually taper off. There is good reason behind this also - the initial investment for a cloud computing service provider is pretty high because of the expensive software involved and also because of the need to rewire the machinery to eliminate any possible problems in the future. After the initial setup has been done, very little investments are required and hence most cloud computing service providers are able to offer cheaper prices to long-term customers. It is true that cloud computing is still in its developmental stages, there are already a lot of different companies offering such services and the field has already become very much competitive. However, according to the Athenian of the senior vice president and general manager of HP cloud computing services, the company is not exactly planning on rolling out a dime-a-dozen cloud computing services. The services are definitely going to be diverse and anything but cheap.

The company has not exactly given out an exact date for the launch of cloud computing services, but they are planning to do it within the next two months and there is already a lot of speculation about the kind of services that they are going to offer and also the kind of prices that are going to be charged. One thing is for sure - the monopoly market of Amazon and Google is definitely going to get inclined towards new and innovative service providers such as HP and many others working on such projects.

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Top 10 Cloud computing companies in the world

If there is something that has been spreading through the IT industry like wildfire it would have to be cloud computing. With cloud computing solutions in place, both startup businesses and established businesses are clamoring continuously for customer retention. The following is a list of top 10 cloud computing companies you should watch out for:

  • Amazon Web services - Amazon provides more than half a dozen cloud computing services that include elastic compute cloud and simple storage service among others to provide tailor-made solutions for your needs. Amazon is one of the best innovators in web-based computing and it offers pay as you go access to its customers to data storage space and virtual servers. Amazon has also managed to stay ahead of the curve by launching elastic compute cloud in the year 2006 well ahead of its competitors. There are hundreds and thousands of small business organizations that are included in the customer list of Amazon Web services and they also have prominent customers such as Washington Post, New York Times and Eli Lilly etc.
  • AT&T - They have been in the cloud computing business for some time that and to Amazon and Google are the biggest names in cloud computing today, a AT&T has managed to have its own long list of customers because of the excellent infrastructure that they have. This company is located in Dallas and they have the essential infrastructure in place to cater to a variety of needs. Their biggest companies are Verizon has also started offering cloud computing services, but a lot of work still needs to go in and hopefully in the present year they would be able to offer better cloud computing solutions.
  • Enomaly - This Company was founded in the year 2004 and is located in Toronto. The specialty of this company is that they offer elastic computing platform and this platform has the capability to integrate enterprise data centers with business cloud computing offerings. Their services are a bit different from the other organizations because they do not offer their own web-based services - they have software that allows easy data management on cloud computing platforms. A couple of bank and government organizations have already started using Enomaly services.
  • Google - if there is one company that knows the Internet in and out, it would have to be Google. They have also started offering cloud computing services and going by the current trends, it seems they have not only been able to successfully integrate computing into day-to-day Internet applications such as Google docs and Gmail, but also been able to provide developers to host applications through Google platforms.
  • GoGrid - GoGrid has been around in the cloud computing business for quite some time and they are the major competitors of Amazon. However, they are pretty much different from Amazon because they offer Windows server 2008 instances and also hundred percent uptime service level agreements. They already have a huge list of customers that include both medium-sized and large enterprises.
  • Microsoft - Microsoft has started offering cloud computing services that can be used to build and enhance web hosted applications. The service is still a need to stand the test of time and maybe in the near future they would have an answer to every cloud computing problem.
  • NetSuite - This Company has been extremely successful in the past for offering online solutions in the form of business software and now they are in the cloud computing business. They have an aggressive marketing team and have already promised 50% discount to people shifting from Sage software to NetSuite.
  • Rackspace - They have been around in the cloud computing business since 1998 and they offer a host of different cloud computing services that could be easily compared to Amazon and other major cloud computing services.
  • RightScale - This Company was also founded in the year 2006 and they help people manage their cloud servers better by offering solutions that perform load balancing.
  • Salesforce.com - This company has been around since the year 1999 and they are actually one of the first to research on cloud computing and develop a host of solutions. We have a number of products that include a platform for development and hosting of web applications.
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What is Cloud Computing is all about

Cloud computing is basically a system that allows all your computers and mobile devices to remain in sync with each other and that in turn allows you to access all your personal data in real-time at the click of a button. This technology is comparatively new and is still in its developmental stages, but it already looks promising and in the near foreseeable future it is definitely going to change the way people do business on the Internet. To understand the situation better, you can take the example of Gmail and Google docs. If you have an android device that is synced with your computer, you can access all your e-mail contacts and telephone contacts on one platform just at the click of a button. This holds true for Google docs also. That is what cloud computing is all about and it has already started transforming the way people surf the Internet and communicate with each other on social networking websites, newsrooms and paid communities. However, we don’t think of cloud computing in terms of advanced technology - it is more like having all your personal data stored at the back of your mind and you can access anything and everything in real-time whenever you want.

There are a lot of different cloud computing providers out there and a good provider would be able to offer you more than synced data - it is not only about the ability to put all your data in a cluster, but it is also about the ability to access precise information without compromising the security of the entire cloud and also the ability to share precise data on online platforms such as social networking websites, blogs and banks etc. Cloud computing is not about diversification - it is more about conglomeration of all your personal data that includes everything from your address book entries to your favorite music. Of course, it is you who gets to decide what you want to show to the public and what you want to keep private, but a good cloud computing platform would offer you the flexibility of sharing specific clusters with a specific group of people and would also have enhanced security settings - something more robust and solid than Facebook for example.

As mentioned earlier, cloud computing is still in its nascent stage and a lot of developmental work still needs to go into it - the biggest concern that we now have is privacy and security. When cloud computing hits the critical mass, people should be able to access all data on an online platform of choice and should also be able to share specific data with specific groups of people, without having to worry about someone hacking into password-protected data. A lot of research is being done on this subject and in the near future cloud computing is definitely going to change the way people communicate with each other and store data online. Going by the current trends, cloud computing would also be able to intuit your preferences and actions and provide you with everything you need without you having to ask for it!

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Cloud Computing and Its Disadvantages

Before we take a look at it is that disadvantages of cloud computing, it is very important for you to understand what cloud computing is all about. Cloud computing is basically a system where in all your computers and personal data devices are synced together so that any and all information is available at all times at the click of a button. There are a lot of different companies offering cloud computing services and a lot of people are involved with ongoing research in this matter, but there are a couple of disadvantages that have already surfaced up and you need to think twice before opting for cloud computing.

cloud computing Disadvantages

Security and privacy – It might be comfortable for users to be able to access all kinds of data at the click of a button, but you need to understand that by opting for cloud computing services, you are actually handing over your data to a third-party to let them organize it for you. This is of even greater concern if you have a lot of sensitive information stored on cloud servers. It is true that most companies providing computing services take appropriate measures to ensure the security and safety of all data on their customers, but in the online arena, you can never rule out the possibility of your data getting infected by viruses and malware, especially because such servers are being accessed by a lot of different people from across the globe. To make sure that the data on their customers remain protected at all times, major cloud computing companies have developed password protected accounts, but then at the end of the day we do get to hear horror stories about passwords being hacked by super hackers - so, it all boils down to the reputation of the cloud computing company and any breach in security might result in loss of your business.

Cost - Cloud computing definitely has its own share of advantages, but cost is almost always a major concern. The data centers of the cloud computing provider needs to have expensive software to keep the cloud running and also need to shell out a lot of money for maintenance of the machines to prevent unforeseen problems and this makes initial cloud offers more expensive. You need to understand that cloud computing is still in its developmental stages and it is very common for business owners to face problems with a particular cloud computing provider making them want to shift to another provider; now that is not as easy as it sounds - you have to deal with a lot of issues when trying to shift from one cloud computing provider to another and that also involves significant expenditure.

Decreased flexibility - This is more often a temporary problem, but it’s a problem nevertheless. Since some of cloud computing technologies are still in developmental stages, it is almost always impossible to get the flexibility that is promised by the provider. For example, it is almost always impossible to prevent data loss when upgrading cloud computing servers.

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Cloud Computing Improving Healthcare

For all the innovations transforming the healthcare industry, one area where it remains almost universally behind the times is in the use of information technology. Many healthcare systems are built on analogue workflows that consist of paper-based medical records, handwritten notes, duplicated test results, non-digitized images and fragmented IT systems. As a result, information remains siloed, which leads to inefficient provision of patient care.

Even some of the best equipped hospitals in Australia still rely on pagers as the primary communications tool for doctors; coordinating care schedules and other administrative processes remain cumbersome. At the same time, consumers and patients have very little transparency on health plan costs and covered services, with health insurance websites providing very little clarity to alleviate the problem.

cloud computing In Health Care

One reason for this slow adoption of installing advanced IT solutions is attributed to high equipment costs, which usually involves new servers, storage and applications. In addition, there are high maintenance costs associated with keeping these systems up-and-running with software patches and upgrades. As a result, hospital administrators and boards would rather invest their limited financial budgets on new medical equipment or hire additional doctors, specialists and nurses. For smaller private clinics and doctors, the cost of technology is simply too high to even consider the option.

After years of data center growth and IT evolution, many businesses are left living with complex, overgrown computing platforms that are chronically underutilized and highly expensive to maintain.

Is there then a way to eliminate the high capital expenses while still acquiring the latest IT solutions to improve healthcare services?

Benefits of Cloud computing

There is a lot of conversation on Cloud computing and how it could benefit our healthcare practices. With Cloud computing, hospitals, particularly the large ones, are able to deliver IT as a service without the costly and complex investment in infrastructure and applications, freeing them to focus on strategic business initiatives while delivering better service levels, increased business agility and reduced costs.

The big gain is hospitals pay only for the services they use, without having to maintain or incur upfront infrastructure costs, giving businesses the technical tools to become more agile.Cloud computing presents an opportunity for healthcare providers to improve patient care, protect their privacy and mitigate the risks associated with implementing expensive technology.

Even though Cloud computing comes across as a complex web of knowledge it provides some crucial long-term benefits including:

•    Increased IT responsiveness and efficiency
•    Reduced capital expenditures and operational overhead
•    Greater flexibility through an on-demand, pay-as-you-go model that scales with your business.

With the implementation of Cloud computing, healthcare professionals across the globe can collaborate in real time and share information without the need to invest in expensive infrastructure. The Cloud provides a centralized platform for healthcare professionals to access reports, scans, electronic medical records (EMRs) and prescriptions and patient information and history such as insurance claims, prescriptions, and lab reports from anywhere in the world. Having a central repository for patient information will mitigate the risks of misdiagnosis or the prescription of the wrong medication, as well as eliminating chances of conflicting treatments where multiple healthcare professionals are involved.

Correctly implementing and utilizing information technology will offer healthcare practices enormous benefits, with Cloud computing offering better access to healthcare services and information that would subsequently result in improved outcomes, fewer errors and increased cost savings.

Cloud computing’s pay-per-use model means healthcare providers can leverage the latest software solutions while keeping operating costs to a minimum, covering only the essentials. In addition, with patient data stored in the Cloud, health professionals and hospitals will no longer need to invest in storage systems.

cloud computing In Health Care

Finally, Cloud computing fits very nicely with increasingly mobile healthcare professionals who may need to administer service from remote locations, enabling physicians to provide better patient care at a lower cost without sacrificing their quality of work and productivity.

Things to watch out for when choosing a Cloud partner

Although Cloud computing innovation in the healthcare industry is underway, choosing the right solutions with long-term viability remains an issue as only a few commercially proven solutions are currently out in the market.

Risk is something all medical professionals and organizations are acutely familiar with. When looking at Cloud solutions, be sure to ask about the provider’s disaster-recovery strategy, backups, compliance with national health standards.

As the key promise of Cloud computing is its ability to make information available anytime, anywhere, it is critical to check if the applications can be accessed in locations where health services will likely be delivered when reviewing available Cloud-based offerings.

There is a plethora of medical applications in use today that are built on proprietary systems, developed specifically to conform to the way organizations operate such as Windows or Linux platforms. When looking to migrate to a Cloud-based solution, it’s important to check that your Cloud partner offers a transparent migration path from your existing infrastructure.

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Let the great Cloud Computing battle begin

Amazon.com, which dropped prices on its internet-based cloud-computing service this month, says it will keep cutting when it can, putting pressure on competitors such as Microsoft.

Customers of Amazon’s EC2 service, which lets clients run their programs on the online retailer’s server computers, saw price cuts of as much as 37 per cent on March 5, and other Amazon cloud service prices were trimmed as well. Microsoft responded a few days later with reductions on its rival Azure services.

“We expect prices to be lower and lower over time, and load volumes to be higher and higher,” says Adam Selipsky, a vice-president at Amazon Web Services.

cloud computing war

Amazon has lowered prices 19 times in the six years it has sold Amazon Web Services, which has gained customers as more companies seek to run and store applications in outside data centers instead of maintaining the servers themselves.

As they tussle over price, narrower profit margins may be tough to swallow for both companies.

Microsoft is under pressure from investors concerned about its entry into markets where costs are higher than its traditional software business.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s stock has slid about 25 per cent since October as expanded investments in areas such as cloud services and the Kindle Fire tablet cut margins in 2011.

“It’s another round of a race to the bottom, and this won’t be the last one,” says Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners in New York. “Amazon has made it pretty clear that they are interested in share over profits, at least for now.”

Microsoft and Amazon are jousting to stay competitive on price for a reason: The market for so-called public cloud services will increase from US$21.5 billion ($26.2 billion) in 2010 to US$72.9 billion in 2015, according to the most recent forecast from researcher IDC.

As a veteran of the retail business, Amazon is more adept at dealing with pricing pressure than Microsoft, analysts say.
Pricing pressure is likely to persist as new companies enter the market. Hewlett-Packard, for example, is testing a competing service and plans to release it officially this spring, says spokesman Michael Thacker.

Google this month trimmed the price of its cloud-based storage service

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