Google Drive Begs the Question: Who Owns Your Data in the Cloud?

Like any new technology, data storage in the cloud has gone through a maturation period. Employees started out, way back in 2007, moving a few files over to Dropbox.com. Then, IT started experimenting with cloud storage through more robust services like Rackspace Cloud Files. Now, executives are starting to wonder if all enterprise storage can be hosted in the cloud, and not in an on-premise data center.

Questions About Google Drive

Every so often, a debate about cloud storage crops up, and it presents a good opportunity for IT executives to take stock of their own agreements, especially when it comes to storage. Last week, Google announced Google Drive with great fanfare. Within a few hours, users were already gaining access to the service, which provided 5GB of document and media storage for free.

Enterprise Cloud Storage: Read the Contract

That's why, for enterprise cloud storage, most experts say the most critical step with storage policies is to investigate the actual contract you have with the vendor. This might require scrutiny from a corporate attorney, and further investigations into such intangibles as how to retain data archives if a cloud storage vendor goes under and how to encrypt access to the cloud storage.

In the end, Google Drive is a good reminder about studying vendor agreements and terms of service, negotiating terms that match existing corporate policies, and deciding which data is appropriate for the cloud and which data should never leave the servers in your own data center.

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Amazon Cloud Drive Gains Desktop App

Amazon has introduced a desktop application for Cloud Drive, its consumer data-storage service, to better rival the recently launched Google Drive and other cloud storage services.

Cloud Drive, which launched last year, gives people tiered levels, starting with 5 gigabytes of free storage, or enough to hold about 1000 songs or 2000 photos. Services are then available for US$20 to US$100 per year, depending on disk space, maxing out at 1000 gigabytes.

Google last week launched Google Drive, a similar service for storing and sharing files online, which also offers 5GB of free capacity — which is cheaper than the popular service Dropbox. With the desktop application, Amazon's service makes Cloud Drive a bit easier to use, and better integrated with a computer than its browser-based version.

Read this full article at http://goo.gl/DWa5v.

Copyright Lost In The Cloud

KPMG reckons that cloud computing will add $3 billion to our GDP in 10 years. But will the opportunities of the cloud be constrained if we don't fix copyright law?

Until now, the issue of copyright and the internet has been focused on the consumer space, but the implications could soon be felt in the business world, too.

Senator Stephen Conroy said that the copyright issue will be fixed by the inquiry into copyright reform being undertaken by the Law Reform Commission (LRC). The question is, of course, whether the inquiry will try to add to the existing complexities of copyright law, or whether it set a few high-level principles that will enable us all to benefit from the cloud. The LRC has a big, important job on its hands.

How do you think the copyright issue can be fixed?

Read more at http://goo.gl/S9ZWw

Go Daddy Serves It Up In The Cloud

Web hosting and domain name provider, Go Daddy, is now offering a cloud server service which it says gives businesses the ability to move from traditional hosting to more advanced, scalable servers with flexible network options, and at a lower cost.

Go Daddy vice president of hosting development, Brian Krouse, who oversaw the development of the technology says cloud servers takes “Infrastructure as a Service to a whole new level," and he adds, “helps businesses that need both cost effective flexibility and scalability."

Read the full article at http://goo.gl/UZj8z

Clouding the Issue

Though “the cloud” may sound like a cult or a threat from a horror movie, it’s actually an incredibly smart, efficient and cost-effective way of managing data in a business setting.  On its most basic level, cloud computing is the practice of using virtual data storage technology.  This can range from something as specific as Google Documents, to something as simple as uploading photos or documents onto a profile.

Former New York Jets quarterback, Tony Merendino, runs ServIT; an infrastructure company that provides hardware, middleware stacks, IT services and most importantly, cloud hosting and managed services, primarily for the manufacturing and distribution industries.

ServIT also provides what they call image-based backup, a process for a computer or virtual machine that creates a copy of the operating system and all the data associated with it, including the system state and application configurations. The backup is saved as a single file that is called an image. This insures that a company’s data and entire IT infrastructure are completely safe in the cloud.

For more information, please visit http://goo.gl/vzUVL

 

Fast Cloud Adoption Risks IT Export: AGIMO

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has urged caution on cloud adoption, saying that it doesn't want to be on the leading edge. IT departments that wait too long and get left behind might find themselves redundant, according to one industry analyst.

Speaking at the Trend Micro Evolve.Cloud conference in Sydney today, AGIMO first assistant secretary of agency services, John Sheridan, said that there are many considerations when adopting cloud, warning that adoption isn't as simple as "ticking the iCloud box on your iPad".

Forrester vice president and principal analyst for Asia Pacific, Michael Barnes, who spoke earlier in the day, said that there is an air of urgency to cloud adoption, as there are external organisations out there that may represent a credible threat to internal IT departments.

"Internal IT has competition. Cloud providers and even traditional hosting service providers and other folks who have been in this space, who are now embracing cloud approaches — they are legitimate competition to us," Barnes said.

Read more of this article at http://goo.gl/wfgXa

 

Virtual-Q Announce Strategic Relationship with Rackspace®

Virtual-Q, a leader in Hosted Virtual Desktops, today announced a strategic relationship with Rackspace® Hosting, the service leader in cloud computing, for its hosting needs. Virtual-Q will use Rackspace's global datacenters to host their 'Q' hosted virtual desktop platform. The decision to select Rackspace was driven by Virtual-Q's rapid growth and the increasing needs of its customer base for a complete hosted virtual desktop solution that utilizes scalable and reliable datacenters.

To support a growing global presence, Virtual-Q needed a world-class data center provider with a geographically redundant infrastructure, robust network and industry leading uptime. Following an extensive evaluation process, Virtual-Q chose Rackspace to host the 'Q' not just because of their technology, but because of their Fanatical Support® service.

To know more about the collaboration of Virtual-Q and Rackspace®, read the full story at http://goo.gl/6zFRd