Cloud computing and the Internet of Things are now interconnected. Lets find out how

Internet of Things (IoT) describes a network of electronically interconnected physical things. The term thing in the Internet of Things can refer to a human or any object with an IP address. Users of cloud computing can pay for services as they use them.

The cloud service provider provides the whole infrastructure as well as upkeep-related responsibilities. The cloud service provider provides resources, including databases, runtime, queueing, and object storage. This service delivers all the required configurations and infrastructure, provided IaaS is in place for the platform, and infrastructure, making it the most convenient. Cloud computing is one element that helps the Internet of Things succeed. Thanks to cloud computing, users can complete computer activities utilizing services made available through the Internet.

The Internet of Things and cloud computing are now interconnected thanks to the utilization of both technologies, acting as a catalyst. These are genuine future technologies that will have several advantages. The benefits of integrating these services include:

Remembering that good cloud architecture is essential for ensuring dependability, security, economy, and performance optimization is crucial. A safe environment and agile development are produced using well-designed CI/CD pipelines, organized services, and sandboxed environments.

In combination with the Internet of Things, cloud computing helps increase routine jobs effectiveness. Cloud computing aims to provide data a way to go where it needs to go, yet the Internet of Things creates a ton of data. Thus, cloud computings function in the Internet of Things pools resources to store IoT data and make it accessible when needed. Its crucial to remember that using cloud computing makes it simple to send huge data packets produced by the IoT across the Internet. Many businesses are becoming aware of the advantages of hybrid cloud adoption and the necessity to adopt it. For a very long time, cloud computing will keep creating new possibilities for IoT.

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What is the Relationship Between IoT and Cloud Computing? - Analytics Insight

Its One Ally strategy is meant to help the bank with personalization and cross-selling. Credit: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg

Ally Financial has almost completed a key phase of One Ally, a set of strategies and goals that the company teased as far back as its Investor Day in 2016.

One Ally involves amassing all business lines and customer data on one platform as the company strives to deliver "experiences" rather than "products." By the end of 2023, Ally customers will have a single sign-on for all product lines, from checking to auto loans to investments. Moreover, by consolidating all customer data from all business lines in one place, the company will be able to build and refine models that personalize interactions and better cross-sell products to existing customers.

This goal reflects the ideal for many online-only banks, said Michael Miller, an equity analyst at Morningstar.

"A lot of these digital banks are trying to build multiproduct lines," he said, but true multiproduct online-only banks are rare.

Although the core of Ally's business is auto loans, said Miller, the company has pushed into other lines, for instance with its acquisition of credit card issuer Fair Square Financial in 2021.

Sathish Muthukrishnan, chief information, data and digital officer at the $197 billion-asset bank, spoke about One Ally on a panel at American Banker's Digital Banking conference in June.

"We have a full suite of products that have grown organically. We've reached a point in time where we have to bring all of the customers and products together," he said. "One Ally is a journey we are embarking on where we want to move from a product company to an experience company. Customers are not going to shop for an auto loan. They are not shopping for a home mortgage. They are looking for a house to create memories and raise their family, they are looking for transportation. They are looking to save money and grow their wealth."

One Ally dovetails with the Detroit bank's broader cloud computing strategy; the company is moving all applications to private and public clouds, including AWS and Microsoft Azure. Momentum around cloud computing in banking has been building for several years. Cloud computing was on the list of the top five 2023 spending priorities for more than 40% of U.S. bank executives who responded to an Arizent/American Banker survey released at the end of 2022.

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"[One Ally] requires a ton of work in technology that includes getting rid of our older technology and making sure we modernize our network, building up our cloud infrastructure and bringing all of the data together," said Muthukrishnan at Digital Banking.

This makes sense to Miller.

"With indirect lending you're not really developing a deep pool of data on the customer. Ultimately when they pay off the loan, they're gone," said Miller. "With the deposit and investing relationships, and maybe credit cards and personal loans, you're developing a much broader pool of data and there is a lot more value in being able to store and access data effectively and utilize it in different product lines. The cloud transition is a lot more relevant to some of these business lines Ally has been expanding into."

So far, all Ally product lines except auto loans are available through a single sign-on and a unified technology platform; the company is working on adding auto to the mix by the end of 2023. By centralizing customer data on this one platform, the company will gain better context around customer interactions, transactions and communication to detect preferences.

One goal is to better personalize interactions by building models using artificial intelligence and machine learning, which will help Ally refine the way it cross-sells or surfaces products for customers, highlights a high deposit rate or sends relevant push notifications. Another is to enhance customization options, for instance letting customers choose which accounts are visible upon login and in which order. This will improve upon current customization functionality, which Ally calls Snapshot.

These personalization and cross-selling efforts are already underway. More than 85% of investing customers and almost 70% of mortgage customers started as deposit customers. Ally has also created one-click account opening for deposit customers to open additional deposit accounts.

But consolidating customer data in one place "is not easy without doing the heavy lifting of modernizing the infrastructure and network," said Muthukrishnan in an interview. "With one single platform that supports multiple businesses, I now have a higher bar for availability, resiliency and recovery. This platform cannot afford to be taken down for maintenance. It needs to be able to handle the volume that comes through multiple businesses."

Ally finished building an internal cloud in 2020, so engineers could rewrite their applications to run well on the cloud and run confidential applications. In parallel, Ally started adopting public cloud technology through AWS and other third-party vendors.

"Cloud has become critical for us in our ability to always be available for our customers," said Muthukrishnan.

More than two-thirds of Ally applications are now cloud-enabled, running either on the internal or external cloud. The goal is for all applications to be cloud-enabled by 2025.

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Ally builds single sign-on for customers, pushes further into the cloud - Yahoo Finance

Alphabet on Tuesday reported a 7% increase in revenue for the quarter ended June driven by the growth in its cloud computing division, Google Cloud.

The company posted revenue of $74.6 billion compared to $69.7 billion in the corresponding period last year. Net income for the company rose to $18.36 billion from $16 billion during the same period last year.

Despite macroeconomic uncertainty affecting customers cloud expenditure, Google Cloud maintained its growth momentum, reporting a 28% increase in revenue. The divisions net sales stood at $8 billion compared to $6.27 billion for the same period last year.

For the quarter ended March, the units revenue grew 28% to reach $7.45 billion.

Google Cloud reported an operating profit of $395 million for the quarter ended June compared to an operating loss of $590 million for the same period last year.

The previous quarter had seen the division post its first-ever operating profit since inception.

The increase in operating profit, according to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, can be attributed to the companys progress in data center machine efficiency.

Alphabets new AI-based services and offerings were the biggest contributors to Google Clouds growth momentum, according to Pichai and other top executives at Alphabet.

Our new generative AI offerings are expanding our total addressable market and winning new customers. We are seeing strong demand for the more than 80 foundational models, including third-party and popular open source in our Vertex, search, and conversational AI platforms, with the number of customers growing more than 15x from April to June, Pichai said during the earnings call, according to a transcript from The Motley Fool.

Pichai said more than 70% of generative AI unicorns are Google Cloud customers, including Cohere, Jasper, and Typeface.

Generative AI capabilities, according to the company, have also helped it to win new Google Workspace customers as the productivity suite saw increases in both seats and average revenue per seat for the quarter. The company is expected to add new generative AI capabilities to its Search and Google Ads offerings.

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Alphabet bets on generative AI as cloud boosts Q2 revenue - CIO

Exploring the New Era of Data Management: The Crucial Role of Global SSD Controllers in Cloud Computing

As we usher in a new era of data management, the role of global Solid State Drive (SSD) controllers in cloud computing is becoming increasingly crucial. The rapid evolution of technology and the exponential growth of data have necessitated a shift from traditional data storage methods to more advanced and efficient systems. This shift has seen the rise of SSD controllers as a key component in the management and storage of data in the cloud.

SSD controllers are the heart of any SSD. They are responsible for executing all the operations in an SSD, including reading and writing data, error correction, and wear leveling. The global SSD controller is a sophisticated piece of technology that ensures the smooth operation of the SSD, thereby enhancing the overall performance of the cloud computing system.

The importance of global SSD controllers in cloud computing cannot be overstated. They play a pivotal role in ensuring the speed, reliability, and efficiency of data storage and retrieval in the cloud. With the increasing demand for real-time data access and the need for high-speed data processing, the role of SSD controllers has become even more critical.

One of the key advantages of SSD controllers is their ability to provide high-speed data access. In todays fast-paced digital world, the speed of data access is of paramount importance. Businesses and individuals alike rely on quick and efficient data access to carry out their daily operations. SSD controllers, with their advanced technology, ensure that data is accessed and processed at lightning speed, thereby enhancing productivity and efficiency.

In addition to speed, SSD controllers also offer reliability. They are designed to withstand harsh conditions and are less prone to mechanical failures compared to traditional hard drives. This makes them an ideal choice for cloud computing, where data integrity and reliability are of utmost importance.

Moreover, SSD controllers are known for their efficiency. They consume less power compared to traditional hard drives, making them a more sustainable and cost-effective option for data storage in the cloud. This is particularly important in todays world, where there is a growing emphasis on sustainability and cost-efficiency.

The growing importance of global SSD controllers in cloud computing is a testament to the rapid advancements in technology and the increasing demand for efficient and reliable data management systems. As we continue to generate and consume data at an unprecedented rate, the need for advanced data storage solutions like SSD controllers will only continue to grow.

In conclusion, the new era of data management is characterized by the growing importance of global SSD controllers in cloud computing. Their role in ensuring high-speed data access, reliability, and efficiency makes them a crucial component in the management and storage of data in the cloud. As we move forward, we can expect to see even more advancements in SSD controller technology, further enhancing the capabilities of cloud computing and paving the way for a more efficient and reliable data management system.

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A New Era of Data Management: The Growing Importance of Global ... - Fagen wasanni

Newswise The University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business is adding a January 2024 cohort start date for its Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS). The update comes as the school designates focus areas including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and emerging technologies in this STEM-designated, in-person program.

The additional start date is ideal for candidates who apply after earning a three-year or a four-year undergraduate degree and those seeking more scheduling flexibility, says Smith Associate Dean of MS Programs Emanuel Zur.

Application deadlines for the added January start date in the 30-credit program are Sept. 1 and 29, Oct. 15 and Dec. 15. (Go to Smiths Business Masters Admissions website.)

The focus areas, Zur says, provide students with a more-specialized education within the information systems field, targeting multiple skills relevant to specific job roles.

Artificial intelligence

This focus area provides a comprehensive understanding of Artificial Intelligence tools, methods and algorithms used to create intelligent systems to solve business problems. The curriculum also will work to address AIs ethical impacts on society and is relevant to such job titles as knowledge engineer, knowledge manager and machine learning engineer. The curriculum also emphasizes crafting data strategies, building pipelines, visualizing data, and using predictive analytics in real-life business situations. This area is designed for data scientists, business intelligence developers, data analysts and data engineers.

Cloud computing

The curriculum in this focus area addresses Cloud Computing in designing and managing cloud-based platforms and tech infrastructures. Participants will study the economics of cloud deployments, manage the complexities involved in migration initiatives and experience using cloud-based technology stacks all applicable to such roles as solution engineer, cloud architect and cloud engineer.

Emerging technologies

The Emerging Technologies focus area addresses the understanding, evaluating and applying key information systems technologies. Students will practice applying Web3, Blockchain, IoT and other technologies to everyday work in roles like solution architect, technology consultant and solutions engineer.

These focus areas, combined with experiential learning courses, case competitions and industry simulations, ensure that students have the skills and capacity to lead, manage, design and implement solutions to complex business problems using contemporary information technologies, says MSIS Academic Director and Clinical Professor Tej Anand. The updated curriculum increases the challenge and reward for students to think critically about solutions required for our rapidly changing business and technology environment.

Anand directs the program with decades of industry experience, including in AI and data research and product development for the likes of Philips Research Laboratories, A. C. Nielsen and NCR/Teradata and as a senior business-technology executive in companies such as Golden Books, CA Technologies. Medco Health Solutions and CareCentrix.

Anand exemplifies the MSIS programs top-tier research- and industry-active faculty, who collaborate with the schools MSIS Advisory Council of industry leaders and experts to bring experiential learning and insight and expand internship and job opportunities for the students, says Smith Dean Prabhudev Konana. This works to ensure that its not only about developing trade skills through a stellar curriculum, but its also about developing independent thinkers with deep skills relevant for immediate needs of business and developing the students for long term success.

Related, online information sessions are scheduled for 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 8, 16 and 25. To register for these free sessions and for complete MSIS program information, go to the Master of Science in Information Systems website.

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UMD Smith Offers New January Start Date for MS in Information ... - Newswise