Cloud access security broker (CASB) Netskope has closed a $100 million funding round to bring its enterprise cloud security platform to more businesses, the company announced Tuesday.

The oversubscribed Series E round was led by existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Accel, and brings the companys funding total to $231.4 million.

Netskope claims to be the most well-funded company in the CASB market, which Gartner saidlast year will go from 5 percent penetration in 2015 to 85 percent in 2020. In 2016 Netskope tripled its revenue from 2015, grew its team to a headcount of more than 350, and added leading enterprise customers.

[Report: Short DDoS Attacks Can Have Lasting Security Impact]

The Netskope Active Platform is designed to replace traditional security products with content and context awareness, and the company told TechCrunch that it processes tens of billions of cloud transactions per day.

When we founded Netskope, we knew that the far-reaching impact of the cloud would require a fundamentally new approach to security. We started with CASB and now were expanding our cloud security platform to take on additional challenges, Sanjay Beri, founder and CEO, Netskope said in a statement. This approach has been met with a firestorm of support from CIOs and CISOs alike who have become frustrated by a security industry that has lagged behind the technology it is charged with protecting. Todays investment gives us the fuel we need to make that vision a reality for enterprises across the world. Were delighted that our existing investors vision for the future of security maps so closely to our own, and couldnt be happier to welcome Sapphire and Geodesic to the Netskope team.

Beri also told TechCrunch that the funding round may be Netskopes last on its way to an IPO. Existing investors Social Capital and Iconiq Capital also participated in the round, along with new investors Sapphire Ventures and Geodesic Capital.

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Cloud Access Security Broker Netskope Raises $100M - Web Host Industry Review

Don Joos and Frederic Gillant, ShoreTel

Unified communications vendor ShoreTel has launched its cloud-hosted solution, Connect Cloud, in Australia, two years after the product was first unveiled in the United States.

The announcement was made this week as executives from the California-based company visit Australia to meet with partners. Australia represents the latest step in Shoretels unified-communications-as-a-service rollout, and continues the companys growing footprint in the region.

The introduction of the ShoreTel cloud platform allows customers to use ShoreTel UC core infrastructure either in their own server room or to have the service hosted out of one of ShoreTels two data centres in Australia.

ShoreTel says it has hit the ground running with the solution, with seven local customer contracts already signed.

ShoreTel chief executive Don Joos, visiting Sydney and Melbourne for the announcement, said the solution offered Australian customers greater flexibility in how they deployed their unified communications.

The richness of the Connect CLOUD solution combined with the enthusiasm weve seen from the Australian channel perfectly positions ShoreTel to drive cloud growth in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

Frederic Gillant, vice president and managing director of ShoreTel Asia-Pacific, said the cloud capability made sense for many customers in Australia, who are eager in their adoption of cloud services.

We have an incredibly loyal customer base here in Australia, and are honoured to still count as customers most of the original organisations who chose ShoreTel when we opened operations here more than ten years ago, he said.

Many of our customers have been adopting cloud in other areas of their IT infrastructure and business; now they also have a low-risk cloud migration path for their ShoreTel telephony and UC environments.

ShoreTels move to cloud hosting solutions follows the vendors acquisition of M5 Networks in the US in 2012, followed by M5s Australia business in 2015. ShoreTel told CRN at the time the buy was a stepping stone to bringing Connect Cloud down under.

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ShoreTel brings Connect Cloud solution to Australia, enabled by 2015 acquisition of M5 - CRN Australia

London 6th June 2017 UKCloud Health, the specialist healthcare division of UKCloud, the easy to adopt, easy to use and easy to leave assured cloud services company, has today announced that its cloud hosting services are compliant with HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), US legislation that provides for the safeguarding of citizens medical information using a framework of data privacy and security provisions.

HIPAA safeguards Protected Health Information (PHI), including any type of individually identifiable health information which is transmitted or maintained in any form or medium. An established piece of legislation in the US, HIPAA is not a requirement for UK providers unless they deliver services to US healthcare bodies. UKCloud Health now enables its partner community to offer their services to the US market by utilising one compliant cloud platform.

UKCloud Healths customers include many National Health Service organisations and a wide spectrum of related healthcare bodies, that create, manage or process large volumes of sensitive patient data. Under HIPAA, each customer is a Covered Entity, while UKCloud Health acts as a Business Associate, providing the management of PHI on their behalf.

As a company, we have consistently sought to achieve the highest standards of data security, ensuring our services meet the highest possible levels of accreditation, said John Godwin, Director of Compliance and Information Assurance at UKCloud Health. Confirming HIPAA compliance provides additional assurance to our growing healthcare customer base of our strong commitment and understanding of the challenges faced by the industry as a whole, including widespread concern among patients regarding the protection provided to their sensitive medical data.

UKCloud Health recently revealed the results of its research* into the general publics attitudes to data protection. The survey of more than 2,000 UK adults which was carried out prior to the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks that affected a number of NHS bodies across England identified that the majority are concerned about whether their personal data and personally identifiable data are protected by companies and public service organisations. 65 percent of respondents expressed concerns about whether their health records, including medical history and social care records, were being afforded proper levels of protection by both public services and the private companies that support them.

UKCloud Health was launched in May 2017 to deliver an open, collaborative and UK sovereign public cloud platform specifically to the healthcare industry, supporting health and care organisations, research and life sciences and pharmaceuticals. UKCloud Health is committed to supporting digital transformation across the healthcare sector. Together with its dedicated partners, UKCloud Health offers industry-leading expertise regarding the sectors core requirements, from protecting the privacy of Patient Identifiable Data to enabling collaboration across government networks, such as N3, HSCN, Janet and PSN.

* UKCloud Health commissioned research consultancy, ComRes, to conduct a survey to gauge the opinions of more than 2,000 UK adults. ComRes interviewed 2,044 British adults aged 18+ online between 26th and 27th April 2017. Data has been weighted by age, gender, socio-economic grade and region to be representative of all GB adults aged 18+. Examining the general publics views on data privacy across multiple domains such as government, healthcare and even social media, the survey analyses privacy concerns.

- ends -

About UKCloud Health UKCloud Health powers healthcare communities. Providing a secure, but easy to use cloud platform that supports digital transformation and enables the optimisation of patient-oriented healthcare, UKCloud Health supports health and care organisations, as well as research and life sciences and pharmaceuticals.

Were focused on cloud. Our easy to use platform offers an open, collaborative environment to help enhance the way you and your Healthcare colleagues work.

Were open. You are never locked in. Giving you the choice and flexibility of a range of technology platforms as well as payment models in GBP to avoid currency fluctuations.

Dedicated to the UK Healthcare sector. We support cloud and digital transformation of services across the healthcare sector, including health and care, research and life sciences and the pharmaceutical industry.

We develop communities. UKCloud Health is bringing Healthcare communities together enabling collaboration, innovation and digital transformation.

Customer engagement. With UKCloud Health youre never alone. Enjoy peace of mind, knowing we understand the challenges you face. Your success is our success.

Additional information about UKCloud Health can be found at http://www.ukcloudhealth.com

Media Contacts Caitlin Mullally/Charlotte Martin Finn Partners +44 (0)20 3217 7060 UKCloudteam@finnpartners.com

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UKCloud Health Offers HIPAA Compliant Cloud Hosting - RealWire - RealWire (press release)

From the buzz word in the computing world, cloud computing has matured as a full-fledged business strategy that holds many advantages and applications. Even now a lot of enhancements and innovations are going on to make cloud computing faster, better and safer. This article analyses that applications and advantages of cloud computing from a business point-of-view.

In simplest words, cloud computing is the utilization of internet for computing requirements. In an ideal cloud computing atmosphere businesses only need devices and connectivity to internet. Data, software, applications, storage, networking, security and everything else will be made available to you by your cloud service provider. Currently there is a range of cloud services are available on pay-as-you-go, rental, prepaid and annual fee basis. Some most common cloud computing applications include Software as a Service or SaaS, Cloud hosting & storage, Security as a Service or SECaaS, Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS, Backup as a Service, Platform as a Service or PaaS, Monitoring as a Service or MaaS and Communication as a Service or CaaS.

Advantages of Cloud Computing to Businesses

The first and foremost important advantage of cloud computing is cost. Usually with cloud computing there are no initial investment requirements for infrastructure. Additionally there are no maintenance costs, cost of infrastructure or software upgrade, license fees or in-house IT teams. Usually there is a variety of cloud computing packages available to suit every business needs.

The second advantage is the availability of unlimited services. The services may be priced per head or on a flat rate. Most cloud computing providers offer the unlimited option on number of users, storage capacity, backup size, user access and almost everything possible. Generally there are no additional costs; even if there is any it still can be very low.

Cloud computing offers easy and universal access of data, applications and procedures. Generally, all cloud services are available any time anywhere there is internet. Moreover, users and businesses not need to bother about the settings and customizations. You can access your data and applications from any computer or device in they way you configured.

Cloud computing offer automated and no-cost updates. The cloud server providers are very keen to offer you top quality services and also automatic updates is one of the basic features that is enclosed on the agreement.

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing to Businesses

Cloud computing with its current setup not suits all kinds of businesses. These services favor large and mid size businesses and businesses who rely highly upon information technology. These services also need stable and reliable internet connectivity; the lack of which can jeopardize the whole idea of cloud services. The data and applications are always hosted on external third-party networks and computers; and data transfers over internet are always prone to attacks.

This article is written for SWAN Solutions and Services, a leading Indian cloud computing service provider offering a range of cloud services include cloud hosting, SaaS, IaaS, etc. SWAN also helps businesses to successfully migrate to cloud computing.

Photo By Stevebidmead from Pixabay

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Cloud Computing Advantages to Businesses - Good Herald