Category Archives: Cloud Hosting
FDT Group Introduces the FDT Unified Environment |ARC – ARC Advisory Group
FDT Group, an independent, international, not-for-profit industry association supporting the evolution of FDT technology, introduced the FDT Unified Environment (UE) and developer tools based on the new FDT 3.0 standard. These announcements are intended to deliver next-generation FDT industrial device management system and device solutions for field-to-cloud IT/OT data harmonization, analytics, services, and mobility based on user-driven requirements for smart manufacturing in the process, hybrid, and discrete markets.
Driven by digital transformation use cases to support new Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) business models, the standard has evolved to include a new distributed, multi-user, FDT Server application that includes built-in and pre-wired OPC UA and Web servers that enable an FDT Unified Environment (FDT 3.x) that merges IT/OT data analytics supporting service-oriented architectures. The new Server environment deployable in the cloud or on-premise delivers the same use cases and functionally as the previous generation FDT hosting environment, but now provides data storage for the whole device lifecycle at the core of the architecture - allowing information modeling and data consistency to authenticated OPC UA and browser-based clients (tablets and phones) for modern accessibility to address the challenges of IIoT.
FDT UE consists of FDT Server, FDT Desktop, and FDT DTM components. System and device suppliers can take a well-established standard they are familiar with and easily create and customize standards-based, data-centric, cross-platform FDT 3.0 solutionsexpanding their portfolio offerings to meet requirements for next-generation industrial control applications. Each solution auto-enables OPC UA integration and allows the development team to focus on value-added features that differentiate their products, including WebUI and App support. FDT Desktop applications are fully backward compatible supporting the existing install base.
FDT 3.0 specification license agreements and developer toolkits are now available on the FDT website (www.fdtgroup.org/resources ).
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FDT Group Introduces the FDT Unified Environment |ARC - ARC Advisory Group
The top five benefits of SD-WAN – ITWeb
The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated digital transformation initiatives to offer an improved customer experience and personalised services, all while tackling increasingly sophisticated cyber security threats. More than ever, organisations need flexibility to keep pace with business change, but they are often hindered by a sluggish and rigid network infrastructure.
Jacob Chacko, Regional Director Middle East, Saudi & South Africa at Aruba (a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company), describes the five key benefits of implementing an advanced SD-WAN solution and how it can accelerate business growth:
1. Improve business agility while reducing overall WAN cost
To connect branch offices to the corporate data centre, organisations have traditionally used expensive MPLS lines. As more bandwidth is required to support increasing connectivity demands, MPLS lines become cost-prohibitive, preventing organisations from fully satisfying their business needs. New MPLS circuits can take up to four months to be provisioned, greatly slowing down the ability to spin up a new branch. This hinders business changes, agility and flexibility.
An SD-WAN leverages less expensive internet and 5G connections by virtualising and bonding network links, creating secure tunnels from the branch offices to the data centre and to the cloud. With SD-WAN, organisations can realise the agility needed by the business while reducing costs, says Warren Gordon, Aruba/HPE Business Unit Manager at Duxbury Networking, local distributors of Aruba/HPE technology.
2. Increase security and seamlessly transition to a SASE architecture
Organisations with an MPLS router-based architecture are not able to easily enforce security policies in branches due to the rigidity and the complexity of their network, especially in hybrid cloud environments. The security perimeter is dissolving as users and devices now connect from anywhere.
Traditional security measures such as VPNs are limited as a VPN doesnt support enforcement of granular security policies. Indeed, once a user has been identified and authenticated with a VPN connection, they can access critical resources inside the network even if they shouldnt.
SD-WAN is the foundational component to implement a robust SASE architecture. By choosing best-of-breed security capabilities with a tight SD-WAN integration, organisations ensure maximum protection to their employees and other stakeholders accessing the network.
3. Enable a cloud architecture
Organisations are migrating their applications to the cloud and use software as a service (SaaS) cloud-hosted business applications such as Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Box, Dropbox, ServiceNow and many more instead of hosting them in the data centre. However, organisations with traditional router-based WAN architectures continue to backhaul cloud-destined traffic from branch locations to the data centre, mainly for security reasons, severely impacting the performance of cloud applications at the branch.
SD-WAN enables organisations to embrace the flexibility of a cloud architecture while improving cloud application performance by steering traffic directly to the cloud using local internet breakout.
4. Simplify WAN infrastructure
Over the years, organisations have built their network infrastructure as their business grows. Branch offices often ended up with a stack of appliances in their facilities including routers, firewalls, VPN concentrators and WAN optimisation devices. Updating a business or security policy such as moving an application to the cloud or improving quality of service often requires manually reconfiguring multiple devices. Not only does equipment sprawl require advanced networking skills to maintain and manage, but it also results in multiple maintenance contracts to administer.
SD-WAN enables organisations to move to a thin-branch model by reducing the amount of equipment in branch locations streamlining the network architecture and significantly reducing WAN management overhead.
5. Centrally manage network operations and get visibility
Very often, organisations must manage their network operations on a local basis resulting in a lack of flexibility. The network deployment of new remote sites can be tedious and can take several weeks to accomplish. Corporate IT departments often dont have complete network visibility to comprehensively monitor transport throughput, packet loss, latency and jitter. An advanced SD-WAN continuously monitors network health and automatically adapts to changing conditions to always deliver optimal application performance.
With SD-WAN, new branch offices are set up quickly and easily, and security policy changes can be automatically distributed to hundreds or thousands of branches in minutes while minimising errors. Network administrators can monitor network health through a single pane of glass and dashboards.
For more information, contact Duxbury Networking, (+27) 011 351 9800, info@duxnet.co.za, http://www.duxbury.co.za.
The Rise Of Sovereign Computing With Personal Servers – Bitcoin Magazine
Pascal Hgli is a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration in Zurich where he teaches students about Bitcoin.
In human affairs, action is a fundamental force. It was the great Austrian economist, Ludwig von Mises, who stated that action is axiomatic to human conduct. Humans undeniably act, as non-action or the denial thereof is an action in and of itself.
Consequently, human beings cannot escape acting. Being social beings by design, every interpersonal action is either exchanging words (communication), exchanging produce (property) or exchanging value (money). It is these primitives that make human beings into the homo sapiens that they are.
As humans, we have become ever better at practicing these primitives thanks to the use of technology. As a matter of fact, technological progress has been the single most important enabler of the human species in fostering the exchange of words, produce and value. But as powerful as technology is, it is also very demanding; human beings must learn, understand and adapt to ever-evolving technological change. Because technology inherently comes with complexity attached, middlemen of all sorts have emerged to handle this complexity on behalf of individual human beings.
While the existence of middlemen has been an empowering force helping human society actualize technologys vast potential, the inevitable intermediation they bring has been a force of concentration and centralization. Consequently, as a species, we are increasingly subject to centralized powers monitoring and controlling more and more aspects of our lives.
This has become particularly obvious in todays digital age. With human interaction around communication, property and money being continuously more digital, everyday human interaction has also grown more intermediated to the point where the digital life of a typical homo digitalis is entirely dependent on third parties.
Alarmingly, the negative effects of this development become ever more prevalent: From content censorship or outright deplatforming to personal data exploits and general privacy infringement to slight user manipulation and relentless user monetization, the pitfalls of centralization are manifold. There is no denying that as inhabitants of the digital world, we are completely and utterly at the mercy of powerful intermediaries.
The desire to shed the shackles of todays digital overlords has never been greater. While incidents like #DeleteWhatsApp or #DeleteFacebook campaigns serve as undeniable proof of this urge, the spell of todays highly convenient digital applications remains unforgivingly strong nonetheless. Because of convenience, network effects, and a lack of alternatives hardly anyone manages to break free from contemporary tech monopolists.
Are the prospects for humanity really that bleak? Not if you take a domain that was in the seemingly firm hands of an unrelenting monopolist money. The course of this technology has been dictated by the state for ages. Only recently, has a potent escape valve emerged in the form of non-sovereign money called bitcoin. It is Bitcoin that has wrested the governments power over money, giving it to individuals, thereby equipping them with sovereignty over their own money.
With the existence of bitcoin as non-sovereign money, exchanging value can be done digitally in a peer-to-peer fashion. No intermediaries are needed for digital value transfer between any two parties be it friends or strangers. Interacting with money, no matter what form it takes, has become entirely free from any centralized third parties.
Bitcoins success in providing ordinary people with self-sovereignty in monetary matters has inspired entrepreneurs and developers to extend the self-sovereignty to the area of general computing. The start of more self-sovereign computing was initiated with the emergence of personal computers. Before, computers so-called mainframes were largely owned by corporations and only the rise of the personal computer made it possible for every regular person to have a computer at home.
As it turned out, having a personal computer has not been enough, especially not in a globally-connected web of computers talking to one another over the internet. Software as a service (SaaS) companies established themselves as indispensable mediators between humans and their computers. As such, they enabled a convenient and smooth user experience for the interconnected web of computers by running server farms on behalf of individuals. And the presence of these servers today mostly in the form of cloud computing let centralization become the norm.
Although many people inherently think so, servers don't need to be centrally run by large corporations. Open-source and free operating systems like Linux or Ubuntu allow for the operation of private servers. Companies themselves that don't want to be dependent on other SaaS companies are running their own servers thanks to Linux and Ubuntu. Unfortunately, these operating systems have not been made for everyday users to run their own servers as they require a high degree of technical competency and attention, and as an individual, its difficult to just hire a systems administrator or DevOps engineer.
Things are changing though. What has been missing for self-sovereign computing to take off is now being developed: new types of open-source, free, and permissionless operating systems that are vastly more accessible than Linux or Ubuntu. They come in the form of plug-and-play services and represent one-stop shops for all sorts of self-hosted computer applications. At the click of a button, these new personal servers can be bootstrapped while being smoothly operated through a convenient, customer-friendly user interface. As a consequence, computing is shifting from rooms full of servers commonly called data centers owned by corporations, to personal servers run at home and owned by regular individuals.
I have been testing the two most prominent personal server solutions currently on the market: Umbrel and Start9. Both of these projects offer a plug-and-play operating system for personal servers. Behind Umbrel is a company with the same name while Start9 is the company behind the Embassy. Also common to both projects is the fact that they have each raised capital from investors who value privacy as well as self-sovereignty.
What makes these projects so interesting is the fact that they have taken a generalized approach to running self-hosted software in an easy-to-use way. By doing this, they severely weaken the number one argument against personal servers, which is that everyday people are never going to use such devices. And while terms like sovereign computing or personal server might still be foreign to the general public, we are beginning to see those self-hosted servers like Umbrel or Embassy are increasingly run outside of tech-heavy circles by ordinary people that want privacy as well as self-sovereignty when it comes to their operating their online life. I am one of them.
In terms of differences between these two solutions, a few are worth mentioning. While Umbrel calls its server-side applications apps, Start9 is referring to them as services. Hence, on a Start9 device, a user will find a service marketplace as opposed to on Umbrel, where an app store can be found.
As for the user experience, both platforms are very straightforward. However, there are some differences in the architecture of each solution. For now, with Umbrel, there is no way of updating single apps. Its either all or nothing. This is different from Start9s Embassy. If a service needs any (security) update, the new version can be installed without having to update the entire Embassy.
Furthermore, alternative marketplaces can be hosted on Start9s Embassy, whereas Umbrel has only one app store and this is provided by Umbrel itself. An Embassy also creates a complete and encrypted backup of your entire system, which is a matter of clicking Create Backup in the user interface and selecting a target destination. As of now, this is not possible with Umbrel.
An important distinction is that there is no built-in health check system for apps on Umbrel. With Embassy, Start9 developers define what constitutes health for a given service and write scripts to test for it. An Embassy performs these health checks on a continuous basis, presenting results to the user inside the user interface. This way users can immediately tell whether or not a service is running smoothly.
In their current stages of development, there are also some areas where Umbrel seems to have the upper hand. For one, Umbrel currently has more services and they are more widely known in the Bitcoin space. This is witnessed by their actively engaged Twitter community that is doing a lot of free marketing for the product. Also, their design is sexier.
While there are differences between Umbrel and Start9, in the grand scheme of things, these two competitors work towards the common goal of making personal servers as widely accepted and used as possible. Because they both offer convenient solutions that are simple to use, the odds to achieve this goal have never been better.
Besides the convenience factor, which developers can work towards on their own, another paradigm shift is underway that will play into their hands and most likely boost the personal server revolution. Right now, we witness the first innings of how SaaS companies will have to increasingly alter their business model.
As a matter of fact, the days of the freemium model are numbered. Todays users have long since discovered that they are not actually the customer, but rather the product. This has led more and more users to abandon the most pernicious services for other services that purport to be more mindful of users data privacy and less dependent on a business model functioning around the monetization of user data. While this is the first step to taking control over ones digital activities, more and more users will figure out that such services are still prone to the traditional architecture of Web 2.0 and therefore cannot offer the privacy and integrity that is expected. In another iteration, this will only drive such people to the up-and-coming personal server solutions.
Moreover, todays freemium setups will increasingly have to be turned into subscription-based models. Because online users have grown weary of the fact that their data is being monetized, giants like Apple are advocating for the ability to retain users privacy. At the same time, through regulations like GDPR (general data protection regulation) in Europe, regulators are making it ever more difficult for SaaS companies to monetize data.
As these companies will no longer be able to mine and monetize user data in the same way that they always have, the question is: How will SaaS companies make money? There really is only one option: subscriptions. This means that traditional apps will increasingly come with a cost attached that users will have to consistently pay. This again will alter the situation for another swath of people who have grown up with the belief that software apps are just free.
While this shift will not happen overnight, more and more people along the way will likely reach for alternatives in the form of free personal server solutions. As opposed to traditional applications, the use of services on a personal server will have a one-time cost attached in the beginning but then can be used free of charge for the rest of ones lifetime because there are no middlemen involved that could charge any subscription fees. This is quite a value proposition, indeed. So, while the personal server revolution will surely be driven by ideology and conviction, there will also be tangible economic incentives that will drive people to adopt personal servers.
Until these intensifying circumstances will push a greater herd of regular people into using personal servers, its privacy-conscious individuals and Bitcoin aficionados that are acting as pioneers in this field. Many of them have been using either Umbrel, Start9s Embassy or both on a daily basis.
Both Umbrel and Start9s Embassy come with a Bitcoin node as well as a Lightning node integrated. This way, popular Bitcoin wallets can easily be paired with either of these nodes. Also, software services like BTCPay Server, Ride The Lightning, ThunderHub or Sphinx Chat can be run on both devices.
When it comes to non-Bitcoin services, there are a few differences. With Umbrel, some of the concrete examples the product has to offer are a private cloud service (Nextcloud), an ad blocker (Pi-hole), a self-hosted photo and video library (PhotoPrism) or instant messaging (Matrix/Element).
Similar services for photos or messaging are offered by Start9 like Photoview or Synapse. At this point in time, Start9s Embassy has some additional services. One of them is Embassy Pages. This allows for the one-click hosting of a static website as an anonymous onion URL on Tor. Furthermore, Start9s Embassy is offering a password manager called Vaultwarden. With it, the master password to all ones internet logins can be conveniently but secretly stored on ones personal server. Also, there is File Browser, which can be used to create, upload, download, edit, organize and share files of all sorts. These files can also be shared with multiple users. And Syncthing, another of Start9s services, integrates seamlessly with File Browser to turn an Embassy into a private cloud backup solution that automatically synchronizes data across all devices.
Umbrel does also have an app called Home Assistant. Through it, ones home can be automated as Home Assistant connects to all devices and shows them in a unified dashboard for better management. But make no mistake: This is only the beginning. As of now, the connected devices that are being gathered into one dashboard are still driven by third-party cloud computing and subscription cost.
The ultimate vision, as laid out by Start9, is to create solutions for a sovereign smart home installation. This way, sovereign individuals will be able to build out and profit from the convenience a smart home delivers, without having the home report back to Google, Amazon or any other tech giant. As a matter of fact, the dystopian internet of things and robot future will not have to be so dystopian after all thanks to self-hosted, personal servers. The homo digitalis will turn into homo superanus the sovereign individual.
This is a guest post by Pascal Hgli. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
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The Rise Of Sovereign Computing With Personal Servers - Bitcoin Magazine
A Look At The Background Of James Cuthbert, An It Mentor And Facilitator – Mint
From my understanding, the world is ruled by information. Whether the information is positive or negative, it has to impact what it is used for, meaning that there is a need for experts to be mindful that there is a certain amount of positivity inherent in that.
While the demand for expertise in this field is strong and growing, and the challenges associated with it can be substantial, a few individuals have taken it upon themselves to see that it is upheld.
James Cuthbert, the world-renowned technology expert, is one of the few people who have continued to stand out and contribute to the expanding information and technology industry.
James thinks everyone should have the opportunity to accomplish their dreams and experience success, so he takes advantage of every opportunity to impact the lives of those around him and encourage those who know him to be inspired by his breadth of knowledge and his general cheerfulness.
James has spent a long time in the industry and is not a stranger to the business. Before switching to a PC running Windows 3.1, he started his career on a BBC Master made by Acorn Computers (a British company producing computers for years, including the Acorn Electron and the Acorn Archimedes). As they updated to the big 35 floppy disk and then to Windows 95, he would make his computers. Once he turned 17, James felt confident enough to start his ownIT company. He slowly grew into who he is now and become familiar with cyber security, cloud computing, IT support, the telecommunications industry, search engine optimization, marketing, and business development.
James has previously co-hosted Live TV from London's iconic Trocadero studios. Although the experience provided him with many valuable insights that he still uses in his day-to-day activities, James was contacted by the TV show The Apprentice, where he placed in the top 10% of the country on season 4. He declined to return because it wasn't a path he wanted to pursue. Working as a technical engineer on the UK Police computer network, where he distinguished himself by building up their networks and ensuring that their tracking systems were up to date, is another key activity in which James has previously engaged.
He has also worked as a cyber security advisor for Fujitsu (a Japanese multinational communication and technology equipment and services corporation headquartered in Tokyo that was founded in 1935 and will be the world's sixth-largest IT solutions provider by annual revenueand the largest in Japan in 2021) on one of their start-up online virtual platforms called VZones, which is still operational today despite new ownership. James has additionally filled in as a digital protection counsellor to Fujitsu (a Japanese global data and correspondence innovation gear and administrations enterprise settled in Tokyo that was established in 1935 and is presently the world's 6th biggest IT arrangements supplier by yearly pay, and the greatest in Japan in 2021) on one of their starting up web-based virtual stages called VZones, which is as yet functional today regardless of new proprietorship.
James has developed his company, Tetrabyte Limited, with the proper expertise and skillset from the bottom up. He presently serves as the corporate director at Tetrabyte Limited, where he leads the I.T. and media communications firm's central office in the United Kingdom. With his leadership and expert knowledge, the company has evolved to become one of the world's top I.T. and media communications firms, offering a diverse range of services to its public customer base, which consists of accountants, lawyers, small, medium, and large businesses, as well as non-profit organizations.
In addition to working with third-party customers, terabyte offers its line of products and services, such as Office365 and related Microsoft Online Services, Anti-Virus, Internet Connectivity, Telecoms, Hosted Voice Telephony, Server Backup and Hosted File Storage, Web Hosting, and Automated Cyber Security Monitoring and Training, among others.
They provide competent solutions backed up by helpful and accessible support engineers. They develop enduring ties with their customer base with the help of their business alliances, allowing them to focus on their primary purpose.
Tetrabyte takes pleasure in offering exceptional customer service to every client, gaining a thorough understanding of their wants and expectations.
Its devoted team works tirelessly with all of its clients to handle issues as they arise without the lengthy delays that other IT businesses impose.
Under James excellent leadership and competence, and based on his previous experiences, he guarantees that the following are always in place at Tetrabyte:
*That there are always engineers on the ground to attend to clients' immediate requirements, eliminating the need for callbacks or waiting.
*They provide comprehensive virtual work support in that, with most issues being resolved over the phone by on-site engineers at the time of the call.
*That they have a Return to Base Hardware optionto save money on expensive call-outs by allowing clients to have their problems handled without having to be on the ground. It could be stacked up, mended, and delivered back.
*A 30-day agreement ensures that you are not locked into their service, resulting in 30-day rapid IT support.
James still finds time to relax and enjoy life while traveling the world despite his busy schedule, as clearly seen through his Instagram profile:https://instagram.com/jcsuperstaruk
Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
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A Look At The Background Of James Cuthbert, An It Mentor And Facilitator - Mint
Toronto Metropolitan University Selects YuJa, Inc. to Provide Cloud-Based Video Streaming and Hosting Solution for its More Than 46000 Students -…
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ontario-based public research university Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson University, recently engaged with YuJa, Inc. to provide a cloud-based video hosting and streaming solution.
The University was seeking an enterprise media platform with more modern and robust features that also offers adaptability to meet evolving needs as the need for remote and hybrid learning and teaching increases. Dedicated, timely support and the ability to integrate into the universitys LMS, D2L Brightspace, also were important capabilities for the selected vendor.
The university uses its video streaming and hosting platform for both educational and administrative purposes, from lectures and course projects to large scale events, as well as to host various user-created content, recordings of live events and webinars hosted by departments within the TMU community.
In addition to the regular online lectures and workshops, with the institutions People First philosophy, institutional leaders noted in the RFP that it became apparent that the university needed to have an excellent video streaming infrastructure to allow community members to participate remotely in workshops, lectures and live-streamed events.
YuJa meets all of the universitys needs with a scalable, comprehensive cloud-based video platform. Were excited to help Ryerson University better serve students and staff as needs evolve in the educational landscape, said Nathan Arora, Chief Business Officer at YuJa, inc. YuJas Video Platform makes it easy to record and host content so instructors can focus on the important work of teaching their students.
ABOUT TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly known as Ryerson University, is Canadas leader in innovative, career-oriented education. Urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the University is home to more than 46,000 students, including 2,900 Masters and PhD students, 4,000 faculty and staff, and 225,000 alumni worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.torontomu.ca.
ABOUT YUJA, INC.
YuJa is a leader in ed-tech solutions. Our platforms provide organizations of all sizes with the tools to educate, engage, inspire and collaborate. We serve learning enterprises within all sectors, including higher-ed, K-12, government, healthcare, non-profit and corporate. We have legal headquarters in Delaware with primary U.S. offices in Silicon Valley, California, and Canadian offices in Toronto.
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Toronto Metropolitan University Selects YuJa, Inc. to Provide Cloud-Based Video Streaming and Hosting Solution for its More Than 46000 Students -...
Otava’s Austin Cook Promoted to Vice President of Finance and Controller – PR Newswire
"Austin has been an indispensable member of our team, consistently demonstrating his leadership and culture of service," said Tom Wilten, CFO, Otava. "His contributions to the business have been vital as we've continued on our growth trajectory. Austin's promotion will help further Otava's success and advance our position as a leading cloud solutions provider."
Cook was appointed to the newly created role for his expertise and proven success. Respect for his leadership is evident across the organization and extends to Otava's customers, vendors, and the Schurz Communications corporate team. Since joining Otava in 2019 as the company's Controller, Cook has been responsible for budget development, supported the strategic planning process, and implemented effective financial controls to help the company achieve its goals. He has also been instrumental in Otava's successful acquisition strategy.
"Otava is an inspiring organization that delivers significant growth opportunities through purpose-built cloud solutions," said Cook. "I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this smart and service-oriented team. As an organization, we band together for the common goal of helping businesses advance toward the digital future. It's an exciting time for the company and a joy to work with this outstanding group."
Prior to joining Otava, Cook held finance and accounting roles in the cloud, technology, and professional services sectors. He served as Controller for the SaaS firm Foresee. Cook's background also includes Accademia where he shared his broad expertise with students as an adjunct professor at his alma mater Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Cook holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Concordia University and an MBA in Accounting from Liberty University.Cook is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA).
About Otava
Founded in 1994, Otava is a cloud solutions provider on a mission to make hybrid cloud hosting easy for service providers, public sector clients and enterprise organizations. Its portfolio of flexible and compliant solutions includes hybrid private and shared cloud hosting, colocation, data protection, backup and security offerings. Otava's high-touch, consultative team works closely with clients to deliver exceptional results every time.
SOURCE Otava
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Otava's Austin Cook Promoted to Vice President of Finance and Controller - PR Newswire
New AWS instances powered by Graviton3 are finally here – TechRadar
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2)C7g instances are now in general availability, the company has revealed.
Amazon broke down what the name C7g actually means for the less technically inclined when it comes to cloud hosting.
The C instance family is designed for compute-intensive workloads, this is the 7th generation of this instance family, and the g means it is based onAWS Graviton. These instances are the first instances to be powered by the latest generation of AWS chips, the Graviton3 processors.
Amazon claims its Graviton3 processors can deliver up to 25% higher performance, up to 2x higher floating-point performance, and 50% faster memory access - based DDR5 memorytechnology - compared with Graviton2 processors.
In addition, Amazon claims Graviton3 also uses up to 60% less energy for the same performance as comparable EC2 instances, which helps customers such as early adaptor Snap, reduce their carbon footprint.
The C7g instances are available in eight sizes with 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 48, and 64 vCPUs, and support configurations up to 128 GiB of memory, 30 Gbps of network performance, and 20 Gbps ofAmazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)performance. These instances are powered by theAWS Nitro System, a combination of dedicated hardware and a lightweight hypervisor.
However, the new solution wont rolled out everywhere, at least initially.
C7g instances are currently available in the US East (N. Virginia) and US West (Oregon) AWS Regions; with other regions set to be added shortly after launch.
Amazon also addressed users concerns about migration given that Graviton instances are based on Arm architecture, rather than Intels x86.
Applications and scripts written in high-level programming languages such as Python, Node.js, Ruby, Java, or PHP will typically just require a redeployment according to Amazon, while applications written in lower-level programming languages such as C/C++, Rust, or Go will require a re-compilation.
For those who want to run code without relying on servers, Amazon has also released Graviton support forAWS FargateandAWS Lambda, supporting serverless workloads.
Users interested in how the new instances cost can check out the pricing details available onthe EC2 pricing page.
Amazon curated this list of technical resources for users thinking of making the move.
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New AWS instances powered by Graviton3 are finally here - TechRadar
Personal cloud storage vs business cloud storage: Here’s what you need to know – TechRadar
Whether you run your own business or you're a freelancer, or you have a lot of photos on your phone and need to make a little extra space, the security and convenience benefits of modern cloud storage far outweigh any risks that used to be associated with moving all of your data online.
The truth is that many cloud storage services are more reliable than physical devices, and many are even safer than your physical hosting storage at home.
What kind of cloud storage is best for your needs? What is the real difference between business and personal cloud storage options? What features should you be looking for when choosing a cloud?
We'll explore the pros and cons of business and personal cloud storage services below so you can make an informed decision on where to park all of your precious data.
Cloud storage does everything physical storage does: it holds files. The difference is that cloud storage is accessed via the internet, and files are not stored at the user's location. Cloud storage traditionally stores data in large, centrally-located servers, though modern cloud storage services built on blockchain now store data over vast peer-to-peer networks.
The advantages of cloud storage are that it is less prone to user errors and local emergencies such as power outages, fires, floods, etc. Also, cloud storage is generally more secure. Though data breaches happen, most cloud operating networks are incredibly advanced and well-looked after.
The downsides? Privacy can be an issue as many cloud services track user data, and trusting a company with all of your information isn't always reasonable. Recently many zero-knowledge cloud services have come online, which ensure users' right to privacy is protected.
Cloud storage has come a long way in recent years, and regardless of the service you choose, it likely has more upsides than downsides. There are plenty of options available, so which type of plan or subscription you use matters. If you want the best deal and service for your use case, it's essential to know the difference between personal and business services.
Personal cloud storage is, well, personal. It's an excellent option for a single person or maybe for a family to save things like basic documents, PDFs, photos, and home videos. Personal storage is also an effective solution for freelancers who need more storage space.
Many personal plans contain all the features of their business counterparts, but they are typically capped at a data or user amount. The good news is these plans are often cheaper, and most providers offer a free trial you can try before you buy. They also provide short commitments, typically one month, and you can re-up for as long as you need the service.
Below are the pros and cons of a personal storage cloud service:
Pros:
Cons:
Business cloud storage plans are developed for companies or people using cloud services to make money. They often include technical support or a designated representative to help you make the most of your service. Business plans are usually paid for by the number of users. The more users or employees you have accessing the system, the more it will cost. They come with a lot of data, and clients can almost always add more.
The most significant difference between business and personal is that business plans usually come loaded with administration features, allowing you to change settings and limit access accordingly. You can also use an admin account to access all files stored on the company network, regardless of who is the original owner/creator.
Below are the pros and cons of a business cloud storage service:
Pros:
Cons:
Before choosing what option is suitable for you and your team, it's wise to ask yourself what your cloud storage will be for and how you would like to use it.
The pros and cons listed above are general. All cloud services are a little different in some way or another. By knowing precisely what you need from your cloud service, you can quickly narrow down your list to some services and plans that would be perfect for you, your family, or your business.
Still, unsure what cloud provider or service ecosystem is right for you? Ask friends or others in your industry what service they use and if they like it. You'd be surprised how many people have moved on to the cloud.
We've listed the best free cloud storage.
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Personal cloud storage vs business cloud storage: Here's what you need to know - TechRadar
4 in-demand jobs in South Africa and the non-traditional skills companies are now looking for when hiring – BusinessTech
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation are rapidly changing the business landscape, and cyber security and cloud migration are more urgent than ever.
Yet the pool of professionals in this area is limited and employers are struggling to fill the IT skills gap, with demand exceeding supply, says Margaret Pekelaar, head of people in DevOps Practice at Altron Systems Integration.
Pekelaar said the situation is further exacerbated by the rising emigration and remote work arrangements, which means local employers are up against global corporates in the war for talent.
Its important for South Africa to grow its own IT skills so that local companies can expand their operations, respond to local conditions, and meet changing customer expectations. Employers are increasingly willing to consider talent with non-traditional backgrounds for IT-related jobs because they recognise that the job market is changing and skills can transfer from one discipline to another, she said.
Pekelaar said the skills that are the most sought after among IT professionals in South Africa right now include:
Mid-career shift and non-traditional skills
Pekelaar noted that there has also been a trend in South Africas IT sector where professionals make a mid-career pivot into completely new roles. This includes employers who are increasingly considering non-traditional backgrounds when hiring, she said.
People who have experience in financial services roles, such as accountants or auditors, who during the course of their original careers work extensively with IT systems develop a good understanding of how IT systems work. People with these backgrounds bring valuable business know-how and experience to complement IT teams.
Engineers, particularly electronic and industrial engineers who get some exposure to IT Systems at university move from the more traditional engineering careers into fully IT careers.
She added that careers that have strong analytical skills financial analysts, lawyers are typically suitable for IT analyst careers.
These days technical tools change frequently and are more highly developed so in-depth specialisation on technical tools is not always as valuable as it was previously.
The ability to learn and grasp technical concepts quickly, strong analytical ability, the ability to deal with continuous change, and strong communication skills are important EQ skills required in the IT industry. Also, knowledge diversity in teams can be very valuable.
Read: South Africa to introduce new rules for self-driving cars
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4 in-demand jobs in South Africa and the non-traditional skills companies are now looking for when hiring - BusinessTech
Google and Generation UK work to bring young Brits into cloud computing – www.computing.co.uk
The initiative, dubbed Katalyst, is the brainchild of Richard Regan, Google Cloud's chief engineering partner for the UK and Ireland, and is aimed at making cloud employment more accessible to those who are typically underrepresented in the area.
Regan says the idea for the Katalyst programme came after a CTO meeting at a Google networking event, where participants complained about a lack of talent in the cloud industry.
"All the leaders in the room were finding it incredibly difficult to hire, train and retain top cloud talent. I was hosting this forum and so went away to think how we could best solve this challenge and grow the pool of available cloud-skilled individuals," Regan wrote.
The experiences of the delegates at the Google event are consistent with the observations made by market analysts like Gartner. The research firmhas previously spoken about the detrimental impact the cloud skills shortage will have on the ability of businesses to carry out their digital transformation plans in the years to come.
The firm predicted in 2020 that a dearth of professionals with skills and experience working on public cloud and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) deployments would cause organisations to wait two years or more to migrate their on-premise workloads.
"We wanted to do something locally, to help grow the pool of available skilled individuals, ideally tapping into under-represented groups," Regan said.
He conceived a cloud training programme that would provide equal access to job prospects for young people who may not have had the opportunity to attend university, providing these groups a way into a well-paid, and growing market.
Google approached the skills charity Generation UK to help get the initiative off the ground quickly.
Generation UK specialises in offering education and training to help individuals find jobs in areas that are traditionally off-limits or inaccessible to them.
The Katalyst pilot programme lasts 12 weeks and includes technical and soft skills training.
During the course, participants will complete the Google Cloud Digital Leader certification as well as much of the training for the Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer certification.
Once they start at Google Cloud Partners, they will be required to obtain the Google Cloud Associate Engineer certification within the first six months of their new position.
Participants will then get the opportunity to meet and interview for confirmed positions at Google Cloud Partners in London, with annual salaries of up to 30,000 (this is slightly below average for an associate cloud engineer, but within the bounds of reason for a new starter - Ed.).
After a successful pilot, Google intends to extend the initiative to several sites throughout the UK and overseas, as well as at its customers' organisations.
This is a great move by Google and Generation UK. Although the tech industry has a long way to go, it has at least begun to recongise the importance of bringing in new people from under-represented groups like women and ethnic minorities. Until now, though, too little attention has been paid to people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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Google and Generation UK work to bring young Brits into cloud computing - http://www.computing.co.uk