Category Archives: Cloud Servers
The ROI of Cloud-Based Email – TechDecisions
For years, organizations have been migrating their core technology services to the cloud for increased convenience, mobility and cost savings, and the same is true for cloud-based email services.
Paying a fixed monthly cost for cloud-hosted email represents a far better and most cost-effective solution than paying for the installation, maintenance, upkeep and security of on-premise solutions.
According to Joshua Liberman, president of New Mexico-based IT provider Net Sciences, Inc., the hardware requirements and licensing costs required to install and operate an on-premise email server outweighs the few benefits.
In-house email servers typically require a large upfront capital expense that can be thousands of dollars, and they require enough space in a dedicated server room that could be used for something else, not to mention these rooms need to be outfitted with cooling equipment to keep the equipment from overheating.
Especially for smaller organizations with just a few dozen seats, emptying the pockets for an on-premise solution just doesnt make sense as the total.
The costs are so great that you cant possibly make the argument for ROI, Liberman says.
There are other hidden costs that organizations may not be aware of until its too late, like mail filtering, two-factor authentication, add-on security tools, log monitoring and comprehensive backups.
And then finally, you need somebody or a partner to manage, secure and monitor all of this, Liberman says.
Organizations may need someone to manage the same things if theyre cloud-based, but its a lot less intensive. For some cloud-hosted email providers, plans can start under $10 per user per month.
In addition to the low monthly cost, this makes budgeting throughout the year much easier than if your organization were to continue running an in-house server.
Server hardware depreciates over time, and it isnt cheap to upgrade and replace. And, patching security vulnerabilities can come with additional costs.
In the cloud, however, those duties are handled by the provider.
If youre looking at cost, its not close, Liberman says.
Adding new seats to an in-house server could require additional hardware and space, and depending on how many seats need to be added, additional IT staff may be needed to help manage the growth.
In the cloud, organizations can add capacity with ease.
Its just not an issue in the cloud, Liberman says. Its something you have to build and plan for if youre on premise.
Read Next: Three Reasons Why You Should Invest in Cloud-based Email
IT managers or CIOs who are hesitant to move to the cloud prop up the security of in-house email servers as the reason for their stubbornness to migrate to the cloud.
According to Liberman, that argument can hold up in certain situations, but given how cloud providers have drastically improved their security, this aspect is more or less a wash.
Youll hear pundits in the industry tell you, In the cloud, youre dealing with companies with $100 million security budgets and billions of dollars of hardware spread across the globe. You just cant mimic that.
For the most part, thats true, Liberman says.
However, securing an on-premise sever takes much more work on the end user and their IT professionals and partner than a cloud-hosted solution. That means an on-premise solution will take up valuable resources time and money to secure and maintain.
In the cloud, IT managers are only responsible for ingress and egress, while managers of on-premise servers are responsible for a wide range of duties.
(In the cloud), youre just not responsible for the server farm and replication, Liberman says. Youre responsible for the front door and the back door, if you will, but youre not responsible for the furniture.
Its all your problem if its on premise.
And, in the event of a failure, recovery of an on-premise solution takes valuable time, prior planning and IT professionals that can act quickly to get the business back up and running.
The good news is we dont have to worry about that in the cloud, Liberman says. Recovery, for the most part, is not your problem.
Most businesses unless they have deep pockets to invest in that infrastructure and in-house expertise cant depend on a small team of IT professionals to manage an on-premise server.
In-house IT departments can only be stretched so thin, particularly at small organizations with just a handful of dedicated professionals.
Staffing the helpdesk, setting up workstations, responding to security threats and managing an on-premise server is a tall task. Business leaders who are convinced that they can handle these duties need to be educated.
If they truly do believe that, then it comes down to educating them otherwise, Liberman says.
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The ROI of Cloud-Based Email - TechDecisions
The Advantages of Running your ERP Off-Premise During the COVID-19 Era – BBN Times
Are you looking to upgrade your business workflow, especially with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic?
If so, then let us enlighten you about enterprise resource planning (ERP) which is an automated solution that interconnects all the departments in a business, improving operational efficiency, controlling costs, which in turn leads to increased profits. There are two types of ERP solutions, which are on-premise ERP and cloud ERP solutions. The main difference between the two lies in how the software is deployed and accessed. For on-premise ERP solutions, they are installed on local physical servers that are leased, or owned, by the business whereas cloud-based ERP software is deployed on the cloud and is accessed through the web. In the former, the client is the one who installs the hardware, running the system, and that means handling most of the issues with the software, and in the latter, the cloud-computing provider is the one responsible for running the software. This means that the business owners have some tough decisions to make when choosing the deployment method they want. In this article though, we will focus on the cloud-based ERP solutions by looking at their benefits to the businesses, considering the ongoing pandemic.
Cloud-based ERP software normally consist of a monthly or contracted fee or subscription service. Since the system is run through the web, the business owner doesnt have to invest in physical assets, meaning you will be saving so much money that could be directed to other areas of the business to fight the effects of the pandemic on your business. The system and maintenance costs are included by the software provider as part of the monthly costs. Cloud computing providers also deploy patches, improvements, and service enhancements seamlessly and on a regular basis, thus minimizing the costs and the time required for the small business to benefit from these improvements.
To survive the pandemic, small businesses do need a full-service ERP system, as it will help the business navigate all the disruptions. However, this may not be always the case. There may come a time where you find that you dont need certain specific features, while you need others, depending on the size of the business, mode of production, final product as well other key factors. Now, cloud-based ERP systems offer absolute flexibility in terms of scalability. This is of course keeping in mind that different businesses have different needs, and that means the cloud servers should be able to cater to all these needs. The flexibility saves on cost, reduces training, and shortens the adoption time as well as the learning curve. As the business grows, it can increase the access to the ERP systems by purchasing additional seats from the cloud computing provider, and if there are any features that need to be added, they can be added incrementally.
Cloud-based ERP software is super flexible in that the backup is automated. And in case there is an occurrence of natural disasters, the systems provide an inherent plan for restart since production data, as well as the production system, are still available and accessible. When you compare with on-premise ERPs, businesses have to send data to manually backup the data or send it to a reserve site to realize the same benefit.
One thing about on-premise ERP solution is that you will need to properly set up and maintain everything needed to function efficiently, meaning that if something goes wrong, then the performance suffers greatly. But with a cloud-based solution, the provider will be the one taking care of hosting the solution. And with the knowledge that your system is being maintained by an expert not only gives you some peace of mind, but you are also assured that your ERP should perform at its peak performance. This is exactly what your business needs to have considering all the other disruptions that have been experienced due to the pandemic.
Since cloud-based ERP systems eliminate all the complexities and costs of installing and integrating additional ERP hardware, businesses that adopt them dont need to hire additional staff to support and maintain the application on a regular basis. This is actually a very important benefit since businesses are doing all they can to cut on costs due to the economic impact brought by COVID-19. So, finding an off-premise ERP system that is as agile as Cloud One, which not only helps your business to remain afloat during these uncertain times but also allows you to reduce your spending is by far the best thing that could happen to your business.
Comparing on-premise systems with cloud-based ERP systems, the latter is faster to implement. Unlike on-premise systems, which require a hefty and lengthy implementation process, configuring the technical environment for cloud technology can actually be done in as little as 24 hours. This allows businesses more time to focus on their transformation. You should know that change management as well as business process management do need the same time and resources, regardless of whether you are implementing on-premise or cloud ERP systems.
The thing is, with the ongoing pandemic, your remote-working employees need a cloud ERP more than ever. Cloud ERP systems tend to be more modern and are considerably easier to use when compared to on-premise systems, which means that the employees are quicker to embrace them. This doesnt eliminate the need for training or a communication plan, it just means that there might be less resistance from the employees.
To wrap it up, while there are compelling reasons to implement cloud-based ERP, you shouldnt forget that all technology initiatives do come with certain drawbacks. So, before implementing the technology, make sure that you understand your digital and business needs so as to figure out exactly what strategies and systems you need. As the trend of digitalisation accelerates in face of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not difficult to understand why more and more companies have already opted for enterprise cloud adoption.
Original post:
The Advantages of Running your ERP Off-Premise During the COVID-19 Era - BBN Times
When Is a Good Time For SMBs To Move Their IT Infrastructure To the Cloud? – Entrepreneur
December17, 20205 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Organizations across the world are currently grappling over making a decision to migrate to cloud. IDCs recent survey suggests 64 per cent organizations are expected to increase demand for cloud computing as a result of the virus. The appropriateness of cloud migration depends on multiple factors and variables. Timing can also play a crucial role while making a decision.
While this can be quite a task for every organization, SMBs particularly find it challenging to arrive at these decisions. Owing to their size and budget constraints, most of these SMBs limit their IT talent to a few employees who have time only to solve day-to-day problems. This article captures a few points SMB entrepreneurs and IT heads need to consider before making the switch to the cloud.
One side of the coin: Keeping an IT infrastructure on-premise
Depending on the size and nature of business, staying on-premise may be a prudent approach. For instance, if the nature of business entails monitoring thousands of devices and generating a substantial amount of logs, it is safer to run an agent on-premises. Alternatively, one could run a gateway on-premise and send logs to the cloud later.
However, while moving to cloud, one must consider the security concerns and protocols. First comes the data privacy laws, failure to comply with which can result in long-lasting damage to business reputation. A company that works with highly sensitive data should be cognizant of laws, such as HIPAA and GDPR.
The second aspect of security is to protect data from vulnerabilities. Usually endpoint management software, access and identity management tools are some of the last solutions, companies move to the cloud. After all, if an endpoint management tool is hacked, it could expose the data stored in thousands of devices.
Custom applications, network dependencies
Applications with a lot of customisationespecially those related to supply chain management and data managementare frequently kept on-premises because they're tougher to migrate. For these types of apps, it can be difficult to keep the application schema in sync during the migration process.
Certain applications have network dependencies and need to be connected to various databases and servers, which can make cloud migration difficult. It is not safe to opt cloud, if data cannot be encrypted in to legacy applications.
Cloud - A cheaper option for SMBs
In regard to costs, if you're a large enterprise running a substantial amount of logs, it can be nearly twice as expensive to run your IT tools on the cloud. For a particularly data intensive organisation with test environments and hundreds of machines, cloud migration can be especially pricey. For smaller companies that don't already have an IT infrastructure including servers and data centers in place, it can be much cheaper to operate in the cloud.
The other side of the coin: the case for cloud migration
Again, choosing cloud or on-premises totally depends on the nature of ones business. For a fast-growing SMB, looking to test something for a few weeks, operating on the cloud is a good option. Additionally, for a company experiencing a rapid increase in traffic to one of nascent applications, cloud is great because it provides flexibility and an ability to scale on the fly. Companies with an ambiguous forecast of their growth can opt for "pay for what you need" models provided by cloud entities.
Geographic concerns and cost issues
Besides the scalability and operational agility that cloud provides, it also enables remote working. Businesses looking at expanding global footprints can migrate to the cloud without spending on multi-region infrastructure. Companies often decide to migrate during the data center contract renewal period.
As mentioned before, certain cloud providers offer assurances that your data will be safe and incompliance with various regulations. Lastly, after migrating to the cloud, you will no longer have to worry about server maintenance, as you'll be able to operate with a few, if any in-house servers.
Conclusion
There is no tailor-made format to make this decision easy. However, it is important to consider the various variables discussed. This will help the decision makers have a holistic view of the pros and cons in making the migration and prioritise the business need above anything else.
All said, cloud migration is great for fast-growing start-ups looking to scale quickly; the flexibility and operational agility that cloud provides is very efficient especially if the organisation is not sure of the traffic, their application might garner down the road.A sensible approach while migrating to cloud is to opt for a hybrid model. It helps organisations to have a seamless migration purely based on their needs without any pressure to jump all at once. This might also be a more secure option for companies who handle sensitive data.
Excerpt from:
When Is a Good Time For SMBs To Move Their IT Infrastructure To the Cloud? - Entrepreneur
The balkanization of the cloud is bad for everyone – MIT Technology Review
China has long required that cloud infrastructure be hosted in China by local companies. In fact, Chinas Cybersecurity Law mandates that certain data be stored on local servers or undergo a security assessment before its exported. A Personal Information Protection law, which is still in draft form, goes a step further by stating that Chinas data rules can be enforced anywhere in the world if the data at issue describes Chinese citizens. This law would also create a blacklist prohibiting foreign entities from receiving personal data from China.
Now the United States is beginning to advance its own version of digital sovereignty. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos Clean Network Initiative would prohibit Chinese cloud companies from storing and processing data on US citizens and businesses. And while the Biden administration will likely roll back many actions taken under President Trump, the prospect of compelling ByteDance to sell TikTok to Oracle or run its US operations through a local partner remains on the table. This could set a dangerous precedent: the US government would be mirroring and legitimizing Chinas cloud regulations, which require foreign providers to enter the market only through joint ventures with Chinese companies that own majority shares.
The trend toward digital sovereignty has unleashed a digital arms race that slows down innovation and offers no meaningful benefit to customers.
And in South Africa, a 2018 guideline from the South African Reserve Bank set up an approval mechanism for institutions seeking to use cloud computing, indicating that bank supervisors would not be agreeable if data were stored in a way that might inhibit their access to it.
If some variation of the TikTok/Oracle deal becomes the norm, it will set the stage for more governments to demand that technology providers sell a stake to a local entity, or operate through one, in exchange for market access.
Advocates of this approach argue that some degree of data sovereignty is inevitable. They say that the global internet still functions in the face of these rules, and companies continue to profit and innovate. But the fact that some companies continue to prosper under these conditions is not a persuasive argument for imposing them in the first place.
The trend toward digital sovereignty has unleashed a digital arms race that slows down innovation and offers no meaningful benefit to customers.
Companies like Amazon and Microsoft may well be able to afford to keep expanding their cloud computing platforms into new countries, but they are the exception. Thousands of smaller companies that provide cloud services on top of these platforms dont have the financial or technological wherewithal to make their products available in every data center.
In Europe, for example, the GAIA-X project may only strengthen the large incumbents. And in China, the vast majority of foreign software providers have decided not to make their cloud services available there because the hurdles are too formidable. This does both Chinese customers and foreign technology providers a disservice. It also unwinds all the economic and security advantages of a global cloud.
Whats needed is for different countries to collaborate on common standards, agreeing to a set of core principles for the cloud and norms for government access to data stored there.
The OECD, for example, could do this by building on its existing privacy guidelines. The OECDs Global Partnership on AI is one example of an initiative in a related technology area that brings together many stakeholders to develop policy.
As a starting point, the coalition could focus on a narrow subset of commercial data flows and corresponding use cases (such as those involving internal company personnel information, or cross-border contracts). Recognizing the concerns behind the drive for digital sovereigntywhich may include political security, national security, and economic competitivenesscould help lay the groundwork for such an agreement. One approach might be to offer incentives for those companies that participate in such a coalition, but without blocking data flows to those that do not.
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The balkanization of the cloud is bad for everyone - MIT Technology Review
AWS reveals array of new cloud observability and other new tools at re:Invent – SiliconANGLE News
Amazon Web Services Inc. today debuted an array of new features, plus managed versions of the popular Prometheus and Grafana tools, that are designed to make it easier for enterprises to monitor the health of their cloud infrastructure.
AWS also used the occasion to reveal several enhancements to its lineup of internet of things services.
The additions were detailed today by Amazon.com Inc. Chief Technology Officer Werner Vogels (pictured) during the cloud giants three-week virtual re:Invent event that ends this week. The announcement barrage follows an earlier round of product updates on the first day of the event that included new compute instances and machine learning solutions.
Headlining AWS latest set of enhancements is an upgraded version of its AWS Systems Manager tool. Systems Manager is a managed service that information technology teams use to monitor and manage their organizations AWS deployments. The service is now being enhanced with severalwith several new dashboards designedto reduce the need for administrators to juggle multiple operationaltools and tabs.
The first addition is Application Manager, a console inside Systems Manager that allows administrators to centrally view technical information about workloads running on AWS. They can see much infrastructure a given application is using, how its configured, unusual behavior and other details. AWS says that Application Managers centralized interface allows IT teams to browse the different datasets having to switch between multiple monitoring tools.
Also new in Systems Manager is Fleet Manager, which provides similar features but with a focus on monitoring servers rather than applications. The tool takes the form of a graphical dashboard in which administrators can view detailed configuration data on both their AWS instances and on-premises servers. Fleet Manager also allows IT teams to make modifications to configuration settings such as what employees are allowed to access a given instance.
With todays enhancements, AWS is positioning Systems Manager as an alternative to traditional standalone infrastructure management tools. This makes it an easy and cost-effective approach for remote management of servers running in multiple environments without needing to pay the licensing cost of expensive management tools you may be using today, AWS developer advocate Steve Roberts wrote in a blog post today.
The cloud giant also launched new managed Prometheus and Grafana services in preview. Like the System Manager enhancements, the offerings are designed to make it simpler for companies with big cloud environments to keep tabs on their deployments health.
Prometheus is a tool that can collect operational data on containerized applications such as how much memory they use. Grafana, in turn, is used by IT teams to turn operational data into visual dashboards for easier viewing. AWS managed versions, called Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus and Amazon Managed Service for Grafana, respectively, allow enterprises to use the two technologies without the overhead of manually maintaining their deployments.
The two offerings also have other selling points. Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus uses a scalability-boosting framework called CNCF Cortex under the hood to let customers process upwards of millions of individual operational data points. Amazon Managed Service for Grafana, in turn, packs pre-built dashboards and an alerting feature that can notify administrators of important events such as a sudden latency spike.
You can also upgrade to Grafana Enterprise using AWS Marketplace, to get access to enterprise plugins, support, and training content directly from Grafana Labs, elaborated AWS senior developer advocate Marcia Villalba. Grafana Labs Inc. is the startup that had originally created the visualization tool and also worked with AWS on developing the new managed service, while Grafana Enterprise is the startups commercial version of the software.
Monitoring was a key theme at re:Invent today, but it wasnt the sole item on the agenda.
AWS also announced AWS CloudShell, aweb-based service that gives Linux developers access to a Linux console so they can use command-line tools and scripts inside the AWS Console to check a configuration file, make a fast fix to a production environment and the like. Its configured at the outset to provide the same application programming interface permissions as in the AWS Console.
The company also made several improvements to its collection of cloud services for managing internet of things devices.
AWS IoT SiteWise, a service offered by AWS to help industrial companies monitor the health of their industrial equipment, now comes in an on-premises edition. Its called IoT SiteWise Edge and can run on a server directly inside the facility containing the equipment that a company wants to monitor. The software can process and visualize metrics with less latency than the cloud-based edition because the information doesnt have to travel to a remote AWS data center.
The other updates to AWS IoT portfolio include features for both enterprises and device makers. For enterprises, the Amazon.com subsidiary is now offering a wireless network based on the LoRaWAN standard that can be used to connect IoT systems to its cloud. Device makers, in turn, have access to a new version of AWS Greengrass development platform for building onboard device software. If theyre using the FreeRTOS operating system to power their products, they can also access security updates and critical bug fixes from AWS until at least the end of 2022.
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AWS reveals array of new cloud observability and other new tools at re:Invent - SiliconANGLE News
TaxBandits Offers Cloud Based Solution For E-filing Forms W-2, 1099, 94x Series, and ACA 1095 for 2020 Tax Year. – CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
Many businesses are beginning to prepare for their end-of-year filing and may be facing unique challenges due to the pandemic. For example, they may still be operating remotely. Regardless of their size and situation, TaxBandits continues to offer an e-filing solution to fit their needs.
As an IRS authorized e-file provider, http://www.TaxBandits.com has been offering modernized IRS tax filings for over a decade. This high level of experience shows in the efficiency and ease of functionality within the application. The TaxBandits application supports about 70 payroll and employment IRS Tax Forms in total, including the crucial W-2, 1099s, 94x Series, ACA (1095) Forms, and 5498 Series. Whether filing with the IRS, SSA, or state agencies, TaxBandits provides features that increase the speed and accuracy of filing for organizations of any size.
TaxBandits offers a seamless API solution for Payroll and Employment Tax e-filing, allowing clients to integrate their software to prepare and transmit tax forms.
TaxBandits takes a multi-layered approach to data security, ensuring that each clients information is protected both at rest and while in transit. The utmost measures are taken when it comes to securing the TaxBandits servers. TaxBandits is both HackerProof and SOC2 Certified. When it comes to API integrations, only whitelisted servers are allowed access, thus ensuring the secure transfer of data.
In regards to the upcoming tax season, TaxBandits CEO and Co-founder, Agie Sundaram stated,TaxBandits is a complete solution for businesses seeking to simplify their year-end reporting. We are offering features and API solutions that are advanced and streamlined beyond those of our competitors.
SPAN Enterprises, the creator of http://www.TaxBandits.com, is a provider of e-filing applications, business management solutions, and for the transportation industry. Located in the heart of downtown Rock Hill, South Carolina, SPAN proves that big ideas can grow in a small town. With existing Business Management applications such as TruckLogics, Unitwise, ACAwise, a complete ACA reporting software, and PayWow, a full-service payroll provider, SPAN Enterprises is on the front lines of innovative business solutions. Learn more at http://www.spanenterprises.com.
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TaxBandits Offers Cloud Based Solution For E-filing Forms W-2, 1099, 94x Series, and ACA 1095 for 2020 Tax Year. - CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
Programmable NICs Will Empower the Future of the Network – CEOWORLD magazine
Networks are under unprecedented demand when it comes to performance and uptime. This is largely due to the rise of emerging technologies like AI, cybersecurity deployment, hyperscale architectures and cloud services but its also been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic because people are on the network more than ever before.
This is where SmartNICs, and specifically programmable SmartNICs, can play a key role. Organizations that use SmartNICs are reaping the benefits of this increased demand due to their ability to accelerate traffic and boost agility through programmability. SmartNICs will play an even more important role in networks as they evolve and expand.
Unprecedented demand
Data center network traffic is increasing at exponential rates, due largely to cloud, edge, 5G mobile and IoT. Combined, these unique mega trends are radically changing the way networks are built. The networks that underpin these new models all share common attributes of moving to open, standard, low-cost server platforms to deliver the majority of applications and services. As the demand for servers explodes, so does the number of network interface controllers (NICs) used to connect them. This creates the need for a new class of NIC, a programmable SmartNIC.
There are a number of factors driving the demand for SmartNICs. Theres the increase in performance requirements, for one thing, including throughput PPS and Gbps. Theres also lower latency for real-time applications and services in edge computing, and the need for improved security in a distributed cloud and edge network design.
Other factors include the need for:
How SmartNICs can help
The increasing sophistication of attacks and the coinciding growth in network traffic are placing enormous strain on the central processing units (CPUs). One of the ways these systems are adapting is by offloading more of the packet processing workload from the CPU to an FPGA-based SmartNIC.
SmartNICs boost server performance in cloud and private data centers, through offloading networking processing workloads and tasks from server CPUs. Its not a new concept, but its being driven by the expansion in data center network traffic. In fact, according to the analysts at Omdia, deployment of programmable NICs is seeing significant growth. They estimate that programmable NICs will proliferate for workloads like virtual switching and to enforce software-defined networking (SDN) policies, surpassing$2.1Bin revenue by 2024.
Next steps toward SmartNICs
Once you see the value of SmartNICs, you need to dig deeper before going on a spending spree. First, its not as simple as buying software and putting it on the server. You need to understand what your expectations of the software are in terms of performance and number of users. You need to consider how it will scale. That will drive the hardware decisions that you put into your network.
Determining these decisions requires a deep understanding of your applications and users, and the requirements for each. Every application is a little different. For instance, you could take applications A and B, put them both on a standard NIC, and A will work perfectly while B fails miserably. So, you have to really carefully evaluate each application or services needs, including how many users it needs to support simultaneously and what kind of attributes it has. You need to evaluate performance requirements, in terms of bandwidth and latency, and what kind of workload it involves. These considerations are key to ensuring youre selecting the right solutions.
Into the SmartNIC future
Over the next five years, the size of the NIC market will more than triple, but the majority of those NICs will become SmartNICs, displacing standard/basic NICs. This will be driven solely by the need for servers to continue to be able to meet the requirements of applications and services that they are hosting. Use the guidelines above to consider what will work best for your organizations needs and create a sound SmartNIC strategy.
Written by Jarrod J.S. Siket.
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Programmable NICs Will Empower the Future of the Network - CEOWORLD magazine
Amazon’s weird Halo band is now available if you want to pay $4/month for fitness tracking – Android Police
Fitness trackers have been around for a while now, but Amazon started testing its first fitness-focused wearable earlier this year. It can measure body fat percentage, analyze the tone of your voice, and it's available now for an initial $99.99 along with a $3.99 monthly fee but the real cost might be your privacy.
Halo calculates body fat percentage rather than weight or BMI because Amazon says it's a better indicator of health than those stats alone. But how it goes about computing that might not sit well with some folks: Amazon asks you to strip down to your underwear or other similar skintight clothes and capture photographs of your body in 360 to send to its cloud servers. (Perhaps not the best look for a company run by the guy who got his phone hacked by a Saudi prince.)
The band itself looks pretty nonthreatening there's not even a screen.
Obviously, sending semi-nude photos of yourself to Amazon is a pretty big asking price for more privacy-conscious individuals. But that's not the only cost. While $99.99 buys the band itself, users will be asked to pony up 3.99/month for a subscription after six months. Without that, only basic features like heart-rate and step tracking will remain accessible.
Halo promises some unique features for sure (like a microphone that analyzes your tone of voice and tells you if you sound too annoying if that seems appealing?), but early reviews are pretty scathing and most people won't be excited about buying a tracker that requires a monthly fee to continue working properly. Sales of the Halo may not reach into the heavens, but at least it will leave some lasting legacy it's inspiring elected officials to consider implementing more safeguards that protect users' private health data.
Microsoft Says Its Systems Were Exposed to SolarWinds Hack – Data Center Knowledge
Dina Bass(Bloomberg) --Microsoft Corp. said its systems were exposed to the malware used in the Russia-linked hack that targeted U.S. states and government agencies, adding that investigations so far show the malicious software wasnt used to attack others and didnt impact customer data or outward-facing systems.
The company is a customer of SolarWinds Corp., whose software the hackers are believed to have used to gain access to networks by installing malicious code. Microsoft found code related to that cyber-attack in our environment, which we isolated and removed, spokesman Frank Shaw said in a statement posted to his Twitter account. We have not found evidence of access to production services or customer data. Our investigations, which are ongoing, have found absolutely no indications that our systems were used to attack others.
Related: What Data Center IT Security Pros Must Know About the SolarWinds Vulnerability
Reutersreportedearlier that Microsoft was hacked and that its systems were used to attack other entities, citing people familiar with the matter.
Any successful cyber-attack on Microsoft, the worlds largest software maker and the second-biggest cloud-infrastructure provider, could damage its standing as a trusted provider of cloud software and security services. The software giants involvement emerged as the wider repercussions of the far-reaching hack became more clear. SolarWinds customers include government agencies and Fortune 500 companies, according to the company and cybersecurity experts. The departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Commerce and State were breached, according to a person familiar with the matter. The U.S. nuclear weapons agency and at least three states were alsohacked.
Separately, Microsoft said in ablog postabout the broader cyber-attack that it identified and has been working this week to notify more than 40 customers that the hackers targeted more precisely and compromised through additional and sophisticated measures. Amid its investigation of its own networks, Microsoft has also been helping customers monitor and cope with the attack.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has become a significant vendor of cloud and security software and services, including to large government agencies, making its reputation for network protection critical to sales. The U.S. Defense Department has awarded Microsoft a $10 billion cloud-computing contract, which is currently being contested incourtby rival bidder Amazon.com Inc.
In an advisory Thursday that signaled the widening alarm over the the recent breach, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the hackers posed a grave risk to federal, state and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure and the private sector. The agency said the attackers demonstrated sophistication and complex tradecraft.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, SolarWinds said it believed its monitoring products could have been used to compromise the servers of as many as 18,000 of its customers.
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Holiday-proof your Business with Cloud Solutions – The Edge Markets MY
The holiday season has always been associated with festive cheer and the spirit of giving. For many companies, the year-end period also results in increased business, with the consumer market craving additional products as well as services. Adding to that, the holidays are also a time when productivity can be impacted because employees take time off to enjoy the festivities with their families.
With many businesses and organisations today relying on a digital infrastructure to drive their business and operations, cloud solutions have proven to be imperative to stay competitive and accelerate productivity. HUAWEI CLOUD, the cloud service brand of Huawei, understands the needs of companies that rely on web-based server applications to facilitate their business and operational needs. Backed by 30 years of expertise in ICT infrastructure, HUAWEI CLOUD allows customers to customise cloud-based products and solutions according to their requirements.
In terms of businesses operating a digital infrastructure, the cloud is able to provide cost-effective solutions to overcome challenges that are specific to the holiday season. Here's how HUAWEI CLOUD can prove beneficial.
With people constantly on the move during the hectic holiday period, HUAWEI CLOUD offers several smart office solutions that will ensure the flow of business and communication is not interrupted. This holds especially true in the current climate when many employees are working remotely from home owing to the ongoing health crisis. With Huawei Cloud Meeting, customers not only gain a seamless meeting experience anytime and anywhere but also on any smart device. When the need arises, you can also turn conference rooms, executive offices and open areas into smart offices with Huawei Ideahub, ensuring that your workflow is constantly maintained at all times.
Stepping into a world of technology and transforming a business digitally is challenging, especially for entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises. The Huawei Cloud Blossom Program offers eligible companies up to 40% off select cloud resources during the first year, dedicated support as well as joint marketing opportunities with Huawei. In addition, the Huawei Go-Global Support Program delivers cross-border e-commerce as well as a global internet infrastructure, which allows businesses the opportunity to reach out and expand in the global market.
Apart from a stable digital environment and direct dedicated support, customers also benefit from widely available regional nodes and resources. They can also opt for more than 200 best-in-class cloud services for diverse needs with ecosystem partners all over the world along with E2E GO-Global solutions. Customers are also assured of the long-standing trust Huawei has garnered in cybersecurity for the past 30 years, which ensures peace of mind at all times.
Digital transformation is like a gift that keeps on giving, especially with the emergence and evolution of advanced technologies and applications. Enabling technologies such as 5G, cloud, artificial intelligence and big data have not only strengthened the digital ecosystem but also allowed businesses to transform and accelerate their growth. For those looking to fast-track their IT infrastructure, HUAWEI CLOUD provides a broad range of affordable cloud solutions, including cloud servers, databases, security, network and Enterprise Intelligence (EI) services. With high volumes of traffic expected during the holiday season, businesses can opt for a number of cloud servers to ensure workflow is maintained. New users can also capitalise on an exclusive deal on 1 Core Processor 1GB RAM cloud servers for just US$1 or scale according to their operational requirements as and when they need it.
Find the ideal HUAWEI CLOUD solution for your business here.
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Holiday-proof your Business with Cloud Solutions - The Edge Markets MY