The prediction is for slow growth in IT. Gartner lowered Global IT spending growth projection from 4.6% to 3.7% and Pipper Jaffray is projecting between 4% and 5%. This will bring IT Global Spending to 3.8 Trillion Dollars. These projections are about half 2011 projected growth rate of 7.6% and less than the 2010 growth rate of 5.1%. The slower growth economy (just under 3% GDP Growth) seems to slow technology growth – but we have growth!
Techeye.net: “Corporate IT spending on the up; Mystic Piper Jaffray consults his tarot cards” by
by Nick Farrell
http://news.techeye.net/hardware/corporate-it-spending-on-the-up
Cnet: “Gartner lowers global IT spending forecast for 2012”
by Lance Whitney
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57352817-92/gartner-lowers-global-it-spending-forecast-for-2012/
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Cloud Computing Cost
Will cloud computing save you money? The answer is usually yes, when you calculate the costs of supporting and maintaining your systems. The costs can be very low for some solutions. However, on some point solutions the cost can look higher. You can buy the backup storage and the software to backup your data for much less than the cost to backup to the cloud. Will the support cost savings be enough to justify the cloud solution? You still need to implement it and monitor it. Unless you never build an IT organization to begin with it is sometimes difficult to justify moving something to the cloud. It is also unclear what will happen in a year when the cloud provider changes things – new software, new pricing, or even worse goes out of business.
Cloud providers are improving the on boarding process and how changes are made. The industry is evolving and more businesses will move to the cloud as it matures. Is it time for your business to move your IT to the cloud?
Cloud providers are improving the on boarding process and how changes are made. The industry is evolving and more businesses will move to the cloud as it matures. Is it time for your business to move your IT to the cloud?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Cloud Barriers
Using the cloud for corporate IT is very compelling because of agility and costs. Here are the barriers:
1. Cost and benefit is unclear
2. Unknown management issues
3. Security
4. Reliability
5. No easy way to change providers or standards
6. Low adoption
These are perceived barriers but perception is reality! The private cloud is starting to come on stronger as security is a lower concern in a private cloud implementation. Although the cloud is still a small percentage of overall IT investment it is a top priority for most companies and is growing fast!
1. Cost and benefit is unclear
2. Unknown management issues
3. Security
4. Reliability
5. No easy way to change providers or standards
6. Low adoption
These are perceived barriers but perception is reality! The private cloud is starting to come on stronger as security is a lower concern in a private cloud implementation. Although the cloud is still a small percentage of overall IT investment it is a top priority for most companies and is growing fast!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
SMB IT Spending Growth
"According to the IDC, IT spending growth has returned more rapidly than expected since the recession officially ended in 2009. IDC's recent forecast found the nearly 8 million SMBs in the United States will spend more than $125 billion on advanced technology in 2011, an increase from approximately $120 billion in 2010."
Jenny Thomas, IT Jungle.com
http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh062011-story07.html
Jenny Thomas, IT Jungle.com
http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh062011-story07.html
Friday, June 17, 2011
Virtualization and Moving to the Cloud
Virtualization and moving to the cloud are considered to be a great way to decrease the cost of IT. Server virtualization has been widely adopted with about half of all servers now virtualized. The cost savings are significant. There are savings in higher utilization of fewer more powerful servers. Virtualization also lowers the cost of managing the servers. A new virtual server can be set up in a matter of minutes! These virtual servers are easier to move around and manage as they are all the same.
Virtualization of desktops, storage and moving to the cloud are not as wide spread as server virtualization. Companies implementing these solutions are not reporting the savings as being as high according to Gartner Survey and Symantec Survey. These other areas of virtualization and moving to the cloud are newer trends. Although companies are reporting challenges they look promising – I suppose time will tell…
Networkworld Articles:
"Gartner: IT should be planning, moving to private clouds"
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/061511-gartner-private-clouds.html?page=2
"Survey finds many disappointed in virtualization, cloud computing"
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/061311-virtualization-survey.html
Virtualization of desktops, storage and moving to the cloud are not as wide spread as server virtualization. Companies implementing these solutions are not reporting the savings as being as high according to Gartner Survey and Symantec Survey. These other areas of virtualization and moving to the cloud are newer trends. Although companies are reporting challenges they look promising – I suppose time will tell…
Networkworld Articles:
"Gartner: IT should be planning, moving to private clouds"
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/061511-gartner-private-clouds.html?page=2
"Survey finds many disappointed in virtualization, cloud computing"
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/061311-virtualization-survey.html
Friday, June 03, 2011
Internet Future
I read an interesting article in ZDNet: “The future of the Internet: it's in the app” by Andrew Nusca. The article is about the recent prediction made by George Colony CEO of Forrester that the apps are the future. The apps have a cloud component in most cases but the power of the endpoints is so strong that it does not make sense to turn PCs and mobile devices into dummy terminals.
Here is a statement that articulates the power of the PC and mobile device: “IEEE researchers benchmarked the iPad 2 to be equivalent to a 1986 8-core Cray 2 — running at 1.65 gigaflops. In 1993 the iPad 2 would have been among the top 30 supercomputers in the world.”
The servers powering the cloud are much more powerful also but doesn’t it make sense to utilize the power at your finger tips as well? I have said this before on this blog regarding going to thin client. The argument for thin client and cloud is largely around managing and supporting the solution. It is easier to manage a few severs than all the endpoints. Clearly there are many applications best entirely hosted in the cloud but I don’t think that everything will be. Maybe there will be a greater growth rate of the apps than pure cloud solutions. What do you think?
ZDNet “The future of the Internet: it's in the app” by Andrew Nusca:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/the-future-of-the-internet-its-in-the-app/49512
Here is a statement that articulates the power of the PC and mobile device: “IEEE researchers benchmarked the iPad 2 to be equivalent to a 1986 8-core Cray 2 — running at 1.65 gigaflops. In 1993 the iPad 2 would have been among the top 30 supercomputers in the world.”
The servers powering the cloud are much more powerful also but doesn’t it make sense to utilize the power at your finger tips as well? I have said this before on this blog regarding going to thin client. The argument for thin client and cloud is largely around managing and supporting the solution. It is easier to manage a few severs than all the endpoints. Clearly there are many applications best entirely hosted in the cloud but I don’t think that everything will be. Maybe there will be a greater growth rate of the apps than pure cloud solutions. What do you think?
ZDNet “The future of the Internet: it's in the app” by Andrew Nusca:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/the-future-of-the-internet-its-in-the-app/49512
Thursday, May 26, 2011
10 Cyber Security Tips for Small Business
Here are 10 essentially common sense security best practices published by the Federal Communictaions Commision for Small Businesses:
1. Train employees in security principles
Establish basic security practices to protect sensitive business information and communicate them to all employees on a regular basis. Establish rules of behavior describing how to handle and protect customer information and other vital data. Clearly spell out the penalties for violating business policies.
2. Protect information, computers and networks from viruses, spyware and other malicious code
Install, use and regularly update antivirus and antispyware software on every computer used in your business. Such software is readily available online from a variety of vendors. Most software packages now offer subscriptions to "security service" applications, which provide additional layers of protection. Set the antivirus software to automatically check for updates at a scheduled time of low computer usage, such as at night (midnight, for example), and then set the software to do a scan after the software update.
3. Provide firewall security for your Internet connection
A firewall is set of related programs that prevent outsiders from accessing data on a private network. Install and maintain firewalls between your internal network and the Internet. If employees work from home, ensure that their home systems are protected by firewalls. Install firewalls on all computers – including laptops – used in conducting your business.
4. Download and install software updates for your operating systems and applications as they become available
All operating system vendors regularly provide patches and updates to their products to correct security problems and improve functionality. Configure all software to install such updates automatically.
5. Make backup copies of important business data and information.
Regularly backup the data on every computer used in your business. Critical data includes word processing documents, electronic spreadsheets, databases, financial files, human resources files and accounts receivable/payable files. Backup data automatically if possible, or at least weekly.
6. Control physical access to your computers and network components
Prevent access or use of business computers by unauthorized individuals. Laptops can be particularly easy targets for theft, so make sure they are stored and locked up when unattended.
7. Secure your Wi-Fi networks If you have a Wi-Fi network for your workplace make sure it is secure and hidden.
To hide your Wi-Fi network, set-up your wireless access point or router so it does not broadcast the network name also known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID). In addition, make sure to turn on the encryption so that passwords are required for access. Lastly, it is critical to change the administrative password that was on the device when it was first purchased.
8. Require individual user accounts for each employee
Setup a separate account for each individual and require that strong passwords be used for each account. Administrative privileges should only be given to trusted IT staff and key personnel.
9. Limit employee access to data and information, and limit authority to install software
Do not provide any one employee with access to all data systems. Employees should only be given access to the specific data systems that they need for their jobs, and should not be able to install any software without permission.
10. Regularly change passwords
Passwords that stay the same, will, over time, be shared and become common knowledge to coworkers and can be easily hacked. Passwords should be changed at least every three months.
1. Train employees in security principles
Establish basic security practices to protect sensitive business information and communicate them to all employees on a regular basis. Establish rules of behavior describing how to handle and protect customer information and other vital data. Clearly spell out the penalties for violating business policies.
2. Protect information, computers and networks from viruses, spyware and other malicious code
Install, use and regularly update antivirus and antispyware software on every computer used in your business. Such software is readily available online from a variety of vendors. Most software packages now offer subscriptions to "security service" applications, which provide additional layers of protection. Set the antivirus software to automatically check for updates at a scheduled time of low computer usage, such as at night (midnight, for example), and then set the software to do a scan after the software update.
3. Provide firewall security for your Internet connection
A firewall is set of related programs that prevent outsiders from accessing data on a private network. Install and maintain firewalls between your internal network and the Internet. If employees work from home, ensure that their home systems are protected by firewalls. Install firewalls on all computers – including laptops – used in conducting your business.
4. Download and install software updates for your operating systems and applications as they become available
All operating system vendors regularly provide patches and updates to their products to correct security problems and improve functionality. Configure all software to install such updates automatically.
5. Make backup copies of important business data and information.
Regularly backup the data on every computer used in your business. Critical data includes word processing documents, electronic spreadsheets, databases, financial files, human resources files and accounts receivable/payable files. Backup data automatically if possible, or at least weekly.
6. Control physical access to your computers and network components
Prevent access or use of business computers by unauthorized individuals. Laptops can be particularly easy targets for theft, so make sure they are stored and locked up when unattended.
7. Secure your Wi-Fi networks If you have a Wi-Fi network for your workplace make sure it is secure and hidden.
To hide your Wi-Fi network, set-up your wireless access point or router so it does not broadcast the network name also known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID). In addition, make sure to turn on the encryption so that passwords are required for access. Lastly, it is critical to change the administrative password that was on the device when it was first purchased.
8. Require individual user accounts for each employee
Setup a separate account for each individual and require that strong passwords be used for each account. Administrative privileges should only be given to trusted IT staff and key personnel.
9. Limit employee access to data and information, and limit authority to install software
Do not provide any one employee with access to all data systems. Employees should only be given access to the specific data systems that they need for their jobs, and should not be able to install any software without permission.
10. Regularly change passwords
Passwords that stay the same, will, over time, be shared and become common knowledge to coworkers and can be easily hacked. Passwords should be changed at least every three months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
