Daily Archives: February 12, 2021

Pune, India, Feb. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global cloud computing market is expected to gain momentum from the rising inclination of enterprises to Omni-cloud solutions from multi-cloud solutions. This information is given by Fortune Business Insights in a new report, titled, Cloud Computing Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud), By Service (Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS)), By Industry (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), IT and Telecommunications, Government, Consumer Goods, and Retail, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027. The report further states that the market size stood at was USD 193.60 billion in 2019 and it is projected to reach USD 684.55 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 17.6% during the forecast period.

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COVID-19 Pandemic: High Demand for VoD Solutions to Propel Growth

The demand for live-streaming platforms, such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu is surging rapidly backed by the lockdown measures implemented by governments worldwide to prevent the transmission of coronavirus. This video-on-demand (VoD) solutions are further resulting in the high demand for IaaS cloud-based services. Also, because of the work from home practices across the globe, there is a high demand for SaaS-based collaboration solutions. We are delivering authentic reports to help you select the right strategy for regaining business confidence and generate more sales of cloud computing solutions.

To get to know more about the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this market,

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This Report Answers the Following Questions:

Drivers & Restraints-

Urgent Need to Analyze Data-driven Business Strategies will Favor Growth

The integration of innovative technologies, such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) with cloud computing solutions is increasing globally. It is aiding in analyzing, visualizing, and monitoring data-driven business strategies. At the same time, such integration processes would allow companies to make complex data accessible and usable over the visual representation, as well as to accelerate their visualization capabilities. However, the rising number of privacy and security concerns regarding unforeseen emergencies, application vulnerabilities, cyber-attacks, and data breaches may hamper the overall cloud computing market growth throughout the forthcoming years.

Segment-

Government Initiatives to Support Data Safety & Integrity will Drive BFSI Segment

Based on industry, the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) segment procured 16.1% in terms of cloud computing market share in 2019. This growth is attributable to the rising initiatives by the government to support data safety and integrity. The IT & telecommunications segment is likely to remain dominant in the coming years owing to the increasing usage of these services to manage and store vast amounts of data in the industry.

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Regional Analysis-

North America to Remain at Forefront Owing to Presence of Amazon, IBM, & Apple

Regionally, in 2019, North America generated USD 58.10 billion in terms of revenue. The region is anticipated to lead the market fueled by the presence of several prominent cloud computing service providers, namely, Apple Inc., IBM Corporation, and Amazon Web Services in the region. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, is set to exhibit an astonishing growth in the near future backed by the rapid digitalization and the rising internet penetration. Europe would show a substantial CAGR because of the high expenditure on cloud-based technologies in the region.

Competitive Landscape-

Key Players Aim to Gain Competitive Edge through New Product Launches

The market houses numerous reputed companies that are either opening new data centers or are launching new cloud computing solutions to gain a competitive edge. Most of them are nowadays striving persistently to develop state-of-the-art solutions for making COVID-19 tests easy for healthcare workers. Below are two latest industry developments:

A list of all the service providers present in this market:

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Major Table of Content for Cloud Computing Market:

Introduction

TOC Continued...!!!

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Cloud Computing Market: Amazon Web Services Opens Three New Data Centers in Bahrain to Expand Geographic Footprint: Fortune Business Insights -...

The future of computing is in the cloud. If you've been following the trajectory computer science has been on, you will know that cloud computing is one of the next essential skills you will need to learn. Whether it's to keep up with a hobby or stay at the forefront of your field in IT, you have a reason to stay informed, and if you're looking to get started in the field of cloud computing, these nine courses will help you get there. The 2021 Cloud Computing Architect Certification Bundle, normally costs $1800 but is on sale for $29.99, can be your introduction and guide into cloud computing.

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This bundle will give you lifetime access to over 300 lessons because you know better than anyone what your learning pace is, and all of this great information will still be there for you anytime you need it.

Give yourself an edge over your self-taught peers. The 2021 Cloud Computing Architect Certification Bundle can give you knowledge in a new niche in an ever-growing field that is endlessly complex. This bundle is on sale now for 98% off, and it will pay for itself in the experience and hirable skills you will gain by participating in it.

Prices subject to change

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This cloud computing certification bundle is on sale for 98% off - ZDNet

The pandemic-induced trend of staying and working from home in 2020 created an urgent need to enable remote-working facility. This led many companies to adopt cloud computing solutions for the first time. However, digital transformation was not new to the global economy. The pandemic only accelerated the adoption.

Digital transformation will be a key factor boosting the cloud computing space. Per a Research and Markets report, the global cloud computing market size is expected to rise from $371.4 billion in 2020 to $832.1 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 17.5%. Hence, the trend is here to stay and heres why --

The pandemic-induced remote working has shown companies the convenience of digital transformation. Not only can employees access their office devices from anywhere,they can use cloud collaboration platforms for communicating with colleagues. For companies, this has increased productivity and reduced workspace expenses.

The significance of cloud will keep growing in the post-pandemic period, thanks to its features, i.e., cost-efficient services, scalability, and flexibility to businesses. Moreover, rapid digitalization in the last year has changed the work environment and lifestyle. Integration of cloud computing with AI, big data and IoT will help businesses attain new heights of innovation.

Per a Forresters Predictions 2021 report, cloud will power how companies adapt to the new, unstable normal in 2021. The global public cloud infrastructure market is expected to grow 35% to $120 billion in 2021. Two major reasons behind this strong growth are-- cloud computing will help companies globally accelerate recovery in 2021. Also, people are unsure about how far into 2021 will companies keep remote working orders active and avoid travelling for work.

On Feb 9, cloud stocks hit a record-high for the fifth day in a row, while the cloud computing ETF (SKYY) notched an all-time high the day before. According to Synergy Research Group report, enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure services in the fourth quarter of 2020 was just crossed$37 billion, a 35% jump from the same quarter the year before. Fourth-quarter spending was$4 billion higher than the previous quarter and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT Quick QuoteMSFT - Free Report) hit the milestone of achieving a 20% worldwide market share. Both Microsoft and Amazon continue to account for more than half of the global cloud infrastructure services market.

The United States has emerged as the most mature market in terms of cloud computing service adoption. Presence of several technology giants with advanced IT infrastructure and availability of technical expertise is a primefactor for the boom in cloud computing in America.

In the coming years, more small-scale businesses, retail and consumer goods companies will adopt cloud computing, big data analytics, digital stores and social networks. Given such positives, we have shortlisted five stocks that are poised to grow and will return well on investment. All the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Microsoft offers Azure, a cloud computing service,for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers. The companys expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 27.4% compared with the Zacks Computer - Software industrys projected earnings growth of 3.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the companys current-year earnings has been revised 9.1% upward over the past 60 days.

Workday, Inc. (WDAY Quick QuoteWDAY - Free Report) provides enterprise cloud applications. The companys expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 42.6% compared with the Zacks Internet - Software industrys projected earnings growth of 9.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the companys current-year earnings has been revised 1.1% upward over the past 60 days.

Apple Inc. (AAPL Quick QuoteAAPL - Free Report) offers iCloud, a cloud storage and cloud computing service. The companys expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 36.3% compared with the Zacks Computer - Mini computers industrys projected earnings growth of 26.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the companys next-quarter earnings has been revised 11.5% upward over the past 60 days.

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD Quick QuoteCRWD - Free Report) provides cloud-delivered solutions for next-generation endpoint protection. The companys expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100% compared with the Zacks Internet - Software industrys projected earnings growth of 9.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the companys current-year earnings has been revised 4.6% upward over the past 60 days.

Anaplan, Inc. (PLAN Quick QuotePLAN - Free Report) provides a cloud-based connected planning platform to connect organizations and people. The companys expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 31.8% compared with the Zacks Internet - Software industrys estimated earnings growth of 9.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the companys current-year earnings has been revised 11.8% upward over the past 90 days.

In addition to the stocks you read about above, would you like to see Zacks top picks to capitalize on the Internet of Things (IoT)? It is one of the fastest-growing technologies in history, with an estimated 77 billion devices to be connected by 2025. That works out to 127 new devices per second.

Zacks has released a special report to help you capitalize on the Internet of Thingss exponential growth. It reveals 4 under-the-radar stocks that could be some of the most profitable holdings in your portfolio in 2021 and beyond.

Click here to download this report FREE >>

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5 Stocks to Buy as Cloud Computing Adoption Accelerates - Zacks.com

The International Space Station will soon get a connection to Microsoft Azure. (NASA Photo)

The skys not the limit for the cloud: Microsoft is partnering with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to bring Azure cloud computing to the International Space Station.

HPEs Spaceborne Computer-2, which is due for launch to the station as early as Feb. 20 aboard Northrop Grummans robotic Cygnus cargo ship, will deliver edge computing, artificial intelligence capabilities and a cloud connection to orbit on an integrated platform for what could be the first time.

This wont be the first time NASA has connected the space station to cloud computing services. In 2019, for example, Amazon Web Services participated in a demonstration that used cloud-based processing to distribute live video streams from space.

It wont be the first orbital go-round for HPE, either. In 2017, the company sent up its first Spaceborne Computer, which demonstrated supercomputer-level processing speeds in excess of a teraflop during the 20 months it spent in orbit.

Space-based computing services have come a long way since then, and now is a propitious time for the Microsoft-HPE collaboration. Just a few months ago, Microsoft extended its cloud footprint to the final frontier with Azure Space.

Mark Fernandez, the principal investigator for Spaceborne Computer-2 and solutions architect of Converged Edge Systems at HPE, said he was looking forward to working with Microsoft on Azure Space.

HPE and Microsoft are collaborating to further accelerate space exploration by delivering state-of-the-art technologies to tackle a range of data processing needs while in orbit, he said today in an Azure blog posting.

Spaceborne Computer-2, or SBC-2 for short, is built on the HPE Edgeline Converged Edge system, which is purposely engineered for harsh edge environments.

Astronauts and space explorers deserve access to the best cloud computing technologies and advanced processing at the ultimate edge, said Tom Keane, corporate vice president for Azure Global. Sometimes analysis needs to be done immediately at the edge, where every passing moment counts, and other times the analysis is so massively complex that it can only be performed with the power of the hyperscale cloud.

To combine the power of the edge with the power of the cloud, SBC-2 will be connected to Microsoft Azure via NASA and HPE ground stations.

Keane said HPE and Microsoft are evaluating SBC-2s edge computing capabilities and developing machine-language models to handle a variety of research challenges for example, how to anticipate dust storms that could bedevil future Mars missions, how best to grow plants for food in space, and how to use AI-enhanced ultrasound imaging to make in-space medical diagnoses.

SBC-2 will be used for research projects under the sponsorship of the ISS National Lab for two to three years which is about as long as a mission to Mars is expected to last. Got an idea? Send it in. Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the ISS National Lab are taking requests.

For more information about proposing experiments that take advantage of Spaceborne Computer-2, send an email with your name, your organizations name and mission, and a one-paragraph explanation of your proposed experiment and why youre proposing it to spaceborne@hpe.com.

Read more here:

Microsoft and HPE team up to connect Azure cloud to International Space Station - GeekWire

The ongoing growth of cellular wireless network applications creates new demand for emerging technologies. Fifth-generation (5G) wireless communication includes several network layers that leverage technology such as Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN), network slicing, and cloud edge computing.

Within cloud-edges, the broader artificial intelligence (AI) industry is witnessing a migration of AI to the edge. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, the edge AI training and inference market for chipsets is expected to grow from $2.6 billion in 2020 to $10.7 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 35 percent.

Furthermore, new enterprise use cases place new performance, agility, and latency requirements on the network. These, along with the ongoing quest to drive new growth, are compelling the industry to shed human-intensive networks in favor of an intelligence-driven ecosystem.

According to the ABI assessment, telecom service providers are already actively expanding the utilisation of AI and machine learning (ML) beyond merely digitising internal and external interactions.

Many communication service providers (CSPs) are already on a journey to become augmented service providers where AI augments human decision making for prediction, analysis, and new revenues, said Don Alusha, senior analyst at ABI Research.

Rakuten, for example, has renamed its network operations centres (NOCs) to service experience centres (SECs) as it implements extreme automation for self-aware networks. In addition, Telefnica Tech is a new venture to incubate new growth based on AI/ML, cloud and IoT/big data.

AI/ML capabilities enable the industry to leverage IT-oriented nimbleness and scale as they seek to manage the complexities of todays networks and establish new commercial models, Alusha adds.

New commercial models will need to complement existing asset-intensive environments where an understanding of the cost of goods sold, inventory turns, managing factories, and supply chains is key to success. In the new world of cloud, AI/ML, and software, technology vendors do not manufacture a product and sell it.

They sell a capability. They sell knowledge. They create it at the same time they deliver it. The business model is different and so are the economics. DriveNets, Enea Openwave, Ericsson, HPE, and Nokia are some vendors among many others that are building software-centric ways of marketing and selling solutions. The point is that AI/ML-based platforms are re-shaping existing commercial models. The winners will be those who act decisively and thoughtfully, Alusha says.

For CSPs, the continued maturity of AI/ML will be a key enabler of new value creation in their journey to become a digital service provider. Technology is a key pillar of that journey, but there are other key dimensions, that if not considered part of the overall digitalisation journey, may limit CSPs ability to capture the full value at stake.

Specifically, change management is critical and constitutes the bulk of the effort as CSPs embrace new ways of working. Equally important is to embrace openness and break the siloes, two sides of the same coin. CSPs that are investing in AI/ML-based platforms must consider that efficiency will come from sharing knowledge and embracing open platforms where APIs and data can be easily accessed.

AI/ML, big data, and open APIs offer agility and the ability to drive innovation. Consequently, the new world in cellular must start with a foundation on software and API-led connectivity. The ability to harness the power of software-defined networking platforms and AI/ML capabilities are the future.

This may well mean that, in addition to bolting on software and intelligent capabilities, CSPs need to learn how to build them as cloud-edges, Open RAN, and 5G core proliferates in the ecosystem, Alusha concludes.

This is an emerging market where mobile network operators can differentiate their network services with value-added offerings. I believe that open innovation methodologies will enable service providers to engage their chosen technology partners that become part of evolving and expansive 5G ecosystems.

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their experiences and use-cases? Attend theCyber Security & Cloud Expo World Serieswith upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to learn more.

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How cloud-based AI is set to transform mobile apps - Cloud Tech

Cloud computing's growing role in the energy markets positions the data center industry to drive a global shift to renewably-powered business. New on the DCF Show.

When it comes to climate change, it is time for the data center sector to lead. The massive energy footprint of cloud computing enables the data center industry to drive a global shift to renewably-powered business. This is becoming a huge issue for cloud platforms, data center developers and service providers and especially for users of data center services.

This is the second in a series of broadcasts outlining the Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center in 2021. The data center industry is in a unique position to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices and reduce the damage to our changing climate.Customers and stakeholders are demanding accountability on climate impact, creating a compelling business incentive to embrace sustainability.

Listen to todays show:

Here are links to the additional resources on enterprise IT trends that I mentioned in the podcast:

These article series provide excerpts of some of the findings in our recent reports:

Be sure to check our our free Annual Forecast, outlining the DCF take on the most important trends to watch this year:

Did you like this episode? Be sure to subscribe to the Data Center Frontier show so you get future episodes on your app. We are onApple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find quality podcasts. You can also subscribe using ourRSS feed, and tell your friends and colleagues about our podcast!

Weve also just launched theData Center Frontier Channel on YouTube to showcase our videos, where we explain the infrastructure that powers the digital world. If you like data centers or work in the industry, youll want to subscribe!

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Can Cloud Computing Lead the Way on Climate? - Data Center Frontier

Thomas Kurian, chief executive officer of cloud services at Google LLC, speaks during the Google Cloud Next '19 event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The conference brings together industry experts to discuss the future of cloud computing.

Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Google cloud chief Thomas Kurian said Wednesday that he's focused on growth for now, with an eye toward profitability later on.

"We're working closely with Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat to improve our operating margin and operating loss, which will both benefit from increased scale over time," Kurian told Heath Terry, a Goldman Sachs managing director, at the virtual Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. "Scale will bring material improvements in profitability. And we're very focused on that. We know in this business we need scale in order to be profitable."

Investors are looking for reassurance that Google's its years-long investment in cloud computing can contribute to rather than detract from the profitability of Google parent Alphabet. Growth could also make Google more competitive with market leader Amazon, which derives almost half of its income from its cloud division.

Kurian's comments come a week after Google parent Alphabet for the first time disclosed the operating results of the cloud unit, which includes the Google Cloud Platform public cloud infrastructure and Google Workspace productivity software subscriptions. The unit has lost at least $4 billion in each of the last three years, and finished 2020 with a loss of $5.61 billion on $13.06 billion in revenue. Revenue growth slowed slightly from 53% in 2019 to 47% in 2020.

The Google Cloud organization remains focused on accelerating revenue growth, said Kurian, who replaced Diane Greene as head of Google's cloud group two years ago after spending two decades at Oracle.

Kurian said Google is keen to launch cloud infrastructure in more countries in order to satisfy organizations' regulatory needs. He pointed to uptake in Indonesia and South Korea. At the same time, Google Cloud continues to invest in expanding its sales function. Kurian said the business is on track to expand its direct sales organization by more than three times

"We really believe we have a good line of sight on how as you scale investments," he said. "That opens up markets and opens up revenue."

Nominations are open for the 2021 CNBC Disruptor 50, a list of private start-ups using breakthrough technology to become the next generation of great public companies. Submit by Friday, Feb. 12, at 3 pm EST.

WATCH: Google Cloud will be very profitable business: Investor

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Google Cloud boss is focused on growth: 'We need scale in order to be profitable' - CNBC

Businesses are making the shift to a cloud... but is that enough? Hybrid ways are the best way to go about it. Image Credit: Supplied

Building a cloud journey has become a top priority for businesses to help them adopt innovative technologies, revolutionize business models, and subsequently impact the bottom-line.

However, challenges like management, security, and governance of data and workloads distributed on multiple clouds have become significant barriers in defining a robust and cohesive cloud journey. A hybrid cloud can resolve most of these challenges

The hybrid model allows businesses to manage multiple clouds explicitly designated to meet current and incremental requirements, data, and workloads in a secured and governed manner, backed by a flexible architecture.

Such a landscape may include the combination of one or more on-premise infrastructures, internally managed or outsourced private clouds, public clouds from multiple providers, and even infrastructure for legacy and most modern IoT and Edge systemsall running simultaneously to fuel the digitization needs of the enterprise across functions.

In banking, for example, instantaneously processing millions of transactions and delivering a perfect customer experience throughout the journey is pivotal. However, securing the customer's data at every step is essential for banks to maintain trust and integrity.

A hybrid approach helps banks define modern architectures to cater to security, governance, speed, ease of management on-demand with agility in a business-strategy-first model.

In an IBM study conducted by IDC in Middle East, Turkey and Africa, 85 per cent said they are pursuing or looking to pursue a hybrid cloud strategy in their organization. More than 55 per cent suggested the key reason to adopt a hybrid cloud was flexibility and significant cost savings.

Lets explore some of the other tangible benefits.

Simplify movement between clouds

Enterprise workload and capability requirements, cost implications, security or regulatory pressures, an infrastructure lift-and-shift risk exposure, and other factors can influence the need for a sudden full or partial cloud-to-cloud migration. Mission-critical workloads span extensive IT estates that include traditional data centres and clouds in different locations, each with unique government and regulatory requirements.

In parallel, the immense focus on artificial intelligence has mandated businesses to collect, aggregate, and analyze data for building actionable insights to innovate business models at scale. On average, a business today draws data from over 400 sources to build advanced analytics for decision-making.

As the volume of data grows, the maintenance implications and underlying cost grows too, and can often slow down the entire transformation.

Build once, deploy anywhere

Building a hybrid approach can offer greater flexibility to tackle these obstacles by providing an open, faster, and more secure way to move core business applications to any cloud flexibly. With hybrid solutions, organizations easily move and deploy containerized workloads consistently on any infrastructure.

This can also reduce expected downtime from weeks to hours. Beyond migration, such solutions also help with automation capabilities, improve employee productivity, and deliver better end-to-end customer journeys while reducing the burden of governing content and processes.

At Telecom Egypt, we implemented a hybrid cloud solution, infusing AI for more flexibility and scalability of operations. They can now manage and automate their networks, while identifying, isolating and resolving problems before they impact operations. All of which is powered by real-time, historical analytics.

This will also enable new digital services with ease.

Openness and security

Not relying on a single vendor increases the flexibility of choosing the right cloud for your business requirements without fitting needs to vendors specifications. A hybrid approach also lets you meet certain local or industry-specific regulatory requirements by separating workloads or data into locations as needed but running your systems in a centralized fashion.

Our work with appsNmobile Solutions in Ghana has seen the collaboration create a fast, stable infrastructure that builds in security for payment transactions in a challenging environment.

Todays organizations want choice, and they can have it by choosing the appropriate cloud for each of their requirements. They seek open innovation - minus vendor lock-in - and the ability to build once and deploy anywhere.

Choosing a hybrid cloud that provides the agility, security, mobility, integration, and cost efficiencies will play a key role in driving business success in the post-pandemic era.

-Mostafa Zafer isVice-President at IBM Data & AI, Automation and Security, Middle East and Africa.

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Businesses need to think hybrid when going for cloud computing - Gulf News

During the last year alone, we have seen a number of organisations become the latest victims of targeted cyberattacks and large-scale data breaches, ultimately bringing business to their knees.

Even with the latest and top of the market cybersecurity defences in place, there is no guarantee that your business is safe. And if the statistics are anything to go by, Check Point Research saw a 50% increase in the daily average of ransomware attacks, compared to the first half of 2020. The question is not if your business is next, but when.

Information is the lifeblood of any organisation and for optimum safety should be secured in the cloud enabling it to be shared and acted upon at a moments notice. However, the loss of business data can result in irreversible damage to your business, including the loss of productivity, revenue, reputation, and impact on clients.

For retailers, however, disaster planning comes with additional urgency, requiring businesses to safeguard not only their employees but customers too at a time when online shopping is expected to peak.

Essentially, a disaster recovery plan enables an organisation to future-proof its IT infrastructure against the odds. For retailers implementing the right technology and having a disaster recovery plan in place will minimise the impact of the worst-case scenario allowing your business to respond instantly to the issue mitigating potential negative brand perception.

Security breaches can be the result of intentional actions or accidental ones. While hackers and cybercriminals are motivated by various factors, typically motivations behind a security breach include criminals wanting to gain access to secure information (resulting in a data breach), utilising computing resources for their own purposes (common in crypto-jacking attacks) or crashing the network itself for personal or political reasons.

Cybersecurity considerations for business continuity are still not a priority agenda across the corporate South African landscape, particularly for smaller businesses trying to manage the crippling effect of COVID-19. But as the threat level escalates, those organisations without security in place need to reconsider their priorities. There are steps that can be taken to prepare and avoid becoming a target. Your business is critical to you, so why would you not secure it to the best of your ability?

With that said, while all businesses should have business continuity plans in place to avoid risks and minimise disaster, retailers operate in a particularly competitive environment and with most consumers going online to avoid in-store contact, there is a higher risk. The cloud is an extremely effective place to store all business data in case of disasters and ensure your business remains unaffected in the worst-case scenario.

A Future-Ready business has information on-demand, at its fingertips and keeps it secure and protected from virtual and physical threats. Collaboration is easier, decisions are faster, and productivity is increased.

Cloud computing is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data. A cloud service is characterised by scalability, managed computer power, storage, platforms and services that are delivered on-demand; allowing customers to provision computing capabilities such as server time and network storage. Cloud computing can be implemented as a private cloud, community cloud, public cloud or hybrid cloud.

Working with a myriad of clients from large scale businesses to SMEs, Vodacom Business adopts a practical approach to cloud computing, understanding that there is no one size fits all solution as every business is different. This process can be daunting but will no doubt transform and protect your business.

The risk from IT security breaches is a growing threat with criminals interested in gaining malicious access to your applications and data. At the same time, the ever-increasing number of devices and networks which need protection is growing rapidly and exponentially.

Technology will take your business to the next level and prepare it for the worst-case scenario. As we bid goodbye to a hard year, let the cybersecurity lessons learned in 2020, future-proof your business in 2021.

Link:

Vodacom Business On Disaster Recovery Through Cloud Computing - TechFinancials

This last week, Howard Boville of IBM provided an overview of where the IBM Cloud is and why it doesnt compete with major cloud players like AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. This talk showed how a smaller cloud vendor like IBM could carve out space in what appears to be a crowded market and thrive. They do so by focusing on targeted verticals unique needs and, rather than competing with the other cloud players, finding ways to work with them instead.

This focus allows IBM to carve out and protect a beachhead in the cloud computing space. That is, to clarify where differentiation is needed and partner where it isnt, providing customers with the best of both worlds and solidifying IBMs unique advantage.

Lets talk about IBMs strategy and solution this week.

The major cloud players, due to their scale, have to be everything to everyone. They have to put ease of use in nearly everything to stay ahead of their competitors and grow their markets. Still, they tend to avoid focusing on verticals because that focus creates unneeded and unwanted complexity for most users that remain.

Whenever entering an already crowded market, the best approach is to focus on targeted verticals and provide services and capabilities that the dominant players either cant provide or, in this case, dont want to provide.

But you also dont want to be exclusionary, because the other vendors are dominant and can lock you out if they see you as a threat. More important, customers dont want an exclusionary service ether, because the large vendors will generally be less expensive for those efforts, like customer-facing efforts, that may not need the unique aspects of the targeted offering.

IBMs placed their focus on four industries that where IBM already has substantial competencies. Those vertical markets are Government, Financial Services, Telecom, and Healthcare.

These verticals encompass large to substantial enterprises and segments of the market where security and consistency are essential due to the respective firms size and the regulatory environments in which these firms operate.

Take, for instance, IBMs unique approach to encryption. They use Homomorphic Encryption, which provides the ability to abstract and calculate the data without decrypting it.

First, they have given the keys to their customers. This last is a massive difference because major cloud providers typically keep a copy of the encryption keys to provide recourse if the customer loses them. But this practice creates a potential exploit if that vendor is compromised and an attacker gets the key, or law enforcement wants access to the data without the customers knowledge. There is an increased risk of critical loss by distributing the keys, but a far reduced risk of a breach that the targeted industries hold as the greater exposure, thanks to the regulations and their unique environments.

Another unique feature is creating a consistent cloud service that can run on any primary cloud service. While companies may not need this extra support for everything, like an internal benefits application, they dont want to have a mass of apps with little consistency and a lot of unique work. Partially by using their subsidiary Red Hats Open Shift technology, they have created a consistent set of services and tools that allow the resulting apps to run on any cloud platform. This practice preserves the customers multi-cloud option.

This IBM effort is a showcase not only of how to approach a market dominated by a few vendors but how much IBM has changed over the years. Todays IBM is a huge Open Source advocate, believes and supports cross-platform efforts, things customer choice works for, not against them, and is focused more on what IBM customers want than ever before.

This change in strategy and their tight focus on the critical government, healthcare, finance, and Telecom markets makes them a unique solution in the crowded cloud service market.

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The Unique Focus Of The IBM Cloud - Datamation