Systems of Innovation for Ongoing Digital Transformation Information technology (IT) advances are transforming the way we innovate in business, thereby disrupting the old guard and their predictable status-quo. It’s creating global market turbulence. Industries are converging, and new opportunities and threats are emerging, like never before. So, how are savvy chief information officers (CIOs) leading this transition? Back in 2015, the IBM Institute for Business Value conducted a market study that included the findings from over 1,800 CIO interviews from around the globe. The resulting insights are worthy of revisiting today, as we consider the digital business transformation outlook in 2017. Introduction to the Torchbearer CIO CIOs realize the barriers between formerly distinct industries are collapsing, as organizations in one sector apply their expertise to others ... (more)

The Uncharted Territory of User Behavior Data

The uncharted territory of user behavior data based on what users do in such web walled gardens as Facebook was the focus of a "tweet jam" last week organized by The Open Group. Some of the many notable participants in the tweet jam around the hash tag #ogChat on July 11 worried about the prospect of misuse of the user identity and behavior data, but were more mixed about what to do about it. I was the moderator of the tweet jam. [Disclosure: The Open Group is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts.] With hundreds of tweets flying at break-neck pace, yesterday's #ogChat saw a very spirited discussion on the Internet's movement toward a walled garden model. In case you missed the conversation, you're now in luck! Here's a re-cap of yesterday's #ogChat: The full list of participants included: Naomi Caietti, Administrative Office of the Courts Department of Business Over... (more)

Ways Cloud Computing Will Change by 2020

Think cloud computing is just the latest IT fad? Think again. Forrester predicts the global cloud computing market will grow from $35 billion in 2011 to around $150 billion by 2020 as it becomes key to many organizations' IT infrastructures. According to an article on ZDNet, by 2020 cloud is going to be a major - and permanent - part of the enterprise computing infrastructure. By 2020, a generational shift will have occurred in organizations. A new generation of CIOs will be in charge that have grown up using cloud-based tools, making them far more willing to adopt cloud on an enterprise scale. With these developments in mind, here are 10 ways in which the cloud of 2020 will look radically different to the way it does today, according to ZDNet. Rackspace Open Cloud Offers Easily Scalable Computing Rackspace has announced the unlimited availability of cloud databases and ... (more)

Google Prepared to Change Its Algorithms

Google is trying to sweet talk the European Commission out of declaring Google an abusive monopolist but has yet to put a concrete proposal on the table according to Reuters. The EC has been investigating the company since three European concerns, including a Microsoft subsidiary, filed complaints about its Google-preferring searches. A decision could take months. Out-going Google CEO Eric Schmidt told Britain's Sunday Telegraph that he'd be willing to change the company's search algorithms to avoid an antitrust finding. ... (more)

Where Are RIA Technologies Headed in 2008?

I am always being told off by i-technologists for quoting Picasso as having said that computers are useless. But I still love his reasoning? "Because they can only give you answers." Picasso, like AJAXWorld Magazine, liked questions. So we thought we would share with you what some of the world's leading rich Internet application pioneers are thinking may be the next questions that we need to see answered. From that readers can themselves infer where AJAX is headed. What are the top questions to ask next about AJAX? Eric Miraglia of Yahoo! 1.  (From March'08) How do I calculate the ROI of building my RIA on the iPhone SDK vs using AJAX? 2.  How do I assess the performance of my app and decide what to do next to make it faster?  3.  When it comes to accessibility, how do I know what's required of me for my rich web apps?  Beyond what's required, what makes good business se... (more)

The Rise of the Government App Store

In a recent post to the CCIF mailing list, Bob Marcus outlined the coming opportunties and challenges facing what he described as "Government Cloud Storefronts". In the post he described Vivek Kundra's (US Federal CIO) vision for the creation of a government Cloud Storefront. This Storefront (run by GSA) which will be launched Sept 9th and will make Cloud Computing resources (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) available to agencies with in the US federal Government. (an $80+ Billion a year IT organization). What's also interesting is the US isn't alone in the vision of centralized access points for procuring Cloud services and related applications. Several other governments including the United Kingdom G-Cloud app store and the Japanese Kasumigaseki Cloud are attempting to do the same with Japan spending upwards of 250 million dollars on their initiative. Kundra, speaking at a recent ... (more)

Social Media and the Shifting Information Compliance Landscape

Click Here to Download This White Paper Now! Companies are engaging customers and prospects on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and through blogs and posts on internal or external websites. But are they in compliance with legal requirements related to social media, not to mention privacy? Answering questions on every general counsel's and compliance officer's mind, "Social Media and the Shifting Information Compliance Landscape," sets the stage by tracing regulators' steps to incorporating social network interactions into mainstream legal requirements. In this paper, general counsel learn about the impact that pervasive social communications can have on pre-trial discovery obligations, including compliance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Packed with practical advice and included in the paper, a ‘model solution for social media' presents four best practices t... (more)

StackIQ To Exhibit At Cloud Expo Silicon Valley

SYS-CON Events announced today that StackIQ will exhibit at SYS-CON's 15th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 4-6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Contact @StackIQ for your FREE @CloudExpo pass. StackIQ offers a comprehensive software suite that automates the deployment, provisioning, and management of Big Infrastructure. With StackIQ’s software, you can spin up fully configured big data clusters, quickly and consistently — from bare-metal up to the applications layer — and manage them efficiently. Our software’s modular architecture allows customers to integrate nearly any application with the StackIQ software stack. Two of the founders of StackIQ will also present at Cloud Expo Silicon Valley. Mason Katz / Co-Founder, CTO Mason Katz is the Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of StackIQ. Prior to joining... (more)

Adobe Tries Commercializing Its Online Software

Acrobat.com, Adobe's nascent, still-evolving online productivity software, moved out of public beta Monday and into its first foray into commercialization, ahead of any similar move into the cloud by Microsoft. The base widgetry will still be free but Adobe has created two paid subscriptions meant for business users that add capacity and capabilities to the otherwise freebie software. The software currently consists of Buzzword, the online word processor that Adobe bought; ConnectNow web conferencing; Create PDF, which turns files in other people's formats into Adobe's PDF; and Share, and an online file-sharing service that lets users upload files so multiple other users can download them. Acrobat.com, which fancies it can establish a "new way to work," is nothing if not focused on collaboration, which Adobe estimates is a $2 billion opportunity. To exploit that o... (more)

The Human Factor in Cloud’s Next Big Thing

Where will the cloud computing model of service-based virtualized computing resources for data storage and processing grow next? This is arguably the biggest question facing technology analysts today - and if we knew the answer we could all probably sleep a little more soundly. Before we can answer this question, perhaps we need to break it down and determine what exactly we are really trying to clarify. Are we trying to understand which subset technology or component part of the cloud model is set to grow next? If so then we need to focus our efforts on analysis of Infrastructure (or Platform, or Software) -as-a-Service expansion as compared to Data (or Backup, or Disaster Recovery) -as-a-Service in order to pinpoint the true hotbed of cloud development. Alternatively, we could simply try and make some informed conjecture as to which industry vertical is about grow... (more)

[Flashback to 2008] Is Google the Elephant in the Cloud?

While cloud computing reporting has recently been focused on Microsoft's Azure announcement and Amazon's upgrade to EC2, there's an elephant in the cloud: Google. According to a well-researched article in Cloud Computing Journal, Google filed as long ago as February 2006 a provisional patent application with 91 different numbered claims that arguably makes it clear that Google has a multi-year lead in cloud computing. The article, written by Stephen T. Arnold, concludes that: "Google can, with the deployment of software, deliver global services that other companies cannot match in terms of speed of deployment, operation, and enhancement....[T]his patent document is an indication that Google can put its foot on the gas pedal at any time and operate in a dimension that other companies cannot." Stephen E. Arnold, who blogs at arnoldit.com, monitors search, content p... (more)