Cloud best practices that strengthen security and performance Posted on February 8, 2017 by Adam Burke As I mentioned in my last post, organizations increasingly use multiple cloud services and hybrid clouds. Boosting cloud security with infrastructure and standards Cloud services providers are also deploying new cloud technologies like automation, microservices, containers, and so on, that boost cloud performance and make public cloud services as secure, or even more secure, than traditional on-premises environments. Continue reading →
3 trends, 4 new technologies Driving the multi-cloud world Posted on January 11, 2017 by Adam Burke On average, the typical cloud user leverages six clouds. It’s no surprise, then, that 80% of enterprise IT organizations will commit to hybrid clouds this year. Chicken or egg? Which comes first – customers embracing new technologies or new technologies created in hopes of attracting new customers? Either way, your customers face three inescapable trends: Continue reading →
When downtime strikes Posted on November 15, 2016 by Adam Burke Lurking behind many downtime incidents are mundane causes – a failed UPS, human error, a malfunctioning component. But increasingly, your clients will discover downtime causes stemming from a class of culprits best characterized as IT complexity. Continue reading →
Hybrid cloud as an innovation infrastructure: 8 best practices Posted on August 9, 2016 by Adam Burke Much of the appeal of cloud services lies in their ability to mask the complexity of the information technologies we all depend on. Thus, as your clients’ employees sign on to public clouds, their IT staffs must respond with hybrid cloud solutions that address the resulting shadow IT, security, and compliance issues. Continue reading →
Your clients have Shadow IT — and Hybrid Cloud can help Posted on July 12, 2016 by Adam Burke Ever ask your clients how many public cloud services they use? Odds are the number is higher than even the most senior tech guy knows. In fact, the appeal of low-cost, easy-to-use, feature-rich public cloud services is so universal that by 2020, cloud will claim two-thirds of all IT infrastructure, software, services, and technology spending. By then, cloud-related communication will account for more than 80% of total data center traffic. Continue reading →
When your customers want Cloud: Bring in the experts for free with a Quest Cloud Feasibility Assessment Posted on December 17, 2012 by Adam Burke With all the hype these days about Cloud computing, it can be easy to forget two very important facts: Not all Clouds are created equal. Different types of Clouds — say, public versus private versus hybrid — have different capabilities and limitations. What’s more, some Cloud providers do a better job than others of building the best Cloud infrastructure and maintaining an ability to customize it to meet customer requirements. Not all applications and data belong in a Cloud environment. Continue reading →
Finding your way in a hybrid cloud future Posted on November 1, 2012 by Adam Burke As anyone who does business with smaller enterprises knows, most have begun to use some sort of cloud service. One survey conducted last summer for EMC shows 62% using cloud — up from 28% a year earlier. Note that most of these companies are using public cloud services, and plenty of that use is what’s called ‘shadow IT’ — which is to say, end-users are doing unauthorized end runs around their IT departments to access these public cloud services for the sake of convenience and ease of use. Continue reading →