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Posts from the ‘Data Centre’ Category

7
Dec

“If you think you’ll save money with cloud computing, think again”

Cloud Savings

Cloud Savings

Quote from Joseph Marks @ Nextgov.com

“More than half of organizational users saved little or no money after transitioning to cloud computing, according to a new study, and only 14 percent actually downsized their information technology departments after moving to the cloud.”

My Take> There are some interesting stats from this cloud computing survey commissioned by CSC which covers companies globally, in Australia, US, UK, EU, Brazil, Japan and Singapore.  Only 17% of companies surveyed were moving to cloud computing to save money which indicates to me that it’s more about cost avoidance and becoming more nimble and adaptable to market changes and competition.

The biggest of these changes is the mobilisation of the workforce with access to corporate data anywhere anytime (in the cloud) and the pressure to harness and manage communities brought on by social media and the wide spread adoption of smartphones and tablets.  Achieving this technology integration and security management by means of traditional in-house IT is complex and expensive when compared to the cost of outsourcing to established cloud platform providers that are already geared for the mobile and social media revolution.

For example, Salesforce now has full integration with Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter and even has it’s own “chatter” community capability built in.  The cost of integration for these types of technologies into traditional enterprise IT are prohibitive as the skill sets are not among those normally found in an IT department and the social media and cloud space moves at a frenetic pace.  Technology is all but commoditised now, as evident by HP’s attempt to get out of the PC business. Tablets and Smartphones already do 80% of the tasks of a normal PC, and in a lot of cases, the user experience is better than with a PC with less support required from IT departments.

SAP and Oracle are beefing up their cloud computing capabilities with acquisitions to try and stay relevant in the new cloud community-connected world.  Salesforce have successfully launched force.com to foster the creation of their version of the corporate app store and you can be sure that SAP, Oracle and Microsoft will want a piece of the action.  2012 is shaping to be an interesting year of  big changes in all three areas of cloud computing, IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, with corporate and enterprise uptake poised to accelerate according to all the recent surveys and studies.

You only have to take a look at the big Banks to see that Cloud computing is here to stay.  Westpac, CBA and NAB all have major internal restructures underway to take advantage of the lower cost and faster time to market of Cloud computing.  If it’s good enough for the Banks to be going to Cloud computing, you know it’s a serious revolution.  It’s not all about cost either, with social media and mobile content being so entwined in our lives these days, it’s also about competitive advantage and customer experience.

Hosting Guru

Read More About the Survey


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18
Nov

AMD Banking on the Datacenter and Cloud Computing

By Hosting Guru With the recent announcements of both Intel’s and AMD’s latest offerings in the last few weeks, it’s a good time to stop and reflect on where compute technology is heading. AMD’s new Opteron 6200 and 4200 are low power multi-core CPU’s for the data centre and cloud computing.  A smart move in my book, where they have also improved memory bandwidth and memory capacity.  Most importantly, they also upped the core count to 16 cores per CPU with 2 x 8 core modules combined.  Both 8 core CPU modules share a single FPU and L1 & L2 cache.  This is an architecture well suited to highly virtualised, high density environments, with HP claiming a massive 2048 Opteron Bulldozer cores in a single rack. AMD is claiming it’s 84% faster, 73% more efficient and uses half the power of the equivalent Intel Xeon. The new 4200 series is targeted at consolidated web servers. The CPU cores consume as little as 5W per core.  That’s a massive improvement right there! This is all great news, but the biggest issue with this greater core density per CPU remains the software vendors pricing, especially Oracles 0.5 x per core pricing strategy and lets not ignore IBM’s and VMware’s multi-core software pricing strategy either! It can cost thousands more per year in software licensing, so both customers and cloud providers need to think very carefully about the best core density vs software licensing vs environmental power/space combination. I still love Intel’s latest design where ultimate performance is more important than core count, but I think AMD have the better approach for the data centre and workstation market where multi-threaded and highly virtualised applications rule. It’s looking more and more like the best of both worlds will be AMD for the Web, Application and Middleware layers, and Intel for the high performance Database layer. By Hosting Guru

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11
Oct

NTT Communications and CME Group Collaborate on Ultra-Low Latency Gateway for Transpacific Financial Trading

Low Latency

Low Latency Map

Joint Efforts Combine NTT Communications’ Arcstar Managed Network Solution and CME Group’s Co-Location Facility to Create Ultra-low Latency Gateway to Asia

NEW YORK & CHICAGO, Oct 10, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — NTT America, a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), and CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced NTT Com will provide its ultra-low latency Arcstar solution for CME Group’s western Chicago suburb co-location data center which will allow CME Co-Location Services customers premier access to the Asian markets.

While a variety of factors including throughput, bandwidth and availability impact financial markets, ultra-low latency access is vital for the near instantaneous response rates necessary for applications such as high frequency trading (HFT). Network services providers must deliver predictable, consistent and high performance network access and collaborate with trading platforms that offer co-located data centers to improve market participants’ ability to execute and alter trading strategies in real-time. NTT Com’s solution will provide CME Co-Location Services customers an ultra-low latency gateway for transpacific financial trading that will meet the demands of HFT.

Both companies will be exhibiting at the 27th Annual Futures & Options Expo (FIA), October 10-12, 2011 in Chicago. FIA is the largest futures industry event in the world with more than 5,000 attendees from more than 30 countries. NTT Com’s booth number is #227.

NTT Com’s Arcstar Key Highlights

– An integrated offering leveraging NTT Communications’ global data centers and ultra-low latency networks to support high frequency trading and other low-latency applications platforms for financial institutions

– Layer 1 (STM/Ethernet) end-to-end high performance private network connection between New York, Chicago, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo

– Fastest route between USA and Japan over NTT-owned PC-1 international undersea cable

CME Co-Location Services Key Highlights

– Comprised of hosting, connectivity and support services, will officially launch for trading on Sunday, January 29, 2012

– New data center facility provides low latency connection to the CME Globex Electronic Trading Platform

– A purpose-built, high density data center optimized for electronic trading

– Equidistant cross connects ensure location neutrality for all customers

– Carrier-neutral, open access telecommunications policy provides for flexibility

Executive Quotes

“Our commitment to our customers is to allow them to be as competitive as possible while managing risk and incorporating high performance while providing them with reliable network access,” said Kevin Kometer, Chief Information Officer, CME Group. “We are pleased that NTT Communications has selected the CME Group co-location facility to build the low latency gateway to Asia. NTT Communications’ Arcstar solution, together with CME Co-Location Services and CME Globex electronic trading platform gives our customers an added advantage in the marketplace.”

“We are pleased to be working with CME Group and leveraging our global networking expertise and assets with our Arcstar managed network service,” said Michael C. DeVito, vice president of Enterprise Solutions, NTT America. “As a leader in their industry, we are confident that NTT Communications’ solution will meet the demanding needs of CME Group and their customers with proven technology and performance guarantees.”

source: NTT Communications.

About CME Group

As the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group ( www.cmegroup.com ) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex electronic trading platform and its trading facilities in New York and Chicago. CME Group also operates CME Clearing, one of the world’s leading central counterparty clearing providers, which offers clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts, as well as for over-the-counter derivatives transactions through CME ClearPort. These products and services ensure that businesses everywhere can substantially mitigate counterparty credit risk in both listed and over-the-counter derivatives markets.

About NTT America

NTT America is North America’s natural gateway to the Asia-Pacific region, with strong capabilities in the U.S. market. NTT America is the U.S. subsidiary of NTT Communications Corporation, the global data and IP services arm of a Fortune Global 500 telecom leader: Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation (NTT). NTT America provides world-class Enterprise Hosting, managed network, and IP networking services for enterprise customers and service providers worldwide. For additional information on NTT America, visit us on the Web at www.us.ntt.com .

About NTT Communications Corporation

NTT Communications provides a broad range of global networks, management solutions and IT services to customers worldwide. The company is renowned for reliable, high-quality security, hosting, voice, data and IP services, as well as expertise in managed networks and leadership in IPv6 transit technology. NTT Communications’ extensive infrastructure includes Arcstar Global IP-VPN and Global e-VLAN, as well as a Tier 1 IP backbone reaching more than 150 countries in partnership with major Internet service providers, and secure data centers in Asia, North America and Europe. NTT Communications is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, one of the world’s largest telecoms with listings on the Tokyo, London and New York stock exchanges. Please visit http://www.ntt.com/index-e.html .

CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT and the Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com .

NTT, NTT Communications, and the NTT Communications logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION and/or its affiliates. All other referenced product names are trademarks of their respective owners. (C) 2011 NTT Communications

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6
Oct

About NTT Australia – Your ICT Gateway to Asia and the world!

NTT Structure

NTT Structure

By Hosting Guru

This is a bit of a shameless plug I know,  but since NTT made the significant investments in Dimension Data, Frontline Systems and Harbour MSP in Australia, not a lot has been said about what we are doing with all these amazing companies.  I hope to give you a little insight below into how we are going to market as a fully integrated ICT provider.

In the near future I will be sharing information on the launch of our exiciting Cloud 2.0 platform in Australia.  We will be one of the first regions globally to go to this new advanced cloud computing platform.  Stay tuned!

About NTT Australia

NTT is a Tier 1 Global Carrier and ICT Solutions provider, ranked #31 in the US Fortune 500 with Global Revenues of US$105 Billion.
Providing ICT services around the globe in 159 countries, we are your ICT gateway to Asia and the world.

NTT Australia is your local partner for global ICT Solutions with particular strength in Asia.  We provide high quality managed security, enterprise hosting, voice, data and IP services with leadership in IPv6 to businesses in more than 150 countries.  NTT Australia has two Data Centres in Australia and Global Network POPS in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Auckland.

NTT, the Japanese global ICT provider continues to make significant investments to support businesses in Australia & Asia Pacific.  In 2010 NTT purchased Dimension Data and in May 2011 NTT announced the acquisition of Frontline Systems and Harbour MSP in Australia.  NTT now has revenues exceeding $1 Billion in Australia.

NTT operates the following solution portfolio in Australia & Internationally:

Managed Services

NTT’s management expertise enables customers to achieve greater efficiency through reliable, high-quality global & local communication.

  • Enterprise IT Hosting
  • Managed Web Hosting
  • Cloud Computing (Private, Hybrid, Public)
  • Infrastructure Management
  • Application Management
  • Security Management
  • Edge Caching

Network Services

NTT is one of the world’s few true Tier 1 IP Carriers with total diversity across the entire network all the way to the customer’s dedicated environment.

  • International MPLS IP Private Network covering 159 countries
  • Global IP Transit
  • IPv6/IPv4
  • VoIP

Infrastructure Services

Infrastructure Services at NTT help to stabilise and optimise current operations helping companies reap real value in every step.

  • IT Service Desk
  • Business IT Process Implementation and Consulting Services
  • Infrastructure Solutions
    • Cloud Computing (Private, Hybrid, Public)
    • Onsite or Co-location
  • Video, Web & Audio Conferencing enablement and service provision

Application Services

NTT, with its expertise and experience helps clients develop and support applications, thus helping businesses maximise their return on investment.

  • Application Development Services
  • Application Management Services
  • Business Intelligence
  • Products and Solutions
  • Transformation and Modernisation Services
  • Professional Services

Business Process Outsourcing

BPO Services at NTT help you increase your company’s flexibility. We help you focus on your core competencies, without being burdened by the demands of bureaucratic restraints.

  • Product / Warranty Support
  • Customer Care
  • Professional Services

Smart Media Delivery & Conferencing

Superfast high quality distribution of digital information to audiences across the globe.

  • Global Smart Content Delivery
  • Web Acceleration
  • Media Streaming Services
  • Live & on demand Web TV enablement
  • 3D and HDTV broadcast contribution & distribution enablement

NTT Com companies operating in Australia are:

NTT Communications Australia
Local ICT services provider, backed by an extensive global organisation.  Your gateway to Asia and the globe, for ICT services around the world in 159 countries.
http://www.au.ntt.com/en/

Frontline Systems 
The largest HP Technology partner in Australia providing Infrastructure and IT services.
http://www.frontline.com.au/

Harbour MSP
Data Centre and Managed Services Provider.
http://www.harbourmsp.com.au/ 

Emerio Solutions
Application Services, Infrastructure Services and Business Process Outsourcing.
http://www.emeriocorp.com/

NTT Group Companies operating in Australia are:

Dimension Data
Dimension Data applies its expertise in networking, converged communications, security, data centre solutions, Microsoft and contact centre technologies
http://www.dimensiondata.com/

Extend Technologies
Leading provider of SAP solutions and services for medium and large organisations in the public and private sectors.
http://www.extendtechnologies.com.au/

NTT Electronics
Manufacturer of leading Broadband, Photonics and Digital Video technologies.
http://www.ntt-electronics.com/en/

For further information on any of the NTT Group companies services please don’t hesistate to contact me.

Live

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5
Oct

Cloud computing disappoints early adopters: survey

Cloud Computing Disappoints

Cloud Computing Disappoints

From  Reuters LONDON | Tue Oct 4, 2011 10:55am EDT  (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

(Reuters) – Few organizations have moved to cloud computing — the delivery of computing as a service from remote centers — and of those that have, many are disappointed with the results, a survey published on Tuesday found.

Fewer than one in five organizations questioned have outsourced the hosting of their applications to cloud computing providers, with two-thirds in early discussions, in trials or not considering a move, said computer security firm Symantec.

Many firms are looking at cloud computing providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, Google or Rackspace to help them increase their scale without installing expensive hardware and software locally.

 

My Take> I’m not surprised by the results of the survey.  Security and Data Sovereignty are certainly two of the biggest issues with first generation cloud services.  This short Reuters article also touches on other areas of concern I have mentioned in a previous blog about business continuance and disaster recovery.

Adaptation to cloud services still has many challenges and a major re-education of both Enterprise and Corporate Cloud users is still needed.  Just because your applications are in the cloud it doesn’t suddenly make them Omni-present.

I’ve seen smaller businesses, corporates, and even some enterprise businesses move to cloud applications including Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Azure, Gmail, Amazon and SalesForce.com.  All services by reputable brands, yet nearly all of the businesses moving to these Cloud services have overestimated the resilience and security of both their own infrastructure and the Cloud provider’s services.

I believe it’s unwise for business to put front office or back office applications in the cloud without looking at the bigger picture.  The whole strategy of IT needs to be considered and how to approach corporate security, business continuance, disaster recovery, cloud integration and life cycle management,  these among many other factors.

One of the biggest underlying challenges of all these issues is that very few of the cloud services providers are themselves in a position to consult or educate businesses on the full range of considerations for moving to the cloud.  Most cloud service providers are only interested in turning businesses into zombie consumers of cloud without regard to the abovementioned.

We are still only at the dawn of the cloud evolution, and as we educate the market how to plan for and move to cloud in 2012, we will see the real evolution and uptake in Cloud 2.0. ;)

Your thoughts?

Read More @ Reuters.com

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30
Sep

Another New Zealand Earthquake – Magnitude 5.8 September 30 2011 at 11:42 pm (NZDT)

NZ Earthquake

NZ Earthquake

Another New Zealand Earthquake – Magnitude 5.8 September 30 2011 at 11:42 pm (NZDT), 110 km north-east of White Island.

These quakes still seem to be building this week, so far no reported damage in NZ.  Korumburra in Victoria  had a 4.4 earlier in July this year so Australia is not immune either.

Ominous timing for my previous blog post on Crisis Management, BCP and DR!

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30
Sep

Crisis Management, BCP & DR

Are You Prepared for a Crisis?

Are You Prepared for a Crisis?

By Hosting Guru

You don’t need to be Einstein to work out we are in an era of increased natural disasters, large scale and controversial security breaches, and even bigger system outages and disruptions caused by our increased reliance on cloud applications, social media and outsourced services.  A few well known names and events come to mind, some very close to home, and this is without even considering the aspects of terrorism or social engineering security issues.

Japan Earth Quake / Nuclear Meltdown
New Zealand Earth Quakes
Queensland Floods
Sony
Amazon
Microsoft
Facebook
BP

I’ve personally been victim and witness to all three scenarios myself in the last year, and with all the hype around cloud as the new promise land, it got me thinking about the many years I spent consulting with global financial institutions about BCP and DR.

How do you do BCP or DR when your services are in the Cloud?
Do you have a Crisis Management Plan?

Most Enterprise businesses spend millions on business continuity and disaster recovery planning, but the preparedness of the corporate market is very patchy and most small businesses just shrug their shoulders when you ask them about DR.

The bottom line is you need to at least have a Crisis Management Plan and basic Business Continuance Plan with a few “what if” scenarios to be properly prepared for the worst.  This will help protect your brand whether your a supplier or consumer of cloud services.

Im not an expert in Crisis Management, but I found this Crisis Management article from Eric Mower & Associates a good example of where many of those from the incidents above, failed dismally, especially in the public relations department.

If anyone would like my advice on BCP or DR matters, I spent several years consulting to many of the worlds top financial institutions and I would be happy to share my knowledge and experience and how I see BCP and DR in Cloud Computing.  So drop me a line!

a href=”http://hostingguru.com.au/”

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29
Sep

NTT Com sees two types of data centres in the future

Green Data Centre

Green Data Centre

From Greentelecomlive.com

Future data centres will be built with two particular factors in mind that will ultimately determined their location and the kinds of applications they support, says executives at NTT Communication Global.

According to Brandon Lee, chief strategy officer at NTT Comms Asia, there will be two types of data centres in the future – one type that is optimised for energy efficiency and cost, and a second type that is focused specifically on reducing the latency of applications it houses.

Read More

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28
Sep

Blended Cloud Environments – A Financial Services Use Case

Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid Cloud

Blended Cloud Environments – A Financial Services Use Case From cloudswitch.com

“Cloud computing simplified. Enterprise cloud computing with CloudSwitch software.

One of the most interesting trends in cloud computing is the emergence of “hybrid” solutions which span environments that were historically isolated from one another.  A traditional data center offers finite capacity in support of business applications, but it is ultimately limited by obvious constraints (physical space, power, cooling, etc.). Virtualization has extended the runway a bit, effectively increasing density within the data center, however the physical limits remain.”

My Take> Interesting use of cloud appliances to blend customer infrastructure with cloud services to create a hybrid cloud with Intel “reference architecture standards”.

Read More

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27
Sep

Data centre growth to surge 14 percent in Asia Pacific

Data Centre

Data Centre

 

By Hosting Guru

As the NBN continues to roll out across Australia preparing us for the next evolution of the digital age and cloud computing, the pace of growth of data centres across Asia Pacific continues to increase.  Frost & Sullivan are predicting 14.6% growth in Data Centre Capacity across Asia, generating revenues exceeding $10 billion by the end of this year.

Australia together with Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong are leading the growth, with internet media, telecom and IT industries accounting for up to 45% of the demand according to their research.  I know from first hand experience with the competition in the local market, that there is a massive investment in facilities going into Australia, with more than half a billion dollars of investment in facilities over the next 2 years in Australia alone.

Much of the 1st stages of that increased capacity are coming online in the next 6-12 months in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane  from the likes of Global Switch, NextDC, Equinix, Digital Reality Trust, Fujitsu, NTT, Pacnet, HP, Macquarie Telecom, Telstra and several tier 2 providers.  Even the big international players want in on the action in Australia over the next two years.  After cautiously examining the market for the last few years Rackspace, Google, Microsoft, Savvis and others are looking at opportunities to establish a local DC footprint with foundation customers.

We havent seen IT data centre infrastructure investment like this since the last DC frenzy back around Y2K, with many of those operators going broke, and some facilities changing ownership several times before turning a profit.

Lets hope our politicians and financial markets navigate a way through this latest economic turmoil to ensure we don’t see a repeat of data centres sitting empty for 5 years, just like during the dotcom bubble burst not that long ago.  With the economic pressures, cloud computing and the maturity of virtualisation and consolidation all reducing the need for more capacity, do we really need this much investment in capacity?

Sure we need newer more efficient facilities but I think you will see some players that haven’t already broken ground and made the initial investment, perhaps sit back and wait a little longer to see the dust settle on the economy.  Unless I had significant pre-sold or comitted capacity from foundation customers, in this market, I wouldn’t be sinking the tens of millions of dollars needed to build, especially with the glut of capacity that’s about to come on the market.  Your thoughts?

By Hosting Guru

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