This Week In The Cloud: IBM, CipherCloud, Terremark And More

Cloud Formations

As cloud computing transforms the technology industry, companies are rushing ahead to deliver new ways of managing hosted data centers and deliver services.

Continue on to check out the latest moves in the fast-evolving cloud market.

IBM Intros Commerce On The Cloud

IBM released updates Tuesday to its Smarter Commerce Initiative, a software platform for ecommerce.

The company introduced IBM Commerce on the Cloud, designed to improve data sharing and automate marketing and supply chain processes in the cloud by allowing chief marketing officers (CMOs) and e-commerce executives to easily build and use an online storefront.

To help companies collaborate more easily on marketing activities, IBM has offered a Digital Data Exchange Partner program that allows marketers to more effectively manage marketing, promotions and customer behavioral analytics.

IBM also released software and services to help CMOs offer ecommerce on digital devices in a Mobile Strategy Accelerator service, which gives businesses the ability to capture a customer’s device type and analyze how they are responding to campaigns.

CipherCloud For Chatter Offers Security For Social Media

CipherCloud on Tuesday unveiled CipherCloud for Chatter, Salesforce.com’s social media application for businesses. CipherCloud for Chatter offers security without hindering application performance and requires no changes in cloud applications, CipherCloud said.

Security features in the product includes key management, security configuration options, auditing and support for mobile devices.

The product allows social media applications to work with sensitive data, such as Personal Health Information records and data subject to regulatory requirements, such as those under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Terremark Expands North American Cloud Infrastructure Capacity

Terremark, a Verizon Company, increased its cloud infrastructure capacity by deploying a node of its Enterprise Cloud at its Denver data center. With the introduction of a cloud node, the Denver data center joins the company’s global footprint of cloud-enabled data centers that seamlessly combine secure and agile cloud computing resources with an extended solution portfolio all within a multi-carrier, highly resilient and secure facility.

Terremark’s Denver data center, part of its network of nearly 50 strategically located centers worldwide, features more than 70,000 square feet of premier floor space with redundant subsystems to support the leading IT infrastructure services delivered by Terremark.

The company provides customers a compelling hybrid model for enterprise IT by enabling a seamless integration of existing IT infrastructure with Terremark’s cloud computing services through its CloudSwitch software.

Young And Rubicam Group Chooses Egnyte HybridCloud

The Young and Rubicam Group has selected Egnyte HybridCloud to provide online file sharing for its 25,000-seat corporate deployment.

Egnyte provides hybrid cloud infrastructure for online file storage, file sharing and computer backup for small, medium and large businesses.

Young and Rubicam Group, a global network of marketing and communications companies, will standardize all of its partner companies on the Egnyte HybridCloud for Enterprise product.

Egnyte combines the speed and security of local storage with the accessibility of the cloud. Users can store, share, access and backup files, while IT managers can control centralized administration and oversee business policies.

AccelOps Wins $15 Million In Venture Funding

AccelOps, which offers security information and event management (SIEM) and performance and availability monitoring for on-premise and cloud-based data centers, said it has received $15 million in venture funding.

The company said more than 150 customers have deployed AccelOps software to integrate the security, performance and availability monitoring in more than 300 networks.

Its customers include government agencies, managed service providers and enterprises in all vertical sectors, including financial services, education, healthcare, manufacturing and retail.

Silicon Valley venture firm USVP is leading the round of funding.

EarthLink Business Launches Cloud Workspace

IT services and communications provider EarthLink unveiled Cloud Workspace, a hosted desktop service that allows users to manage business applications through the cloud from any device through high-speed Internet or MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) connections.

Cloud Workspace handles security and compliance issues, as well as access to corporate resources from smartphones, tablets and other consumer-owned devices.

Adaptivity, Nimbula Partner To Migrate Apps To The Cloud

Cloud services companies Adaptivity and Nimbula have partnered to integrate Adaptivity's forthcoming Blueprint4Cloud analytics platform with the Nimbula Director cloud platform.

The Adaptivity Blueprint4Cloud Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, currently available to early adopters, is designed to help users make the right cloud computing planning and design decisions. When the platform launches to the general public in the third quarter of 2012, it will allow users to quantify the demands of their business apps and select the right cloud infrastructure to support them.

Nimbula Director is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) software solution allowing organizations to build scalable, self-service, on-premise private or hybrid clouds. Together Nimbula and Adaptivity have created a system for building clouds and migrating applications into the cloud to save time and effort both for IT and the lines of business.

BetterCloud Gets $2.2M To Make Google Apps Safer, Easier To Manage

BetterCloud, which offers management and security tools for Google App users, said it has raised more $2 million in venture funding.

The company also said it has begun a beta release of FlashPanel, its Google Apps management tool, in which beta users will also get product support, product discounts and other benefits. FlashPanel features include domain management from a single dashboard, reporting and surveillance capabilities.

In February, BetterCloud released DomainWatch, a Google Apps security tool for domain admins management capabilities, which is used by many organizations across vertical markets, providing security management capabilities as well as greater visibility and control over the ways users leverage the platform on a day-to-day basis.

Nicira Develops Virtualized Network For Cloud Provider Calligo

Network virtualization company Nicera said that cloud service provider Calligo is now using Nicira’s Network Virtualization Platform [NVP] to support its customers.

Calligo, based in the Channel Islands, which lie between France and the U.K, is using NVP to make two data centers operate as a single facility, with computing capabilities and applications utilizing the virtual and physical capabilities in either location.

Calligo is the latest addition to Nicira’s portfolio of service providers and enterprise customers, which includes Rackspace, AT&T, eBay, NTT and Fidelity Investments.

Ericom Provides HTML5 Access To Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop

Ericom introduced AccessNow for Citrix, which provides browser-based access to hosted Windows desktops and applications from Chromebooks, Windows PCs, Macs, iPad, Android and other endpoint devices, using HTML5 technology.

The software, available in beta, supports Citrix XenApp version 4.5 and higher.

Ericom AccessNow simplifies user access to virtual desktops and applications. AccessNow, running within HTML5 Web browsers, cuts the need for IT staff to install, configure, manage or maintain any client software for a variety of end-user devices. AccessNow is designed to help organizations seeking to implement BYOD policies, support Business Continuity and protect the existing investments in their Citrix environments.

Dell Expands Cloud Business Applications

Dell bolstered its Cloud Business Applications portfolio, adding Dell Integration Packs, which synchronizes data between software applications.

Dell said the offering integrates data between accounting and CRM systems to accelerate quote-to-cash cycles, improves order accuracy and eliminates manual data re-entry between systems.

Using Dell's Boomi integration technology, the Integration Packs synchronize critical data between financial applications such as Intuit QuickBooks and Microsoft Dynamics GP with Salesforce CRM.

Informatica 9.5 Maximizes Return On Big Data

Informatica, a provider of data integration software, introduced the latest version of the Informatica platform, Informatica 9.5, aimed at maximizing users’ management of Big Data.

Informatica said Big Data, the confluence of large amounts of transaction data, interaction data and data processing, promises innovations with which Informatica 9.5 can help customers take advantage.

Informatics 9.5 offers a visual data transformation environment optimized for Hadoop, the open-source platform for consolidating, combining and understanding large-scale data.

It also provides Informatica HParser, which makes complex data types available to the business, and Proactive PowerCenter Monitoring, which can help organizations improve architecture, development, management and administration of data integration projects.

Tier 3 Expands Enterprise Cloud Platform

Cloud provider Tier 3 upgraded its Enterprise Cloud Platform, with services that feature Web Fabric, a multi-framework platform-as-a-service, and Data Fabric, a high availability database-as-a-service.

The services complement the company’s enterprise-grade infrastructure services, which allow businesses to take advantage of application development and deliver legacy business systems in one cloud platform.

Tier 3’s Enterprise Cloud, a service powered by VMware’s vCloud, runs back office and line of business applications in a secure virtual private cloud. With Tier 3’s multi-language Web Fabric, businesses gain the application development and deployment agility of cloud-based, on-demand runtime environments.

Cortado Intros Cloud Desktop For Mobile Device Management

Cloud desktop services provider Cortado released Corporate Server 6.0, which allows mobile device management (MDM) for iPhones, iPads, Android and BackBerry smartphones.

Cortado Corporate Server 6.0 integrates MDM with corporate network access and provides desktop functionality, including file access and security for mobile devices.

The server also enables cloud printing and reduced data volume due to intelligent compression algorithms, a preview feature, and the ability to run server-side file operations.

Technology Integration Group Launches Joint Venture In China

Technology Integration Group (TIG), a global IT solutions provider, launched TIG Cloud, the first cloud computing center in Jiangyin, China, a fast-growing, high-tech city in the Jiangsu Province.

TIG Cloud is a joint venture with Longsky Software, which provides application development and business process outsourcing (BPO).

TIG cloud is building strategic partnerships with clients focused in education, enterprise and government entities in China.

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