Posts Tagged "Cloud"

Are we all aware of the staggering statistics about Future of Internet?

India will add 40% of the world’s incremental Internet users by 2020!

More than 175 million people will do their purchases online because of convenient payment options like e-wallets and easy payments. E-commerce business will be worth $17 billion at the end of FY 2016.

82% of CMOs (across all Industry verticals) report that the Brand health of their organization is directly proportional to the number of visitors of their websites.

When computing power was at a premium in 1990s, web pages were often hosted in local standalone servers and were served as unchanging text files. This type of static content is efficient, but it can quickly become stagnant and viewers lose interest. With the advent of low-cost computing and faster Internet speeds, the concept of Dynamic Content was burgeoned that could capture user attention due to sheer dynamism and possibilities of creativity. The low-cost pay-as-you-go model is ensured via virtualization when we have transformed to Cloud. In bygone days, IT would do a CAPEX investment in Hardware purchase and invest in maintenance especially when your best hired resources should be focusing on core business.

For the organizations where-in Internet facing Application/Site performance and users experience is the key to growth, Cloud Services powered by best CDN (Content Delivery Network) is the panacea. Quick, reliable, secure and personalized viewing experiences across all the devices on your fingertips is what CDN offers.

Empiricism is the theory that all knowledge is based on experience derived from the senses. That’s where human beings sense of feeling will always reign over machines or robots. Businesses in all verticals flourish only when Empiricism gives way to a satisfied customer. It thrives on the fact that customer thinks exactly the thoughts which you want them to think so that they get hooked-on and his brain signals his fingers again and again to key in just the URL of your website and better still – don’t even open the competitor’s website on the adjacent tab.

CDN service providers delivers Internet contents like – web-objects, Applications, live/on-demand streaming media and social networks to the end-users.

Load-time, Availability, Response time, Security are few parameters on which a good CDN is adjudged.

Direct visible impact of CDN is on Business Revenue, Business Agility and increase in ability to take it to global scale.

How?

Take an example, Mr. ABC, the CIO of organization – XYZ is sitting in US with best Internet Connection speed (25 Mbps), his site is hosted in Data Center in India with Best Compute, Storage, and Network, Redundancy ensured at the First mile. When he accesses his website – www.xyz.com, he starts counting – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7…..while his eyes are forced to see that vexatious Loading icon.

Oops, it takes 8 seconds to load the Home Page of his own Brand. If I were a site visitor, I would definitely go to next tab and load another site to do justice to those 8 wasted seconds. So result is rise in distraction, confusion and higher chances of site abandonment and hence Revenue.

That’s where the concept of CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK was incepted.

Following are the series of steps executed when customer keys in his web-site address on the address bar of his browser:

Step 1: Browser contacts DNS for conversion into IP address

Step 2: Browser will establish connection with the web server that hosts the website using IP address

Step 3: Retrieval of HTML code over the internet of the requested web-page

Step 4: HTML Content is delivered over the internet to the browser which then displays the HTML page – bare bone html structure, followed by hyper-linked stuff – static images etc. and lastly Dynamic content.

Step 5: When you leave the browser window idle for long or close it, the connection with Web server will end

So Step#4 above entails the need of a CDN to ensure rendering of page with lightening speeds. In absence of CDN, the complications of middle-mile will ruin all the performance optimizations, best coding practices you might have followed in creating your website.

Static files like images, javascript, css files can be cached by the browser so that in future it doesn’t have to fetch them again. Of course, many technologies and CDNs exist which ensures caching. The Site owners face the chill wind with regard to performance only when there is good amount of Dynamic content in their website.

Dynamic content is web content that changes between subsequent requests based on user access time, user preferences and personal information in order to ensure an engaging online experience. Some of the world’s largest websites are powered primarily by dynamic content as static content cannot capture user interest. According to recent studies, Seventy-four percent of online consumers get frustrated when a website promotes content that isn’t tailored to their interests

E.g. Amazon is delivering you a personalized content experience in an attempt to make you buy more. Notice the section called “Buy It Again” below the items you want to purchase. Amazon is populating this section by pulling your previous orders from its backend servers. This is much more effective for upselling purposes than listing random items.

The very reason why site performance is impacted in case of dynamic content is due to enforced round trips to the origin server, as it cannot be cached.

Only few CDNs on the planet give the required acceleration to dynamic content. Several techniques like route optimization are needed to optimize communication between the CDN edge servers and origin infrastructure to deliver dynamic content to the user that avoids Internet problem spots.

So the philosophy of having good dynamic content in your website with the lure of increasing user interest and hence hits, should be carefully chalked out along with the appropriate choice of CDN adoption.

Walking with the false myths of considering CDN as just a redundancy (or good-to-have) service can jeopardize the Business strategy significantly and will eventually become the bane of Business advancement prospects.

Facing performance pressures with your Websites and Web Portals? Feel free to reach out to us at cdn@sifycorp.com.

 

Cognitive Computing: Turning IT Operators into IT Innovators

We are on the cusp of a new age of computing. One where smart businesses are starting to think differently about how they design, build, and deliver technology solutions. We believe that IT teams need rise up and help drive this innovation.

That’s why we’re collaborating to help our clients apply the power of cognitive insights to transform their businesses. This starts with a perception shift.

Technology as the Job Maker, Not the Job Taker

So much of what you hear about technology today puts technology in the position of job taker. Conversations about which jobs computers and robots will make obsolete pop up frequently in conversations about the future of tech, business, and the economy.

We have advocated version of that view ourselves: Consolidate your servers and reduce the manpower needed to maintain your technology, outsource aspects of your technology as PaaS, SaaS, Iaas, cloud based, and so forth. This kind of efficiency is part of the story. BUT, we’ve worked hard to relay the second half of this story loudly (but maybe not always clearly).

Yes, this takes away tasks from your IT team, BUT it frees them up to focus on more mission-critical IT work.

IT teams have looked at these kinds of statements skeptically. What would their function be if it weren’t maintaining IT operations?

The Cognitive Computing Era

Welcome to the cognitive computing era, where that vision of IT experts focusing on mission-critical tasks is more of a reality than ever. In the cognitive era, technology no longer just supports the business. It BECOMES the business. Your IT infrastructure is the foundation of this, but IT professionals must do more than just keep the machines running. They must embrace the role of business innovator.

According to IDC, line-of-business leaders say that they perceive IT leaders as business innovators more than business operators. Yet, that same study found that IT leaders viewed themselves more as operators. It’s time for that to change.

The I in IT

Business leaders are recognizing that IT needs to be more tightly integrated into the overall business strategy. In order for this to happen, IT needs to be enabled and viewed as more than infrastructure architects.

IT needs to embrace the idea that they can use technology to drive the business forward. They need to throw off the idea that the I in IT just stands for Information. They need to come forward and proclaim that it stands for Ideas, Imagination, Invention—and that the core of all of that is Innovation.

Priming Your Business for the Cognitive Computing Era

In the cognitive computing era, data analytics has been cut from hours to milliseconds. Organizations have the ability to take action on data in real time. Machines are learning in the cognitive era. They’re learning how to help run businesses more efficiently.

None of this is possible without the right IT infrastructure. Today’s machines can understand, reason, and learn. Traditional IT environments work, but to take the leap into the cognitive, you need more.

We believe the core of this is through enhanced capabilities. In the coming weeks, we’ll dive deeper into the following capabilities:

• Analytics Acceleration
• Data Centric Design
• Innovate with Open Technologies
• Choice for Optimization
• Lock Down while Opening Up
• Controlled Iteration at Scale

When these capabilities are wrapped in the core principals of Design for Cognitive Business, Build with Collaborative Innovation, and Deliver through Cloud Platform, business can start to map out a path where IT is innovative.

Subscribe to our blog and hear us out. We’re ready to make the case for an IT team that is more than just the architects of the machines. They’re the architects of a new kind of business.

 

https://www.sifytechnologies.com/dc-services/Managing your data on the cloud offers myriad benefits to your business. But like any other technology, cloud computing also has its share of risks involved. When considering a move to the cloud, consumers should get familiar with the potential security risks.

There are a few security and privacy challenges relevant to cloud computing and if you have a clear understanding of them, you can safeguard your data against them. Both you and your cloud service provider have responsibilities that address the potential risks. Here are the things to consider to ensure data security:

• You should implement a tiered protection layer for your data to create a security model that includes a multiple perimeter rings of defense. Different layers of defense will safeguard your data from both, internal and external threats.
• Make sure you manage authorisation process. Create a coherent hierarchy of people or departments that have access to your data on the cloud. Moreover, deploy a program to review access trails. Ask your cloud provider if there are process and functionality that control who has access to the data. Work with a provider that offers a cloud environment that is controlled and managed.
• Secure networks and connections are another imperative when choosing a cloud provider. You must evaluate the type of external network controls offered by the provider to distinguish authorised traffic from the unauthorised one. And you should do the same internally as well.
• Evaluating physical infrastructure and facilities of the cloud provider for security controls is extremely important. The physical infrastructure is managed by the provider and you must get assurance from them regarding security in the facilities. Your service provider must have mandatory security controls on their human resources.
• Authorised personnel and physical security are not the only concerns, you should also ensure that the facility is protected against external and environmental threats. Check with the provider whether or not appropriate facilities are in place to make sure that services will continue in case of equipment failure or environmental threats.
• Scrutinising application security is another important aspect, specifically in SaaS deployments. While the cloud provider has the liability of application security, it is imperative that you know all about the security measures taken.
• Go through the security requirements of the exit process. In the event of the termination of service, the consumer must be provided with a smooth transition of data, without any loss or security breach. Make sure the exit process is properly documented in the contract to provide security during the transaction.

The greatest security concern for any business is to pick the right provider. Keeping your data safe is as much the concern of the provider as it is yours. Therefore, you must ensure that you choose a provider that takes data security as a priority so that your doubts are put to rest.

 

Cloud computing is taking shape as a fundamental to business growth. Between the fray of private and public cloud, managed cloud services can help businesses maximize the benefits of cloud adoption. Managed cloud hosting provides the balance between scalability and facility of public cloud and better reliability of on-premises solutions. Managed cloud solutions are considered by many businesses because of the cost-effective and well-managed computing resources, IT efficiency and flexibility. Any business focused on devoting more time to business process than IT should consider the benefits of managed cloud services.

Customization of the solution

Depending on the requirements of each business, the managed cloud solutions are completely customizable. They are designed and implemented by the providers to meet the requirements within the industry a business operates. This is so because the provider who can diligently monitor the way client manages the cloud solutions uses the solution. It is an important factor in getting technical details to further ease the process that is brought about by the technical nature of the cloud solutions.

Improved deployment of the solutions

Managed cloud solutions have become crucial to business processes and are evolving at a faster rate. The managed service providers can track the technical information about the usage and the programming interface of their cloud services. Since managed cloud service providers have the ability to monitor the usage of their solutions and their response time, they constantly improve the design and deployment of the services.

Better system availability

Another advantage of managed cloud services is better availability at increased speed. Your cloud-hosting provider offers high-speed cloud resources that give you the leverage of mining through massive amounts of data at a faster pace. With optimum bandwidth, data storage and uptime, you can rest assure that your online processes will go on uninterrupted even with heavy loads. The speed and agility of managed cloud solutions will assist you in focusing on your core business strategies, making your customers happy and expanding your business.

Increased reliability

With managed cloud solutions, you will be provided extremely reliable services because the provider maintains control and is capable of clearing up the issues in the system right away. The provider ensures that the infrastructure is functioning at optimal levels and identifies potential threats. Since a managed cloud solutions provider carefully administers the cloud, consumers get reliable services they can trust their data with.

To garner the many benefits of managed cloud solutions, teaming up with an experienced provider is of utmost importance. You must work with a provider that is architecturally sound and has reliable infrastructure with expertise in different cloud administration functions from configuration to ongoing maintenance.

Cloud computing is one of the most progressive pillars of the IT sector. However, the very concept of cloud computing with the added complexity of virtualisation can throw a novice to unknown waters. The word cloud itself sounds porous and easy to penetrate. But such is not the case on a larger picture. Despite being more and more ubiquitous in various business environments, cloud computing carries its share of security concerns. It’s time that everyone knows the whats and whys of cloud computing and destroy these myths once and for all.

Myth 1: Public cloud storages can be easily targeted

Public clouds are just as vulnerable as private clouds. Securing data, whether or not on cloud, is an ongoing process. You cannot think of security as product or service. It is a constant battle and one has to be fully equipped to fight this war. For example, many providers are on top of their security game with PCI, HIPAA, SOC 2, SSAE16 and various ISO standards. In addition, they offer data encryption and have effective data loss prevention policies in place. So, the problem does not lie in the public cloud, but the security measures taken by the vendor and the corporation.

Myth 2: All cloud apps are the same

A user will not use all of his cloud software in equal amounts and hence, the security for cloud computing will be different in each case. Depending on the sensitivity of the data, the profile of the user, the intended use of the data and other factors, different policies can be put into place to manage session authentication, data distribution control and other threats.

Myth 3: Your cloud service provider holds complete responsibility for your cloud storage

It’s a common myth that the cloud provider will be at your beck and call. No they won’t. Think of it as leasing an apartment, the owner will provide you with all the necessary security (guards, alarms, etc.) but you have to be careful at your end. You cannot give keys to everyone. On cloud as well, you will have to manage passwords, protect against identity fraud, encrypt sensitive data, provide access to devices via secure networks and take care of other risk mitigation activities.

Myth 4: Corporate networks are stronger in protecting cloud apps

Corporate networks are not necessarily more secure. Security breaches and data loss are just as common. Corporate networks or not, cloud apps can be vulnerable if not implemented right. A secure cloud gateway that shields the interaction between the corporate network and the cloud is imperative. The key here is working with a provider who focuses on deploying world-class networking security, monitoring services and intrusion detection.

Myth 5: Tenants in the same cloud can spy on one another

Multiple tenants share storage, processing and other services in a public cloud but thanks to virtualisation, there is a strong partition between each tenant. Even the virtual machines sharing the same servers are isolated altogether from other VMs. And if that’s not enough, corporations can use CSPs that isolate VLANs to hold other tenants off their networks.

 

Businesses pursuing the cloud are faced with the existential question – public or private cloud? Each has its merits that should be considered as per one’s business goals. Here are five factors you must consider prior to choosing a cloud platform.

Accessibility and usage

Each corporation has requirements unique to its business. For example, you have to consider if you can use SaaS the way it was designed or whether you need to alter it according to your requirements, which adds to the cost. Some applications even need dedicated hardware and even though they are offered by vendors, it affects workflow and can make application latency an issue. Implementation, accessibility and on-going operation come easily with private cloud. But if you are considering a public cloud, ensure that the vendor has the server clout that can handle high-performance apps.

Security

In the past few years, there have been many instances of cloud service breaches and several major businesses have suffered from them. Data security is a major concern regarding public cloud services. Although vendors effectively secure the public cloud infrastructure, various corporations are concerned about the implications of depending solely on them as any crack in their security can result in a negative impact on the bottom lines of these corporations. In a private cloud infrastructure, on the flip side, a number of firewalls can be implemented to safeguard data against external threats.

Cost

Flexible payment options concerning cloud infrastructure has given a whole new meaning to the economic expenditure. But the costs of implementing and maintaining private cloud services can bruise, if not break the economy of an organisation. The cost of buying servers, hardware and software along with hiring staff for maintenance is often far more than the prices asked by public cloud vendors. If you no longer need the setup for particular task in private cloud, the equipment just wastes away. That stated, the long-term cost of leasing public cloud continually can exceed the total cost of managing in-house cloud, especially if the data load increases.

Integration and Operation

Integrating the existing IT infrastructure with cloud is another major aspect. Business processes need specific tools for workflow and these tools must be integrated well with the cloud. Private cloud offers the ability to easily integrate business tools but at the cost of elastic capabilities. If the model of your business operations depends on a role-based environment, you must consider the requirement of diverse equipment and capabilities and how they fit in private or public infrastructure.

Scalability

The on-demand availability of public cloud makes it preferable by many organizations. Vendor services make it easy to scale up or down to adjust changes in requirements and environment. You only have to invest in the services that are required at any given time.

Private and public clouds come with management implications, however, selecting a vendor-based solution gives your organization ability to unload most of the management responsibility on the vendor.

 

Cloud is a major energy that has been driving businesses in the online universe. And over the years, it has evolved drastically with its every stage offering a little something for everyone. Most businesses swear by the cloud and others are making a run for it. Whichever category you belong to, it is important to keep pace with the rapidly evolving trends of the cloud so that you are not left behind. Here are 5 predictions for what will be happening in the world of cloud this year.

Containers will gain pace

Dockers and containers have already been set in motion in 2014 and have proved to be incredible packaging format for application micro services. As the cloud rush intensifies in 2015, there will be a wide range of choices and technologies for building applications. And while developers have fully approved of containers, people in the operation departments will also learn to containerize various parts of any application and keep up with them as discrete units.

Expansion of development platforms

In 2015, you will see development environments proliferate in the cloud. This is sure to offer organizations a variety of choices, but they will also need to grasp the fundamental requirements and determine the suitable platform for going forward. As we know that organizations are seeking cloud platforms for more than just servers and storage, there will be an explosion of numerous applications. This will add to the complexity and the platforms will be sturdy enough to handle the load of multiple applications conveniently.

Cloud portability will be a real thing

The ability to migrate various applications and data from one cloud environment to another without disruption will be mastered. Things are already in motion for making applications conveniently portable among various public clouds. The increasing demand of cloud portability will also lead to interoperability among cloud providers.

Software-defined security

Security is a major concern in cloud platforms and a software-defined security system will become part of every Data Center. Pundits state that Data Centers will move forward from hardware-based security to software-integrated one. There will be software mapping capability that feeds Intel in a central system and identifies parameters. This will help in monitoring activities to determine potential threats beforehand.

Hybrid cloud accession

Everyday tools required by the businesses are connected to the cloud platforms to get real-time data conveniently. Organizations are often looking forward to integrate their enterprise applications with cloud applications so as to achieve good pace in configuring systems. Hybrid cloud is the platform that bridges this gap between organizations and vendors. As businesses are more willing to weave the cloud into their in-house application framework, developers will have to evaluate hybrid cloud strategy to avoid fragmentation.

 

Most business models followed by SMBs have one common target – minimize costs. When handling big data, storage becomes a problem quite often and there’s a substantial flow of capital just for that purpose.

Cloud offers not just IT infrastructure but a business framework. It’s beneficial for SMBs in terms of accessibility, security, disaster management, cost, time and energy savings, flexibility and gaining an edge over competitors. Using the cloud can significantly bring down physical data storage costs. Furthermore, the ease-of-use makes cloud storage a better option for non-technical people as well. The icing on the cake is the automation that cloud computing supports. Instead of having to invest on IT support, cloud applications update themselves.

Let’s have a look on how cloud computing can help SMBs:

Data Backup

A small business owner should be aware of the importance of backups. System failures can be a risky situation in case of an infrastructure that is still in its nascent stages – something that is common in SMBs. The cloud is a great help here as it breaks down the process by allowing your data to automatically update as you work and also create copies of your data off-site where it will be protected from any looming disaster, theft or accident.

Mobile Office

Due to the cloud’s omnipresence, SMBs can have a better foothold in creating mobile offices. The cloud can be accessed and synced from anywhere and allows you to literally take your office on the road. This brings down the costs greatly by building a working model largely around the internet.

Sharing Info

Sharing data is easier with the cloud due to the ease-of-access. SMBs can now share data across an in-house staff and a team onsite through great distances, instantaneously. Emailing cumbersome files can often slow down work and this is where the cloud comes to play. Moreover, the cloud is also a safer option for sharing data compared to physical means.

File Storage

SMBs need all the marketing they can get for timely expansion and brand recognition. Most direct marketing strategies require large amounts of media that include video, audio and images. Due to the rising access of technology, more and more consumers are accepting this part of promotion. However, all this data can take up a large amount of storage space on a physical server. The cloud can easily take this load off by letting your local server or system focus more on the local files.

Strategic Growth

Cloud computing is a scalable practice and hence enables SMBs to create plans for growth that use the advantages of the cloud without any significant investment. You don’t have to buy new equipment or software, you just pay for what you use. And you get access to the most robust hardware and up-to-date software. Many vendors offer cloud applications for SMBs that enable you to control costs and reduce IT budget, further facilitating staff efficiency and improving productivity immensely.