But it’s not just a American Problem! We started talking about “the cloud” back in 2008 and although we’re all using it every day for business or pleasure, there seems to be some confusion on what exactly the term cloud means… to people in the UK.

WebFusion recently release the results of a survey in which they asked more than 1,000 of the general public in the UK on the meaning of “cloud computing”.

They discovered that 50 per cent of them don’t have a clue what the cloud is, almost two in five people (38 per cent) had little or no understanding of the term, while only a third (34 per cent) were confident that they knew what it meant.

Cloud services are now prevalent and even the average internet user is likely to have some experience of things like Dropbox and iTunes. But despite an increasing demand for such products, it seems the IT sector hasn’t done a great job when it comes to educating the public about the underlying principles of the cloud. Of course, not everyone is going to develop a deep understanding of what the cloud is, but when 50 per cent of people admit they haven’t got a clue about it then you have to start wondering just how useful a term it is.

Consumer-targeted products like iTunes and Dropbox don’t rely on a knowledge of the cloud – users just want them to work, but the fact that only a third of people recognised them as cloud services suggests ignorance over the issue runs deeper than the public is willing to admit.

When you consider that among those left baffled by one of IT’s favourite buzzwords will be a significant number of existing and future small business owners, exactly the kind of people who should be getting excited by the possibilities of more technical cloud products, the full depths of the problem start to emerge.

So should we stop talking about the cloud, or is it simply a case of having to do more to educate people about exactly what is meant by cloud computing?

Infographic by the Webfusion Cloud Virtual Server team.

Want to go cloud? Are you interested in finding out more about the benifits your Company could realize. Contact the Calm Response Team

The post The meaning of cloud computing its also foggy in the uk appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

For businesses around the world, the Digital Universe means huge opportunities and equally daunting challenges. How much will the Digital Universe grow in the coming decade, and where? How much (or little) data is secure?

The Digital Universe in 2020: Big Data, Bigger Digital Shadows, and Biggest Growth in the Far East. To read more and view the Interactive Report visit http://www.emc.com/leadership/digital-universe/iview/index.htm
EMC recently sponsored and have released the findings of a study by IDC which measures and characterizing all the digital data created, replicated, and consumed worldwide in a single year. The 2012 report projects the growth of the Digital Universe through 2020.

The study found that only a tiny fraction of the world’s Big Data potential is being realized, though the amount of useful data is expanding.

• IDC projects that the digital universe will reach 40 zettabytes (ZB) by 2020, an amount that exceeds previous forecasts by 5 ZBs, resulting in a 50-fold growth from the beginning of 2010
• This year’s study marks the first time IDC was able to capture where the information in the digital universe either originated or was first captured or consumed, revealing some dramatic shifts currently underway.
• The amount of data that requires protection is growing faster than the digital universe itself, yet levels of protection are not keeping pace.
• According to the study, 2.8ZB of data will have been created and replicated in 2012.
• Machine-generated data is a key driver in the growth of the world’s data – which is projected to increase 15x by 2020.
• By 2020, emerging markets will supplant the developed world as the main producer of the world’s data.
• The investment in spending on IT hardware, software, services, telecommunications and staff that could be considered the “infrastructure” of the digital universe will grow by 40% between 2012 and 2020. Investment in targeted areas like storage management, security, Big Data, and cloud computing will grow considerably faster.

The question is:

Are you ready to create, consume, and manage 40 trillion gigabytes of data?

The post Growth of Digital Universe 2010 – 2020 [#infograph] appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

In most of these situations I’ve asked the question:

“Do you have a Business Continuity Plan in place?“

Depending on whom I have talk to I often get one of the following answers:

• IT Department or Finance: “Yes, we have a Business Continuity plan in place. It consists of  our electronic data being backup offsite…..” and/or  “We have started the process of developing a full Business Continuity Plan, but..“
• Business Owners and Board Members: “See IT or Finance…“

Depending on which hat I am wearing and who I’m working for the reaction is different and in some cases does not results in a positive outcome for the company and its workforce.

Business continuity is the activity performed by an organization to ensure that critical business functions will be available to customers, suppliers, regulators, and other entities that must have access to those functions. ….. – Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_continuity

But these companies are not alone. As the picture above shows there are other factors that SMBs should take account of, other than a loss of access to electronic Data, that can effect the success or failure of a Business.  These can include:

• Loss of reputation, scandal, PR disasters.
• Failure of supply chain from suppliers to delivery of goods to end-users.
• Death of Key personnel

There are two main reason for this:

One is to do with commitment – commitment of the business’s executive team to start and commit to an on-going Business Program. If the board (or owner) don’t make it important to the rest of the company, then it won’t be done or maintained well.

The second is the fundamental lack of understanding out there that it IS possible plan for situations that seriously affect your business. There are process, methodology, tools, and wealth of knowledge about how to do this. Unfortunately most small businesses and many medium sized businesses don’t know this.

I started writing this before “Sandy” became a once in a lifetime super storm and we are now seeing how Business contingency plans for events that will never happen are being put into effect

The Question you need to ask is:

Get Started Today

The post Business Continuity Planning. BCDR is not just an IT issue appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

Why Companies need to incorporate Social Media into their overall Business Strategy.

Back in January 2011, I posted the following article regarding Social Media: The boss who says: Our Industry Doesn’t Have Any Reason to be in Social Media. and around the same time posted a page Our Industry Doesn’t Have Any Reason to be in Social Media.

With reference to these articles I thought I would update two videos which emphasis  The rise of informal and organic networks, the proliferation of 140 character conversations, and mobile status updates gives everyone new vehicles to share opinions and insights. Often these opinions and insights are not based on hard facts, but one fact is certain – blogs, communities, social networking sites and micro-blogs enable anyone to contribute to an endless and organic conversation taking place in cyberspace.

@equalman/@ekutsko new video showcasing what technology will replace this digital decade. From checkbooks to car keys. Leaders will also be replaced by new Digital Leaders

This video empathizes that fact that whatever Market Segment you are targeting they are using Social Media.

In the UK think SAGA

In the real world, we all know the Restaurant review scenario, a good recommendation will be heard by 10 people a bad review will be heard by 100 people, the same can happen in cyberspace (multiplied by 100), and how you resolve these issues will decide how successful your business is.

The post Update: Our Industry Doesn’t Have Any Reason to be in Social Media. appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

IT used to start and end with the how and why: How many IT resources are you using? Where? Are you delivering the best possible value to your users?

But today, the business environment has changed, departments/units are analyzing their budgets more carefully and asking: What IT resources are you charging us for? Where do we see these Services? What value do we gain from these services? and if we are not using these resources directly ‘why the £€€$ are we paying’ for them? or words to that effect

A while ago, I was invited to a seminar (with Modular DPS) hosted by 6fusion in which they introduced their new Cloud Metering Solution (see below to download), which provides utility metering for physical and virtual IT infrastructures. This helps organizations understand their IT cost structures, how their resources are being used and helping transition to an IT service provider model.

6fusion’s patent-pending algorithm, the Workload Allocation Cube (WAC), is at the core of Cloud Resource Meter and normalizes the way cloud infrastructure is metered both for suppliers and consumers of cloud computing. 6fusion’s Cloud Resource Meter, allows users to view “real time” WAC consumption information at a glance for the entire system, and view real time and short-term historical data from the Client interface and via the internet.

So whats the Benefit of Cloud Metering.

Key benefits of 6fusion’s Cloud Resource Meter:

• Accurate Cost Projections – Accurately gauge the costs of running in the cloud before deployment and distribute IT costs across internal departments or customers for use of compute resources.
• Metered Reporting – Generate workload meter reports to view compute resource consumption – both historically and in real time, allowing for efficiency checks and any necessary administrative adjustments.
• Efficiently Allocate Compute Resources – Determine optimal hardware requirements and/or efficiency for new and existing projects in public or private clouds.
• Single Pane of Glass – All workloads being metered in your Linux environment, along with those running live in the cloud, can be viewed through a single console.
• Ultimate Flexibility – Meter any workload, including web applications or traditional client/server applications – running on either physical or virtual servers.
• Benchmark Reporting Consumption – Since the Cloud Resource Meter uses the same reporting engine as live workloads in the cloud, reporting consumption data can be easily benchmarked.

For the Business and the End user

The WAC shows the customer the granular resource consumption of every single VM (virtual instance onsite & in the Cloud) under management – instantly. This means:

• It meters the consumption and utilization of infrastructure not just within the enterprise IT space, but also the multi-tenant host market emerging as ‘cloud providers’
• It allows you to calculate and compare the costs of using internal or external services.
• It would allows the end-user to allocate real time actual costs directly to individual Projects (Finance will love it).

The Cloud Resource Meter  is available for the following environments:

• Microsoft Windows
• Linux
• VMware vSphere 4.1 or 5.0 environment

Further information can be obtained on the 6fusion website or visit their Cloud Resource Meter microsite.

If you are an MSP or VAR and would like to know more about how you could utilize the Cloud Resource Meter and use the services of a Cloud Broker allowing you to focus on the business of servicing your clients, talk to Modular DPS.

Modular DPS is an emerging player is the Cloud Broker sector, playing a catalyzing role in the establishment of a commodities market for computing, just like soybeans, metals or corn. to whom I act as an Adviser.

The post Cloud Metering: Realizing a real-time $$$ cost of #Cloud and Virtual Hosting appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

The majority: (54%) claim to never use the cloud, however 95% of those who think they’re not using the cloud, actually are: 65% are banking online, 63% have shopped online, 58% report using social networking sites, 45% have played online games, 29% store photos online, 22% have stored music or videos online, and nearly 1 in 5 (19%) use online file-sharing services – all of these are cloud-based.

The good news is that even those that don’t know exactly what the cloud is recognize its economic benefits and think the cloud is a catalyst for small business growth.

Here are some of the answers to “what’s the first word or phrase that comes to mind when they hear the term: the cloud?”

• Condensed water vapor floating on atmospheric dust
• Cumulonimbus
• Heads in the clouds
• The weather report
• Something hovering over you
• A white vision in the sky
• White fluffy things in the sky
• It has something to do with technology

Survey Highlights

• 95% of those who think they’re not using the cloud, actually are
• 3 in 5 (59%) believe the “workplace of the future” will exist entirely in the cloud
• 40% believe accessing work information at home in their “birthday suit” would be an advantage
• More than 1/3 agree that the cloud allows them to share information with people they’d rather not be interacting with in person
• After being provided with the definition of the cloud, 68% recognized its economic benefits
• 14% have pretended to know what the cloud is during a job interview

A full copy of the report can be downloaded here

If you are interested in finding out more about what the Cloud can do for your Business contact Calm Response

The post Confused By Cloud Computing. You are not alone! infographic and report appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard, (which includes Exchange Server and Windows server component products,) and Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on, (which includes SQL Server and Windows Server as component products,) will be the final such Windows Server offering.

According to Microsoft, this change is in response to small business market trends and behaviour. The small business computing trends are moving in the direction of cloud computing for applications and services such as email, online back-up and line-of-business tools. OEM channels will still have access to Windows SBS 2011 until the end of 2013, while other channels will only have it until the end of June 2013.

According to Microsoft, by leveraging the cloud for productivity software and email, small and midsize businesses can utilize the new Windows Server 2012 Essentials package for roughly the same type of service

According to arstechnica

…In addition to these fully featured products, Microsoft will also have two limited-capability versions, the $425 "Essentials" and the OEM-only "Foundation". Essentials will be licensed to run on physical hardware with up to two sockets or in a virtual machine (not both simultaneously, unlike the full-strength versions), and Foundation will only be licensed for use on single socket physical hardware. Windows Server 2012 Essentials supports a large subset of Windows Server's functionality, but many features, including Active Directory and file server features, will be pre-configured and pre-installed. It will support up to 25 clients. This new edition is intended to replace two current editions: Small Business Server Essentials, and Small Business Server Standard. Like the SBS Essentials product, Windows Server 2012 Essentials is designed to be used in tandem with cloud services such as Office 365. However, there won't be any direct equivalent to the old SBS Standard product; companies wanting a full on-premises installation of Exchange and SharePoint will have to pay for the full-price products. Windows Server 2012 Foundation is even more restricted than Essentials, and will be restricted to cheap servers designed for the very smallest of businesses, supporting only a maximum of 15 clients… – arc

New Windows Server 2012 puts virtualization front and center

Another point that Business Owners and Boards should be aware of is the end of official support for Various operating systems and Office suites.

Why this important?

End of support refers to the date when Microsoft no longer provides automatic fixes, updates, or online technical assistance. Most I.T. Departments and MSP’s use this as a default for withdrawing support for these Products. Without Microsoft support, I.T. departments and MSP’s will no longer receive security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software that can steal your personal information, as well as normal fix and repair.

If you outsource your Support, most contracts have a clause such as follows:

Additional Maintenance Services

Hardware/System Support

Service Provider shall provide support of all hardware and systems specified in Appendix B, provided that all Hardware is covered under a currently active Vendor Support Contract; or replaceable parts be readily available, and all Software be Genuine, Currently Licensed and Vendor-Supported. Should any hardware or systems fail to meet these provisions, they will be excluded from this Service Agreement. Should 3^rd Party Vendor Support Charges be required in order to resolve any issues, these will be passed on to the Client after first receiving the Client’s authorization to incur them.

End of support dates for Windows desktop products

End of support dates for Microsoft Office Suite products

The post Good Bye Microsoft Windows Small Business Server SBS appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

How does this relate to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). IT Security is a commonly perceived barrier for companies considering whether or not to leverage cloud computing. Often times, smaller businesses do not have the same built-in security expertise as larger organizations, expertise that can be helpful when evaluating the benefits of cloud computing and assessing the security of specific service offerings.

However, data from a recent study indicates that those SMBs who embraced cloud services found the benefits far outweighed their previous concerns around security. In fact, an independent study commissioned by Microsoft found that SMBs gain significant IT security benefits from using the cloud.

The study revealed that:

• 35% of the SMBs surveyed in the U.S. experienced noticeably higher levels of security after moving to the cloud
• 32% said they spend less time worrying about the threat of cyberattacks.
• 32% of the SMBs surveyed in the U.S. spent less time each week managing security than those that had not yet started using the cloud.

The study also showed that SMBs leveraging the cloud are five times more likely to have spent less on managing security as a percentage of their overall IT budgets.

via http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2012/May12/05-14SMBSecuritySurveyPR.aspx

While the study was carried out in the US, the finding should be of interest to all SMB’s.

You can download a copy of the Summary of U.S. Study Results here:  Summary Cloud Computing Security Benefits SMBs

About Us

Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers. Innovations in Information Technology are evolving rapidly, it has become vital for CEO, CIOs and IT leaders to keep an eye out for transformative technologies that help increase efficiency, drive revenue, and more.

We act as the SaaS, Cloud Computing and Managed Services Subject Matter Experts to various Consultancies, MSP’s (Managed Service Providers), CSP’s (Cloud Services Providers) and Cloud Brokerage  firms working in the IT Sectors (as well as other professions: Accountants and Lawyers) and with our work with Calm Ventures we focus on identifying and working with Technology based Startups, whose innovative technologies address current Business practical problems and the new operational concepts that these Technologies make possible.

If you are interested in discussing how your Company can align your IT strategy with your Business short and long term Strategy Goals please contact us

The post SMB’s, IT Security and leverage cloud computing appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

In August 2010, we posted an article highlighting the potential Costs relating to Data loss resulting from network security breaches and identity theft has become a regular occurrence. According to Open Security Foundation’s DataLossDB.org, a research project aimed at documenting known and reported data loss incidents world-wide, so far in 2010 (as of the 8th August 2010) 199 incidents have been reported, the number of records involved 13,680,910.

Two years on and we can report that there have been 801 “reported” breaches year to date, as to the number of records we can only probably guess.

According to the Digital Forensics Association, data breaches and content losses cost an estimated $156 billion over a six-year period. Its recent study, “The Leaking Vault 2011,” evaluated 3,765 publically announced data breach incidents that occurred during the years 2005 – 2011.

The survey covered:

• 806.2 million known lost records, averaging out to a loss of 15,000 documents per hour, per day. On average, these organizations lost over 388,000 records per day/15,000 records per hour every single day for the past six years.
• The estimated cost for these breaches comes to more than $156 billion to the organizations experiencing these incidents.
• This figure does not include the costs that the organizations downstream or upstream may incur, nor that of the data subject victims.
•  it is a low estimate of the cost, due to the fact that 35% of the incidents did not name a figure for records lost.

 So how much would 1 hour of Data losses cost your company.

Using the Allied World  Tech//404^® data loss cost calculator to demonstrate the scope of negative financial impact an organization may face as a result of a data breach or identity theft data loss scenario.

The Average cost would be $2,494,080 for expenses associated:

• with internal investigation,
• notification/crisis management
• regulatory/compliance

This does not include civil damages. Depending on the circumstances surrounding a data breach, the resulting civil damages exposure could be substantial and if you are in the U.K. the lawyers are just finishing up dealing with PPI so they will be looking for something else to do.

The post What are the costs of insecure Data losses? appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.

If you are attending the CompTIA Breakaway event next week, please stop by the Modular DPS booth and say hello! The President & CEO, Eric R. Strong, and Managing Partner & Co Founder, Danny Deganis, will be in attendance with other Modular DPS  team members and would love to connect with you and understand how ModularDPS could help you with your company .

Modular DPS aim is to become a leading provider of information security and assurance services to MSP’s, CSP’s and VAR’s, by providing a strategic framework that addresses a range of knowledge, skill and capabilities gaps that are presently acting as a barrier to market entry for the partners they serve.
At Calm Response, we have been advising Modular DPS since last year. Modular DPS Inc. is a channel focused company that does not sell directly to the Enterprise market. They are Modular because they enable other professional services organizations to successfully plug one or more of their data protection services capabilities directly into their product and services portfolio with less business risk and capital expense, shorter time to market and absolutely zero channel conflict.

HOW MODULAR DPS EMPOWERS YOUR BUSINESS

Modular AiR: Do you simply need an affordable and efficient place to backup your data? A fully managed and cloud hosted data protection services can be scaled to meet your client’s operational and budgetary needs, as well as fully rebranded. All services feature true multi-tenancy, FIPs 140-2 grade encryption (for the highest levels of security and accountability), as well as integrated capabilities that ensure the recoverability of your client’s critical electronic information assets. Your data resides in our vault and it’s billed on a protected basis (data credit sizes per TB) with protected scale. Modular DPS host, protect and support your data with no limits to growth.

Modular DPaaS (Data Protection as a Service): Do you already have a strong technical knowledge? Have you been selling storage for the last few years? Do you understand the benefits of the Asigra solution? Have you deployed clients before and know what multi-tenancy and agentless mean but have never done the vault side of things before and would like to? Done! Modular can provide you with training on how to set-up and run your own subscription-based vault (that is hosted and supported by you or Modular DPS). Modular DPS  issue you a license from their license server which will reside in your domain and your care, custody and control.

Migrate seamlessly from AiR to DPaaS with no fees or penalties! Your growth is always encouraged.

New to managed data protection or a veteran looking to drive better business outcomes?

Modular 360° Partner Program™: Now that you’ve made this investment into backing up your data with Modular DPS or setting up your own vault, Modular DPS help you be as successful as possible with it?

The Modular 360° Partner Program™ is a business platform for those who want to learn and engage beyond data protection. It includes an ever-growing ala carte menu of business readiness solutions that will be individually catered to your needs. Supported by an alliance of leading market offerings and a best practices approach , Modular DPS can provide your organization some or all of the components and skills required to deliver best in class data protection services. These alliance partners include: the Intel Hybrid Cloud group; 6Fusion INC and the MSPexcellence consulting organization. Each alliance member contributes their service and solution as part of the Modular 360° Partner Program™.  These services can be acquired either as a one-time engagement or on an ongoing basis.

Next Step:

If you are attending, or planning to take advantage of the following offer and joining Modular DPS at, CompTIA, contact us to arrange a meeting or if you cannot make it to the CompTIA event next week but would like to discuss your “Pain Points”  visit the Modular DPS site and talk to us.

Be a **Modular Data Protection Services** Guest at Breakaway 2012 - A $750 Value! Connect with us: Chart your course for success at Breakaway 2012, the premier education event for the IT channel, July 30-August 2, at the ARIA in Las Vegas. This $750 value is COMPLIMENTARY when you sign up using our VIP promo code **BK12MODULAR**Space is limited > Register Today! Navigate The Channel at Breakaway 2012: • Intense IT Channel Training: Learn how to jump-start a successful niche practice by earning a CompTIA Executive Certificate. At Breakaway you can take certificate courses in Cloud, Mobility, Disaster Recovery and Social Business. • Quick Start Sessions: Get expert instructions on breaking into New Vertical Markets as well as specific how-to steps specific to Healthcare IT and Unified Communications. • CompTIA MSP Partners Trustmark: Breakaway attendees receive a $100 discount on the MSP Partners Trustmark. Walk away with your best practice seal of approval in Managed Services right on the spot! • Technology Vendor Fair: Check out the hottest cutting edge products and services. • Hot Industry Panels: Hear about trends and the dynamics of the channel from Industry Pioneers, Channel Chiefs and the Media. • Fun Stuff: Register today and win a chance for free airfare. Be a part of the on-site booth-tag and win cool prizes. Enter a raffle for a free IPAD. Join the Breakaway BookClub. Network in the Think-n-Drink Lounge and much, much more!! Next Stop: Breakaway 2012: > Register Now at No Cost!

P.S. Book your hotel accommodations today so you don’t miss the low ARIA rate of $139

Please note: Calm Response through our work with Calm Ventures act as Advisors to ModularDPS

The post Enjoy CompTIA Breakaway 2012 July 30 – Aug 2 and save $750 w/ ModularDPS appeared first on Calm Response. Calm Response is a CIO Advisory and IT Management Consulting firm. Our clients choose us for our experience, perspectives, and commitment to becoming their Trusted Strategic advisers.