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This Week in Cloud, March 21, 2013: CIA & DHS shifting to cloud, Netflix developer prize, Top 5 cloud risks. And more…

RSA Conference Interviews!

Watch interviews from the RSA Conference featuring thought leaders from the Cloud Security Alliance, NIST, the CISO Executive Network, the International Association for Privacy Professionals and more on Smart Enterprise.

Cloud News

  • The CIA may have agreed to a 10-year cloud contract with Amazon worth $600 million, according to this FCW article. Amazon and the CIA have yet to confirm the contract, but sources say that Amazon will help the CIA build a private cloud and keep the agency up to date with emerging technology trends.

  • The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is shifting to a cloud platform and moving to agile development methodologies, according to this ComputerWorld article. The DHS expects the move to save costs and improve IT operations.

  • Netflix announced the Netflix Cloud Prize, a new developer contest which will award developers a total of $100,000 for improvements to Netflix’s cloud services, according to this TechCrunch article.

  • Rackspace Hosting announced the Open Cloud Academy, a new training program designed to provide students with IT certifications for open cloud technologies, according to this Herald Online article.

Featured Article

Is the financial services sector ready for cloud?

By Derek Stevens, CA Technologies

Derek Stevens

Over the past two years, I've had the opportunity to sit down with numerous cloud service provider executives as part of the Cloud Luminaries program and ask them about where the market is headed, the obstacles to cloud computing, and how the cloud improves on previous technologies. These companies that are on the cutting edge of cloud almost always cite security as the number one barrier to cloud adoption for their customers. Certain industries, such as the financial services industry, need to take special care to ensure that their data is secure. As a result many of them are making a slow move to the cloud, in most cases, through a private cloud model.

If you think that the mattress is a safer place for your money than the cloud, you might find it worthwhile to hear from companies that have concluded the cloud is actually more secure than on-premise (and more secure than money under the mattress, for that matter). Read the full article.

Cloud Views

  • What are the top 5 cloud risks that you should stop ignoring? In this InfoWorld article, Roger Grimes shares the top 5 cloud risks that companies face as a customer of a public cloud service, including the risks of shared access, virtual exploits, authentication and access control, availability, and ownership.

  • Are CIOs waiting for the public cloud to mature? In this InformationWeek article, Gary Flood reveals that some CIOs may be holding off on moving to a private cloud model so that they can jump to a public cloud model when the technology becomes more mature.

Trend Watch

  • Will the rise of internet connected devices mean big business for big data? In this GigaOM blog, Barb Darrow details how Guarav Dhillon, CEO of SnapLogic, envisions the impact of the Internet of Things on big data.

  • Will DevOps unite software development and the business? In this Smart Enterprise article (registration required), Doug Bartholomew takes a look at how Nationwide is using agile development and DevOps to reduce costs and unite software development and the business.

Upcoming Cloud Events

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More Stories By CloudCommons 2012

CloudCommons is an independent online community of IT professionals, analysts, technology providers, and industry experts. Members can ask questions, learn from experts, and find the latest cloud-related news. Cloud Commons offers a forum to contribute and discuss best practices and successes, as well as research vendor solutions. Sponsored by CA Technologies, Cloud Commons has been growing steadily since its launch in May of 2010.

Hosted on Cloud Commons is the Service Measurement Index (SMI). Led by Carnegie Mellon University, SMI encompasses a growing consortium of members. SMI compiles user-submitted ratings of cloud services and scores them relative to other services of the same type. Ratings include metrics such as: quality, agility, risk, cost, capability, and security.

ThisWeekInCloud is Cloud Commons weekly newsletter listing the industry events we felt worthwhile reading about. Read them here or subscribe to have it delivered to you inbox as email or as RSS Feed.

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