IBM Fortifies Security with Lighthouse Security, CrossIdeas Acquisitions

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

In a move that bolsters its already considerable portfolio of security offerings, IBM announced it acquired the business operations of Lighthouse Security Group, LLC, a Lincoln, Rhode Island-based maker of Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions.

IBM’s purchase of Lighthouse, the security division of longtime IBM Business Partner, Lighthouse Computer Services, comes two weeks after its acquisition of CrossIdeas, a privately held Italian cyber security startup that specializes in Access Governance software to help firms manage user access to applications and data across on-premise and cloud environments. Eric Maass, Chief Technology Officer, Lighthouse Security Group, along with other Lighthouse Security employees will make the transition to IBM Lighthouse Security sells a cloud-hosted IAM gateway platform, which incorporates a full suite of functionalities based on IBM’s Security Identity and Access Management capabilities. This includes: single sign-on, user provisioning, identity lifecycle governance, enterprise user registry services, federation and user self service. …

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IBM Fortifies Security with Lighthouse Security, CrossIdeas Acquisitions Read More »

Parallels Access 2.0 Adds Android Support, Lowers Pricing

2014, ITIC Reports & Surveys / By

Parallels Access 2.0 remote desktop application for Android and iOS tablets and smart phones is a “must have” for anyone that needs seamless, efficient remote access to PC and Mac desktop applications from Android and iOS smart phones and tablets.

Desktops to Go

Parallels, a well established and respected vendor in the remote desktop access arena for the Apple Mac, iPhone and iPad market has upped its game with the 2.0 release of its Parallels Access application (www.parallels.com/access). The newest version of the remote access package now supports Android phones and tablets. It also delivers a slew of new features for a more improved and seamless remote access experience.

At the same time, Parallels also lowered the retail pricing on the product. Parallels Access 2.0 now lists for $19.99 annually or $34.99 for two years, for individual users (with up to five computers). And finally, the company introduced Parallels Access for Business (www.parallels.com/access-business) which enables organizations to centrally assign, manage, and secure remote access to their computers. …

Parallels Access 2.0 Adds Android Support, Lowers PricingRead More »

Parallels Access 2.0 Adds Android Support, Lowers Pricing Read More »

IBM z/OS, IBM AIX, Debian and Ubuntu Score Highest Security Ratings

2014, ITIC Reports & Surveys / By

Eight out of 10 — 82% — of the over 600 respondents to ITIC’s 2014-2015 Global Server Hardware and Server OS Reliability survey say security issues negatively impact overall server, operating system and network reliability. Of that figure a 53% majority of those polled say that security vulnerabilities and hacks have a “moderate,” “significant” or “crucial impact on network availability and uptime (See Exhibit 1).

Overall, the latest ITIC survey results showed that organizations are still more reactive than proactive regarding security threats. Some 15% of the over 600 global corporate respondents are extremely lax: some seven percent said that security issues have no impact on their environment while another eight percent indicated that they don’t keep track of whether or not security issues negatively affect the uptime and availability of their networks. In contrast, 24% of survey participants or one-in-four said security has a “significant” or “crucial” negative impact on network reliability and performance.

Still, despite the well documented and high profile hacks into companies like Target, eBay, Google and other big name vendors this year, the survey found that seven-out-of-10 firms – 70% – are generally confident in the security of their hardware, software and applications – until they get hacked. …

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IBM z/OS, IBM AIX, Debian and Ubuntu Score Highest Security Ratings Read More »

ITIC 2014 Reliability Survey: IBM Servers Most Reliable for Sixth Straight Year, Cisco UCS Comes on Strong, HP Reliability Rebounds

2014, ITIC Reports & Surveys / By

For the sixth year in a row, corporate enterprise users said IBM server hardware delivered the highest levels of reliability/uptime among 14 server hardware and 11 different server hardware virtualization platforms. A 58% majority of IBM servers achieved “five nines” or 99.999% availability – the equivalent of 5.25 minutes of unplanned per server downtime compared to 46% of Hewlett-Packard servers and 40% of Oracle server hardware.

Those are the results of the latest independent ITIC 2014 Global Server Hardware and Server OS Reliability Survey which polled C-level executives and IT managers at over 600 organizations worldwide during March and April 2014.

The survey results showed that the overall reliability HP’s servers increased significantly in 2014 compared to the 2012 and 2013 polls and surpassing the uptime of rival Oracle servers which remained the same or declined slightly compared to prior polls. Cisco Systems, Inc.’s Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) servers, which appeared for the first time in this year’s ITIC Reliability poll, made a very strong showing, posting uptime equal to or better than HP (depending on the category) and bested only by IBM server reliability. Half – 50% – of Cisco UCS server hardware users said they achieved 99.999% of per server/per annum availability. …

ITIC 2014 Reliability Survey: IBM Servers Most Reliable for Sixth Straight Year, Cisco UCS Comes on Strong, HP Reliability ReboundsRead More »

ITIC 2014 Reliability Survey: IBM Servers Most Reliable for Sixth Straight Year, Cisco UCS Comes on Strong, HP Reliability Rebounds Read More »

Contemplating a Hybrid Cloud Deployment? Why Infrastructure Matters

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog / By

The forecast for 2014 and beyond is cloud, cloud and more cloud – cloud computing, that is. For a majority of organizations – irrespective of size or vertical market – it’s a matter of “when” not “if” they will initiate a cloud computing deployment.

And ITIC survey data indicates that hybrid clouds will predominate and be the cloud architecture of choice for 64% of businesses. Hybrid cloud solutions offer organizations the best elements of public and private clouds when properly architected, tested, deployed and maintained. The benefits include reduced costs based on a utility-like pay-per-use model, greater scalability, flexibility and greater efficiencies in terms of manageability and business processes.

That said, in order to ensure optimal hybrid cloud performance and maximize Return on Investment (ROI), companies must start with a strong foundation. This includes a robust, reliable, flexible, scalable, manageable and secure infrastructure that provides integration and interoperability among legacy network components and the firm’s public and private clouds. Any hybrid cloud deployment lacking in these aforementioned elements is almost certainly doomed to failure. …

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Contemplating a Hybrid Cloud Deployment? Why Infrastructure Matters Read More »

ITIC/KnowBE4 Security Survey: 56% of Corporations have no Proactive Response Plan to Deal with BYOD Security Hacks

ITIC Reports & Surveys / By

The Bring Your Own Device trend has created a security “Achilles Heel” for a 56% majority of organizations that have no response plan in place to deal with lost, stolen or hacked BYOD notebooks, tablets and smart phones. And 56% of organizations also acknowledge they are not fortifying their existing security measures, taking extra precautions or implementing security training despite recent high profile security attacks against Fortune 1000 firms like Adobe, Reuters, Target, Skype, Snapchat and others.

Equally alarming is that 50% of companies concede their corporate and employee-owned BYOD and mobile devices may have been hacked without their knowledge in the last 12 months, consequently leaving their datacenter servers and mission critical applications vulnerable to internal and external security breaches. Anecdotal evidence obtained from first person customer interviews indicates that 75% of IT and security managers are now lobbying executive management to construct mobile and BYOD-specific security policies to plug potential vulnerabilities.

Those are among the top findings of the ITIC/KnowBe4 “2014 State of Corporate Server, Desktop and BYOD Security Trends Survey.” The joint independent Web-based survey polled 300+ organizations in February 2014 on a wide range of issues including the organization’s approach to security; the biggest security threats and challenges facing their firms and the company’s preparedness to recognize and react to potential breaches. …

ITIC/KnowBE4 Security Survey: 56% of Corporations have no Proactive Response Plan to Deal with BYOD Security HacksRead More »

ITIC/KnowBE4 Security Survey: 56% of Corporations have no Proactive Response Plan to Deal with BYOD Security Hacks Read More »

IBM x-86 Server Line Sale to Lenovo is Win-Win For All

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

In a deal that is a win-win for all concerned, Chinese PC maker, Lenovo Group Ltd. will purchase IBM’s low-end, commodity x 86 Server portfolios, related resources and operations for $2.3 billion, which includes $2.07 billion cash with the remainder in stocks.

The sale of the IBM x86 servers has been rumored for well over a year as Big Blue grappled with continuing pressure on its low-margin x86 servers. In its most recently completed fourth quarter, IBM’s revenue dropped 5.5% to $27.7 billion. Slumping hardware sales was the chief culprit for the revenue miss. IBM’s x86 server sales declined by 16% in the fourth fiscal quarter alone, following seven straight quarterly revenue declines.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lenovo will purchase:

  • IBM’s System x servers
  • The BladeCenter and Flex System blade servers and switches
  • The x86-based Flex integrated infrastructure systems
  • The NeXtScale and iDataPlex servers and associated software
  • IBM’s blade networking and maintenance operations

…

IBM x-86 Server Line Sale to Lenovo is Win-Win For AllRead More »

IBM x-86 Server Line Sale to Lenovo is Win-Win For All Read More »

IBM Watson Takes Cognitive Computing to the Head of the Class

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

Pardon the pun, but there’s nothing elementary about IBM’s newly formed, New York City-based Watson Business Unit (BU).

IBM is committing $1 billion and 2,000 employees, as well as its considerable research and development (R&D) talents and marketing muscle to Watson, thus putting the full weight of its global technology and services brand behind the newly formed BU and initiative.

IBM CEO Virginia Rometty said that Michael Rhodin, most recently SVP of IBM’s Software Solutions Group, will take charge of the Watson Group. According to Rometty, the company established Watson as a separate BU based on the strong demand for cognitive computing. The IBM Watson Group will develop cloud-based technologies that can power services for businesses, industries and consumers.

Rometty also said the new IBM Watson Group notably integrates design, services, core functions, technologies, and a fully formed ecosystem which includes a design lab as well as hundreds of outside external partner applicants, foundations and advisors. All of these elements are crucial if Watson is to succeed. …

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IBM Watson Takes Cognitive Computing to the Head of the Class Read More »

IBM Platform Resource Scheduler Automates, Accelerates Cloud Deployments

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog / By

One of the most daunting and off-putting challenges for any enterprise IT department is how to efficiently plan and effectively manage cloud deployments or upgrades while still maintaining the reliability and availability of the existing infrastructure during the rollout.

IBM solves this issue with its newly released Platform Resource Scheduler which is part of the company’s Platform Computing portfolio and an offering within the IBM Software Defined Environment (SDE) vision for next generation cloud automation. The Platform Resource Scheduler is a prescriptive set of services designed to ensure that enterprise IT departments get a trouble-free transition to a private, public or private cloud environment by automating the most common placement and policy procedures of their virtual machines (VMs). It also helps guarantee quality of service while greatly reducing the most typical human errors that occur when IT administrators manually perform tasks like load balancing and memory balancing. The Platform Resource Scheduler is sold with IBM’s SmartCloud Orchestrator and PowerVC and is available as an add-on with IBM SmartCloud Open Stack Entry products. It also features full compatibility with Nova APIs and fits into all IBM OpenStack environments. It is built on open APIs, tools and technologies to maximize client value, skills availability and easy reuse across hybrid cloud environments. It supports heterogeneous (both IBM and non-IBM) infrastructures and runs on Linux, UNIX and Windows as well as IBM’s zOS operating systems. …

IBM Platform Resource Scheduler Automates, Accelerates Cloud DeploymentsRead More »

IBM Platform Resource Scheduler Automates, Accelerates Cloud Deployments Read More »

2013 Cyber Shopping Sales Surge 20%; Mobile Traffic Up 45% Over 2012

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog / By

The 2013 five-day cyber holiday shopping sale from Black Friday through Cyber Monday drove the highest sales totals in U.S. history. This year’s sales surged over 20% and mobile traffic increased by 45% compared with 2012 revenues, according to data from IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark Hub, which tracked data from over 800 U.S retailers in real-time.

Apple, Amazon, Best Buy and Wal-Mart were the big winners. Apple especially has reason to be pleased: IBM’s Digital Analytics statistics indicated that Apple iOS devices rang up 450% more online commerce than rival Android devices and Apple customers outspent their Android counterparts by over $13 on individual sales as well.

Additionally, IBM’s cloud-based analytics findings indicated that U.S. shoppers made Cyber Monday the biggest single online shopping day in history with a nearly 21% increase in online sales. Mobile sales exceeded 17% of all online sales, representing an increase of 55% year-over-year, according to IBM Digital Analytics statistics. And the average online order was $128.77.

Retail analysts got a bit of a shock when this year’s Cyber Monday online sales outpaced Black Friday sales by a solid 31.5 %. However, the consumers who shopped on Black Friday spent an average five percent more on each order — $135.27 versus those who spent $128.77 on Cyber Monday purchases. …

2013 Cyber Shopping Sales Surge 20%; Mobile Traffic Up 45% Over 2012Read More »

2013 Cyber Shopping Sales Surge 20%; Mobile Traffic Up 45% Over 2012 Read More »

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