IDG Contributor Network: SADA Systems grows its cloud consulting business

Cloud. Despite all the hype about it being super easy, being self service and having a low on-ramp, the reality is service providers often still need to help organizations with the move to the cloud.You can tell an area is getting widespread attention when the large consulting firms start pricking up there ears. And so it is with cloud computing, where we have seen over the past few years the large consulting firms (both the “big four” accounting firms and the more traditional IT consulting firms) building out cloud computing service offerings—either from within or via strategic acquisitions of service providers.+ Also on Network World: Cloud adoption soars, but integration challenges remain + A good example of this came in 2015 when Accenture acquired Cloud Sherpas, a Salesforce and Amazon Web Services (AWS) consulting partner that had grown rapidly over the preceding years via a number of acquisitions and mergers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Secdo automates alert investigation with preemptive incident response  

This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices.  Click here to subscribe.   “We don’t receive enough alerts in our security operations center,” said no security analyst ever. The fact is, most SOC teams are overwhelmed with security alerts and they must prioritize which ones to investigate. Many alerts are simply ignored for lack of resources, yet quite often after a data breach it turns out there was an alert pointing at the breach early on. In the case of one prominent breach at a major retailer a few years ago, many sources report that a FireEye tool generated an alert confirming that malicious software showed up on a company system. Because so many of those particular alerts were false positives, it was ignored, which subsequently led to one of the largest and most costly retail data breaches in history.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Secdo automates alert investigation with preemptive incident response  

This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices.  Click here to subscribe.   “We don’t receive enough alerts in our security operations center,” said no security analyst ever. The fact is, most SOC teams are overwhelmed with security alerts and they must prioritize which ones to investigate. Many alerts are simply ignored for lack of resources, yet quite often after a data breach it turns out there was an alert pointing at the breach early on. In the case of one prominent breach at a major retailer a few years ago, many sources report that a FireEye tool generated an alert confirming that malicious software showed up on a company system. Because so many of those particular alerts were false positives, it was ignored, which subsequently led to one of the largest and most costly retail data breaches in history.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

‘Best-kept secret in SD-WAN’ publicly rolls out managed service

A Maryland-based EchoStar subsidiary best known as a provider of network management services announced today that it will offer a managed SD-WAN product as part of its HughesON lineup. Hughes Network Systems’ new Hughes Managed SD-WAN is aimed at distributed businesses that mostly use broadband communications, simplifying the management of those connections and ensuring that demanding applications like video run smoothly. MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: Switches coming out this year will drive open networking forward + Trump turns to H-1B advocates for adviceTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

‘Best-kept secret in SD-WAN’ publicly rolls out managed service

A Maryland-based EchoStar subsidiary best known as a provider of network management services announced today that it will offer a managed SD-WAN product as part of its HughesON lineup. Hughes Network Systems’ new Hughes Managed SD-WAN is aimed at distributed businesses that mostly use broadband communications, simplifying the management of those connections and ensuring that demanding applications like video run smoothly. MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: Switches coming out this year will drive open networking forward + Trump turns to H-1B advocates for adviceTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Private Cloud In Retreat, Public Cloud To Fore

27% ASUS VivoStick TS10-B017D Intel Atom Z8350 – Deal Alert

The innovative ASUS VivoStick plugs directly into an HDMI port to turn any HDMI monitor into a productive Windows 10 PC or any TV into an enhanced Smart TV. With 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, VivoRemote mobile app and USB 2.0 & 3.0 ports, VivoStick uniquely combines versatility and portability, and measures only 5.3” x 1.4” x 0.6”. See the discounted VivoStick on Amazon, where its typical list price of $119 has been reduced to $87.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BrandPost: DevOps salaries: Puppet’s report reveals salary trends are up

Originally posted on the Puppet blog, and republished here with Puppet's permission.Interested to see how DevOps salary trends are changing? Download Puppet’s DevOps Salary Report, which offers analysis about DevOps salaries from the 4,600-plus people we surveyed for the 2016 State of DevOps Report. By the way, if you haven't read the State of DevOps report yet, it's a compelling dive into how much better DevOps organizations are doing, compared with their peers — and how they achieve such excellent results.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Studying the IPv4 transfer market

The Internet community anticipated this almost two decades ago and standardized IPv6 as a long-term solution. IPv6 uptake is, however, still lagging. Hence, affected businesses have actively started seeking stop-gap measures to prolong the lifetime of IPv4 addresses. These measures include address space redistribution, deploying large scale NATs, and trading IPv4 blocks on the IPv4 transfer market. The emergence of this market has radically changed the nature of IPv4 addresses from a free resource to a commodity, which has raised many questions about market regulations. This blog post explores the evolution of the IPv4 transfer market. —APNIC

The post Worth Reading: Studying the IPv4 transfer market appeared first on 'net work.

IDG Contributor Network: Data protection and security: What’s in store for 2017?

Every second, new updates occur in the world of technology. Information is easier to access, online searches load faster, and mobile and web payments are now simplified and common. Consumers and companies want the ability to do everything online—store documents, make payments, brainstorm ideas for expansion and growth—using remote servers and cloud-storing software.On the flip side, this demand for instant access and connectivity means ample opportunities for hackers to score. In response, technology developers are working at record speeds to keep data secure.+ Also on Network World: 2017 breach predictions: The big one is inevitable + But it isn’t an easy task. Consumers want the feeling of added security, but they don't want to deal with extra steps to protect themselves. Case in point, you have passwords for apps and logins to bank accounts, credit cards, Starbucks, and more on your phone. Now, with Apple's Touch ID, you can set up access with a single login method—your fingerprint. Is that more or less secure? Or is it simply preferred because of its ease of use? All a hacker needs to do is replicate your fingerprint and they have instant access.To read this article in full or to Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Data protection and security: What’s in store for 2017?

Every second, new updates occur in the world of technology. Information is easier to access, online searches load faster, and mobile and web payments are now simplified and common. Consumers and companies want the ability to do everything online—store documents, make payments, brainstorm ideas for expansion and growth—using remote servers and cloud-storing software.On the flip side, this demand for instant access and connectivity means ample opportunities for hackers to score. In response, technology developers are working at record speeds to keep data secure.+ Also on Network World: 2017 breach predictions: The big one is inevitable + But it isn’t an easy task. Consumers want the feeling of added security, but they don't want to deal with extra steps to protect themselves. Case in point, you have passwords for apps and logins to bank accounts, credit cards, Starbucks, and more on your phone. Now, with Apple's Touch ID, you can set up access with a single login method—your fingerprint. Is that more or less secure? Or is it simply preferred because of its ease of use? All a hacker needs to do is replicate your fingerprint and they have instant access.To read this article in full or to Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Salesforce’s Patrick Flynn: IT key to improving data center sustainability

One of the fundamental tenets of efficient IT and its achievement is inclusion of a variety of stakeholders within IT and the data center. But it also involves engaging and understanding finance, risk and sustainability.Patrick Flynn, director of sustainability at Salesforce, is a known figure at conferences, committees and working groups. His TED Talk, Mankind’s BIGGEST Story, is a compelling reflection on infrastructure and the internet in the larger context of history and purpose. Flynn is also a key proponent of the Future of Internet Power initiative.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Attackers start wiping data from CouchDB and Hadoop databases

It was only a matter of time until ransomware groups that wiped data from thousands of MongoDB databases and Elasticsearch clusters started targeting other data storage technologies. Researchers are now observing similar destructive attacks hitting openly accessible Hadoop and CouchDB deployments.Security researchers Victor Gevers and Niall Merrigan, who monitored the MongoDB and Elasticsearch attacks so far, have also started keeping track of the new Hadoop and CouchDB victims. The two have put together spreadsheets on Google Docs where they document the different attack signatures and messages left behind after data gets wiped from databases.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Attackers start wiping data from CouchDB and Hadoop databases

It was only a matter of time until ransomware groups that wiped data from thousands of MongoDB databases and Elasticsearch clusters started targeting other data storage technologies. Researchers are now observing similar destructive attacks hitting openly accessible Hadoop and CouchDB deployments.Security researchers Victor Gevers and Niall Merrigan, who monitored the MongoDB and Elasticsearch attacks so far, have also started keeping track of the new Hadoop and CouchDB victims. The two have put together spreadsheets on Google Docs where they document the different attack signatures and messages left behind after data gets wiped from databases.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dictionary: Despondent

Despondent: a deep dejection arising from the conviction of the uselessness of further effort.

A perfect word of current state of Enterprise IT.

Definition of despondent : feeling or showing extreme discouragement, dejection, or depression

despondent : in low spirits from loss of hope or courage

The post Dictionary: Despondent appeared first on EtherealMind.

4 Critical Internet Questions The G20 Leaders Will Debate in 2017

More proof the cloud is winning big

One way to track the growth of cloud computing is to follow the investments in the infrastructure and equipment that make it run. That’s why IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Cloud IT Infrastructure Tracker is so revealing.The cloud is growing faster According to the IDC report, total spending on IT infrastructure products—including server, enterprise storage and Ethernet switches—for use in cloud environments will grow a healthy 18 percent this year to top $44 billion. Meanwhile, IDC said, investment in old-school non-cloud architecture equipment will actually decline by more than 3 percent in 2017.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

More proof the cloud is winning big

One way to track the growth of cloud computing is to follow the investments in the infrastructure and equipment that make it run. That’s why IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Cloud IT Infrastructure Tracker is so revealing.The cloud is growing faster According to the IDC report, total spending on IT infrastructure products—including server, enterprise storage and Ethernet switches—for use in cloud environments will grow a healthy 18 percent this year to top $44 billion. Meanwhile, IDC said, investment in old-school non-cloud architecture equipment will actually decline by more than 3 percent in 2017.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

6 tips to find and retain freelance tech workers

It's easier than ever to take on freelance work thanks to apps and sites dedicated to connecting temp workers with hiring companies. On the employer side, hiring freelancers can help fill gaps in skills and expertise without hiring a full-time employee. However, while finding qualified freelance talent is one step, retaining your best workers and establishing a reliable base of gig-workers takes time and effort.In the case of Darren Kall, managing director of Specific Clairity, a UX design consulting company, his business relies entirely on freelance UX designers, engineers and experts. The company builds and runs customized teams of UX workers for clients and using freelancers lets them cherry-pick specific skills to suit each project.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Trump turns to H-1B advocates for advice

In his campaign for president, Donald Trump tapped into the viral anger over H-1B use. The outsourcing of high-skill jobs is a "tremendous threat," he said. Disney workers who trained visa-holding replacements spoke at some of his rallies.But soon after the election, President-elect Trump assembled a 16-member team of CEO-level executives to advise him on job creation, including many from firms that send jobs overseas and have advocated for an H-1B cap increase.[To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page.]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here