The Cloud Computing Newswire

Cloud Computing Growing on the Businesses Priority Front A survey of small and mid-size businesses found an interest in harnessing technology to improve business efficiency. Midsize businesses are turning to IT investments to grow their businesses and the larger the organization, the more likely it is to cite technology as having the greatest potential to increase productivity, according to a new survey of midmarket companies by Deloitte. The study shows cloud computing emerging as an investment priority. When asked what types of investments companies were likely to make in technology, 40 of the respondents cited cloud computing. That's close to automation of business processes (46 percent) and data analytics (41 percent), according to eWEEK. "Interestingly, there seems to be a greater recognition of the benefits of cloud computing," the report stated. "In our Septem... (more)

FedRAMP PMO Releases First Set of 3PAOs

Late today the FedRAMP Program Management Office released the first list of certified Third Party Assessment Organizations (3PAOs). These companies are accredited to perform initial and periodic assessment of cloud service provider (CSP) systems per FedRAMP requirements, provide evidence of compliance, and play an on-going role in ensuring CSPs meet requirements.  FedRAMP provisional authorizations must include an assessment by an accredited 3PAO to ensure a consistent assessment process. he initial set of 3PAOs announced today are (see http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/131991): ... (more)

Compuware Brings Enterprise APM to Cloud and Big Data Applications

Compuware Corporation on Tuesday announced a deep transaction management solution for dynamic cloud and Big Data applications. The Compuware APM Spring 2012 Platform Release introduces new innovations in Compuware dynaTrace Enterprise that simplify performance optimization, operation and management of modern, dynamic applications. These transformational application environments require a new approach to application performance management (APM) to support massively scalable architectures and dynamic, elastic resource allocation. With dynaTrace Enterprise and its patented PurePath... (more)

Study: Cloud Computing Cuts $5.5 Billion Annually from Federal Budget

Study: Cloud Computing Cuts $5.5 Billion Annually from Federal Budget The federal government saved nearly $5.5 billion a year by moving to cloud services. But it might have saved up to $12 billion if cloud strategies were more aggressive, a survey of federal IT managers found. The study, drawn from interviews with 108 federal CIOs and IT managers, was published by MeriTalk Cloud Computing Exchange, a community of federal government leaders focused on public-private collaboration in Washington, D.C. The IT managers surveyed also reported spending 11 percent of their current, fisca... (more)

FedRAMP Releases Updated Security Assessment Plan Templates

Last week the GSA FedRAMP Program Office released the latest version of the cloud computing Security Assessment Plan (SAR) template.  This document is the most recent step toward the Federal governments goal of establishing FedRAMP initial operating Capability by June 2012. The Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for Cloud Service Providers (CSP). Testing security controls is an integral part of the FedRAMP security authorization... (more)