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Posts Tagged ‘Cebit’

CeBIT 2011: Government does need a Cloud Strategy

June 2nd, 2011

The lack of a common definition of what constitutes a ‘Cloud’ service is one of the major reason government agencies require a federal Cloud strategy, according to the Australian Government chief information officer, Anne Steward.
Speaking at CeBIT 2011 in Sydney, Steward argued that given the high number of vendors offering so-called Cloud services to government aformalised Cloud strategy was very much needed.
“There have been some questions: why bother having a cloud strategy – what is really different?” she said. “There are two valid reasons: one is to have some clarity around just what is Cloud… with no disrespect to any particular party there has been a lot of ‘do I have a Cloud service for you’…
“[And the other is whether] it is just another form of procurement? Yes, but it is about having a consistency of approach in what we do, similar processes which are repeatable, and making sure as we procure and utilise these services that we are clear and the partners are clear in terms of what [Cloud] is. It is not just a new outsourcing service with a new glossy name. It is an important one.”
Steward said the Federal Government was already making use of the Cloud in areas such as supporting the data.gov.au environment. The Australian Tax Office, Treasury and the Australian Bureau of Statistics are also known to be using Cloud. “We take a tactical and strategic approach to the Cloud and that is our informed policy decision,” she said.
Steward’s Cloud caution follows similar comments from CeBIT participants. According to NICTA research leader, Anna Liu, said there were a number of risks not yet taken into account by Australian IT leaders.
“There are a number of risks I’m hearing about, things like vendor lock-in and security issues, that will take time,” she said at CeBIT 2011. “[CIOs] have to establish what the working relationship between the outsourcer, Cloud platform provider and your business is.”
Department of Finance and Regulation policy and planning division first assistant secretary, Glenn Archer, said the hacking of Sony’s PlayStation Network made him “wary” of marketing claims from Cloud vendors.
“Research firm Longhaus published research this week which clearly suggested Cloud vendors have some way to go to live up to the claims in their marketing material,” Archer said. “We need to not only think safe but feel safe. I don’t feel safe and that level of security isn’t there yet.”
Location-based data
Steward also flagged location-based data as a major area of government activity and as a means for adding more value to the vast volume of existing government data.
“It is all well and good to have a whole heap of information out and available but it is more meaningful to see ‘where’ the data is,” she said.
“Government does have a vast amount of information but perhaps as a result of stove-piped programs in the past it is often stored in many formats, or across agencies, or as a result of machinery of government changes it is often hard to locate or without a geographic reference or the appropriate metadata attached.
“Linking information to location means it can better used, analysed, and displayed in a geographic context which enables the user to see not only ‘where’, but ‘why’ and ‘how’ and ‘when’.”
While location-based data could greatly assist in achieving productivity gains and in service delivery, Steward said for this to occur all data had to be “reliable, open, re-usable and of a robust nature”.
To achieve this, the government was moving to better coordinate agencies in their capture, collection and management of information to cut down on duplication of data and effort, Steward said.

Source:http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/388749/cebit_2011_government_does_need_cloud_strategy/

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Artezio together with its German partners attended CeBIT-2010 in Hannover

March 23rd, 2010

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First organized in 1986 by Deutsche Messe AG in Hannover, CeBIT (News – Alert) is the world’s largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environments. This year 4,157 companies from 68 countries exhibited at the Event. One of the messages of this CeBIT was the growing importance of IT and ICT offshoring. No wonder that some interest of the CeBIT attendees was riveted on offshoring in non-BRIC countries.
It is worth mentioning CBI (Centre for the Promotion Imports from developing countries, a project of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs) among the main promoters of such idea during the CeBIT. To attract potential clients’ attention CBI presented 15 small and medium companies from Armenia, Bangladesh, Colombia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam on its booth. Thus IT-companies from these countries received a support of western society. However, the attitude towards offshore software development as a method of cost-reduction but not quality improvement by cooperation with specialized partners and the benefits of access to professional resources abroad is still on the focus.

Another part of the CeBIT devoted to multisourcing, offshore location selection, skills availability, new trends in outsourcings, etc. was the Flat World Forum that gathered outsourcing companies from Turkey, Brazil, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Ukraine, Egypt and certainly India. As at the last sufficient German IT-Event Entscheiderforum Outsourcing that Artezio attended earlier, Russian software development companies were not represented this year as well. Such low presence of Russian companies on the main Industry events can shatter the confidence towards Russian software outsourcing industry among German-speaking customers in general.

Source:http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/03/22/4683596.htm

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Westpac to build ‘private cloud’

March 22nd, 2010

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Consolidating over a dozen datacentres Australia-wide.

Westpac has completed a proof of concept trial of an internal ‘private cloud’ of virtualised IT infrastructure based on kit using technology from VMware, Cisco and IBM, among others.

Speaking at the CeBIT datacentre conference today, enterprise architecture and strategy director Eugene Zaid said technical results of the ‘cloud computing’ trial — which involved technologies from VMware, Cisco, IBM, EMC, Intel and BMC — “were absolutely mindblowing”.

Zaid said the trial was a ‘private cloud’ scenario as the bank was of a sufficient scale to warrant its own infrastructure.

“We are planning operationalisation of this environment,” he said. “We see this as a competitive edge.”

Whilst coy on the details, sources within the bank have told iTnews that the proof of concept trials included testing of Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS), with a view to migrate some services off its current blade architecture onto the converged platform.

According to sources, the proof of concept trial has been put into action despite disapproval from certain elements within IBM Global Services, Westpac’s current outsourced technology provider. IBM has served Westpac’s technology needs since 2000 in a ten year, $2.3 billion IT outsourcing deal.

Late last year, Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly expressed some dissatisfaction with the outsourcing arrangement, telling reporters the bank was considering a “best of breed” approach rather than a return to long outsourcing deals. The bank has since been rumoured to have been in discussions with several Indian offshoring firms.

Zaid’s enthusiasm for this ‘cloud computing trial’ was tempered by some level of pragmatism. Asked about Cisco’s UCS platform, Zaid said he would not say whether Westpac was trialling the technology and added that even if it was, the bank is “not planning on being on bleeding edge of technology development.”

“I would say we are fast followers,” he said. “There is a lot of very exciting technology hitting the market – but we cannot just dive in and put them in production. The key message is we cannot compromise our customers just because there are some new gadgets available.”

He felt the same way about the use of containerised data centres.

“We’d love to have the shiny boxes Microsoft are using,” he said. “But we have quite a diverse range of equipment in our data centres. We will still have mainframes and tape libraries that take up space and you won’t fit that in a container.”

Data centre consolidation

Zaid said Westpac was also consolidating and retrofitting its “dozen” data centres across Australia.

“A lot of facilities are quite old and at their limits of power, space and cooling,” he said. “Our business transformation announced last year requires a lot of space and power and the current facilities cannot support it.”

Zaid said the bank would prefer to refurbish existing data centres over building new ones. The bank had come up with new designs for raised floor computing and new cabling design and was also trialling “free cooling” techniques.

Zaid hinted that a refurb project is currently underway at a Westpac data centre in Sydney.

“We are working very hard to refresh our data centres – for example, if you look over the bridge here in Sydney, you’ll see its not just the cars packed in, but trucks lined up outside the building.”

Source:http://www.itnews.com.au/News/170205,westpac-to-build-private-cloud.aspx

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Tags: Cebit IBM IT Outsourcing

Fujitsu focuses on dynamic infrastructures at CeBIT 2010

March 4th, 2010

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At CeBIT 2010, Fujitsu presents an overview of the company’s solutions and services on the theme of “Dynamic Infrastructures for your Success”.

The focus is on Infrastructure-as-a-Service for Server, as well as a comprehensive portfolio of managed services.
Rackspace Managed Hosting

Five halls at CeBIT represent the enterprise, showing how customers from all over the world can use Fujitsu’s IT solutions and services to create competitive advantages for their individual businesses.

Hall 4: Dynamic Infrastructures for your Success

Plug and play IT – Infrastructure-as-a-Service for Server

In hall 4, Fujitsu presents Infrastructure-as-a-Service for Server (IaaS), the flagship Private Cloud Services offering for enterprises. With IaaS, companies can purchase server capacity as necessary via a flexible billing model.

The required hardware is stored in Fujitsu high security centres built especially for this purpose. Customers can chose an individual solution and configure it through Fujitsu’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service portal. The server resources can be accessed via a secure VPN (Virtual Private Network).

Managed services – comprehensive answer to dynamic IT requirements

Just in time for CeBIT, Fujitsu presents in hall 4 the company’s new service package, ManageNow, for efficient IT infrastructure administration in data centres.

The ManageNow solutions simplify and optimise daily processes in data centres using standardised administration of heterogeneous infrastructures and automatised administration of operating systems, software and databases for servers and clients.

The packages contain additional features for the ManageNow software, implementation services, maintenance and support. ManageNow supports Fujitsu’s IT infrastructure products as well as heterogeneous environments. Enterprises can use ManageNow to consolidate different administration and surveillance tools, benefiting from a seamless integration with popular administration solutions, fast implementation and a cost reduction of up to 65%.

Fujitsu’s Managed Workplace services have been designed especially for Windows 7. Managed Workplace can be used to administer PC workstations throughout the entire life cycle. This frees enterprises from daily routine tasks so they can concentrate on their core business. The service is based on customer-specific service level agreements; a price per workstation model guarantees maximum cost transparency.

Managed Virtual Workplace comprises comprehensive services with a focus on the administration of the entire virtual workplace infrastructure. Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) based services and options adapted to meet specific requirements guarantee customer satisfaction and increase productivity, flexibility, availability and security at the same time.

With Fujitsu’s own state-of-the-art Managed Storage offer, enterprises of all sizes can benefit from flexible data management, cost control and data security. Fujitsu administers storage solutions onsite as well as at its own data centres. Fixed costs are changed into variable costs and there are hardly any limits for extensive data growth.

Managed Server guarantees interruption-free server infrastructures. Proactive services such as Auto Immune Systems support automatic recognition and eliminate errors. At the same time, IT processes are immunised so business transactions are protected from interruptions.

Tape Virtualisation with ETERNUS CS800

Fujitsu also introduces the latest storage system in its ETERNUS family in hall 4. The ETERNUS CS800 is a ready-to-use storage solution with integrated deduplication, offering comprehensive data security within dynamic infrastructures. The solution is particularly suitable for medium-sized enterprises working with disk backup. Integrated deduplication reduces average capacity requirements for hard disks within the system by 90% and therefore helps reduce backup costs. The ETERNUS CS800 stores backup data in different locations throughout the company network, using deduplication. The required network bandwidth is reduced by at least 20%. The ETERNUS CS800 supports Symantec OpenStorage for Replication and Direct Tape Creation.

Hardware highlights: from Zero Client to server-star

With the first “real” Zero Client, Fujitsu presents one of the tradeshow highlights in hall 4 – tomorrow’s end-user device. The Zero Client is a frontend solution with all the advantages of a Thin Client – and even more. Designed as an intelligent display and available in 19 and 22 inches, the Zero Client comes with a single cable for power supply and LAN. It needs no operating system no processor, no applications, and no local data backup. The Zero Client merely establishes the connection to the virtual machine so there is no need for workplace management. This makes the “total cost of ownership” significantly lower than for the Thin Client.

Fujitsu also presents the latest additions to its notebook portfolio at CeBIT in hall 4. The new LIFEBOOK S710, for example, is equipped with Intel’s latest processor technology and offers excellent performance. At only 2.15 kilograms, it is one of the lightest modular 14-inch notebooks. The model offers integrated 3G/UMTS, WLAN and Bluetooth functionality. With a battery life of up to ten hours, it will last an entire working day without recharging. Fujitsu’s newest Tablet PC based upon the latest Intel platform, the LIFEBOOK T900, really stands out with its high processing power, multidirectional LED displays, and flexible electronic pen or multitouch operation.

Both LIFEBOOKS are equipped with Fujitsu’s Advanced Theft Protection, a modular security solution, which is also shown in hall 4. It especially caters to mobile users’ needs and offers maximum security for hardware and data; users can lock their notebooks in case of theft, erase sensitive data or locate the notebook and retrieve the notebook.

Fujitsu also presents a number of products in its current hardware portfolio – for example the fireball among its powerful PRIMERGY servers, the blade server BX900. Furthermore, client solutions such as the 0 Watt PC will be shown in action.

Hall 9: End-to-end solutions for the public sector

Federal and state authorities, municipal administrations and associations, universities and other public institutions are facing the challenge of balancing cost reductions and higher IT efficiency. In the Public Sector Parc in hall 9, Fujitsu and its renowned partners such as NetApp, Symantec, Brocade, EMC or CA demonstrate the capabilities of its powerful and energy efficient Intel-based infrastructure products, solutions and services. They will show how new supply and operating models within an “as-a-service” concept can change the IT in future administration models. Special topics such as secure eGovernment, Geo-Information, the White IT alliance or the new ID card or legally compliant online shopping offer plenty of issues to discuss for contracting authorities.

For the “Citizen meets The State” visitor’s day on Saturday, administrative solutions users once more take centre stage. The focus is on topics such as new forms of learning that integrate IT technologies, like the use of notebooks in classes.

Hall 15: Fujitsu’s premiere on Planet Reseller

This year, Fujitsu is represented for the first time at Planet Reseller in hall 15 booth F 15. The company uses the international gathering of the specialised trade to introduce tradeshow highlights such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service for Server, plus the latest additions to the client’s portfolio to the channel and distribution companies.

In the context of the new IaaS for Server offers, Fujitsu provides server capacities from its own data center on demand. At CeBIT, specialty retailers can test the new services themselves. For example, they can see for themselves how easy it is to provision new server capacities via the IaaS portal.

On Planet Reseller, Fujitsu shows a number of new products available through the channel program “Value4you”. Highlights are desktop PCs, notebooks, monitors and particularly the proGreen Selection.

Hall 8: Green IT

In Hall 8, Fujitsu is a partner at BITKOM’s Green IT booth – and presents its most important new developments in the areas of environmental friendliness and energy efficiency.

Environmental friendly and resource-conserving IT have played an important role at Fujitsu for more than 20 years. The green IT concept addresses singular aspects as well as the entire production process. For example, this means environmentally friendly materials are being used, or transport and packaging solutions are chosen to meet the best possible resource conservation conditions.

The “CeBIT green IT” – hosted by the hi-tech association BITKOM, the Federal Environment Ministry and the Deutsche Messe AG – offers Fujitsu an ideal platform to show its environmentally friendly concepts to tradeshow visitors and demonstrate, together with its partner Intel, how to implement environmentally friendly IT today.

SAP World Tour in hall 19

On the SAP World Tour in hall 19, booth 2.35, Fujitsu presents innovative dynamic It solutions and IT services for the SAP landscape. In more than 35 years of partnership and cooperation with SAP, Fujitsu has gained great expertise particularly in regard to service-oriented architectures with integrated virtualisation and automation technologies.

With time-tested solutions and services such as the FlexFrame for SAP, SAP BusinessObjects and the SAP Discovery System V4, Fujitsu nails the colours to the mast at the SAP World.

TDS at the CeBIT 2010

IT outsourcing, SAP services for medium-sized businesses and application management are the focus of TDS’ tradeshow appearance at the Fujitsu booth in hall 4 (booth E20).

Business Intelligence Packages for medium-sized businesses, tailor-made SAP offers for the process industry as well as for cosmetics and food manufacturers are only a few examples of the presented SAP solutions. Visitors also can learn more about medium-sized businesses at TDS and Fujitsu’s shared booth on the SAP World Tour (hall 19).

In the Public Sector Parc (hall 9, Fujitsu booth C60), TDS shows software and services for human resources departments. The portfolio includes the modular personal software TDS-Personal, as well as HR Business process outsourcing (HR BPO), covering all administrative processes in human resource management. This includes payroll accounting, travel expense accounting and applicant data administration.

Source:http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30986%3Afujitsu-focuses-on-dynamic-infrastructures-at-cebit-2010&catid=241%3Aservers-and-server-based-computing&Itemid=99

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Custom web development and software company Acceptic to Take Part in CeBIT 2010

February 16th, 2010

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Acceptic Ltd, a Ukrainian software and Web application development company, is to take part in the world leading ICT forum CeBIT 2010 (Hannover, Germany, 2-6 March 2010).

Dmitriy Kharchenko, CEO of Acceptic Ltd: “CeBIT is recognized as a prime place for introducing new IT solutions for home and business. Our company is planning to present our latest experience in building high-performance software and Web-based applications.”

In particular, Acceptic will demonstrate its capabilities in custom Web development on the basis of PHP/AJAX technologies, social networking websites and Facebook applications programming, software for iPhone and Blackberry, cross-platform and low-level systems development (network solutions, data processing, audio-video streaming, firmware).

Acceptic Ltd belongs to a new generation of East European IT outsourcing companies. It is characterized by strong emphasis on the best IT practices, staff educated in reputed Western and local universities, deep understanding of the US and EU customers.

Dmitriy Kharchenko continues: “We are especially pleased that the European program for small companies from new democracy countries has appreciated our striving to provide best-of-breed software development services and kindly supported our presence at CeBIT 2010.”

CeBIT is a platform where business meets business for mutual benefits. A preliminary schedule of Acceptic meetings includes talks with a number of leading European technological companies and software houses. Dmitriy Kharchenko: “We build relations with our partners and customers on the principles of Reliability, Responsibility, and Flexibility. It is CeBIT expo that definitely shows how fast ICT technologies change. But the value of strong business relations is unchangeable.”

Source:http://www.bignews.biz/?id=842302&keys=Webdevelopment-Facebook-programming-php