Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Cloud Based Contact Center Software a Safe Bet

"The cloud" is about as big a buzz word right now as any technology in the contact center software space. The question is does it have the clout to follow through on the hype, or is it about as ephemeral as the atmospheric phenomenon it gets its name sake from?

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/13897/cloud-based-contact-center-software-a-safe-bet/

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Asia Pacific Contact Centre Applications Market Bounced Back to Post a 3.4% Growth in H1 2010 after a Double-digit Decline in 2009 over 2008

The recovery of the global economy has revived spending on customer services, resulting in a major shift in the focus of contact centre applications market participants. While 2009 was primarily about customer retention, the first half (H1) of 2010 saw most market participants in the Asia Pacific strive towards customer acquisition. This caused a surge in demand from small and medium business (SMB) contact centres. This segment is also expected to impel the move towards a hosted model or encourage businesses to consider domestic outsourcing options. Rising interest in cloud computing has also spurred the hosted contact center market in ...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/30572/asia-pacific-contact-centre-applications-market-bo/

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Double Standards

It is very difficult to ensure that every customer receives a consistent service, even more so when they come into contact with different contact centers around the world. Yet, customers will criticise you if they receive consistently good service from one center and bad from another and ask why can't the service be consistent!. A good example of this is a major airline we regularly fly with on international trips. Although we are based in the UK, we regularly call the airlines US office (paying for the cost of the international call) where service is better than the local UK office. Customers should not have to go to great lengths to get plain ordinary service.

Source: http://www.contactcenterworld.com/tips.aspx?id=624f18ef619c4fa8a11785badf729d0a

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Critical flaw found in software used by many industrial control systems

CoDeSys, a piece of software running on industrial control systems (ICS) from over 200 vendors contains a vulnerability that allows potential attackers to execute sensitive commands on the vulnerable devices without the need for authentication, according to a report from security consultancy Digital Bond.

The vulnerability was discovered by former Digital Bond researcher Reid Wightman as part of Project Basecamp, an ICS security research initiative launched by Digital Bond last year.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/critical-flaw-found-in-software-used-many-industrial-control-systems-205819?source=rss_security

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Cloud Channel Strategies at a Crossroads

The truth is that a growing number of IT and business decision-makers no longer have the tolerance or financial wherewithal to put up with the costly inefficiencies of owning and operating their own hardware and software. As a result, they are increasingly inclined to consider pay-as-you-go, on-demand alternatives. This mindset is even stronger at the end-user level.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/135447/cloud-channel-strategies-at-a-crossroads/

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Uh oh, the system went down: 5 rules for better troubleshooting

If you've been in IT for more than a few minutes, chances are you've seen it happen: A mission-critical production system falls flat on its face, and you have absolutely no idea why or how to even begin to fix it. Moments of true terror punctuating the monotony of too many project meetings, application rollouts, and systems upgrades is really what makes IT interesting -- and one reason why it's not for everyone.

Source: http://images.infoworld.com/d/data-explosion/uh-oh-the-system-went-down-5-rules-better-troubleshooting-203534?source=rss_data_center

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The 7 scariest monsters in tech

Army of IT darkness: The 7 scariest monsters in tech

They're the stuff that nightmares are made of, the rude beasts that haunt IT pros' dreams and make them wake up in a cold sweat. Look closely and you'll start to see them everywhere.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/t/it-management/the-7-scariest-monsters-in-tech-205733?source=rss_infoworld_top_stories_

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ShoreTel releases new version of call center software

ShoreTel Contact Center 6 allows organizations to integrate contact center activities with existing core business processes. New application programming interfaces and event feeds transform the call center into a contact center that feeds off the information to self adjust, react and reorganize to enhance the customer experience, the company said.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/9114/shoretel-releases-new-version-of-call-center-softw/

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Interactive Intelligence, Inc. - Interactive Intelligence to Launch Hosted Notification Service

Interactive Intelligence Inc. offers a new hosted notification service, branded under the name icNotify?. icNotify is designed to cut costs associated with outbound customer interactions by automating traditional manual processes and by eliminating the need for on-premise customer equipment and network bandwidth

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/6074/interactive-intelligence-inc-interactive-intellige/

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McAfee reveals new enterprise security management solution

Security vendor, McAfee, has announced a new security management solution that aims to enhance enterprise security by offering intelligent, automated real-time asset monitoring.

The McAfee Vulnerability Manager includes McAfee Asset Manager to automatically discover and inspect assets as they connect to the network.

Source: http://images.infoworld.com/d/security/mcafee-reveals-new-enterprise-security-management-solution-205767?source=rss_security

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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Review: Microsoft's Surface RT will make even a fanboy cry

Review: Microsoft's Surface RT will make even a fanboy cry

You have to give Microsoft credit for creating an iPad competitor that's more than a copy. Yes, the Surface RT is roughly the same size and weight as the iPad, but it's truly its own device.

Source: https://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/review-microsofts-surface-rt-will-make-even-fanboy-cry-205875?source=rss_infoworld_top_stories_

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Future of cloud computing ? more clouds. Seriously.

Forrester believes that today we have a simple cloud broker model where companies can buy access to infrastructure as a service on demand, things such as Enomaly's SpotCloud fit this mold. However, in the future, it expects a"full broker" to emerge that...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/134065/future-of-cloud-computing-more-clouds-seriously/

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3 Keys to a Successful Outage Remediation

What are some of the keys to a successful outage remediation? 1) Understand the outage scope, your options and timelines. 2) Develop clear roles and responsibilities. 3) Promote excellent communication.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/138652/3-keys-to-a-successful-outage-remediation/

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Uh oh, the system went down: 5 rules for better troubleshooting

If you've been in IT for more than a few minutes, chances are you've seen it happen: A mission-critical production system falls flat on its face, and you have absolutely no idea why or how to even begin to fix it. Moments of true terror punctuating the monotony of too many project meetings, application rollouts, and systems upgrades is really what makes IT interesting -- and one reason why it's not for everyone.

Source: http://akamai.infoworld.com/d/data-explosion/uh-oh-the-system-went-down-5-rules-better-troubleshooting-203534?source=rss_data_center

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Aberdeen Research shows the value of on-demand contact centre solutions

New research by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company shows that customers want to interact with contact centers at the time and in the manner of their choosing. The modern contact center needs to be available 24 x 7. The report, Deriving Business Value from On-Demand Contact Center Solutions, shows that the benefits of switching contact center services to an on-demand provider extend well beyond cost savings.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/22352/aberdeen-research-shows-the-value-of-on-demand-con/

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Review: Next-gen HP ProLiant pumps up the jam

Review: Next-gen HP ProLiant pumps up the jam

Unlike most movie sequels, the HP ProLiant DL380 gets better with each generation.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-center/review-next-gen-hp-proliant-pumps-the-jam-205158?source=rss_data_center

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Review: Microsoft's Surface RT will make even a fanboy cry

Review: Microsoft's Surface RT will make even a fanboy cry

You have to give Microsoft credit for creating an iPad competitor that's more than a copy. Yes, the Surface RT is roughly the same size and weight as the iPad, but it's truly its own device.

Source: https://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/review-microsofts-surface-rt-will-make-even-fanboy-cry-205875?source=rss_consumerization_of_it

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SAP reveals policies, pricing for cloud integrations

SAP has laid out a set of pricing and policies for tying together its array of cloud-based and on-premises applications, providing some options at no charge, but others that will cost customers additional money.

Application integration is a crucial question for SAP and its customers, particularly given the vigor with which the company has advocated for hybrid deployments that retain users' large investments in on-premises ERP (enterprise resource planning) and HCM (human capital management) software while adding new capabilities from the cloud.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/sap-reveals-policies-pricing-cloud-integrations-205828?source=rss_cloud_computing

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Oracle likely to announce Exadata sequel soon

Many signs suggest that Oracle is about to introduce a next-generation version of the Exadata database machine, the first and apparently most successful of its "engineered systems" that combine Oracle software with servers, networking, and storage.

For one thing, Oracle's OpenWorld conference kicks off Sunday with a keynote from CEO Larry Ellison, and contrary to prior years, this time Oracle has told the public a bit of what Ellison plans to say.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/oracle-likely-announce-exadata-sequel-soon-203259?source=rss_networking

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NoSQL is no Oracle killer

Like many people, I cheer any sign of Oracle's downfall and chuckle at the thought of Larry Ellison having some misadventure on the high seas. Who doesn't? But the sad fact is that, despite all the buildup, NoSQL and big data do not threaten Oracle or the RDBMS paradigm in the near term.

On the other hand, there's a decent chance NoSQL will take a big bite out of Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters). Here's why.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/application-development/nosql-no-oracle-killer-205668?source=rss_business_intelligence

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AFSA Discusses Recent FTC Discussion about Consumer Rights Regarding Debt Collection and Use of Auto Dialers

CallFire's Hosted IVR services are easy to use &quick to deploy. Within minutes of opening your free account users can create rich telephone IVRs, buy phone numbers & even administer automated outbound telephone surveys. With so many advances in VoIP ...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/71556/afsa-discusses-recent-ftc-discussion-about-consume/

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Cloud Channel Strategies at a Crossroads

The truth is that a growing number of IT and business decision-makers no longer have the tolerance or financial wherewithal to put up with the costly inefficiencies of owning and operating their own hardware and software. As a result, they are increasingly inclined to consider pay-as-you-go, on-demand alternatives. This mindset is even stronger at the end-user level.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/135447/cloud-channel-strategies-at-a-crossroads/

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Monday, October 29, 2012

Uh oh, the system went down: 5 rules for better troubleshooting

If you've been in IT for more than a few minutes, chances are you've seen it happen: A mission-critical production system falls flat on its face, and you have absolutely no idea why or how to even begin to fix it. Moments of true terror punctuating the monotony of too many project meetings, application rollouts, and systems upgrades is really what makes IT interesting -- and one reason why it's not for everyone.

Source: http://akamai.infoworld.com/d/data-explosion/uh-oh-the-system-went-down-5-rules-better-troubleshooting-203534?source=rss_data_center

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SDN and virtual networking seen as a key to growing hybrid clouds

If the OpenStack Summit held this week in San Diego is any indication, virtual networking is a hot IT topic.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/sdn-and-virtual-networking-seen-key-growing-hybrid-clouds-205245?source=rss_networking

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Review: Silver Peak packs superior WAN optimization into a virtual machine

Review: Silver Peak packs superior WAN optimization into a VM

Is there anything real anymore? Virtual servers, virtual desktops, cloud storage -- what happened to good old steel boxes you could set a user's manual on?

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/networking/review-silver-peak-packs-superior-wan-optimization-virtual-machine-204657?source=rss_virtualization

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South Carolina reveals massive data breach of Social Security Numbers, credit cards

Approximately 3.6 million Social Security numbers and 387,000 credit and debit card numbers belonging to South Carolina taxpayers were exposed after a server at the state's Department of Revenue was breached by an international hacker, state officials said Friday. All but 16,000 of the credit and debit card numbers were encrypted, the officials said.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/south-carolina-reveals-massive-data-breach-of-social-security-numbers-credit-cards-205859

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Dell debuts new KACE management appliance

Dell announced the latest product in its line of KACE management appliances Tuesday, highlighting the new KACE K1000's support for multiple new platforms, new APIs, and streamlining of common tasks.

Lubos Parobek, Dell KACE product vice president, said in a statement that the K1000 is designed to help organizations of all sizes cope with some of the IT landscape's most pressing issues.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/networking/dell-debuts-new-kace-management-appliance-203242?source=rss_networking

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Six habits of highly efficient data centers

Six habits of highly efficient data centers

Data center operators don't bandy the word "green" around as much these days compared to a couple of years ago.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/t/green-it/six-habits-of-highly-efficient-data-centers-204817?source=rss_data_center

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Hosted Predictive Dialer: How Burstable is Your Contact Center?

Hosted Predictive Dialer: How Burstable is Your Contact Center?TMC Net... a good warning to take to heart, terminology can get a bit slippery with vendor sales reps who know you're looking for a cloud product: "Vendors offering hosted, ASP labeled as 'cloud' remain limited by legacy call center technology constraints. ...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/108367/hosted-predictive-dialer-how-burstable-is-your-con/

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Hosted Call Centers Benefit from PaaS

The coolest thing about PaaS is that users do not have to be a hard core developer. Instead, this revolutionary technology to benefit the hosted call center ensures that development is available to various skills levels. ...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/108417/hosted-call-centers-benefit-from-paas/

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Optiver Europe

Optiver, a global market maker, and one of the fastest growing and most successful proprietary trading firms in Europe, has chosen ASC’s communications recording system, MARATHON EVOLUTION, and its VoIP recording system, EVOip, to record all incoming, outgoing and internal calls. The solutions are integrated with the company’s IPC voice trading platform and its Avaya PBX. Prote

Source: http://www.contactcenterworld.com/view/contact-center-case-study/optiver-europe.aspx

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Web-based conferencing comes of age

As more people telecommute, having a reliable way to connect via desktop video conferencing takes on greater importance. And for employees working in the office, Web-based meetings are a less expensive and less time consuming alternative to business travel.

Web-based conferencing services aren't new, but they have been getting better, easier to use and less expensive. The options range from one-on-one desktop screen sharing to group video chats to large-scale presentations such as Webinars or "virtual conferences."

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/web-based-conferencing-comes-of-age-205671?source=rss_cloud_computing

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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Salesforce.com boosts social analytics options in strike at Oracle

Salesforce.com said Friday that it has significantly expanded the social analytics options available to customers who use its Marketing Cloud, in its latest move in an ongoing arms race with Oracle to offer businesses the best tools for mining the social Web.

Marketing Cloud users can now tap social analytics offerings from 20 partners from a single dashboard, according to Salesforce.com. Partners involved include Klout, Kred, OpenAmplify, and Trendspottr.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/business-intelligence/salesforcecom-boosts-social-analytics-options-in-strike-oracle-205298?source=rss_cloud_computing

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Cloud storage: The final nail in tape's coffin

More than two years ago, I wrote about the persisting value of tape as an archival backup medium. At the time, the LTO-5 tape standard had recently been announced in an effort to stave off ever-increasing pressure from disk-to-disk backup products. Since then, a lot has changed. Although the nearly twice-as-capable LTO-6 tape standard will hit the market soon, disk-to-disk backup has become a much more popular way to back up the enterprise.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-explosion/cloud-storage-the-final-nail-in-tapes-coffin-202891?source=rss_data_management

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What is Motivating the Businesses VoIP Migration

Virtual PBX for small business, especially Hosted VoIP enables companies of all sizes in virtually any industry to increase productivity. Because a VoIP Phone Systems allows companies to...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/102983/what-is-motivating-the-businesses-voip-migration/

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Pivot3 integrates VDI appliance with VMware's View Storage Accelerator

Pivot3 has upgraded its vStac VDI appliance with better performance and integrated it with VMware's View Storage Accelerator, which helps lower the system cost since less solid state storage is needed, the company said on Tuesday.

The second generation of the vStac VDI appliance, called R2, serves virtual desktops using VMware View 5.1. Rolling out virtual desktops using an appliance instead of starting from scratch simplifies the installation process, according to Lee Caswell, founder and chief strategy officer at Pivot3.

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/virtualization/pivot3-integrates-vdi-appliance-vmwares-view-storage-accelerator-204433?source=rss_virtualization

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Social media e-discovery: Crucial, even in its infancy

Until late last year, First Command Financial Services' presence on the social Web was pretty much nil: No corporate Facebook pages and no business-related postings by its 400 registered investment advisors (RIAs), although they could have personal accounts.

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/applications/social-media-e-discovery-crucial-even-in-its-infancy-203883?source=rss_business_intelligence

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5 Cloud-Based Services You Should Start Using Today

Are you making the most of what the cloud has to offer small business? There are a number of low-cost ? and often free ?new cloud-based services popping up every day, making it easier than ever for a startup to get off the ground with little IT expense.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/115294/5-cloud-based-services-you-should-start-using-toda/

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Bossies 2012: The Best of Open Source Software Awards

Welcome to the sixth annual Best of Open Source Software Awards, otherwise known as the Bossies.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source-software/bossies-2012-the-best-of-open-source-software-awards-202465?source=rss_networking

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Facebook's price tag for Instagram drops to $715 million

Facebook has paid far lower than the announced $1 billion in cash and stock for photo-sharing app Instagram, following a drop in its share price.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/facebooks-price-tag-instagram-drops-715-million-205684?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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Review: Silver Peak packs superior WAN optimization into a virtual machine

Review: Silver Peak packs superior WAN optimization into a VM

Is there anything real anymore? Virtual servers, virtual desktops, cloud storage -- what happened to good old steel boxes you could set a user's manual on?

Source: http://akamai.infoworld.com/d/networking/review-silver-peak-packs-superior-wan-optimization-virtual-machine-204657?source=rss_networking

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DMG Consulting Releases 2011 Proactive Customer Care Product and Market Report;

This Report is a thorough analytical resource created to help contact center, marketing and IT managers understand proactive customer care (PCC), its value proposition, and how to choose the right solution and vendor partner for their organization.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/109514/dmg-consulting-releases-2011-proactive-customer-ca/

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Oracle database flaw deemed serious, could expose data

Some Oracle databases have what experts say is a serious flaw in the log-in system that a hacker can use to retrieve and change stored data.

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/security/oracle-database-flaw-deemed-serious-could-expose-data-203001?source=rss_data_management

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Apple financial data may be unsealed in Samsung case

Information about sales, profits and margins for specific Apple products should be made public, the judge hearing the company's lawsuit against Samsung Electronics ruled on Wednesday, though a higher court's decision could keep the data from ever being revealed.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/apple-financial-data-may-be-unsealed-in-samsung-case-205190?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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Saturday, October 27, 2012

NoSQL is no Oracle killer

Like many people, I cheer any sign of Oracle's downfall and chuckle at the thought of Larry Ellison having some misadventure on the high seas. Who doesn't? But the sad fact is that, despite all the buildup, NoSQL and big data do not threaten Oracle or the RDBMS paradigm in the near term.

On the other hand, there's a decent chance NoSQL will take a big bite out of Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters). Here's why.

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/application-development/nosql-no-oracle-killer-205668?source=rss_data_management

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Critical flaw found in software used by many industrial control systems

CoDeSys, a piece of software running on industrial control systems (ICS) from over 200 vendors contains a vulnerability that allows potential attackers to execute sensitive commands on the vulnerable devices without the need for authentication, according to a report from security consultancy Digital Bond.

The vulnerability was discovered by former Digital Bond researcher Reid Wightman as part of Project Basecamp, an ICS security research initiative launched by Digital Bond last year.

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/security/critical-flaw-found-in-software-used-many-industrial-control-systems-205819?source=rss_security

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3 easy steps to a more secure iPhone or iPad

Apple's iOS has a lot of great security and user privacy protection capabilities -- more than any other competing mobile platform. But it also has flaws that undermine some of those very capabilities. Here are three you should know about, along with my advice on how to take care of them.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/3-easy-steps-more-secure-iphone-or-ipad-204930?source=rss_consumerization_of_it

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HP takes aim at Cisco, Juniper with full SDN portfolio splash

HP this week will unveil a software-defined networking portfolio that spans infrastructure, control plane operations, and applications in an effort to lead the emerging SDN market.

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/networking/hp-takes-aim-cisco-juniper-full-sdn-portfolio-splash-203800?source=rss_virtualization

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Apple's iPod Touch is fast becoming the new cash register

Every other day, it seems, someone has announced a mobile payments app or joined a mobile commerce consortium. We've seen a surge of such announcements in the last year, but I remember writing about a similar mobile payments wave a decade ago. Yet very little has changed in practice in day-to-day payments.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/consumerization-of-it/apples-ipod-touch-fast-becoming-the-new-cash-register-204964?source=rss_consumerization_of_it

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Asia Pacific Contact Centre Applications Market Bounced Back to Post a 3.4% Growth in H1 2010 after a Double-digit Decline in 2009 over 2008

The recovery of the global economy has revived spending on customer services, resulting in a major shift in the focus of contact centre applications market participants. While 2009 was primarily about customer retention, the first half (H1) of 2010 saw most market participants in the Asia Pacific strive towards customer acquisition. This caused a surge in demand from small and medium business (SMB) contact centres. This segment is also expected to impel the move towards a hosted model or encourage businesses to consider domestic outsourcing options. Rising interest in cloud computing has also spurred the hosted contact center market in ...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/30572/asia-pacific-contact-centre-applications-market-bo/

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Google finalizes Web page speed module

After two years and 18 releases, Google this week took the beta label off mod_pagespeed, its Web page speed technology.

Mod_pagespeed is an open source Apache module in use at more than 120,000 sites, Joshua Marantz and Ilya Grigorik, of the Google PageSpeed Team, said in a blog post. "If your page is on the Web, speed matters. For developers and webmasters, making your page faster shouldn't be a hassle, which is why we introduced mod_pagespeed in 2010."

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/application-development/google-finalizes-web-page-speed-module-204716?source=rss_networking

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Web-based conferencing comes of age

As more people telecommute, having a reliable way to connect via desktop video conferencing takes on greater importance. And for employees working in the office, Web-based meetings are a less expensive and less time consuming alternative to business travel.

Web-based conferencing services aren't new, but they have been getting better, easier to use and less expensive. The options range from one-on-one desktop screen sharing to group video chats to large-scale presentations such as Webinars or "virtual conferences."

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/applications/web-based-conferencing-comes-of-age-205671?source=rss_cloud_computing

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Facebook heat maps pinpoint data center trouble spots

Faced with the challenge of overseeing the health of large caching systems, a Facebook engineer developed heat-map software to quickly pinpoint problems in the social network's data centers.

The visualization monitoring tool, called Claspin, uses the heat map format to portray the working status of Facebook's servers.

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/data-center/facebook-heat-maps-pinpoint-data-center-trouble-spots-202767?source=rss_data_center

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Apple tries to kill its own Java on most Macs

Apple yesterday started scrubbing most Macs of older Java browser plug-ins, a move that will force users to download the software from Oracle. The company also patched Java for OS X, the second time Apple synchronized its Java security update with Oracle's, releasing its patches for OS X the same day as the Java software maker.

Along with the Java patches, Apple beefed by OS X security by uninstalling old browser plug-ins for the software.

Source: http://images.infoworld.com/d/security/apple-tries-kill-its-own-java-most-macs-205253?source=rss_security

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Friday, October 26, 2012

10 things you needn't worry about in 2013

I don't know about you, but I have enough to worry about -- so much, in fact, I sometimes feel it's easier to enumerate the things I don't need to fret over. I find the exercise soothing. No thrills here, just chill:

Source: http://images.infoworld.com/d/application-development/10-worries-it-wont-have-in-2013-205191?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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Do the virtualization math: When four CPUs aren't four CPUs

One of the major advantages of virtualization is the ability to dynamically add CPU and RAM to running virtual machines. Have a box that gets a sudden spike? Add more RAM on the fly and let it go. It's a fantastic way to deal with certain compute issues, and it can make a tough decision disappear due to the fact that downtime and reboots aren't required.

However, allocating CPU and RAM with the click of a mouse -- dynamically or otherwise -- can have deleterious effects on your servers in some circumstances. You really need to understand your workload and your OS.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-center/do-the-virtualization-math-when-four-cpus-arent-four-cpus-204083?source=rss_data_center

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Nokia sales take a big hit as buyers pass on its smartphones

Nokia continues to struggle as its third-quarter smartphone unit sales dropped by 63 percent compared to last year, while some warn that expectations for the arrival of its first phones based on Windows Phone 8 should not be too high.

The company reported third-quarter sales of ?7.2 billion ($9.4 billion), down 19 percent year-on-year, making a net loss of ?969 million, compared to a net loss of ?68 million a year earlier.

Source: http://images.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/nokia-sales-take-big-hit-buyers-pass-its-smartphones-205219?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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How Oracle's pluggable databases will work

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison revealed last week at the OpenWorld conference that the next version of the company's flagship database, Oracle 12c, would feature a radical new architecture called pluggable databases.

Pluggable databases will allow multiple databases to run under one copy, or instance, of the Oracle database software, a feature he called "multitenancy."

Source: http://images.infoworld.com/d/data-management/how-oracles-pluggable-databases-will-work-204208?source=rss_data_center

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Move to Cloud Computing Drives Virtual Call Center Trend

In the contact center space today, the cloud is having a significant impact. Not only does this deployment model offer lower cost and greater functionality, it can also open up a broader reach for those operating in nearly every industry. A recent white paper takes a broader look at the two biggest affects of the cloud on the traditional contact center.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/108402/move-to-cloud-computing-drives-virtual-call-center/

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Mobile Voice Conference: It’s all about Talk!

Apple’s Siri has led consumers to understand that speech recognition works and can be friendly. More such services for mobile phones and TVs will get similar publicity. Customer service operations can take advantage of this paradigm shift to increase automation rates by adopting an “assistant” model. The assistant can be at the end of a conventional phone call or start as an ap

Source: http://www.contactcenterworld.com/html/ev/ev_66fd77768bc348bc8f4f5eba915b3db2.aspx

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Oracle likely to announce Exadata sequel soon

Many signs suggest that Oracle is about to introduce a next-generation version of the Exadata database machine, the first and apparently most successful of its "engineered systems" that combine Oracle software with servers, networking, and storage.

For one thing, Oracle's OpenWorld conference kicks off Sunday with a keynote from CEO Larry Ellison, and contrary to prior years, this time Oracle has told the public a bit of what Ellison plans to say.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/oracle-likely-announce-exadata-sequel-soon-203259?source=rss_networking

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Call Center Operations Will Need to Get More Flexible

Currently, about 44 percent of IT workers have SIP in their call centers, according to an Aberdeen survey, "The business value of a cloud-based call center," and close to thirty percent are looking to implement SIP in their contact centers within the next ...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/114309/call-center-operations-will-need-to-get-more-flexi/

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Why I left my MacBook for a Chromebook

The Apple iPad Mini and Microsoft Surface may be dominating the news this week, but I've been fascinated by Google's most recent addition to the Chromebook line: an ARM-based Samsung model running Chrome OS.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source-software/why-i-left-my-macbook-chromebook-205705?source=rss_infoworld_top_stories_

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iPhone jailbreaking still legal in U.S., but don't meddle with an iPad

Modifying Apple's iPhone software to install applications not approved by Apple will still be legal under new exemptions to take effect on Sunday in the U.S., but illegal for an iPad and other tablets.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/iphone-jailbreaking-still-legal-in-us-dont-meddle-ipad-205776

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How-to: Get started with Amazon EC2

If your company hasn't ventured an Amazon cloud deployment already, the day may be fast approaching. Amazon's pay-as-you-go cloud is no longer "just" a popular playground for developers, a magnet for technology startups, and the clandestine home of "shadow IT" projects. It's also increasingly a component of official IT operations.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/how-get-started-amazon-ec2-205555?source=rss_cloud_computing

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Afraid of BYOD? Intel shows a better way

In Twitter chats, conference halls, reader comments, and the interminable flow of vendor "scareware" white papers, I keep hearing about IT pros' fear of their companies falling apart because someone lost their smartphone or an employee copied and pasted the intellectual crown jewels in an email from their Mac. It's easy to deride these anxieties as paranoia, but it's hard to convince IT pros -- for whom securing information is what they get hired and fired for -- to relax.

Source: http://images.infoworld.com/d/consumerization-of-it/afraid-of-byod-intel-shows-better-way-204123?source=rss_consumerization_of_it

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Cisco acquires virtual network controller maker vCider

Cisco has acquired privately held vCider, a developer of virtual network overlay technology for secure data centers.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/cisco-acquires-virtual-network-controller-maker-vcider-204065?source=rss_virtualization

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Cheat sheet: Windows 8 vs. Windows RT

To the naked eye, Windows RT looks just like Windows 8. But it's not. There are huge differences that could cause a lot of confusion for the people who buy Microsoft's Surface tablet that's launching tomorrow. Most people have no clue what Windows RT is, and that's Microsoft's fault for not making it clearer. Let's take a look at what we do know.

Source: http://images.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/cheat-sheet-windows-8-vs-windows-rt-205399?source=rss_infoworld_top_stories_

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Obama seeks compromise on cyber security executive order

President Obama is reported to be willing to compromise on cyber security. There have been continuing reports since early September that the president is preparing an executive order  to implement some of the provisions of the 2012 Cyber Security Act (CSA), after it failed to come to a vote in the Senate in early August.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/obama-seeks-compromise-cyber-security-executive-order-205614?source=rss_security

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Google Q3 financial statement out early, shares pummeled

Google's third-quarter financial results are out early, and its shares are taking a beating because the company missed revenue and net income expectations.

Revenue came in at $14.10 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2012, up 45 percent year on year, according to what looks like a draft copy of the press release that was posted on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's site.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/google-q3-financial-statement-out-early-shares-pummeled-205258?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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Technology advancements bring information silos out of isolation | Telemarketing & Call Center Solutions | Find Articles at BNET

As global competition intensifies, selling the "right" products at reasonable prices no longer guarantees commercial success. One company's offerings can seem pretty much like another's. To take the lead, companies must fine-tune customer connections and extend customer relationships in new ways. They must differentiate themselves by giving customers faster, more pertinent answers to queries and by addressing each customer's unique set of needs. Call centers become the focus of value-added customer contact, combining all portals to the enterprise including telephone, fax, e-mail and the Web.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/4590/technology-advancements-bring-information-silos-ou/

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IBM refreshes analysis offerings

At IBM's Information On Demand and Business Analytics Forum, being held this week in Las Vegas, the company announced a number of new add-ons and services designed to help organizations analyze their expanding data sets more quickly.

The new releases "are all around helping customers progress in their big data challenges," said Nancy Kopp, IBM's chief of big data strategy and marketing. "We want to help customers use all data types."

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/business-intelligence/ibm-refreshes-analysis-offerings-205441?source=rss_business_intelligence

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Top 3 Methods for Improving Call Center Quality

In a recent survey of call center supervisors and managers, participants were asked to rate the most important and effective ways to improve the customer service levels their call center agents provide. Call recording, monitoring and a performance dashboards came out on top of that list.

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/8993/top-3-methods-for-improving-call-center-quality/

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Predictive Dialer Provider Telstar Expands its Executive Management Team

Predictive Dialer Provider Telstar Expands its Executive Management TeamTMCnet... Communications-as-a-Service technology and offers blended call center services, predictive dialer capabilities, and automated messaging via the cloud. ...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/147/predictive-dialer-provider-telstar-expands-its-exe/

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HP takes aim at Cisco, Juniper with full SDN portfolio splash

HP this week will unveil a software-defined networking portfolio that spans infrastructure, control plane operations, and applications in an effort to lead the emerging SDN market.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/networking/hp-takes-aim-cisco-juniper-full-sdn-portfolio-splash-203800?source=rss_virtualization

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Obama seeks compromise on cyber security executive order

President Obama is reported to be willing to compromise on cyber security. There have been continuing reports since early September that the president is preparing an executive order  to implement some of the provisions of the 2012 Cyber Security Act (CSA), after it failed to come to a vote in the Senate in early August.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/obama-seeks-compromise-cyber-security-executive-order-205614

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Cloud Based Contact Center Software a Safe Bet

"The cloud" is about as big a buzz word right now as any technology in the contact center software space. The question is does it have the clout to follow through on the hype, or is it about as ephemeral as the atmospheric phenomenon it gets its name sake from?

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/13897/cloud-based-contact-center-software-a-safe-bet/

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Report Reveals Growing Interest in Cloud Contact Centre Services

The UK Cloud contact centre market is hot according to the latest industry report from ContactBabel. According to research conducted amongst 216 Contact Centre Managers and Directors for the 10th Edition of the ContactBabel UK Contact Centre Decision Makers Guide

Source: http://www.contactcenterworld.com/view/contact-center-research/report-reveals-growing-interest-in-cloud-contact-centre-services.aspx

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Download the Private Cloud Deep Dive

The private cloud attempts to offer the same self- service agility and scalability that public clouds offer, but without the complications of putting critical services and data in the hands of a third party. In this Deep Dive, InfoWorld's Information Overload blogger Matt Prigge explains why and how you can create a private cloud.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/download-the-private-cloud-deep-dive-204685?source=rss_cloud_computing

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North American Contact Center Survey Reveals Costs, Benefits

January 2011 -- Noble Systems Corporation, a global provider of contact center technology solutions, today announced the results of a survey of almost 700 independent contact centers throughout North America...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/95/north-american-contact-center-survey-reveals-costs/

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SDN and virtual networking seen as a key to growing hybrid clouds

If the OpenStack Summit held this week in San Diego is any indication, virtual networking is a hot IT topic.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/sdn-and-virtual-networking-seen-key-growing-hybrid-clouds-205245?source=rss_virtualization

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Expect price war and talking dogs if Softbank enters U.S. mobile market

If Japan's Softbank barges its way into the U.S. mobile market, expect contract prices to fall.

The company, mostly unknown outside of Japan, is in negotiations to acquire a large chunk in U.S. operator Sprint Nextel, and possible the smaller MetroPCS Wireless. If successful it is likely to pursue two strategies that have worked well at home: undercutting rivals, and oddball advertising.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/expect-price-war-and-talking-dogs-if-softbank-enters-us-mobile-market-204741?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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Expect price war and talking dogs if Softbank enters U.S. mobile market

If Japan's Softbank barges its way into the U.S. mobile market, expect contract prices to fall.

The company, mostly unknown outside of Japan, is in negotiations to acquire a large chunk in U.S. operator Sprint Nextel, and possible the smaller MetroPCS Wireless. If successful it is likely to pursue two strategies that have worked well at home: undercutting rivals, and oddball advertising.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/expect-price-war-and-talking-dogs-if-softbank-enters-us-mobile-market-204741?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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Big data shines at Demo 2012

At this week's Fall 2012 Demo conference, big data was in a category by itself -- and for good reason. In an event typically dominated by consumer-facing technologies, Demo organizers created a separate panel of executives from Cisco, Google, and venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz to analyze each of the nine presenters with products based on big data.

Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/business-intelligence/big-data-shines-demo-2012-203932?source=rss_business_intelligence

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My week without a smartphone

If you use a smartphone, you probably believe you can't live without it. But having a smartphone is expensive. Depending on your carrier, you can easily spend $50 to $100 per month for the service, with half that cost going to the data plan -- that is, the "smart" part. That's real money.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/my-week-without-smartphone-203390?source=rss_consumerization_of_it

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Watch out! iOS 6 can jack up your phone bill

There are many nice enhancements in iOS 6, but if you have an iPhone or cellular iPad running the updated Apple mobile OS, watch out. Several new settings can quickly run up your cellular bill or exhaust your data allotment before you realize it. Here's what you need to know if you've upgraded your iPhone 3G S or later or your iPad to iOS 6.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/consumerization-of-it/watch-out-ios-6-can-jack-your-phone-bill-202245?source=rss_consumerization_of_it

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Xerox Might Make Layoffs in Kentucky

Layoffs might be coming to Xeroxs operations in Kentucky as the company seeks to deal with a still-fragile economy.

Source: http://www.contactcenterworld.com/view/contact-center-news/xerox-might-make-layoffs-in-ky..aspx

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Managed Services: Call Center ? Part 2: Death Of The Predictive Dialer |

In our previous article on Outbound Dialers we briefly reviewed their functional development and the evolution of dialer features. We received many interesting emails regarding the article and insight into true user requirements. It seems that despite technological improvements, regulations have limited the full functional capabilities of many Dialer systems. The restrictions have been focused mainly on the productivity features, limiting their main purpose. To this end, what is the fate of dialer technology? From the feedback on our previous articles and direct client feedback, users are looking for options when it ...

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/6045/managed-services-call-center-part-2-death-of-the-p/

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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Expect price war and talking dogs if Softbank enters U.S. mobile market

If Japan's Softbank barges its way into the U.S. mobile market, expect contract prices to fall.

The company, mostly unknown outside of Japan, is in negotiations to acquire a large chunk in U.S. operator Sprint Nextel, and possible the smaller MetroPCS Wireless. If successful it is likely to pursue two strategies that have worked well at home: undercutting rivals, and oddball advertising.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/expect-price-war-and-talking-dogs-if-softbank-enters-us-mobile-market-204741?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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Two Ways Hosted Solutions Improves the Call Center

Two Ways Hosted Solutions Improves the Call CenterTMC Net" The benefits of the hosted call center have made it one of the fastest sectors of growth in the software industry. Especially for SMBs with flexibility in their selection of service, hosted options are a clear choice over premise based alternatives. ...and more �

Source: http://usan.hivefire.com/articles/102462/two-ways-hosted-solutions-improves-the-call-center/

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Microsoft takes income hit prior to Windows 8 launch

Facing a sluggish PC market and deferring revenue from sales of its upcoming Windows 8 OS, Microsoft reported $4.47 billion in net income for its first fiscal quarter of 2013, a 22 percent decline from the same period a year earlier.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/microsoft-takes-income-hit-prior-windows-8-launch-205276?source=rss_the_industry_standard

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Businesses fill Hadoop skills needs with partners

As enterprise adoption of Hadoop booms, the pool of IT personnel able to build and maintain deployments hasn't kept pace. In May, analyst firm IDC pegged the compound annual growth rate for the Hadoop software market at more than 60 percent, forecasting an ascent to $812.8 million in 2016 from a base of $77 million in 2011.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/business-intelligence/businesses-fill-hadoop-skills-needs-partners-198740?source=rss_data_management

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It came from the cloud! 3 terrors lurking in wait

It's that time of the year again: Ghost shows and monster movies are constantly on TV, there's plenty of candy in the office, and memos are issued on appropriate costumes for the workplace. I love Halloween.

Not much scares me this time of year -- except in the world of cloud computing. In fact, certain developments in cloud computing strike fear in my heart. Be afraid -- very afraid -- of these three things.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/it-came-the-cloud-3-terrors-lurking-in-wait-205436?source=rss_cloud_computing

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Uh oh, the system went down: 5 rules for better troubleshooting

If you've been in IT for more than a few minutes, chances are you've seen it happen: A mission-critical production system falls flat on its face, and you have absolutely no idea why or how to even begin to fix it. Moments of true terror punctuating the monotony of too many project meetings, application rollouts, and systems upgrades is really what makes IT interesting -- and one reason why it's not for everyone.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-explosion/uh-oh-the-system-went-down-5-rules-better-troubleshooting-203534?source=rss_data_center

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