Feature

A Security Analysis of Cloud Computing

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:22:00 EST

With its ability to provide users dynamically scalable, shared resources over the Internet and avoid large upfront fixed costs, cloud computing promises to change the future of computing. However, storing a lot of data creates a situation similar to storing a lot of money, attracting more frequent assaults by increasingly skilled and highly motivated attackers. As a result, security is one – if not the – top issue that users have when considering cloud computing.

A Key Phase in SOA Executed Programs

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST

Today, every IT enablement and business transformation task has an element of SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) embedded in it. However, even with matured SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) processes for IT execution, the gap in identifying business services for an SOA implementation still remain. Architects and business stakeholders are generally found struggling with questions such as “When should we identify a service?”; “Who should be identifying them?”; “What should be a service and why?” Service identification in enterprise architecture involves realizing the enterprise's business vision.

Build Reliability into Cloud Computing for SMBs

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EDT

With IP networks taking on many new challenges from VoIP, rich multimedia and other high-bandwidth consuming and high-priority applications, SMBs need to be sure the network connectivity between their business and Cloud Computing provider is protected with controls for reliable Internet circuit availability, and for optimizing delivery of traffic to critical applications.

Tips for Efficient PaaS Application Design

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EDT

On yet another application review with a prospective client the issue of potentially troublesome data entity relationships came up. A number of our clients are existing QuickBase users who have made an initial attempt to design their applications and find that some assistance is needed. The first thing we look at to understand their application requirements are the data entity relationships.

ESB Pattern: What Is the ESB?

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EDT

ESB products emerged around 2002 from message-oriented middleware (MOM). Faced with market domination by IBM, MOM vendors were the first to jumpstart the ESB concept with the aim of developing a unique selling proposition. They added Web service and EAI capabilities on top of existing message broker capabilities, and with analyst support coined the term ESB. ESB was positioned as a low-cost alternative to EAI and panacea for all integration needs – tell-tale signs of hype.

Five Ways to Incorporate CMMI with Agile Methods

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:30:00 EDT

There is a common misconception that CMMI and Agile are polar opposites. One relies on institutionalization and documentation of processes and methodologies, while the other emphasizes interaction among workers and “working software over comprehensive documentation” (Agile Manifesto). Process documentation and institutionalization is the lifeblood of CMMI, and it is often used in critical software development life cycles. On the other hand, the Agile approach is called into action when a project features incremental changes, particularly those that have not been included in initial requirement documents.

The Evolution of Cloud Computing

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Software-as-a-Service brings together many of the best characteristics of corporate IT systems and the Internet to form a new method of software delivery that is reliable, flexible and cost effective; however, this model is not without its challenges, particularly with regard to profitability, data center operations, and customer support. Consequently, many software vendors are turning to managed hosting providers to help address their concerns. As competition among software vendors intensifies, SaaS hosting providers are proving to be the key to advancing this software delivery model.

SAP & Sybase: Transforming Today's Mobile Workforce

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:55:00 EDT

In the last 6 months at least, I have been blogging on many topics but with one central theme, I believe mobility is key to enterprise companies, not only now but for their future. This is especially true in the current economic climate, where cost effectiveness, rapid decisions, streamlining processes and return on investment is crucial. Let me expand on that further...

Innovate with SOA - I

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST

The 80/20 rule has negative implications for traditional IT reousrce allocation, with the 80 percent going to maintenance, and only 20 percent to innovation. How can you innovate with SOA to flip this ratio on its head?

The Value of Inter-Domain Infrastructure Technology for SOA

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:15:00 EST

As SOA moves from the project level to the enterprise, SOA architects and practitioners quickly realize the need to consider common services and data management issues. Today we seek the right approaches and the proper enabling technology and standards to provide our enterprises with a common scalable and secure mechanism that ensures all instances of SOAs within the enterprise have the technology-independent infrastructure they need in support of the business.

Engelbart's Usability Dilemma: Efficiency vs Ease-of-Use

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:15:00 EDT

The mouse was the original idea of Doug Engelbart who was the head of the Augmentation Research Center (ARC) at Stanford Research Institute. Engelbart's philosophy is best embodied, in my opinion, in the design of another device that he invented, the five-finger keyboard - with keys like a piano, used by one hand. The problem was, Engelbart's five-finger keyboard and mouse combination was very difficult to learn.

Virtualization, SaaS & SOA: Introducing Service Oriented Programming

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:15:00 EST

The advent of SOA and standard-base Web services together with Internet based delivery models has provided the essential base for facilitating new software platform innovations. One of these innovations is a breakthrough software componentization technique that we have coined Service Oriented Programming (SOP). While SOA focuses on communication between systems using 'service operations,' SOP provides a new technique to build agile application modules using in-process, native service operations as the 'units of assembly.'