CLOUD COMPUTING
2017: The Cloud Needs to Get a Whole Lot Greener in 2017. There’s a hidden cost to online streaming: the coal needed to power the computer data centers that deliver all that content. Last year, Greenpeace estimated that within two years, information technology will take up between seven and 12 percent of all electrical use. About 21 percent of that will come from data centers. The good news is that this year, the biggest tech players inched closer to creating a green internet. But there’s still an enormous amount of work to be done. Find out more
[WIRED.COM]
VIDEO: Have Cloud Your Way: Step-by-Step Best Practices for Secure Migration. Get insights about Google’s security technology underpinnings within GCP that protect your data and your customers. Learn about Google’s views on threats, end-to-end security, and solutions at each point of potential compromise. Recorded on Mar 24 2016 at GCP NEXT 2016 in San Francisco. Find out more
[YOUTUBE.COM]
TRENDS: As Cloud Computing Grows, the Market for Commercial Servers, Switches and Routers Declines. As cloud computing grows and swells the coffers of companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Google and IBM, it’s instructive to also note which firms the cloud’s growth is hurting. For example, revenue from sales of data-center servers declined nearly 5 percent year-over-year in 2016, affecting market leaders HPE, Dell EMC, Lenovo, IBM and Cisco, respectively, according to new data from Synergy Research Group. Find out more
[GEEKWIRE.COM]
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: Security Still Key Concern for Agencies Moving to the Cloud. Cloud computing has been a hot topic among federal CIOs and their teams in recent years. In response to the Obama administration’s cloud-first initiative announced in 2011 — which requires agencies to move some of their services (e.g., email) to the cloud and ensure security and proper management of data stored in the cloud — federal agencies have significantly reduced the number of applications hosted in government-owned data centers. Even as organizations worldwide move more of their sensitive information into the cloud, hackers are adapting, finding new ways to compromise cloud environments. This threat is particularly acute for government agencies, because hacking of their highly sensitive data could imperil national security as well as citizens’ trust — something that’s been borne out by headline-making breaches at the Office of Personnel Management, the National Security Agency, the U.S. Navy and other agencies in the last few years. However, the benefits of cloud computing for federal and local governments continue to push this initiative forward. Find out more
[GCN.COM]
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NOW ON SLIDESHARE: Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems December 2016 http://www.slideshare.net/BMDS3416/tech-update-summary-from-blue-mountain-data-systems-december-2016.
IT SECURITY SUPPORT: Blue Mountain Data Systems is actively involved in implementing FISMA and NIST standards with Federal Civilian Agencies. Due to our extensive experience in this area, Blue Mountain has developed processes and organizational techniques to help ensure security deliverables are completed on time, and performed in the most efficient manner possible. We ensure that NIST-800-53 control requirements are treated consistently during definition, analysis, implementation, auditing, and reporting phases of a system. Find out more about Blue Mountain Data Systems IT Security Support Services. Call us at 703-502-3416.
BLUE MOUNTAIN DATA SYSTEMS HAS THE EXPERIENCE: 1994 to Present – U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Responsible to the Office of Technology and Information Systems for information systems architecture, planning, applications development, networking, administration and IT security, supporting the enforcement of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act — ERISA. Within the EBSA, Blue Mountain is responsible for design, development and support for its various enforcement database management systems, as well as all case tracking and customer service inquiry systems. Blue Mountain also provides IT security services to the EBSA, in the form of FISMA Assessment and Authorization, System Security Plans, Risk and vulnerability assessments, monitoring and investigation support. Read more.
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