Alstom explain how big data and security are paramount to its business along with its future hopes for the Smart Grid systems and collaboration with Intel and use of Intel® Architecture.
Alstom and Intel - Big Data and Security in the Smart Grid - YouTube
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Top Stories: U.S. Airways Has Twitter Fail, Gen Y Gets Tech Stressed
A big social media faux pas at a big U.S. airline and tech stress in the wired generation lead the news this week. The Small Business Trends editorial team has gathered the stories most important to you. Here’s our roundup.
Top Stories: U.S. Airways Has Twitter Fail, Gen Y Gets Tech Stressed
Top Stories: U.S. Airways Has Twitter Fail, Gen Y Gets Tech Stressed
Facebook Mobile Ad Network Will be Launched by the End of the Month
The buzz about a potential Facebook mobile ad network may soon become reality.
Facebook will most likely introduce the new network at the end of April, Re/Code reports. That’s when the social media giant hosts its F8 Conference in San Francisco. The conference is geared to third-party Facebook app developers and publishers.
Facebook Mobile Ad Network Will be Launched by the End of the Month
Enter Tegra K1 CUDA Vision Challenge, Win a Jetson TK1
Attention enthusiasts, developers and makers. Are you working on a new embedded computing application?
Meet the Jetson TK1 Developer Kit. It’s the world’s first mobile supercomputer for embedded systems, putting unprecedented computing performance in a low-power, portable and fully programmable package.
- See more at: http://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2014/04/25/win-jetson-tk1/#sthash.PgrO0Mny.dpufEnter Tegra K1 CUDA Vision Challenge, Win a Jetson TK1
Microsoft officially welcomes the Nokia Devices and Services business
Microsoft News Release:
Microsoft officially welcomes the Nokia Devices and Services business
April 25, 2014
Microsoft and the Nokia Devices and Services business are coming together as one to deliver a family of devices and services that will delight consumers and empower businesses.
REDMOND, Wash. — April 25, 2014 — Microsoft Corp. announced it has completed its acquisition of the Nokia Devices and Services business. The acquisition has been approved by Nokia shareholders and by governmental regulatory agencies around the world. The completion of the acquisition marks the first step in bringing these two organizations together as one team.
“Today we welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business to our family. The mobile capabilities and assets they bring will advance our transformation,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Together with our partners, we remain focused on delivering innovation more rapidly in our mobile-first, cloud-first world.”
Reporting to Nadella is former Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop, who will serve as executive vice president of the Microsoft Devices Group, overseeing an expanded devices business that includes Lumia smartphones and tablets, Nokia mobile phones, Xbox hardware, Surface, Perceptive Pixel (PPI) products, and accessories. Microsoft welcomes personnel with deep industry experience in more than 130 sites across 50 countries worldwide, including several factories that design, develop, manufacture, market and sell a broad portfolio of innovative smart devices, mobile phones and services. As part of the transaction, Microsoft will honor all existing Nokia customer warranties for existing devices, beginning April 25, 2014.
Windows Phone is the fastest-growing ecosystem in the smartphone market, and its portfolio of award-winning devices continues to expand. In the fourth quarter of 2013, according to IDC, Windows Phone reinforced its position as a top three smartphone operating system and was the fastest-growing platform among the leading operating systems with 91 percent year-over-year gain.[1] Furthermore, with the Nokia mobile phone business, Microsoft will target the affordable mobile devices market, a $50 billion annual opportunity,[2] delivering the first mobile experience to the next billion people while introducing Microsoft services to new customers around the world.
Microsoft will continue to deliver new value and opportunity, and it will work closely with a range of hardware partners, developers, operators, distributors and retailers, providing platforms, tools, applications and services that enable them to make exceptional devices. With a deeper understanding of hardware and software working as one, the company will strengthen and grow demand for Windows devices overall.
As with any multinational agreement of this size, scale and complexity, Microsoft and Nokia have made adjustments to the deal throughout the close preparation process. As announced previously, Microsoft will not acquire the factory in Masan, South Korea, and the factory in Chennai, India, will stay with Nokia due to the tax liens on Nokia’s assets in India that prevent transfer. As a result, Microsoft will welcome approximately 25,000 transferring employees from around the world.
More information about Microsoft’s expanded family of devices and services is available here.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Microsoft refers to Microsoft Corp. and its affiliates, including Microsoft Mobile Oy, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Microsoft Mobile Oy develops, manufactures and distributes Lumia, Asha and Nokia X mobile phones and other devices.
For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website.
All information in this release is as of April 25, 2014. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company’s expectations.
1 IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, February 2014
2 Strategy Analytics Inc.
IBM News room - 2014-04-25 IBM and National Geographic Kids Unveil GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® Title for the World's Smallest Magazine Cover Made with a Microscopic 3D Printer - United States
Can be used to prototype a new generation of technologies, from energy-efficient transistors to nano-sized security tags to prevent document forgery
IBM News room - 2014-04-25 IBM and National Geographic Kids Unveil GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® Title for the World's Smallest Magazine Cover Made with a Microscopic 3D Printer - United States
IBM News room - 2014-04-25 IBM and National Geographic Kids Unveil GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® Title for the World's Smallest Magazine Cover Made with a Microscopic 3D Printer - United States
FLIR Systems Announces First Quarter 2014 Financial Results (NASDAQ:FLIR)
FLIR Systems Announces First Quarter 2014 Financial Results (NASDAQ:FLIR)
Come Behind the Scenes of Tech Pioneer Cisco, Part 2 - TheStreet
The following is part 2 of a two-part series. Click here for Part 1, which was published Friday.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Cisco (CSCO_) is basically everywhere. In addition to Cisco products and services being everywhere, the company is leading the charge in new growth areas, such as smart cities.
Bringing me behind the scenes at Cisco was Patrick Finn, senior vice president of Cisco's U.S. Public Sector Organization. The bonus points in this two-part series: Insights on leadership.
Bringing me behind the scenes at Cisco was Patrick Finn, senior vice president of Cisco's U.S. Public Sector Organization. The bonus points in this two-part series: Insights on leadership.
Come Behind the Scenes of Tech Pioneer Cisco, Part 2 - TheStreet
Come Behind the Scenes of Tech Pioneer Cisco, Part 1 - TheStreet
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Cisco (CSCO_) is basically everywhere, but I bet you didn't know that. If you did know that, perhaps you underestimated how much Cisco is everywhere. Follow? In addition to Cisco products and services being everywhere, the company is leading the charge in new growth areas, such as smart cities.
Bringing me behind the scenes at Cisco was Patrick Finn, senior vice president of Cisco's U.S. Public Sector Organization. The bonus points in this two-part series: Insights on leadership.
Come Behind the Scenes of Tech Pioneer Cisco, Part 1 - TheStreet
Friday, April 25, 2014
2014 Accord Plug-In: Banishing Honda's bungled hybrid past (CNET On Cars, Episode 40) - YouTube
Honda Accord Plug-In delivers huge MPG but with some odd twists, the inside scoop on the new backup camera law, and Cooley's top 5 cars with a stick.
2014 Accord Plug-In: Banishing Honda's bungled hybrid past (CNET On Cars, Episode 40) - YouTube
2014 Accord Plug-In: Banishing Honda's bungled hybrid past (CNET On Cars, Episode 40) - YouTube
Aetna Prescription Drug Programs Help Members Prevent Misuse, Understand Proper Disposal and Reduce Overall Medical Costs | Aetna News Hub
Aetna Press Release:
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced its support for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The event held nationally on April 26 offers a safe and easy way for people to dispose of expired and/or unused medicines. Aetna supports this initiative as a way to educate the public about storing and disposing of medication, as well as inform the public about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, misuse, and trafficking of prescription drugs.
Aetna Prescription Drug Programs Help Members Prevent Misuse, Understand Proper Disposal and Reduce Overall Medical Costs | Aetna News Hub
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced its support for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The event held nationally on April 26 offers a safe and easy way for people to dispose of expired and/or unused medicines. Aetna supports this initiative as a way to educate the public about storing and disposing of medication, as well as inform the public about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, misuse, and trafficking of prescription drugs.
Aetna Prescription Drug Programs Help Members Prevent Misuse, Understand Proper Disposal and Reduce Overall Medical Costs | Aetna News Hub
Bad business: ALL major companies are hosting malware - Cisco
Every single one of 30 major companies tested by Cisco over the course of 2013 had malicious traffic on their networks, according to an annual report released by the company.
Cisco analyzed network traffic on the 30 firms, and found that 100% of the companies were communicating with known malicious sites – and 96% of the firms communicated wiith servers that had been hijacked by cybercriminals, according to SC Magazine’s report.
Bad business: ALL major companies are hosting malware - Cisco
Internet giant Sina caught in China porn crackdown - Apr. 25, 2014
Sina Corp, one of China's top Internet companies, has been caught in a government crackdown on pornography.
Internet giant Sina caught in China porn crackdown - Apr. 25, 2014
Alibaba founders fund mega charity ahead of IPO - Apr. 25, 2014
The billionaire co-founder of Alibaba has set up charitable trusts ahead of the company's highly anticipated IPO, a move that could mark the start of a new era of Chinese philanthropy.
Alibaba founders fund mega charity ahead of IPO - Apr. 25, 2014
Salesforce.com Unveils the Future of Mobile App Support, Launches Salesforce1 Service Cloud SOS
Salesforce.com News Release:
Service SOS, the latest breakthrough innovation for mobile customer service, will revolutionize in-app support
With new live video support and on-screen guided assistance, companies will be able to deliver instant and personalized customer service within any mobile app
Leading brands such as Cars.com, Inspirato with American Express, Philips and Stanley Black & Decker deliver customer service everywhere using Service Cloud, the world’s #1 customer service platform
SAN FRANCISCO – April 24, 2014 – Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the world’s #1 CRM platform (http://www.salesforce.com/), today unveiled the future of mobile app support by launching Salesforce1 Service Cloud SOS. The latest breakthrough innovation for mobile customer service, Service SOS, will revolutionize customer service and support by putting an SOS button, similar to the Amazon Kindle Mayday button, directly inside any mobile app. With new live video support and on-screen guided assistance, companies will be able to deliver instant and personalized customer service within any mobile app. Leading brands such as Cars.com, Inspirato with American Express, Philips and Stanley Black & Decker deliver customer service everywhere using Service Cloud, the world’s #1 customer service platform.
Comments on the News
• “The mobile phone has become the dashboard of our lives—we use it to manage how we interact with not only people, but products and companies,” said Alex Bard, EVP and GM of Service Cloud, salesforce.com. “As the mobile device becomes every consumer’s channel of choice, it is important companies meet their customers where they are. With Salesforce1 Service Cloud SOS, companies will be able to transform the way they connect with their customers for the mobile era.”
• “Cars.com pioneers the way consumers use mobile devices to shop for new and used vehicles by focusing on a superior customer experience," said Joshua C. Chapman, VP of operations, Cars.com. “With Salesforce1 Service Cloud, we can provide our customers with access to Cars.com mobile sites to ensure on-the-go car shoppers receive the same high level of customer service and support to meet the urgency and personalization of the mobile shopping experience.”
Salesforce1 Service Cloud SOS: Revolutionizing In-App Support
Mobile app stores will see annual downloads reach 268 billion in 2017, with a total revenue of $77 billion, each growing at 27 percent a year between 2012 and 2017 according to Gartner, Inc., Forecast: Mobile App Stores, Worldwide, 2013 Update, September 5, 2013. Customers are downloading more than 800 apps per second at a rate of more than two billion apps per month on the Apple App Store alone. Customers are increasingly connecting through mobile apps. Companies need to reimagine how they deliver service across every channel, over any device and within the mobile app experience. Currently, when mobile users need assistance, they must exit the app or wait until they get to back to a desktop to find help.
Last year, salesforce.com doubled down on mobile and introduced a series of Service Cloud solutions including mobile communities, mobile chat and Knowledge-base extending its technology leadership. And today, salesforce.com announced Service SOS which will deliver the next breakthrough innovation in mobile customer service.
The Future of In-App Mobile Support is Here
Connected companies understand that today’s customers expect instant and effortless help. Service SOS is a new mobile solution that will empower companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Similar to the Amazon Kindle Mayday button—help is now one-touch away. Powered by the new Salesforce1 Platform APIs, Service SOS will enable companies to provide high-touch, frictionless support experiences for their customers with instant, anytime access to support within any mobile app.
Now, companies will be able to embed a help button into any mobile app to give their customers instant access to support through:
• Revolutionary Agent Video Support for Real-Time Customer Assistance – With Service SOS, companies will be able to deliver instant access via live video support to their customers. Now, a customer will be able to summon a service agent through live audio and one-way video for real-time, personalized assistance within a mobile app. For example, a mobile banking customer that wants to inquire about an unfamiliar charge can instantly connect with a service agent to immediately dispute the transaction. With a tap of the SOS button, an available service agent will appear on their screen to provide instant, anytime support within the mobile app.
• Breakthrough Personalized 1:1 Assistance with On-Screen Guided Support – Service SOS will allow companies to deliver agent-guided assistance to their customers within the mobile app on any device, for faster, more personalized customer service. Customers will have the ability to instantly share their mobile screen, at which time an agent will see a mirror-image view and can draw on the screen to provide personalized step-by-step guidance. For example, a mobile shopper can instantly connect to a service agent to inquire about the availability of a size. And the service agent can see the customer interact with the mobile app in real-time or draw on the screen to guide the customer through completing an order.
Leading Brands Deliver Amazing Customer Service with Salesforce1 Service Cloud
Service Cloud, the world’s #1 customer service platform, transforms support organizations to exceed customer expectations and deliver amazing customer service experiences. Leading brands, such as Cars.com, Inspirato with American Express, Philips and Stanley Black & Decker, now have the customer platform to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Companies that have deployed Service Cloud have seen an average 41 percent decrease in first call resolution time, an average 35 percent decrease in support costs, an average 40 percent increase in agent productivity, and an average 37 percent increase in customer satisfaction, according to a recent third-party research report sponsored by salesforce.com.
Pricing and Availability
• Salesforce1 Service SOS is planned for private beta the second half of 2014 and pricing will be announced at the time of general availability.
• Salesforce1 Service SOS is specifically for use with native mobile apps with support for iOS and Android.
• Salesforce1 Service Cloud is now generally available and pricing starts at $65 per user per month.
• Salesforce1 Mobile App is now generally available for download at the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Additional Information
• Learn more about the Salesforce1 Service Cloud: http://www.salesforce.com/service-cloud/overview/
• Follow @Salesforce on Twitter
• Like the Salesforce1 Service Cloud on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServiceCloud
Salesforce.com Unveils the Future of Mobile App Support, Launches Salesforce1 Service Cloud SOS
With new live video support and on-screen guided assistance, companies will be able to deliver instant and personalized customer service within any mobile app
Leading brands such as Cars.com, Inspirato with American Express, Philips and Stanley Black & Decker deliver customer service everywhere using Service Cloud, the world’s #1 customer service platform
SAN FRANCISCO – April 24, 2014 – Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the world’s #1 CRM platform (http://www.salesforce.com/), today unveiled the future of mobile app support by launching Salesforce1 Service Cloud SOS. The latest breakthrough innovation for mobile customer service, Service SOS, will revolutionize customer service and support by putting an SOS button, similar to the Amazon Kindle Mayday button, directly inside any mobile app. With new live video support and on-screen guided assistance, companies will be able to deliver instant and personalized customer service within any mobile app. Leading brands such as Cars.com, Inspirato with American Express, Philips and Stanley Black & Decker deliver customer service everywhere using Service Cloud, the world’s #1 customer service platform.
Comments on the News
• “The mobile phone has become the dashboard of our lives—we use it to manage how we interact with not only people, but products and companies,” said Alex Bard, EVP and GM of Service Cloud, salesforce.com. “As the mobile device becomes every consumer’s channel of choice, it is important companies meet their customers where they are. With Salesforce1 Service Cloud SOS, companies will be able to transform the way they connect with their customers for the mobile era.”
• “Cars.com pioneers the way consumers use mobile devices to shop for new and used vehicles by focusing on a superior customer experience," said Joshua C. Chapman, VP of operations, Cars.com. “With Salesforce1 Service Cloud, we can provide our customers with access to Cars.com mobile sites to ensure on-the-go car shoppers receive the same high level of customer service and support to meet the urgency and personalization of the mobile shopping experience.”
Salesforce1 Service Cloud SOS: Revolutionizing In-App Support
Mobile app stores will see annual downloads reach 268 billion in 2017, with a total revenue of $77 billion, each growing at 27 percent a year between 2012 and 2017 according to Gartner, Inc., Forecast: Mobile App Stores, Worldwide, 2013 Update, September 5, 2013. Customers are downloading more than 800 apps per second at a rate of more than two billion apps per month on the Apple App Store alone. Customers are increasingly connecting through mobile apps. Companies need to reimagine how they deliver service across every channel, over any device and within the mobile app experience. Currently, when mobile users need assistance, they must exit the app or wait until they get to back to a desktop to find help.
Last year, salesforce.com doubled down on mobile and introduced a series of Service Cloud solutions including mobile communities, mobile chat and Knowledge-base extending its technology leadership. And today, salesforce.com announced Service SOS which will deliver the next breakthrough innovation in mobile customer service.
The Future of In-App Mobile Support is Here
Connected companies understand that today’s customers expect instant and effortless help. Service SOS is a new mobile solution that will empower companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Similar to the Amazon Kindle Mayday button—help is now one-touch away. Powered by the new Salesforce1 Platform APIs, Service SOS will enable companies to provide high-touch, frictionless support experiences for their customers with instant, anytime access to support within any mobile app.
Now, companies will be able to embed a help button into any mobile app to give their customers instant access to support through:
• Revolutionary Agent Video Support for Real-Time Customer Assistance – With Service SOS, companies will be able to deliver instant access via live video support to their customers. Now, a customer will be able to summon a service agent through live audio and one-way video for real-time, personalized assistance within a mobile app. For example, a mobile banking customer that wants to inquire about an unfamiliar charge can instantly connect with a service agent to immediately dispute the transaction. With a tap of the SOS button, an available service agent will appear on their screen to provide instant, anytime support within the mobile app.
• Breakthrough Personalized 1:1 Assistance with On-Screen Guided Support – Service SOS will allow companies to deliver agent-guided assistance to their customers within the mobile app on any device, for faster, more personalized customer service. Customers will have the ability to instantly share their mobile screen, at which time an agent will see a mirror-image view and can draw on the screen to provide personalized step-by-step guidance. For example, a mobile shopper can instantly connect to a service agent to inquire about the availability of a size. And the service agent can see the customer interact with the mobile app in real-time or draw on the screen to guide the customer through completing an order.
Leading Brands Deliver Amazing Customer Service with Salesforce1 Service Cloud
Service Cloud, the world’s #1 customer service platform, transforms support organizations to exceed customer expectations and deliver amazing customer service experiences. Leading brands, such as Cars.com, Inspirato with American Express, Philips and Stanley Black & Decker, now have the customer platform to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Companies that have deployed Service Cloud have seen an average 41 percent decrease in first call resolution time, an average 35 percent decrease in support costs, an average 40 percent increase in agent productivity, and an average 37 percent increase in customer satisfaction, according to a recent third-party research report sponsored by salesforce.com.
Pricing and Availability
• Salesforce1 Service SOS is planned for private beta the second half of 2014 and pricing will be announced at the time of general availability.
• Salesforce1 Service SOS is specifically for use with native mobile apps with support for iOS and Android.
• Salesforce1 Service Cloud is now generally available and pricing starts at $65 per user per month.
• Salesforce1 Mobile App is now generally available for download at the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Additional Information
• Learn more about the Salesforce1 Service Cloud: http://www.salesforce.com/service-cloud/overview/
• Follow @Salesforce on Twitter
• Like the Salesforce1 Service Cloud on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServiceCloud
About salesforce.com
Salesforce.com is the world’s largest provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software. For more information about salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.
Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchasesalesforce.com applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce.com has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CRM.” For more information please visit http://salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.
Red Hat's Commitment to OpenStack Icehouse
Red Hat News Release:
Red Hat's Commitment to OpenStack Icehouse
April 24, 2014
Red Hat Corporate Communications team
The OpenStack Foundation unveiled its latest release – OpenStack Icehouse – on April 17, and while Bitergia is still crunching the numbers, once again, Red Hat was the top corporate contributor. While we’re certainly proud of our ongoing work in the OpenStack community, our role as a leading open source contributor is no secret. Community-powered innovation is at our core, and Red Hat’s commitment to OpenStack is no different. One interesting point, pointed out by Bitergia in its preliminary technical report on the Icehouse release, is that the top contributors to OpenStack have not changed between Havana and Icehouse. To us, this shows that the community behind OpenStack is both stabilizing and maturing, as we’ve seen over the years with other key open source projects, including Linux. More so, this underscores why we are focused on leading OpenStack in many different areas – from the community to the enterprise. We believe this leadership is what will help drive OpenStack’s success both as a project and in the enterprise.
Red Hat is committed to participating and contributing in the OpenStack community over the long term, as we have since the Essex release in 2011. More important than the “vanity statistics,” our goal is to deliver true innovation through the OpenStack community. We are involved in every core OpenStack project and many of the emerging projects. Like the Linux community in which Red Hat also participates deeply, we see OpenStack as a healthy and diverse community, and one that benefits our customers and differentiates us from “compile-and-ship” OpenStack offerings.
We are also involved in the key Linux projects upon which OpenStack depends, such as KVM (for compute virtualization), OpenDaylight (for software-defined networking (SDN)), and Open vSwitch. Our deep involvement and commitment to OpenStack and to the underlying Linux dependencies that are critical to OpenStack make Red Hat a credible choice for organizations looking for a fully integrated OpenStack solution.
In many ways, the use of OpenStack is like Linux ten years ago. OpenStack is quickly evolving, and advanced OpenStack users have grown their own expertise in house and rolled their own OpenStack using freely available software components (including free distributions like RDO, the Red Hat curated community for deploying OpenStack on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, CentOS, and other Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivatives). But as OpenStack is evolving, it is also maturing rapidly and becoming suitable for more and more organizations, and a variety of customers and vendors are seeing the value of partnering with Red Hat for their OpenStack solutions. As we announced last week during Red Hat Summit, several dozen organizations have embarked on proof-of-concept deployments for Red Hat’s OpenStack offerings, with customers around the world now moving to enterprise deployments.
Red Hat customers are represented in the development of new features we contribute to the OpenStack community, without having to dedicate their own engineers and developers to participating in OpenStack directly. This is especially important for those organizations where engineers may be limited in their ability to work on open source projects, but benefits all organizations that want to dedicate their developers to working on projects that add unique and differentiating value to their organization - all while leveraging the power of the open source model.
Red Hat offers an enterprise lifecycle for OpenStack, in which new OpenStack releases are actively supported for up to three years. This enables a customer to standardize on a single release of OpenStack, but continue to benefit from innovation, performance, and security in future releases in the form of bug fixes, security errata, performance enhancements, and feature backports. We bring the value we have offered to Red Hat Enterprise Linux customers for more than a decade to OpenStack.
Red Hat has built the industry’s largest certified ecosystem of hardware and software partners in support of commercial OpenStack deployments. This certification program offers customers the assurance that their various IT vendors collaborate to deliver and support OpenStack on enterprise hardware and software platforms. Since we introduced it at the OpenStack Summit in April 2013, the ecosystem has grown to over 1000 certified solutions for compute, storage and networking. At the recent Red Hat Summit in San Francisco, 45 Red Hat OpenStack Cloud Infrastructure Partner Network members displayed their certified solutions, building momentum for the upcoming OpenStack Summit in Atlanta.
Red Hat also offers certification and training for OpenStack professionals, building on the industry standard Red Hat Certified Engineer certification, enabling professionals to build their OpenStack skills on a solid technical base, and offering employers a proven, rigorous quality certification to hire proficient employees.
Finally, while OpenStack offers the next generation in cloud infrastructure, it’s no surprise that organizations need more than that to build an open hybrid cloud infrastructure. We’ve built our product portfolio to address the requirements of the cloud, including enterprise Linux, virtualization, software-defined storage, public and private Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), middleware, and cloud management, all from a single vendor, with integrations and certifications with other vendor solutions.
These solutions are now poised to expand beyond just the enterprise, as OpenStack is not just for private compute clouds. Our customers and partners are beginning to develop OpenStack for public cloud providers and ISPs, for network functions virtualization (NFV) in telecommunications and service providers, and for content syndication and storage farms. Red Hat is leading the adoption of OpenStack into these new areas, while simultaneously developing open source technologies such as OpenDaylight SDN and GlusterFS scale-out storage that underlie these use cases.
No other open source company offers users the breadth and depth of solutions built on OpenStack - while being the number one contributor to the OpenStack Icehouse release is nice, what matters more is of the expertise, support, and innovation that Red Hat can offer current and future OpenStack users.
Red Hat is committed to participating and contributing in the OpenStack community over the long term, as we have since the Essex release in 2011. More important than the “vanity statistics,” our goal is to deliver true innovation through the OpenStack community. We are involved in every core OpenStack project and many of the emerging projects. Like the Linux community in which Red Hat also participates deeply, we see OpenStack as a healthy and diverse community, and one that benefits our customers and differentiates us from “compile-and-ship” OpenStack offerings.
We are also involved in the key Linux projects upon which OpenStack depends, such as KVM (for compute virtualization), OpenDaylight (for software-defined networking (SDN)), and Open vSwitch. Our deep involvement and commitment to OpenStack and to the underlying Linux dependencies that are critical to OpenStack make Red Hat a credible choice for organizations looking for a fully integrated OpenStack solution.
In many ways, the use of OpenStack is like Linux ten years ago. OpenStack is quickly evolving, and advanced OpenStack users have grown their own expertise in house and rolled their own OpenStack using freely available software components (including free distributions like RDO, the Red Hat curated community for deploying OpenStack on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, CentOS, and other Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivatives). But as OpenStack is evolving, it is also maturing rapidly and becoming suitable for more and more organizations, and a variety of customers and vendors are seeing the value of partnering with Red Hat for their OpenStack solutions. As we announced last week during Red Hat Summit, several dozen organizations have embarked on proof-of-concept deployments for Red Hat’s OpenStack offerings, with customers around the world now moving to enterprise deployments.
Red Hat customers are represented in the development of new features we contribute to the OpenStack community, without having to dedicate their own engineers and developers to participating in OpenStack directly. This is especially important for those organizations where engineers may be limited in their ability to work on open source projects, but benefits all organizations that want to dedicate their developers to working on projects that add unique and differentiating value to their organization - all while leveraging the power of the open source model.
Red Hat offers an enterprise lifecycle for OpenStack, in which new OpenStack releases are actively supported for up to three years. This enables a customer to standardize on a single release of OpenStack, but continue to benefit from innovation, performance, and security in future releases in the form of bug fixes, security errata, performance enhancements, and feature backports. We bring the value we have offered to Red Hat Enterprise Linux customers for more than a decade to OpenStack.
Red Hat has built the industry’s largest certified ecosystem of hardware and software partners in support of commercial OpenStack deployments. This certification program offers customers the assurance that their various IT vendors collaborate to deliver and support OpenStack on enterprise hardware and software platforms. Since we introduced it at the OpenStack Summit in April 2013, the ecosystem has grown to over 1000 certified solutions for compute, storage and networking. At the recent Red Hat Summit in San Francisco, 45 Red Hat OpenStack Cloud Infrastructure Partner Network members displayed their certified solutions, building momentum for the upcoming OpenStack Summit in Atlanta.
Red Hat also offers certification and training for OpenStack professionals, building on the industry standard Red Hat Certified Engineer certification, enabling professionals to build their OpenStack skills on a solid technical base, and offering employers a proven, rigorous quality certification to hire proficient employees.
Finally, while OpenStack offers the next generation in cloud infrastructure, it’s no surprise that organizations need more than that to build an open hybrid cloud infrastructure. We’ve built our product portfolio to address the requirements of the cloud, including enterprise Linux, virtualization, software-defined storage, public and private Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), middleware, and cloud management, all from a single vendor, with integrations and certifications with other vendor solutions.
These solutions are now poised to expand beyond just the enterprise, as OpenStack is not just for private compute clouds. Our customers and partners are beginning to develop OpenStack for public cloud providers and ISPs, for network functions virtualization (NFV) in telecommunications and service providers, and for content syndication and storage farms. Red Hat is leading the adoption of OpenStack into these new areas, while simultaneously developing open source technologies such as OpenDaylight SDN and GlusterFS scale-out storage that underlie these use cases.
No other open source company offers users the breadth and depth of solutions built on OpenStack - while being the number one contributor to the OpenStack Icehouse release is nice, what matters more is of the expertise, support, and innovation that Red Hat can offer current and future OpenStack users.
Oracle Partners Use the Cloud to Deliver Increased Customer Value at Unprecedented Speed
Oracle Press Release
Oracle Partners Use the Cloud to Deliver Increased Customer Value at Unprecedented Speed
More than 500 Oracle Partners, Including Diamond Level Members, Have Achieved Specialization Across Nine Cloud Offerings
Redwood Shores, Calif. – April 24, 2014
News Summary
Oracle partners and Diamond-level members are using Oracle Cloud to speed time to market, grow and capitalize on new business opportunities, and deliver exceptional customer value. They’re doing that in conjunction with Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), which offers a wide range of cloud programs and enablement resources. “Oracle’s partner community is an invaluable asset to the company,” said Oracle President Mark Hurd. “They offer knowledge that is critical to the success of our customers. Partner adoption of Oracle Cloud solutions has been tremendous and we will continue to provide the resources and technology they need to grow their business and deliver value to customers with Oracle Cloud.”
News Facts
A growing number of Oracle partners are using Oracle Cloud solutions to modernize their infrastructure, expand their services, and help customers gain a competitive business advantage.
Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) offers a wide range of cloud programs and enablement resources that help partners’ speed time to market with cloud-based services and solutions.
With Oracle’s comprehensive portfolio of enterprise-grade Cloud solutions, including Oracle Application, Social, Platform and Infrastructure Services, OPN members have the tools they need to deliver value and best practices to customers around the globe.
More than 500 partners have achieved Cloud Specialization across nine cloud offerings and OPN has experienced 300 percent growth in Cloud Service revenue from partner resale opportunities in the past quarter.
Nearly 14,000 individuals have achieved Oracle Cloud specialist accreditations, and more than half are from Oracle’s strong base of Diamond-level OPN partners.
The highest level in OPN, Diamond level partners have deep expertise in Oracle products and services and dedication to leveraging Oracle technologies to provide business value to joint customers.
For more insight into the momentum around OPN’s Cloud programs and the success of Diamond level partners, see this video: http://bit.ly/1dUoPCc
Supporting Quotes
“The response we have seen for the OPN Cloud programs, and especially from our Diamond level partners, has been outstanding,” said Rich Geraffo, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Alliances & Channels, Oracle. “They are really excited about the value proposition Oracle’s Cloud solutions offer to the marketplace and the opportunity it presents to explore new revenue and growth opportunities.”
“Our clients continue to look for new and innovative ways to deliver results to both their internal and external constituents with exceptional speed and agility,” said Stephanie Arnette, Managing Director for Oracle Cloud, Accenture. “Accenture Services for Oracle Cloud, based on our deep industry and technical capabilities, leverages the OPN Enablement program to help deliver the benefits of cloud technologies from strategy to managed business and IT services.”
“Hitachi has a laser focus on bringing the right combination of technology-plus-management consulting solutions to clients looking to get ahead in their respective industries,” said Troy Lutes, Senior Vice President, Oracle Solutions, Hitachi Consulting. “Our long-standing relationship with Oracle is a critical piece in delivering on that promise, and their ongoing investment in new Cloud offerings and resources is a valuable contribution. Whether it’s building private Clouds, hybrid solutions, or delivering Cloud services directly, we look forward to working closely with Oracle to help our joint customers achieve better results as they make their move to the Cloud.”
Supporting Resources
Connect with the Oracle Partner community at OPN on Twitter, OPN on Facebook, OPN on LinkedIn and OPN on YouTube.
About Oracle PartnerNetwork
Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized is the latest version of Oracle's partner program that provides partners with tools to better develop, sell and implement Oracle solutions. OPN Specialized offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracle’s products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracle’s growing product portfolio, partner base and business opportunity. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to differentiate through Specializations. Specializations are achieved through competency development, business results, expertise and proven success. To find out more visit:http://www.oracle.com/partners.
About Oracle
Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center. For more information about Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), visit www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
IBM Expands US Federal Healthcare Practice
IBM News Release:
IBM Expands US Federal Healthcare Practice
Watson to Be Applied in Federal Health Care Market, New Chief Medical Information Officer and Research Collaborations Bring Renewed Focus
WASHINGTON - 24 Apr 2014: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new investments in its US Federal Healthcare Practice to address the rapidly growing technology needs of public sector health institutions. The company added big data solutions for advanced clinical care from its IBM Watson Group, new collaborations with IBM Research focused on data management and an expansion of the team with the naming of a Chief Medical Information Officer for IBM’s US Federal practice.
Improving health outcomes, controlling costs, and achieving a value-based, affordable and sustainable healthcare system have become economic and social imperatives for governments around the world. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the US Federal Government is expected to spend $13.95 trillion on major healthcare related operations and programs through 2024. To address rising rates of chronic disease and reduce spending, health systems today face greater expectations for improved health outcomes and higher quality care.
"IBM has a proven track record in delivering transformational, value-based healthcare solutions that can increase the quality of care and lower costs in both the public and private sector," said Anne Altman, General Manager, IBM US Federal. “Government leaders recognize that there is a tremendous opportunity to combine new and existing data sources with advancements in technology to find innovative ways to build a sustainable and affordable healthcare system.”
As part of today's expansion, IBM will make big data and cognitive computing solutions available to federal healthcare clients to help aggregate and analyze clinical information to improve care and reduce costs. These include IBM Watson Group’s cloud-delivered solutions such as:
- IBM Watson Engagement Advisor to transform interactions and experiences with patients
- IBM Watson Discovery Advisor to uncover insights into diseases and innovative therapies, and speed medical research
- IBM Watson Explorer designed to consolidate and visualize information and help users uncover and share data-driven insights more easily.
Also, IBM Advanced Care Insights is now available to support healthcare providers with new insights from clinical, social and behavioral data. The solution bundle utilizes IBM Content Analytics and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to extract valuable insight from physician notes, lab results and other narrative content within leading electronic health record (EHR) systems to transform it into actionable information.
For example, at Carilion Clinic, a Virginia health system, IBM has reviewed more than 2 million patient encounters in collaboration with Epic and Carilion Clinic. After applying the Advanced Care Insights solution to these records, they identified 8,500 patients at risk for developing congestive heart failure in a pilot project that could lead to early intervention and better care for these patients. The results were achieved through predictive modeling of data in Carilion Clinic’s electronic health records, including “unstructured” data such as clinicians’ notes and discharge documents that are not often analyzed. The pilot applied content analytics and predictive modeling to identify at-risk patients with an 85 percent accuracy rate. Many of these patients might benefit from targeted preventive care.
IBM’s healthcare team includes more than 300 federal healthcare consultants and dozens of medical doctors and healthcare professionals who are focused on care systems transformation. This broad team supports IBM's Federal Healthcare Practice, which is led by Vice President Giovanna Patterson.
Today, IBM announced that it has added Keith Salzman, M.D., to the team as Chief Medical Information Officer for IBM Federal. Dr. Salzman brings more than two decades of experience in delivering quality care to patients and driving the use of medical informatics within the U.S. Department of Defense military health system located at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. Earlier this year, Dr. Salzman received the 2013 Physician IT Leadership Award from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, a global network of health IT professionals.
IBM’s massive Research arm has committed to bringing researchers in the fields of data management and cognitive computing to work with federal clients in healthcare to develop innovative new solutions to promote greater value in the Federal health system. IBM holds more than 600 healthcare-related patents in its research portfolio.
IBM and Healthcare:
IBM works with hospitals, health systems and life sciences companies to create smarter, more connected healthcare systems. IBM’s technologies and consulting services help organizations deliver better care with fewer mistakes, predict and prevent diseases, speed up medical discovery and empower people to make better choices. Big Data innovations such as IBMWatson and "stream" computing” are being used to improve patient outcomes for more personalized and patient-centric care.
IBM has a 75 year history of working with clinicians, researchers and public health organizations to help improve patient care. In 1961, IBM created the first electronic health record system at Akron Children’s Hospital, built on IBM’s Ramac 305. Recently, IBM has partnered with a range of health care organizations to apply Watson in ways that are helping transform how medicine is practiced, paid for and taught. For example, IBM is co-developing an application with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, AND partnering with WellPoint, WellPoint, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)