A Cloud Computing Quick Reference guide showing how and where we currently use the cloud.

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There are many risks and pitfalls that your personal data could get lost in all this cloud-centric hype products. What are the dangers of the cloud?

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Microsoft reported its first operating loss since the company went public, during its results call last night. The main culprit for the loss was online advertising service aQuantive.

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IDC forecasts that SaaS market will grow to $40.5 billion by 2014. The growth is encouraging – particularly for those who are planning to adopt or have already adopted cloud computing. However, for those who insist on relying on traditional business apps, the end is near; the sign of times are there; you have no choice: Jump into the bandwagon or be left behind.

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The European Commission wants cloud computing firms to improve contracts they offer customers in a drive aimed at averting costly legal disputes, allaying privacy concerns and boosting an industry which can offer huge savings to users.

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Remember when there were just two or three cloud computing platforms to choose from, and just about as many cloud databases? Well, as clouds have proliferated, so have the database services built on top of them.

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This blog post looks at the high level goals of a SaaS business and drills down layer by layer to expose the key metrics that will help drive metrics.

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Cloud computing services are on the rise in the health care industry. However, its adoption is slowed by security, privacy, and regulatory concerns. But according to MarketsandMarkets, a research firm, cloud computing is expected to be worth $5.4 Billion in the health care market by 2017. Last year, it was estimated that at least 4% of the total health care industry have shifted to the clouds and will grow up to 20.5% this year. 

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Live Nation Entertainment, which is currently operating online ticket seller Ticketmaster along with 3 other entertainment businesses (The Cloud Reaches Hollywood: Ticketmaster Partners With Cisco.

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There are increasing trends in the Information Technology sector for convergence and mobility. Convergence means the confluence of various technologies and devices toward a single point of solution. Mobility is when the converged solution is available on a mobile interface.  A perfect solution that addresses these two is cloud mobility. What is a cloud? Cloud is such a powerful and subtle concept that a single all-encompassing definition doesn’t exist. Cloud is a general term for anything that provides hosted services on the internet.

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The recent outage with Amazon Web Services, which resulted in several high profile sites like Pinterest, Netflix, and Instagram going down as well, is a reality check for the industry. Here are 5 Questions to Determine the Real Cost of Cloud Computing.

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Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) is the next logical evolution for cloud computing.

Though mobile technology is still evolving, especially the operating systems, it is doing so in a very rapid pace. Most modern mobile devices are now sporting capable web browsers mainly due to advances in mobile operating systems done by Google, Microsoft, and Apple. Now one such company that clearly is not advancing let alone keeping up with the rest of the pack is Research In Motion. At this point speculation surrounds the company and one of the main areas of focus is acquisition.

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Cloud computing is a big priority for 35 percent of enterprises. But, how do you ensure your strategy is sound and you’re not getting caught up in market hype? James Staten introduces you to Forrester’s Cloud Computing Playbook.

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Industries have growing pains until it matures. Consider these six points that the cloud computing industry journey is reaching maturation.

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The core agencies of the US government have a central plan, Cloud First, which aims to shift the majority of their operations to the cloud. Before the plan can be implemented, it must go through a process of evaluation by the agencies concerned. In December 2010, a Cloud First policy was released by the Office Of Management and Budget so that federal agencies could implement the shift to cloud computing services if such agencies could find a cost-effective, reliable, and secure cloud computing service. The target was to move three of the core agencies’ technology services by June of the following year.

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