Virtustream a Visionary in Gartner 2012 IaaS Magic Quadrant

Congratulations to NJVC Cloudcuity partner Virtustream for being positioned as a visionary in the Gartner 2012 IaaS Magic Quadrant!

Magic Quadrants provide a graphical competitive positioning of four types of technology providers, where market growth is high and provider differentiation is distinct:

• Leaders execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow.
• Visionaries understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules, but do not yet execute well.
• Niche Players focus successfully on a small segment, or are unfocused and do not out-innovate or outperform others.
• Challengers execute well today or may dominate a large segment, but do not demonstrate an understanding of market direction.

To appear in the IaaS Magic Quadrant, vendors had to meet, as of June 2012, the following criteria:

• They must sell public cloud compute IaaS as a stand-alone service, without the requirement to bundle it with managed hosting, application development, application maintenance or other outsourcing. They may, optionally, also sell a private version of this offering that uses the same architecture but is not multi-tenant.
• The service must be enterprise-class, offering 24/7 customer support (including phone support), SLAs, the ability to scale an application beyond the capacity of a single physical server, an allowable VM size of at least eight compute units and 15 GB of RAM, the ability to support secure connectivity to the infrastructure, and support for role-based access control. They must offer this service in a minimum of two data centers, located in different metropolitan areas.
• They must be among the top 15 global providers, by Gartner-estimated market share for the evaluated services (public cloud IaaS and standardized private cloud IaaS).

Earlier this month, NJVC and Virtustream announced an alliance to provide the Virtustream xChange (cloud marketplace) to government customers. Under the terms of the agreement, NJVC customers will use xChange technology to shop for on-demand compute services from providers that are looking to sell unused capacity, often at a discount. This service will soon be available to the federal government through the new NJVC Cloudcuity Government Marketplace via the NJVC Cloudcuity Management Portal.




( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2012)




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GovCloud II: Implementation and Cloud Brokerage Services Now Available

I'm happy and proud to announce the release of my second book, "GovCloud II: Implementation and Cloud Brokerage Services" by my publisher Government Training Inc.

 

The public and private sector have vigorously embraced cloud computing and its implementation is increasing efficiency and return on investment with significant savings in cost.

Implementation, however, has not been without problems which is why publication of GovCloud:Cloud Computing for the Business of Government last year was so timely. It contained an easy to understand five step process that explained what cloud computing is all about and what are the best options to meet particular needs. It discussed in detail all the latest developments in this area – from administration requirements to the search for industry-wide standards.

Now authors Kevin Jackson and Don Philpott have followed up this highly-acclaimed manual with GovCloud II: Implementation and Cloud Brokerage Services, a handbook aimed at IT professionals and senior decision-making managers that outlines and explains an industry-leading approach to cloud transition and adoption.

When properly deployed using the most appropriate services, the cloud computing model provides greatly enhanced mission and business capability without a commensurate increase in resource - time, people or money- expenditures. Too often in the past Federal IT projects ran over budget, were behind schedule, or failed to deliver promised functionality, he said.

Many projects used “grand design” approaches that aimed to deliver functionality every few years, rather than breaking projects into more manageable chunks and demanding new functionality every few quarters. In addition, the Federal Government too often relied on large, custom, proprietary systems when “light technologies” or shared services exist.

Of particular interest are chapters on Cloud Planning, Provisioning and Management which focuses on cloud transition and adoption, and PaaS, which give readers an insightful and true understanding of the power of this platform.

Cloud computing is a new approach in the provisioning and consumption of information technology (IT). While technology is a crucial component, the real value of cloud computing lies in its ability to enable new capabilities or in the execution of current capabilities in more efficient and effective ways. This handbook tells you how and explains in details the options available to you.

  

For a limited time, Government Training is offering special pricing on cloud computing books. Buy any 2 cloud books and get the third free!!

• GovCloud - A five step process designed to help governments at all levels evaluate the business case for, design and implement a robust cloud solution.
• GovCloud II - Cloud implementation and Cloud Brokerage Services.
• Contracting for Cloud Services - A detailed "how to" contract for cloud services - includes a checklist of 137 contract terms & conditions that need to be considered in your cloud contract. 

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2012)




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NJVC® Introduces Cloudcuity™ AppDeployer to Create and Sell Software Applications

Developers Can Create, Deploy and Publish Apps in the Cloud for Free

Vienna, Va., Oct. 18, 2012 — NJVC^®, an information technology (IT) solutions provider headquartered in Northern Virginia, introduces Cloudcuity™ AppDeployer, a new and innovative platform a s a service that allows developers to quickly create and publish software-as-a-service applications for sale in the cloud. Cloudcuity AppDeployer is part of the NJVC Cloudcuity portfolio of cloud offerings.

“Cloudcuity AppDeployer is a game changer for the software development industry,” said Kevin L. Jackson, vice president and general manager, NJVC Cloudcuity. “Cloudcuity AppDeployer offers an alternative to writing business applications from scratch the old slow and costly way. With Cloudcuity AppDeployer, developers and independent software vendors can start building applications for free, and potentially take enterprise-class software systems to market in weeks instead of years.”

A key component of AppDeployer empowers developers with point-and-click tools to rapidly prototype and deploy applications without programming. Its software development kit makes it possible to write add-on modules that integrate with open-source, third-party and legacy systems. AppDeployer makes it easy to publish apps for sale; developers merely need to set a price, click a button and their app is instantly available worldwide. AppDeployer also is available as a licensed product for deployment in customers’ own clouds.

The engine behind AppDeployer has been employed by the U.S. government and commercial and academic organizations to build apps for a wide variety of functions, including catalog management, nonprofit management, team management and collaboration and long-term care logistics.

Although AppDeployer is designed for ease of use, it can support the development of complex applications. For instance, NJVC is developing a disaster management system on AppDeployer that integrates Google geospatial services. This enterprise system can be deployed on-demand in crisis-response scenarios by first responders around the globe. The system showcases how Cloudcuity AppDeployer provides on-demand provisioning and application multi-tenancy within large and complex organizations.

Important to software developers in the federal space, AppDeployer -designed apps inherently align with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Reference Architecture for Cloud Computing, encompassing all three major cloud service models: SaaS, PaaS and infrastructure as a service. Cary Landis, NJVC Cloudcuity platform practice lead, was instrumental in the development of the NIST reference architecture, and led a NIST subgroup to clarify the PaaS and other cloud service models.

Cloudcuity is the NJVC framework for delivering cloud service offerings. This framework helps users transition their technology applications to a cloud environment, while cutting spending, improving process and billing inefficiencies and complying with a myriad of regulatory and security requirements.

AppDeployer leverages a platform engine licensed from Virtual Global.

To learn more about the features and benefits of Cloudcuity AppDeployer, visit www.cloudcuity.com or call 703.665.9119.

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About NJVC^®

With a focus on information technology automation, NJVC^® specializes in supporting highly secure, complex IT enterprises in business- and mission-critical environments, particularly for the intelligence and defense communities. We offer a wide breadth of IT and strategic solutions to our customers, ranging from strategic consulting to managed flexible services in five business areas: Cloud Services, Cyber Security, Data Center Services, IT Services and Print Solutions. We partner with our customers to support their missions with security-cleared, dedicated and talented employees ready to deploy globally. To learn more, visit www.njvc.com.

Contact

Michelle Snyder, NJVC, 703.893.7609, michelle.snyder@njvc.com

Audra Capas, 5StarPR, 703.437.9301, audra@5starpr.com

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2012)

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NJVC® Announces the Cloudcuity™ Government Marketplace, Powered by Virtustream’s Secure Cloud xChange

Vienna, Va., Oct. 4, 2012—NJVC^®, an information technology solutions provider headquartered in Northern Virginia, and Virtustream, Inc., a leading enterprise cloud software company, today announced a new alliance to provide the Virtustream xChange cloud marketplace to government customers. Under the terms of the agreement, NJVC customers will use xChange technology to shop for on-demand compute services from providers that are looking to sell unused capacity, often at a discount. This service will soon be available to the federal government through the new NJVC Cloudcuity™ Government Marketplace via the NJVC Cloudcuity Management Portal.

NJVC recently announced its Cloudcuity portfolio of services to support mission- and business-focused cloud computing environments, and is now expanding its capabilities through this alliance.

“Virtustream xChangewill give NJVC Cloudcuity users the automated ability to compare the cost of service offerings across the Cloudcuity Management Portal,” said Kevin L. Jackson, vice president and general manager, NJVC Cloudcuity. “Users will be able to take advantage of temporary price reductions through spot pricing and arbitrage. In addition, it will give the company the ability to dynamically adjust rates and apply a variety of pricing methodologies, such as fixed, variable, tiered and subscription, delivering on an important tenant of agile acquisition.”

Virtustream’s xChange allows enterprises in any vertical, including government, healthcare, education and financial services, to create a virtual cloud marketplace of approved vendors and consumers of cloud services. Each industry vertical has unique requirements and standards for the cloud, for example, healthcare (HIPAA), ecommerce (PCI), government (FISMA, G-cloud) and defense (DIACAP, NIST-800-53). As a result, it had been difficult to interconnect clouds within verticals to share capacity (cloud-bursting), applications (community clouds) or information (cloud federation).xChange now provides this secure and compliant capability.

Hosted on Cloudcuity, the government-focused xChange will also provide supplier scoring, billing, price comparisons and workload migration, while offering a dashboard on performance and service level agreement requirements. Employing a marketplace concept, xChange enables users to respond to dynamic pricing based on availability and demand.

“xChange is a trusted cloud marketplace that brings together approved vendors and consumers, and enables users to buy/sell capacity, access spot pricing and see future pricing,” said Kevin Reid, Virtustream chief executive and technology officer.“The majority of broker applications use a department store model—one shop with a handful of suppliers. xChange leverages dynamic market conditions to reduce the cost of infrastructure, while assuring enterprise cloud customers that they will stay competitive, compliant and secure.”

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About NJVC^®

With a focus on information technology automation, NJVC^® specializes in supporting highly secure, complex IT enterprises in business- and mission-critical environments, particularly for the intelligence and defense communities. We offer a wide breadth of IT and strategic solutions to our customers, ranging from strategic consulting to managed flexible services in five business areas: Cloud Services, Cyber Security, Data Center Services, IT Services and Print Solutions. Our global workforce includes dedicated and talented employees, with more than 90 percent holding security clearances. We partner with our customers to support their missions with security-cleared, dedicated and talented employees ready to deploy globally. To learn more, visit www.njvc.com.

About Virtustream

Virtustream is a leading cloud innovator offering enterprise class cloud solutions for enterprises, governments and service providers. Virtustream simplifies moving complex IT to the cloud—whether private, public or hybrid—while delivering the full economic and business benefits of the cloud. Virtustream offers xStream: a secure, high availability, enterprise class hybrid cloud solution, delivering application level SLAs for mission critical applications (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and thousands more). xStream is available as software for existing data centers and as a managed service from Virtustream's cloud—all backed by professional services to design, migrate and manage clouds. Virtustream offers xStream worldwide; owns data centers in the United States and EMEA; operates an international Cloud Exchange; has offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Toronto and Dublin, and has partners in Asia and China. 

Media Contacts:

Michelle Snyder                                                               Audra Capas

NJVC                                                                                     5StarPR

703.839.7609                                                                   703.437.9301

michelle.snyder@njvc.com                                       audra@5starpr.com

Lisa Desmond                                                                   Heather Fitzsimmons

Virtustream, Inc.                                                             Mindshare PR

615.368.7325                                                                   650.800.7160

lisa.desmond@virtustream.com                             heather@mindsharepr.com

( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2012)

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