Barb Darrow
Boston
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cloud computing, infrastructure-as-a-service, platform as a service
Former cloud and enterprise tech reporter at Fortune Magazine and GigaOM then corp comms at Oracle. Opinions are my own
Articles by Barb Darrow
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Barb Darrow
Amazon.com has opened an online presence on rival Alibaba’s Tmall superstore, according to Reuters and other outlets citing an Alibaba spokesman. [company]Amazon[/company] and [company]Alibaba[/company] are both… Read More
Move to cloud makes DevOps even more important
Stay on Top of Enterprise Technology Trends Get updates impacting your industry from our GigaOm Research Community As companies move more workloads to the cloud, DevOps, the practice where software developers actually work with the operations side of the house — becomes even more important, according to IT executives.
Red Hat dilemma: Cloud players balk at new support fees
Stay on Top of Enterprise Technology Trends Get updates impacting your industry from our GigaOm Research Community Enterprise Linux leader Red Hat(s rht) is changing its support pricing model in a way that opens the door to rival operating systems — at least in the cloud service provider market — and perhaps more broadly. One large cloud provider said the move will more than double his costs, making the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) option as pricey as Windows(s msft).
It’s not the big data, it’s the right data
Stay on Top of Enterprise Technology Trends Get updates impacting your industry from our GigaOm Research Community Big data’s fine; the right data, however, is a game changer. Much has been written about the “big data” phenomenon — the petabytes of machine data from computers, sensors and other equipment; social networking data; scientific data — is a rich but unwieldy trove that is available for the taking.
Amid NoSQL hubbub, Oracle tweaks fan-fave MySQL
Stay on Top of Emerging Technology Trends Get updates impacting your industry from our GigaOm Research Community Oracle’s (s orcl) rumored NoSQL database made its splashy debut, along with Oracle’s Big Data Appliance, on the Oracle OpenWorld 2011 main stage Monday. Less trumpeted was news that MySQL, the venerable open-source database, got an update that vows to speed query and improve cluster capabilities.
Oracle Launches Cloud Cost Calculator
Share it By Barb Darrow, Oracle As IT professionals know, figuring out the true cost of cloud computing is difficult at best, maddening at worst. There are so many variables in CPUs, memory, storage, and network bandwidth that figuring out what your proposed workload will cost in the cloud can be an exercise in futility. And, to compound the problem, many costs may not be apparent at the start but cause sleepless nights once manifested.
Oracle Launches Cloud Cost Calculator
As IT professionals know, figuring out the true cost of cloud computing is difficult at best, maddening at worst. There are so many variables in CPUs, memory, storage, and network bandwidth that figuring out what your proposed workload will cost in the cloud can be an exercise in futility. And, to compound the problem, many costs may not be apparent at the start but cause sleepless nights once manifested.
8x8 Works with Oracle Cloud to Keep Businesses Open
8x8, Inc. 8x8, an innovator in cloud communications, is helping keep organizations, educators, healthcare professionals and businesses active despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which made working in close quarters untenable. In doing so, 8x8 and its Jitsi subsidiary faced dramatically increased demand for their respective video meeting solutions, which 8x8 met by moving to Oracle Cloud from Amazon Web Services.
Zoom Taps Oracle to Keep Schools Teaching, Businesses Running, Friends and Family Connected
It’s no exaggeration to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has completely upended the way people everywhere work, eat, and socialize. Stay-at-home mandates and suspension of large public gatherings have changed everything.
Zoom Taps Oracle to Keep Schools Teaching, Businesses Running, Friends and Family Connected
By Barb Darrow, Oracle It’s no exaggeration to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has completely upended the way people everywhere work, eat, and socialize. Stay-at-home mandates and suspension of large public gatherings have changed everything.
Graphic proof of big demand for big data talent
More (graphic) evidence that “big data” skills are very much in demand. Job postings for big data jobs have skyrocketed since January 2010. Just take a look at this hockey stick of big data job listings, courtesy of Indeed.com. And, here’s the hockey stick for the more specific “data scientist” job title. Feature photo courtesy of Flickr user *n3wjack’s world in pixels
With AI, baby steps make more sense than moonshots
Competitive pressures are driving companies to adopt AI in greater numbers. However, they differ wildly on the best rate and mode of adoption. Many executives worry that if they don’t move fast, current competitors or some new insurgent rival more adept at AI will come along to eat their lunch, according to a recent Accenture study noted in Fortune. Face it, no one in any industry wants to be 'Ubered'.
600 million years later - what can an octopus can teach us about technology?
October 8 is World Octopus Day. If you look at the biological source code, cephalopods, the family of octopus and squid, forked from the version that includes humans some 600 million years ago. They are our most distant relatives on the planet having evolved to be more different from humans than any other species on earth. But, in the spirit of celebrating diversity, we should note that the octopus can teach us a lot about modern technology systems.
Welcome to the third wave of business analytics
The data analytics pendulum has swung widely over the past 40 years. In the 1980s and ‘90s the software used to crunch data was under the strict, central control of corporate IT organizations. But over time that model morphed into a user-driven free-for-all that some liken to an analytics version of “Excel Hell.” There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. IT lockdown guarantees that everyone works from the same, ostensibly “good” data.
Some big thoughts on big data and cloud for 2012
2011 was the beginning of the big data onslaught, but hold onto your hats: big data will only get bigger in 2012. I’ve spoken to a bevy of experts in the last few weeks, ranging from venture capitalists to vendor execs. Here are some of their thoughts on how the world of big data and cloud computing infrastructure will shake out next year. 1: Look for a battle of the PaaSes Nearly every vendor has a platform as a service now, and it’s not clear there’s enough business for all of them.
The ‘Unprecedented Challenge’ Of Cybersecurity Today
By Barb Darrow Technological and legal complexities abound in this age of heightened cybersecurity threats—including a rise in state-sponsored hacking. This “unprecedented challenge” was the topic of conversation between Dorian Daley, Oracle executive vice president and general counsel, and Edward Screven, Oracle’s chief corporate architect during Oracle's recent Media Days. Here are five key takeaways from their conversation: 1.
The ‘Unprecedented Challenge’ of Cybersecurity in an Age of Burgeoning Threats
Blog Barbara Darrow, Senior Director, Communications, Oracle—May 20, 2019 Technological and legal complexities abound in this age of heightened cybersecurity threats—including a rise in state-sponsored hacking. This “unprecedented challenge” was the topic of conversation between Dorian Daley, Oracle executive vice president and general counsel, and Edward Screven, Oracle’s chief corporate architect. Here are five key takeaways from their conversation: 1.
What the Consumerization of IT Means to Modern Businesses
Business software is very complicated and supremely important. If your inventory and manufacturing software doesn’t work, there are significant real-world consequences. Technology vendors and their customers traditionally emphasized function over form, but today's employees expect applications not only to work flawlessly but also to look good.
Can Artificial Intelligence Live Up to the Hype?
Some technology observers suggest that artificial intelligence (AI) is the great tech hope, capable in theory of curing diseases—or at least arming researchers to do so. But others say AI will be hindered by fundamental flaws in learning models and sometimes-faulty data.
Airbnb CEO on why Trump's travel ban violates his company's values
Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, like many tech leaders, has been very vocal about his opposition to President Donald Trump’s travel and immigration ban against people from countries with large Muslim populations. But he backed up his words with an offer of free lodging to refugees who are in limbo because of Trump’s action.
Get ready for even smarter business software (Reader Forum)
AI will make expense reporting, sales, manufacturing and other work applications a lot more useful—and hopefully less annoying It’s not just your home appliances that are getting smarter. Artificial intelligence (AI) is making its way not only into homes via Internet-connected speakers, thermostats, and insert-your-favorite-kitchen-gizmo-here. It is also moving into your office via ever smarter business applications.
Database as the Killer App of the Cloud and Machine Learning Era
Databases may not be as visible to normal consumers as word processors or mobile apps, but they play an outsized role in everyone's daily life. All of our banking and retail transactions rely on databases which also, by the way, are key to running all those cool apps. You can learn more about this from Juan Loaiza, who joins us for this edition of the Oracle Iconoclasts with podcast hosts Barb Darrow and Michael Hickins.
Dropbox: Yes, we were hacked
Credit: Photo courtesy Dropbox Maybe this will put an end to all that “Dropbox of the Enterprise” talk by cloud storage providers. On Monday night, Dropbox acknowledged that spam mailings afflicting users starting a few weeks ago happened when hackers used passwords obtained from third-party sites to access “a small number” Dropbox user accounts. The company called in outside experts to help its security pros and here’s what they discovered, according to the Dropbox blog.
Making Cloud Adoption Easier for Big, Critical Applications
There's no doubt that most of corporate data and applications will end up in the cloud. But businesses have yet to send the bulk of either on their merry, messy journeys. It's a hard thing to measure, but reputable researchers have estimated that only 15% to 30% of today's enterprise workloads have made the migration from internal data centers to some sort of cloud. That leaves a whole lot of work to do.
Facebook dives into storage
Facebook, the social networking giant that’s already made big waves with its open-source server plans, is now taking on storage. The company is now building its own storage hardware to keep up with the exploding demand of its more than 840 million users, according to a Wired report. Facebook users put millions of their own photos and other digital paraphernalia on the site.
Gigaom | 2012 August 06
Technology news, trends, research and analysis covering the digital world and how it affects you.
White House open sources “We the People” petition app
If you want to design a petition for your town government, group or agency, you can now download the source code for the White House’s “We The People” online petition application from GitHub and tweak it for your own use. The stated goal of this move is to let other groups — state, local or foreign governments or non governmental organizations (NGOs) — use the same code, adjusted for their constituencies.
Consider Our Vets and One Younger Source as Tech Pros
Veterans Day is an appropriate time to remember that the millions of US vets represent a talented tech workforce. At the same time, maybe there's a second way to help close the tech talent gap. The world knows by now that there is a dearth of top tech talent to fill key jobs in businesses worldwide. That means companies have to look beyond the usual sources: competitors and universities.
Billionaire Jeff Greene: Smarter Tech Will Cost Jobs
Jeff Greene is worried—very worried—about the negative impact smarter technology is having on carbon-based life forms. That means you and me. Greene, who made his billions investing in real estate—and betting against sub-prime mortgages—said the burgeoning use of artificial intelligence (also known as machine learning) is already costing people jobs. And things are only going to get worse.
Why IBM Is Dropping $2.6 Billion on Truven Health
With IBM’s planned $2.6 billion acquisition of Truven Health, the company will add “200 million lives” to its data trove. “Lives” is a term typically used in the healthcare business for a data asset or record. And when it comes to big data analytics, the more data, the better, said IBM ibm Watson Health general manager Deborah DiSanzo. Truven brings still more data into IBM, which has already assembled quite the data pool, both on its own and via acquisition.
The future of AI? Here's what Microsoft researchers think
Artificial intelligence is a key topic at this year's World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. For more information watch the Artificial Intelligence session here. Microsoft Research’s female contingent makes their calls for AI breakthroughs to come. Seventeen Microsoft researchers—all of whom happen to be women this year—have made their calls for what will be hot in the burgeoning realm of artificial intelligence (AI) in the next decade.
It's Official: Amazon is Putting Alexa to Work in the Office - InformationWeek
Keeping up with the every changing world or cyber security can be exhausting. Dark Reading wants Having established a foothold in the home with its Alexa personal assistant, Amazon now has the office market in its sights. It’s no surprise that Amazon plans to push its Alexa speech recognition capability beyond the home where Alexa-powered Echo-connected speakers are used by millions of people to order take out, buy stuff from Amazon.com, order Uber rides, and play music, all using voice control.
Woz worries about cloud computing
Cloud computing is obviously here to stay, but that doesn’t mean all of us like the idea of putting our personal data onto what is essentially a shared resource beyond our control. No less a tech icon than Apple(s aapl) co-founder Steve Wozniak expressed his reservations on this topic this weekend.
Cloudflare Aims to Loosen AWS’ Hold on Customers
Cloud computing companies like Amazon Web Services make it dirt cheap—actually free—to move customer data into their data centers. But moving that data out again, either back into a customer’s own data center or to a rival public cloud, isn’t as simple—or as cheap. Cloudflare, the content delivery network company whose investors include Google and Microsoft, says it has a solution that will make it easier for companies to move data easily between public cloud providers.
Amazon Pumps Out New Database and Machine Learning Services - InformationWeek
Amazon's announcements at AWS Re:Invent continue to extend AWS offerings far beyond basic infrastructure services. Amazon Web Services, the leading provider of cloud-based IT services, this week announced a slew of new products and features, which it hopes will build on that lead and perhaps keep business customers from defecting to rivals like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.
Cisco Cuts More Jobs-This Time in The Cloud
Cisco Systems laid off about 60 people this week, including the bulk of employees that came to the company via its acquisition of two cloud computing firms, Metacloud in 2014 and Piston Cloud the following year, according to two people close to the company.
Data Sheet-Amazon Key Unlocks Doors for Prime Deliveries
This whole Internet of things thing is started to get a little weird. Amazon is pursuing something called Amazon Key, which lets its couriers unlock Prime customers’ doors and deliver packages. It’s pairing the service, which it plans to make available in 37 cities next month, with a camera so users will have intelligence inside and outside their homes, presumably boosting trust and lowering creepiness. If one trusts Amazon, a big if, it’s a pretty cool idea.
Google, Cisco team to improve software for Fortune 500 companies
Google and Cisco are working together so that shared customers can run new business software in their own data centers or on Google’s cloud, or a combination of the two. That mixed model is known as hybrid cloud computing. The pairing looks good on paper. Cisco csco makes networking hardware and software that many companies now use to run their corporate networks. Google goog has massive cloud computing resources available to businesses.
In Age of Email Hacks, Startup Brings Secure and Encrypted Chat to Businesses
There are skeptics who argue that the traditional email that most of us use every day has become such a tool for hackers that it’s become too risky to use for business. They point to the hack of accounting and consultancy giant Deloitte as only the most recent example of this problem. Count the Berlin-based chat start up Wire as one of those naysayers.
Amazon HQ2 Plan Roils Mayoral Races in Boston, Seattle
The application window for Amazon’s second headquarters location has already closed, but the fervor surrounding the bidding war hasn’t died down yet. The promise of thousands of new jobs and billions in municipal investments has made Amazon’s future plans a prime debate topic this election season. In Boston, incumbent Mayor Marty Walsh is widely favored to win a second term over challenger city councilman Tito Jackson.
How Google Could Woo More Customers Away From Amazon and Microsoft With Help From Cisco
and are working together so that shared customers can run new business software in their own data centers or on Google’s cloud, or a combination of the two. That mixed model is known as hybrid cloud computing. The pairing looks good on paper. Cisco makes networking hardware and software that many companies now use to run their corporate networks. Google has massive cloud computing resources available to businesses.
In Age of Email Hacks, Startup Brings Secure and Encrypted Chat to Businesses
There are skeptics who argue that the traditional email that most of us use every day has become such a tool for hackers that it’s too risky to use for business. They point to the hack of accounting and consultancy giant Deloitte as only the most recent example of this problem. Count the Berlin-based chat start up Wire as one of those naysayers.
Data Sheet-AMD Building Supercomputers From Video Cards
Welcome to midweek, Aaron in for Adam today. Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su wowed supercomputer geeks this summer when she showed off the company’s Project 47 at the SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles. In a rack just slightly taller than the MIT-trained Ph.D. CEO herself, Project 47 crammed 20 of AMD’s newest Epyc microprocessor chips inside along with 80 graphics processing units based on the company’s new Vega design and 10 terabytes of memory.
Amazon HQ2 is roiling these mayoral races
The application window for Amazon’s second headquarters location has already closed, but the fervor surrounding the bidding war hasn’t died down yet. The promise of thousands of new jobs and billions in municipal investments has made Amazon’s future plans a prime debate topic this election season. In Boston, incumbent Mayor Marty Walsh is widely favored to win a second term over challenger city councilman Tito Jackson.
Data Sheet-Amazon Hits Etsy Stock, Ford's Chariot Stumbles
Some days are for mopping up. So instead of one piece today, you get four updates on stories I’ve been following. Chariot, the micro-transit service owned by Ford, briefly suspended operations in San Francisco last week, resuming Monday. Apparently some of its drivers didn’t have the special operating licenses required to drive Chariot’s Ford shuttle buses. Chariot has prided itself on operating within the law, but plenty of battles loom.
Google's New Office Complex Will Use a Massive Heat Pump Instead of Fuel
Google will use North America’s largest heat pump—and no fossil fuel—to control temperatures at its new office complex now under construction in Silicon Valley, according to Fast Company. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other tech companies love to highlight their projects meant to conserve energy or implement renewable energy sources. One reason is that the data centers they rely upon can be notorious energy hogs if not built right.
Here’s Why Cisco Is Paying Nearly $2 Billion for BroadSoft
Cisco’s $1.9 billion plan to buy BroadSoft, which sells software that businesses use to manage communications systems and help people work together better, was driven by its need to push faster into the collaboration market, executives from both companies said Monday. With this deal, , a company with deep roots in networking hardware, continues to push into software. Last spring, it completed its $3.7 billion purchase of AppDynamics, another software company.
NASA Mars Rover Might Start Digging Again Soon
NASA officials hope to get the industrious Curiosity Mars Rover robotic vehicle digging again on the surface of the red planet. The Curiosity landed in Mars’ Gale Crater in 2012 and was able to dig out rock samples more than a dozen times between 2013 and 2016 when the drill mechanism stopped working. But now there’s hope for further work.
NASA Wants to Get the Mars Rover Digging Again
NASA officials hope to get the industrious Curiosity Mars Rover robotic vehicle digging again on the surface of the red planet. The Curiosity landed in Mars’ Gale Crater in 2012 and was able to dig out rock samples more than a dozen times between 2013 and 2016 when the drill mechanism stopped working. But now there’s hope for further work.
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