Lots of interesting news this week, including a few wins for cloud technology, a few challenges and some exciting software announcements. Here are five stories that will help keep you in the know. Check back next week for even more curated stories.
IPv4 Depletion – The Well is Dry
By Tom Millitzer
“All the speculation is over as ARIN announced that IPv4s numbers are depleted and it is effectively out of inventory, activating its waiting list last week. Groups needing the asset will need to source them from a free market.
An IP is an address that directs an Internet data stream where to go; that number is at the innermost core of how the network functions. Internet engineers speculate its replacement standard, IPv6, will not be in fully implemented for at least five, and possibly eight years. This announcement is not a surprise but will shake the Internet world. I am going to sort out this quagmire. For a great primer for this article I suggest you read my previous blog on IPv4s.”
Cloud First policy yet to take off in Whitehall
By Charlotte Jee
“New research shows that more than half of Whitehall IT staff are still not comfortable using cloud IT, two years since the government launched its ‘Cloud First’ policy.
Chancellor George Osborne is expected to demand £13 billion of departmental savings in tomorrow’s post-election budget.
Widespread cloud adoption could help significantly reduce the estimated £16 billion spent by the public sector on IT every year and enable vast savings across departments, agencies and councils.”
Facebook Friends Fort Worth With Data Center Plans
By Nathan Eddy
“Social networking giant Facebook announced plans to build a new data center in Fort Worth, Texas, bringing its current total up to five separate facilities.
The company noted the Fort Worth data center would be powered 100% by renewable energy, thanks to the 200 MW of new wind energy Facebook helped bring to the Texas grid as part of the deal.”
IBM inks $180 million cloud deal with energy company Columbia Pipeline
By Natalie Gagliordi
“Bob Skaggs, CEO for CPG, said the agreement will help fuel his company’s rapid expansion goals. CPG recently separated from energy infrastructure company NiSource Inc. to launch as a standalone, publicly traded company. CPG hopes to increase its asset investments to $13.5 billion by 2020.
For IBM, the deal certainly can be counted as a cloud win, but it’s unclear how much the new contract will add to IBM’s cloud revenue. IBM was the long-time technology supplier for NiSource, so in some ways the CPG contract could be seen as replacement revenue.”
Office 2016 for Mac Available for Office 365 Users
By Michael Cusden
“Did you hear the big news? Microsoft has released Office 2016 for Mac. Yep, Mac users are going to finally get a new version of Office. The last release was way back in 2011.
The all-new design is perfect for people who switch between Macs and PCs regularly. If your small business fits in this category, you have plenty of company. According to Microsoft, roughly 75 percent of the Office for Mac customer base is made up of cross-platform users. These are typically people with a Windows PC at work and a Mac at home. Sounds familiar right?”
