Search results for the "Cloud Computing" category
May 15, 2012 - by Debbie Stephenson
Recent technology developments and trends, most notably cloud computing and the emergence of mobile devices in the workforce, is raising the expectations from end users for new levels of service from enterprise IT. The ‘consumerization’ of IT has led to users demanding not only the sophisticated technologies that they enjoy on their own devices, but also the flexibility and on-demand convenience to which they have grown accustomed to with app stores. That’s why many big enterprises are now leveraging the popularity of app-stores within their business.
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May 9, 2012 - by Phil Adrien
There has been a lot of buzz around the new entrant into the cloud-based document sharing space with the recent announcement of Google Drive. But not all cloud-based document sharing is the same. Specialized document sharing solutions address a fundamentally different set of business problems than a generic document sharing solution does. So where do generic document sharing solutions end and specialized document sharing solutions begin?
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Mar 5, 2012 - by Phil Adrien
A law firm in Virginia, one of the latest victims in a string of cyber attacks against U.S. based law firms, is picking up the pieces after hackers infiltrated the firm’s e-mail system and released emails containing confidential information related to a high-profile case. With a clear message that law firms are a prime target for security attacks through their email systems, they need to rethink how they are storing and exchanging their most confidential digital assets.
According to a report at law.com, email is a common way to infiltrate a firm’s systems. Using a method called "spear phishing," an email that contains a link or attachment, arrives from someone who appears to be a trusted source. When opened the hacker has instant access to the recipient's computer and/or internal network. The same report noted that intrusions backed by state entities are increasing because information related to mergers and acquisitions is of great interest to state-sponsored agents.
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Feb 28, 2012 - by Phil Adrien
According to Bloomberg, 2011 M&A deal volume in the technology industry surpassed $200 billion. Technology deals saw a gain of 36 percent outpacing an advance of about 4 percent for all M&A worldwide. Indicators suggest industry takeovers in 2012 could surpass the recent 2007 high. In 2007 takeovers reached $264.4 billion, the biggest year since 2000’s record high of $585.2 billion.
Consumers and workers alike are becoming increasingly mobile and cloud-based service providers are looking to extend cloud access from desktop and laptops to mobile devices and tablets. Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Google and HP are looking for deals that will provide increased storage, analytics and security for enterprise in the cloud.
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Oct 18, 2011 - by Joel Lessem
Over the course of the last year, Firmex has made major investments in our product group. From deep talent hires to doubling our head count in development, to investing in SOC 2 audits and partnering with a content acceleration provider – we are serious about ensuring our customers enjoy a consistently high experience when it comes to working with Firmex.
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Oct 7, 2011 - by Joel Lessem
I have spoken to many entrepreneurs and intermediaries. Some of my peers in my CEO circle who are approached by a potential acquirer, are at times more focused on “what’s in it for me” versus their buyer’s mindset.
Bottom line is first you need to qualify your buyer. Once you’re satisfied you need to make sure you’re easy to deal with. This should not be a tug of war. It’s a courtship ending in a marriage!
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Jul 19, 2011 - by Joel Lessem
The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model of internet-based software has already transformed the way we manage our personal lives and analysts continue to predict that SaaS will further revolutionize the workplace for several key reasons:
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Apr 8, 2011 - by Randy Rosenberg
The Globe and Mail reported on April 6 2011 that four top law firms had fallen victim to cyber attacks originating from China: Major law firms fall victim to cyber attacks
The attacks were aimed at stealing sensitive data related to high value mergers and acquisition transactions. Hackers used email to pose as a partner working on the deal, and were able to embed attachments that contained malware, successfully infecting dozens of computers and comprising several sensitive documents. To defend against this growing threat, many firms have chosen to take measures such as storing documents in secure third party facilities, and are realizing the benefits of secure online file sharing, known as cloud computing.
Sophisticated cloud computing solutions limit the opportunity for hackers or infected users to penetrate security layers and access confidential data. Authorized end-users can view, upload, and change documents, but they are not able to run programs on the server - making malware based attacks impossible.
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Feb 16, 2011 - by Elizabeth Caley
When a new technology emerges, wars are waged to create market standards, and the victorious companies involved control the market and the options available for end users. Defining internet standards has been an ongoing series of battles, and we are witnessing a new frontline around applications delivered on highly controlled platforms like the iPhone or iPad. Enforcing strict standards can limitthe options available to users, and yet the strict control exerted by Apple and their deliberate focus on design has yielded a highly positive user experience that attracts a loyal following.
An array of options and freedoms comes at a cost to the user who is forced to spend time on analysis to make an informed choice – for a business this investment in time means lost productivity - and more and more businesses are looking for reliable options that just work.
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Oct 26, 2010 - by Joel Lessem
Last week I attended a breakfast with Craig Alexander the Chief Economist – TD Bank. It was a refreshing experience given all the noise and uncertainty coming out the media regarding the economy. Here are the broad strokes:
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Europe and North American are becoming a smaller part of the global economy
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As a percentage of Global GDP the “Industrialized World” has gone from c. 70% in 1990 to 50% today and that trend will continue as emerging markets will represent 70% of the world GDP by 2025 or so
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The “Industrial World” businesses will constantly have to improve productivity to compete
Alexander predicts that North America will face slow growth (approx. 2-3%) over the next 5-7 years. Europe is in a significant bind. Governments are supposed to save money in the good times and spend money in the bad economic times to stimulate the economy. Unfortunately many of the EU nations spent money in the good times, and now that the economy has soured and their tax revenues have fallen off – they have nothing but huge debts, deficits and shrinking revenues – and rather than spend to save their economies they are faced with “austerity” measures. Worse, there is little appetite for spending cuts from their electorate – in other words they are rioting and going on strike. Unlike Toronto that just elected a Mayor on a platform of spending cuts – some European populations appear to believe money grows on trees and it’s not their collective problem. As a result, Alexander believes a number of countries (Spain, Greece et al) could exit the EU and restructure (i.e. print lots of money to pay off their debts).
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