A great majority of the worldwide companies has identified the cloud as an effective medium to reduce their costs. However, after the implementation, disillusionment often follows.

Cloud computing is fundamentally changing the IT and the delivery methods of IT-services. The first step into the cloud is the virtualisation – the technical base. A recent study showed that virtualisation projects are already realised extensively and that expected goals like more efficiency and a better scalability can mostly be reached. The survey by Symantec among 3,700 companies worldwide also proved that a lot of cloud projects end up with results far away from the expectations.

Figure: Half of the targets at cloud projects are not reached.

Companies have the most of experience with server virtualisation – the technology is used by 45 percent. Additionally, 75 percent of the companies think about deploying private and hybrid clouds.

By taking a look at the expectations and the actual results of virtualisation- and cloud-implementations, you can see that there are some large differences between them: projects with server-virtualisation were the most successful, with a averaged lack of four percent between goal and result. The respondents had hoped for a higher scalability and lower running and investigation costs from the virtualisation technology. With similarly high expectations, cloud projects disappointed throughout: on an average, half of the expectations were not reached. The difference at the initialisation of extra resources is striking, too. While 76 percent of the respondents hoped for an easement of their workload by cloud technologies, better services could only be reached by 37 percent.

Now it´s your turn: What do you think would be the reasons for these circumstances? We are looking forward to a lot of comments.

Found at: http://www.computerworld.ch/news/it-branche/artikel/cloud-projekte-verfehlen-ziele-56965/

The Cloud :: Developer Convention is the chance for any developer to get in touch with the best developers across europe. They should attend, network and become a part of the great community and take their chance to create an awesome application within a team during the Cloud Hackathon!

Developers, programmers and designers from all over Europe are invited to come to the design hotel EAST Hamburg for a two day convention on 13./14. of October 2011 to hack awesome applications and services on top of the worlds leading and most popular cloud computing infrastructures. During the whole event mentors from the worlds leading cloud infrastructure providers support them to implement their ideas.

At the end of the Cloud Hackathon, the results will be presented in front of the audience and the jury of leading developers and software architects from around the world. Attend and enjoy two days of meeting new people, learn new stuff and build apps and services on top of worlds leading cloud computing infrastructures with other talented developers from across Europe. They can win a prize from a pool of gifts sponsored by the cloud infrastructure providers. And of course party, party, party in the Upper East of the EAST Hotel Hamburg.

Of course anybody is a winner. They will become a part of a great community, meet new people, learn new stuff and much more.

But three categories will be awarded:
- The most creative application!
- The most cloudable application!
- The most portable application!

Each cloud provider who is a partner of the Cloud :: Developer Convention ’11 commits to sponsor the prices.

More information and the charded registration are at http://cloud-devcon.com

In 2010, 83 percent of the German enterprises were affected by data loss. Most common was customer data loss.

That is the result of the study “Understanding Security Complexity in 21^st Century IT Environments” by the security service provider “Check Point Software Technologies” and the market research company “Ponemon”.

Worldwide, more than three quarters of the companies affected
At least 77 percent of the surveyed organisations in the USA, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan were concerned by the data loss.

In German companies, the following data was pertained most commonly:

1. customer information and generic consumer data (both about 50%)
2. other intellectual property, e.g. source codes (29 percent)
3. employee data (28 percent)
4. business plans or strategies (20 percent)

Why?
According to the respondents, the main reasons for the data loss were stealing of IT equipment or the simple, unintended loss of it.

Other causes were network attacks, unsecured mobile terminals, web 2.0 and file-sharing-appliances – and of course the accidental email-dispatch to a wrong receiver.

The companies do not think that their employees handle their data carefully enough: The respondents said that, on average, not even half of their employees have the awareness to think about terms like data security, compliance or security-guidelines.

The solution: Inform your staff and create transparent processes

The term of data security always has to rank first on the priority list of all IT-security officers, Jörg Kurowski from “Check Point Software Technologies” opines. But if one takes a look at the causes of data loss, it becomes clear that the biggest part of the incidents happen unintentionally. Companies should rely on a stronger awareness and a stronger involvement of their employees and at the same time establish associated processes in order to not just recognize the data loss, but to avoid it pro-actively. Like this, databases will become more transparent and easier to control, Kurowski continues.

Source:
http://www.mittelstanddirekt.de/c184/m187/um226/d7278/default.html

Last week we wrote about the study conducted by the university of Hagen dealing with similarities and differences between freelance and permanent employees.  The scientists came to the conclusion that freelancers are not less content with their working life than permanent employees.

In the second part of the survey of the university of Hagen the reserchers analyzed where the differences between freelancers and permanent employees are. Therefore in the second part 103 freelancers and permanent employees working in IT, media,training and journalism were surveyed. In the following you will find the most significant points regarding the general level of satisfaction.

Freelancers are less satisfied when it comes to:
1. their work life balance

2. their general life situation

3. their order/booking situation

However freelancers seem to be more content about:
1. their choice of employment

2. their career

3. their salaries

Particularly striking is the difference in how the quality of their activities is viewed by freelancers and permanent employees: freelancers tend to be extraordinarily satisfied in this point.

What are the most important factors motivating freelancers as well as permanent employees?
“Varying tasks” are a motivational factor which is valued higher by permanent employees than by freelancers. Important motivational factors for both groups were “personal responsibility”,  “independence” and “creative work”, the “autonomous time management” as well as the “task itself”. “Status”, “recognition “and “income” seem to be less important.

What is your experience – do you agree with the scientists main results? If you don’t agree what is your point of view?

Based on: elektronikpraxis.vogel.de

In Germany, there are currently about two million people working in a freelance employment – the trend is rising. Is freelance work a higher requirement regarding professional and personal life? The study conducted by psychologists from the University of Hagen is dealing with motivational factors and the question how both handle uncertainty and strain.  Among others the scientists also focused on  IT freelancers. According to the study, freelancers in general and IT freelancers i.e. are mostly contented with their working situation.

Here are some further results of the study:

IT freelancers pursuit economic goals. They are  satisfied with their income and see the flexibility that is required rather as a challenge than as a burden.

The acquisition of projects is not viewed as problematic. The concept of self-promotion is valued highly by the respondents.

None could identify with the stereotype of the lonely freelancer. They can quickly identify with the companies they are working for and see the permanent employees as colleagues. Therefore social skills are very important.

Also freelancers are those who are the ones who could distinguish best between private and professional life.

All in all the researchers came to the conclusion that freelancers are generally satisfied with their working life – still freelancers are confronted with different aspects/obstacles than permanent employees.

What are the differences you have encountered in your freelance working life? In your opinion are freelancers generally more or less content than permanent employees? We are looking forward to your comments.

Based on: elektronikpraxis.vogel.de

A survey of the Center for european economic research (ZEW) in cooperation with Creditreform came to find that e-commerce is used rather for buying purposes than for sales. The survey concentrated on the association for sourcing of payment in advance.

Usually the term e-commerce refers to the selling and buying processes that are conducted via the internet.

The imbalance of selling and buying processes is especially apparent in the software and IT sector:

Nearly 64% of the companies working in the IT- and software sector say that they have ordered products and services on the internet last year. In contrast to that just 29% of these companies sold their products or services online. Mirna Sarbu, scientist at the ZEW announces: “The companies of the software- and IT-service branch are with 81% leading in buying via the internet.”

Considering the usage of e-commerce for selling products, providers of telecommunication services are leading. Nearly 58% of these corporations offer opportunities for their customers to buy their products online.

Generally the e-commerce processes peaked out in 2010. Market-leading companies like amazon, facebook, google or ebay as well as younger online-shops like zalando.de shape the online trading.

What experiences have you made regarding e-commerce? Feel free to leave a reply!

Based on: www.marktundmittelstand.de

projektwerk Osteraktion:  Wo hat sich Ihr letzter Projektpartner versteckt?
Erhalten Sie eine Laufzeitverlängerung auf Ihre projektwerk Mitgliedschaft.

Es ist mal wieder so weit: Die Ostertage stehen vor der Tür, die Sonne scheint und nicht nur die Kleinsten dürfen nach ihren Ostergeschenken suchen.

projektwerk schenkt Ihnen bei Abschluss einer Premium-Mitgliedschaft einen Osterbonus:
Auf die Buchung einer 3-Monats-Mitgliedschaft erhalten Sie 14 Tage Premium-Mitgliedschaft geschenkt. Auf eine 6-Monats-Buchung bekommen Sie 30 Tage extra. Und auf eine 12-Monats-Mitgliedschaft gibt es ganze 60 Tage geschenkt.

So einfach geht’s:
Nach der Registrierung buchen Sie den von Ihnen gewählten Zeitraum und teilen uns per E-Mail an feedback@projektwerk.de mit in welchem Versteck Sie Ihren letzten Projektpartner gefunden haben (bspw. über eine Projektbörse oder über einen privaten Kontakt). Wir schalten Ihnen dann schnellstmöglich Ihre persönliche Laufzeitverlängerung frei.

Die Aktion läuft ab sofort bis einschließlich Ostermontag, dem 25.04.2011 VERLÄNGERT BIS 30.04.2011.

Wir freuen uns von Ihren „Verstecken“ zu hören und wünschen Ihnen ein schönes Osterfest!

A website and all the data needs to be stored at a suitable internet service provider.In the following you will find some tips when choosing a provider. On internetworld.de the provider Verio explains what should not be forgotten:

1. Providers should have long-term expertise
Only at experienced, established companies that are financially stable you can be sure that your data is well protected and always available.

2. Read the small print and footers
The monthly rent and other costs should be clearly indicated. It is not a sign of great reliability if prices are not evident. Also check all parts of the contract e.g.  duration and one-time setup fee and look for hidden costs before signing.

Of course it is alright if you pay extra charges for e.g. new sub domains, e-mail accounts or features like photo galleries or blogs – but also those costs should be clear from the beginning.

In addition : Availability of the site must be secured
The provider should offer so-called SLAs (Service Level Agreements). These SLAs set that incurring penalties or rental payments will be refunded if certain values ​​go below the limit. Important is a guaranteed availability of the site of at least 99.9 percent per month. This 0.1 percent sounds very little, but actually these are 43 minutes and 12 seconds.

3. Flexible solutions should be possible
Many standard solutions are barely adaptable. At least some design templates should be able to be adapted to your own ideas. For example by hiding page elements, changing the background colour or inserting images.

4. Check the scope of the provider precisely
Basic services like flash format should always be inclusive. Otherwise you would not be able to integrate an animated intro on your website. Other examples for basic services are features like blogs, guest books, forums or RSS feeds.

5. Websites grow with their company
The bigger your company becomes, the bigger and more complex your website should be. This affects not only the number of new pages, but also new features.

6. Service and support
Especially at big providers, service and support are often not taken seriously enough. The provider should be at least available on phone, fax or e-mail and answer realtively fast.

What is your opinion: What points matter most when choosing a provider?

Based on : http://www.mittelstanddirekt.de/c184/m187/um226/d6948/default.html

Skills shortage has been in the news for quite some time now. The VDI (Verband Deutscher Ingenieure – association of german engineers) has recently conducted a survey questioning 450 experts from various fields in the IT sector and came to the conclusion that the skills shortage in the IT sector is viewed as a serious problem.

According to the annual survey the biggest lack of experts is found in the field of software development, followed by IT-project management, IT-security, Consulting and Support. The hardware sector is not facing serious shortages in human ressources.

So what is done to counteract these growing shortages, that are thought to increase even further until 2015: Development programmes for young talents are essential on the long run. By now companies are already finding ways to solve the problem e.g. by hiring specialised staff from abroad, by providing professional training and development for their employees or by outsourcing of services.

Eventhough the skills shortage is likely to exacerbate over the next years, 2/3 of the respondents view the location of  Germany in terms of business and industry as good or very good.

The trend of skills shortage might be problematic for some, but especially for freelancing experts it might also bring full order books. Even better if those freelancers are specialised in the fields that are having a great potential for growth: cloud computing, IT-security, embedded systems and broadband infrastructure.

Based on VDI: http://www.vdi-nachrichten.com/vdi-nachrichten/aktuelle_ausgabe/akt_ausg_detail.asp?cat=1&id=52095&source=rubrik

To have installed an antivirus program is not enough to be protected against cyber criminals. Common sense and a critical attitude are essential in times of social networks, says the security vendor Sophos in its Security threat report 2011.

95,000 cases of malware were found by the Sophos security experts, last year. This means that every 0.9 seconds a new incident happens. The number is alarming, because in comparison to 2009 it has almost doubled.

For many people 2010 was a year in which their relationship to technology changed and became more intense: There is an increasing use of smart phones or tablets and one could also see the widespread use of social media.

Spam on social networks
The new communication behavior also changes the methods of cyber criminals: The focus is placed on raising curiosity or playing psychological tricks. Like this they harm clueless users. In addition to traditional attacks new targets are added, such as social networks or mobile devices.

In a survey by Sophos from 2010, 67 percent of respondents said that they have already received spam through a social network. Mid-2009 only 33 percent of respondents were affected. Phishing and malware attacked about 40 percent. Also enterprises have to deal with these figures: 59 percent fear that the conduct of its employees in social networks could be a risk for their security.

For example security experts observed so-called “clickjacking” on Facebook. Behind seemingly inconspicuous sites such as news or images of celebrities something different is hidden. If you share content from such sites or give it a “like”, you often send it to all of your contacts and spread spam with it.

Tips for Facebook users
Security experts recommend: If someone promises a prize to you without doing anything before, you should be skeptical. It is also recommended not to post any links or comment pictures with clicks overhasty. Rather, one should remain patient and always think of possible consequences. Rules from analog life should not be neglect. For example, never share personal information with someone you do not know at all.

57 percent of the companies think that their employees share too much information on social networks. In policies this assumption is however rarely reflected. More than a half of the companies do not limit the access to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Only less than a quarter of employers block those pages for their employees.

Choose complex passwords
Not new but still current is the topic of secure passwords. Even if users know the importance of a secure password they still select unsafe and easy to guess passwords like “12345″ or “password “. Also popular is to use same passwords for multiple services and to never change them. A secure password is as long and complex as possible. It is composed of letters, numbers and special characters.

Common sense and software
To conclude: If you do not want to become an victim of cyber criminals, experts advise to use a mix of common sense and software protection. The best software can’t  do anything if you click thoughtlessly on unknown links or disclose all your personal information.

Did you also make experiences with malware, phishing or other attacks? How did you handle this? Tell us your tips!

Source: http://www.cio.de/knowledgecenter/security/2262439/index.html?r=6616306884612418&lid=106841