Global Strategic Management Institute (GSMI) is proud to present the Mobile+Web Developer Conference. Mobile+Web DevCon will be hosting it’s first installment on July 17-19, 2012, at the Marines Memorial Club & Hotel in San Francisco.

Mobile+Web DevCon is a unique opportunity for developers, designers and engineers to come together and explore the three most pervasive platforms in development: Android, iOS, and the web. The conference will provide attendees with key takeaways and solutions for mobile app and web creation and design essential to their business strategy and development career.

Mobile+Web DevCon is excited to announce two new keynote speakers!

Rick Tywoniak from Cisco Systems, opening up the iOS and Android tracks, will be speaking on Collaboration – Developing the Next Wave of Productivity in the Enterprise. Rick will explore how integration of collaboration can help developers capitalize on their enterprise applications.
Mahi de Silva, EVP of Consumer Mobile at Opera Software, will be opening up the Mobile Web & Web Development Track, speaking on The State of the Mobile Economy. Mahi will provide user, device and publisher insights and delve into such topics as advertiser best practices, rich-media engagement metrics and much more. Mahi’s presentation will also include the release of Opera Software’s latest report, “The State of Mobile Advertising”.

Other presentations and speakers include:

-Smarter Apps for Smarter Phones, presented by Qualcomm Labs
-Extreme Optimization for the Mobile Web, presented by Disney Mobile
-Panel: Developing Tablet-Based Experiences, moderated by WIP and including panelists from NOOK Developer, Appbackr, AOL, and Jetson Creative
-Debugging JavaScript Applications, presented by Adobe

Source:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/23/prweb9533856.DTL

The total value of pirated software in Australia reached $739 million in 2011, amounting to 23 per cent of all of software installed in the country, according to software education organisation, Business Software Alliance (BSA).

The findings were reflected in the company’s recent 2011 Global Software Piracy Study, conducted in partnership with IDC and Ipsos Public Affairs. It incorporated 182 discrete data inputs for each of 116 national and regional economies studied.

On a global level, 57 per cent of the PC software installed in 2011 was pirated. The global commercial value of pirated software has surged from $US58.8 billion in 2010 to $US63.4 billion in 2011.

Piracy rates in emerging markets tower over those in mature markets — 68 per cent to 24 per cent, on average — and emerging markets account for an overwhelming majority of the global increase in the commercial value of software theft.

“Software piracy persists as a drain on the global economy, IT innovation and job creation,” BSA president and CEO, Robert Holleyman, said.

According to him, Governments have to take steps to modernise their IP laws and expand enforcement efforts to ensure that those who pirate software face consequences.

However, the research also found Australia is the only country in Asia-Pacific where piracy has consistently dropped by a percentage point per year over the last eight years.

“At a local level, our reports show, year-on-year progress is being made to reduce the level of software piracy in Australia,” BSA Australia Co-Chair, Clayton Noble, said.

He said that though the statistics show progress, there is still a long way to go to minimise piracy, which will see significant and lasting benefits for the Australian economy.

Other findings from the BSA Global Software Piracy Study include:

Globally, the most frequent software pirates are young (aged between 18 to 24), male and more than twice as likely to live in an emerging economy as they are to live in a mature one (38 to 15 per cent). In Asia-Pacific, they amount to 32 per cent.
Business decision makers confessed to pirating software more frequently than other users. They are also more than twice as likely as others to say they buy software for one computer and then install it on additional machines in their offices.
There is strong support for IP rights and protections in principle, but a lack of incentives for pirates to change their behaviour in practice. Only 20 per cent of frequent pirates in mature markets and 15 per cent in emerging markets said the risk of getting caught is a reason not to pirate software.
In Asia-Pacific, 36 per cent of admitted software pirates said they acquire software illegally “all of the time”, “most of the time” or “occasionally”, while 27 per cent “rarely” do so.

Source:http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/425438/australian_pc_software_theft_reaches_record_739m_2011_bsa/#closeme

EMC announced new Isilon X400 and NL400 storage nodes, featuring more throughput than previous platforms and traditional NAS single volume throughput. The X400 and NL400 will scale to over 15 Petabytes in a single cluster, is highly efficient with over 80 percent storage utilization and help enterprises meet large-scale IT storage needs. Data that is frequently accessed or used with business-critical applications are suited for the X400 while older, less-frequently accessed data can be stored on the more economical NL400. When used with EMC Isilon software capabilities such as FlexProtect and SmartPools, storage solutions built with the X400 and NL400 are designed to deliver the highest availability and efficiency.

New DataBridge Enterprise Management Software

EMC announced a brand new enterprise management software – EMC DataBridge – to empower IT operations teams with a “single-pane of glass” management tool to easily build customizable dashboards for delivering ITaaS. DataBridge breaks down the individual silos of compute, storage and network, combining and relating infrastructure management data in a way that provides a more complete multi-dimensional view of their infrastructure. DataBridge will support EMC ProSphere, EMC Data Protection Advisor, EMC Unified Infrastructure Manager, EMC IT Operations Intelligence Suite, EMC Storage Configuration Advisor and EMC AppSync, in addition to non-EMC data sources.

“EMC DataBridge delivers visibility across a business’ IT infrastructure in both the physical and virtual environments–providing customers with integrated dashboards, and analytics with better visibility across the organization, said Jason Buffington, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. ”These new capabilities—combined with EMC’s storage and infrastructure solutions, and the ability to include third party data sources—create valuable new opportunities for companies looking to exploit and leverage real-time data from their cloud environment.”

Documentum D2 4.0

EMC announced the availability of EMC Documentum D2 4.0, a content management application with a modern, configurable and intuitive user experience for the EMC Documentum platform. Documentum D2 4.0 delivers new features such as configurable widget-based workspaces that increase usability and accommodate user preferences. New features include widget-based interfaces for personalized control of workspaces, and workspaces, to act as containers for widgets and gadgets. Documentum D2 focuses on configuration versus coding to significantly decrease the time to create, deploy and maintain a solution, and enable business analysts and systems administrators to make changes to applications without specialized coding. Documentum is available as a client in EMC onDemand, and is the core of the Documentum Life Sciences solutions, also announced at EMC World 2012.

“EMC is pleased to deliver this next release of Documentum D2,” said Rohit Ghai, Vice President, Products, Information Intelligence Group at EMC. ”Companies struggle with balancing the user demand for ease and productivity with IT’s push for agility, security and governance. We are the only vendor to accommodate both of these needs with Documentum D2. In extending Documentum D2 to the cloud via EMC OnDemand, we further enable our customers to focus on delivering business value without the burden of managing complex IT infrastructure.”

Source:http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/05/23/emc-world-new-scale-out-storage-and-software/

A Waukesha business software company that specializes in smartphone and tablet applications for business has been sold to global business enterprise applications firm IFS.

Metrix LLC has been sold to IFS, which is a publicly held Swedish firm that has one of its main North American offices in Brookfield. IFS reported global sales last year of more than $396 million.

Financial terms of the sale weren’t disclosed. Metrix generated $8.7 million in revenue last year.

Founded in 1980, Metrix specializes in providing mobility and service management technology tools that allow field service workers to use smartphones and tablets.

The Metrix mobile apps allow a company’s field technicians to check parts, labor and expenses, manage work requests and view service history, turn-by-turn driving directions as well as other functions, on a smartphone. Customers include Ericsson Group, Motorola, Xerox and DHL.

Metrix adds capabilities including a broader offering of apps for android smartphones than IHS has been able to provide, said Cindy Jaudon, IFS North America president and chief executive.

IFS said the acquisition would help boost its market position in a high-growth market

Industry research consultant Aberdeen said a survey last year found 41% of organizations were evaluating a variety of devices, from smartphones to tablets to other devices, for purchase this year.

IFS expects that the acquisition will add to earnings in 2012. The deal helps position the combined company to take on industry leader ClickSoftware Technologies, an Israel-based company with offices in Massachusetts.

An industry report recently pegged ClickSoftware’s market share at nearly 15%, with IFS at nearly 11% and Metrix at nearly 3%.

There are no plans at this time to combine the local operations, as they both have long-term office leases, she said.

Many acquisitions involve job cuts, but that’s not the forecast based on IFS’ expansion plans, Jaudon said.

“We’re doing this because we want the people, because we want the product,” she said. “This is not one of those cost-cutting, slash-and-burn kinds of things.”

The Milwaukee area isn’t known as a technology hub, but Jaudon said she’s impressed “at how much tech talent there is in Milwaukee.”

“My team and I very much look forward to joining IFS and continuing to accelerate the growth of the mobile workforce management business,” said Larry Laux, Metrix founder, in a statement.

Metrix employs more than 50 people, mainly in Waukesha. It has small sales offices in the Netherlands and Singapore. IFS employs 42 people in Brookfield.

Source:http://www.jsonline.com/business/waukesha-business-software-firm-metrix-sold-v05haqb-153118625.html

North Carolina’s Medicaid office says a new software program designed to look for potential fraud has yielded questionable billing by more than 200 outpatient behavioral health care providers.

Health and Human Services acting Secretary Al Delia said Wednesday the unusual Medicaid billing is valued at up to $191 million. Ten cases already have been investigated and could mean $6 million in potentially fraudulent payments. They’ve been referred to state attorneys. Funds also could be recovered.

Auditors and investigators are making unannounced visits to providers to examine billings.

Gov. Beverly Perdue directed the health department to contract IBM for software that searches claims data. The analysis found cases where some providers billed more than 24 hours of service for a patient in a single day or double-billed for the same service.

Source:http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20120523/APN/1205230974

A team developing analytic software that scores patients for the risk they pose to being readmitted within 30 days after being discharged from a hospital is the winner of the inaugural Janssen Connected Care Challenge. The prize is sponsored by Janssen, a unit of New Brunswick, NJ-based Johnson & Johnson .

Kim Park, a founding partner with Janssen Healthcare Innovation, declared the Discharge Decision Support System (D2S2) as the winner this morning at the 6th Annual Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA) Convergence Summit in downtown San Diego. The D2S2 team also was awarded $100,000 to advance the technology, which is under development by RightCare Solutions, a Philadelphia-based startup founded last year by Eric Heil of Domain Associates and Kathryn Bowles, a professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.

The company describes the D2S2 system as a decision-support tool that uses key data from a patient’s admission to analyze the risk that the patient could be readmitted within 30 days after discharge. The software algorithm also “learns” by tracking patient outcomes and adjusting the way it scores a patient’s risk for readmission.

Because the D2S2 risk assessment is done upon admission, RightCare says hospital officials can better plan the discharge and follow-up care for at-risk patients. The company says a second-generation system will be able to recommend whether a patient at-risk for 30-day readmission should be referred to a skilled nursing facility, home care, rehab, or nursing home.

Source:http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2012/05/23/analytic-software-wins-janssen-prize-to-reduce-hospital-readmissions/

Earlier today, a California jury cleared Google of all claims of patent infringement brought by Oracle. The trial, which had been in its 23rd day, concluded with a unanimous decision that Android did not infringe on six claims in U.S. Patent RE38,104 as well as two claims in U.S. Patent number 6,061,520. In the space of two weeks, Oracle’s visions (some would say hallucinations) of up to $6 billion in damages have gone up in smoke.

Linux creator Linus Torvalds called the suit “idiotic” but predicted Oracle would “come out posturing and talk about how they’ll be vindicated, and pay lawyers to take it to the next level of idiocy.” The good news, though, is that this ruling has removed one of the darkest clouds hanging over Google and Android. Oracle can appeal, but their prospects don’t look good.

After the trial, Joe Mullin at Ars Technica did an interesting interview with the jury foreman (Greg Thompson) that indicates Oracle “wasn’t even close” to proving their case against Google in the patent phase of the trial, or even in the earlier copyright phase:

After the copyright verdict, there had been some speculation around the Web that because the jury found that Google infringed copyright—but split on fair use—it was basically a pro-Oracle jury with one or two holdouts sticking up for Google. Talking to Thompson, it quickly became clear that wasn’t the case at all. A majority of jurors favored Google’s argument from the start, and the holdouts—primarily Thompson himself—were a beleaguered few favoring Oracle. At one point during the copyright phase, in fact, Thompson said he was the lone holdout. At the end, he swung a couple more jurors to his side, but they were still a distinct minority.

There is still an unsettled copyright question, but even in the unfortunate event that the judge ruled against Google on that part, we’re only talking about 9 lines of code out of millions. Lines which were immediately removed from the Android source when somebody pointed them out.

I find it refreshing that in this trial, both the Judge and jury proved to be much smarter than the lawyers. Thompson and others on the jury asked pretty good questions, especially considering most had no technical background at all. The judge (the Hon. William Alsup) revealed he was something of a developer himself and scoffed at some of Oracle’s arguments about the mysterious invention known as the “range check”. If you ask me, all software patent trials should be held in California from now on instead of East Texas.

Source:http://www.zdnet.com/blog/burnette/jury-strikes-a-blow-against-software-patents/2524

Halfway through the physics and astronomy department’s initial two-year contract to use WebAssign in Physics 104 and Physics 105 labs, some administrators and teaching assistants said they oppose its renewal.

Duane Deardorff, director of undergraduate physics labs at UNC, said in the fall 2011 semester, WebAssign deleted the lab exam responses for about 100 physics lab students. The exam scores were not counted in the students’ final grades.

“We do not want to commit to a longer contract,” Deardorff said. “We are in the process of reshaping the curriculum for Physics 104 and 105 labs.”

Deardorff determines the curriculum for physics lab classes and assigns teaching assistant positions. He said he recommended WebAssign to Arthur Champagne, chair of the physics and astronomy department.

Deardorff and Champagne said the two-year contract was signed before the software was tested in Physics 104 and Physics 105 labs at UNC.

John Corn, a former teaching assistant for Physics 104 and Physics 105 labs, said he and his colleagues were told by Deardorff that WebAssign would undergo a trial period, but received an email the following day that a two-year contract had already been signed.

“I don’t recall the rationale for signing the contract before the trial period, but we had a good experience with it in higher-level classes,” Champagne said.

Champagne said the software was the best option available at the time.

“Basically the discussion was that we would like to become more efficient in the way we grade big classes, especially with budget cuts,” Champagne said.

Deardorff said that if budget cuts had not affected the physics and astronomy department, he would not have supported using WebAssign.

“However, even with its faults, in the current budget situation I would much rather have WebAssign,” Deardorff said. “To recognize mistakes in real time has raised the level of understanding in many of our labs.”

Deardorff said that its instant grading feature made WebAssign the best option, but also harder to avoid problems.

Deardorff estimated that the software saves the department about $50,000 per year.

The department does not pay WebAssign for the right to use its software. Instead, WebAssign makes an estimated $20,000 per year on the $25 per semester student fee.

Several teaching assistants within the department said they oppose the continued use of WebAssign but wished to remain anonymous.

Corn said his impression of WebAssign was that it had too many problems.

“This software was a complete nightmare from day one,” Corn said. “If I search my inbox for WebAssign, I would have pages of complaints from former students.”

Corn said he offered to update for free an existing software program used by the department called WebLabs — which was free of charge to the department.

Corn taught labs that required WebAssign both 2011 summer sessions and said there were problems with the software.

“I would tell students to forget about WebAssign because many of them are pre-med students who have to make great GPAs,” Corn said.

Medical schools nationwide require applicants to have taken one year of physics, either Physics 104 and 105 or Physics 116 and 117.

Source:http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2012/05/physics_software_renewal_unlikely

Yahoo! on Wednesday set out to reclaim the Internet search crown from Google with the release of software that transforms the way users explore the Web using Apple’s coveted gadgets.

A Yahoo! Axis application was introduced for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices and also as “plug-in” software for Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and other Web browsers featuring HTML-5 graphics capabilities.

“Yahoo! is still very much in search,” special projects product management director Ethan Batraski said while giving AFP an advance look at Axis. “We continue to flourish.”

Axis does away with the blue links that have defined Internet query results for a decade and replaced them with previews of pages that might provide the information being sought.

The application lets users easily “swipe” from one Web page to another or review a pull-down strip of preview pages instead of making them click on links to see what websites look like.

“We removed the entire search results page from the equation for a game-changing search experience,” Batraski said.

“The entire search experience is in the app,” he continued. “You will never have to use Safari ever again.”

Safari is the Web browsing program Apple builds into its devices.

The Axis search results pane instantly displays information of potential interest, such as the score from a most recent game if the query is a sports team.

Yahoo! also made it simple to email, tweet, “pin,” or bookmark pages with touches of screens.

Axis also gives users the option of synching pages across devices, so that driving directions, movie times or other pages left open on one gadget will automatically display on another, the demonstration showed.

“I could easily start something on my iPad and continue on my iPhone,” Batraski said. “The goal here is to connect all my devices together.”

Clicks of side tabs replace swipes in the plug-in version of Axis for desktop computer browsing software.

For now, Yahoo! is not displaying ads in Axis because the focus is on winning users before weaving in ways to make money without marring the smooth experience.

Yahoo! has been steadily losing ground to Google in the Internet search market. Google’s share inched up to 66.5 percent in April while Yahoo!’s portion slipped a fraction to 13.5 percent, according to comScore.

Microsoft’s Bing was the second most popular search service, handling 15.4 percent of queries, the industry tracker reported.

Yahoo! in 2009 made a deal with Microsoft to have Bing handle the labor-intensive job of finding and indexing content on the Internet, freeing itself to concentrate on interesting or personalized ways to present results.

“We outsourced a backend process that every search engine was trying to do,” Batraski said.

“It is grunt work and we are really focused on innovating.”

Axis became available at Apple’s online App Store late Wednesday.

Axis will be begin rolling out to France, Britain and a few other countries by the end of the year, according to Batraski.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/yahoo-moves-to-reclaim-internet-search-crown/articleshow/13430774.cms

A biomedical informatics researcher who tracks dangerous viruses as they spread around the globe has restructured his innovative tracking software to promote even wider use of the program around the world.

Associate Professor Daniel Janies, Ph.D., an expert in computational genomics at the Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University (OSU), is working with software engineers at the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) to expand the reach of SUPRAMAP (supramap.org), a web-based application that synthesizes large, diverse datasets so that researchers can better understand the spread of infectious diseases across hosts and geography. By separating SUPRAMAP’s client application from the underlying server software, the goal is to reconfigure the server in a way that researchers and public safety officials can develop other front-end applications that draw on the logic and computing resources of SUPRAMAP.

Janies and his colleagues at Ohio State, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and OSC developed SUPRAMAP in 2007 to track the spread and evolution of pandemic (H1N1) and avian influenza (H5N1).

“Using SUPRAMAP, we initially developed maps that illustrated the spread of drug-resistant influenza and host shifts in H1N1 and H5N1 influenza and in coronaviruses, such as SARS,” said Janies. “SUPRAMAP allows the user to track strains carrying key mutations in a geospatial browser such as Google EarthTM. Our software allows public health scientists to update and view maps on the evolution and spread of pathogens.”

The original implementation of SUPRAMAP was built with a single client that was tightly coupled to the server software.

“We now have decoupled the server from the original client to provide a modular web service for POY, (poyws.org) an open-source, freely available phylogenetic analysis program developed at AMNH. The web service can be used by other researchers with new ideas, data, and clients to create novel applications,” said Ward Wheeler, curator-in-charge of scientific computing at AMNH and a coauthor with Janies and others on a recent article about the project in the journal Cladistics.

“To demonstrate the POY web service, we have produced a new client software application, GEOGENES (www.geogenes.org),” said Wheeler. “Unlike in SUPRAMAP, in which the user is required to create and upload data files, in GEOGENES the user works from a graphical interface to query a curated dataset, thus freeing the user from managing files.”

Currently this service is hosted on large shared systems at OSC, the center’s flagship HP Intel Xeon Oakley Cluster, their IBM Opteron Glenn Cluster and on a smaller dedicated cluster at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center.

“Decoupling the client from the server provides another advantage in that the implementation of the server can change to take advantage of advances in computing technology,” noted Thomas Bitterman, a senior software engineer at OSC and co-author of the journal article. “For example, the recent addition of the Oakley Cluster at OSC has made available a large set of GPUs that could result in performance improvements.”

To give their new software implementation a proper road test, the researchers examined groups of key mutations in a pathogen they hadn’t tracked before – the H7 avian influenza virus. Infection of humans by the H7 virus is rare, but it has occurred among people who have direct contact with infected poultry.

“H7 influenza, like H5N1 is largely an avian virus, but infects humans periodically, and therefore we wanted to see how it evolves,” said Janies. “We have shown that pathogenicity of the H7 influenza is highly labile on a molecular evolutionary level and has occurred independently in many places around the world. Now that the H5N1 papers detailing transmission among mammals have been published, we can next pinpoint the natural geographic distribution of key sets of mutations that could lead to human-to-human transmission. Our maps will allow scientists to better deploy public health resources to protect citizens and forces in the field.”

Grant funding through the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and Office supports this Innovation Group on Global Infectious Disease Research (gidr.osu.edu) project. Support for the computational requirements of the project comes from AMNH and OSC. Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, Department of Biomedical Informatics and offices of Academic Affairs and Research provide additional support.

Source:http://insciences.org/article.php?article_id=10797

Google Inc., the largest Web search provider, didn’t infringe Oracle Corp.’s patents in developing Android software, a federal jury found in the second phase of an intellectual property trial in San Francisco.

The 10-person jury ruled unanimously today that neither of the two patents at issue was infringed. Immediately after the verdict was announced, the judge dismissed the jury from the case and canceled the third phase of the trial over damages.

Oracle, the largest maker of database software, alleged Google stole two patents for the Java programming language when it developed Android, which now runs on more than 300 million smartphones. In the first phase of the trial, the same jury found the search engine company infringed Oracle’s Java copyrights while it couldn’t agree on whether the copying was “fair use.”

The May 7 jury finding may prevent Redwood City, California-based Oracle from seeking US$1-billion in damages for intellectual property theft. Whether Mountain View, California- based Google is liable for copyright damages may be the subject of a new trial.

Google rose as much as 0.7% in trading in New York after the verdict was announced.

The case is Oracle v. Google, 10-3561, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

Source:http://business.financialpost.com/2012/05/23/googles-android-software-didnt-infringe-oracle-patents-jury-says/

Google announced on Wednesday that its mapping software and other products would be available in Syria after getting export approval by the US government.

The Internet giant said Google Earth would be made available for download along with the photo-sharing application Picasa and the Chrome Web browser.

“Free expression is a fundamental human right and a core value of our company — but sometimes there are limits to where we can make our products and services available,” Google’s export compliance chief Neil Martin said in a blog post.

“US export controls and sanctions programs, for example, prohibit us from offering certain software downloads in some countries. The fine details of these restrictions evolve over time, and we’re always exploring how we can better offer tools for people to access and share information,” he added.

Last year Google made the same services available to people in Iran but blocked access by government computers there.

The US government is in the midst of an initiative to promote online freedom around the world and at the same time to limit certain types of hardware and software that can be used for filtering or monitoring by repressive governments.

Amid a deadly crackdown in Syria, demonstrators use social networking sites, notably Facebook and YouTube, to whip up support for protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

But the regime is also using the Internet to strike back, and the government has deployed a special unit — the Syrian Electronic Army — to post pro-Assad comments on anti-regime websites.

Earlier this year Swedish mobile live video streaming site Bambuser said its services had been blocked in Syria shortly after a user had broadcast a bombing in Homs thought to have been carried out by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/google-clears-key-mapping-software-for-syria/articleshow/13415906.cms

Business service management company, BMC Software, has realigned its business strategy as it sets sights on driving cloud computing in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) space.

This is according to Fabio Violante, CTO of EMEA at BMC Software, who said during yesterday’s BMC Day conference that the company’s new strategy aims to support the evolution of an IT organisation.

In partnership with ITWeb, BMC Software hosted an executive conference at The Forum, in Bryanston, yesterday. The event saw key experts revealing how enterprises can simplify and automate IT using cloud computing.

Earlier this year, BMC Software signed an agreement to acquire Numara Software, a global provider of integrated IT management solutions for SMEs. BMC made the move in order to accelerate the growth of its software as a service business in the SME sector.

Violante said: “We have placed a full dedicated team to work on cloud solutions and we have a solution that allows business to deliver cloud services, while letting organisations become cloud providers.”

He added that IT management as a service has become a priority for the company, which it manages directly as well as through its channel partners. “We enable organisations to build, run and manage private and hybrid clouds. Our strategy is to federate and manage external cloud services to ensure multi-source success.

“We have created a sound strategy to deliver a platform that supports heterogeneity across providers, hardware and software platforms, and to support physical, virtual and cloud environments.”

According to Violante, service providers such as telecoms operators are starting to provide differentiated, cloud-based services to public agencies, enterprises and consumers.

“Enterprises are overhauling IT management systems to manage the hybrid cloud environment in order to transform the organisation to become more agile. We are also seeing companies taking an evolutionary path in maturing their IT environment towards a cloud goal. However, IT needs an organisation’s entire commitment in order to deploy a cloud environment.”

Source:http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55079:bmc-software-drives-sme-cloud&catid=69

AGIS, Inc., today announced that they have been awarded a subcontract with Oceus Networks to provide certified real-time cellular Blue Force Tracking (BFT) Collaboration, Coordination and Command system software for the U.S. Navy. The company’s flagship product, LifeRing(TM), was selected as part of a pilot for a new Navy portable maritime Command and Control (C2) system, making this the first operational deployment of 4G LTE for the U.S. Department of Defense.

“The Xiphos(TM) 4G LTE / Android LifeRing system provides complete handheld Command and Control. We are honored to be partnering with Oceus Networks to provide the U.S. Navy this new operational capability,” said Cap Beyer CEO of AGIS.

The pilot effort is being conducted this and next year in support of the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group. Xiphos 4G LTE broadband networks and LifeRing software will be used as part of the internal ship, inter-ship, ship-to-helicopter, and Boarding Party Boat communications package. Members of the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group will be equipped with LifeRing enabled Android 4G LTE Smartphones and PCs. All Navy and Marine Corps users will be provided a Common Operational Picture (COP) and the ability to Collaborate, Coordinate and Command.

LifeRing users can declare emergencies, enter and transmit geo-located symbols, interactively whiteboard, chat and transmit messages and “must respond to” commands all within the LifeRing application. LifeRing provides an interface with many of the U.S. military Command and Control Systems and integrates military radios, WiFi networks and satellite with 4G cellular.

“Our warfighters have become accustomed to advanced mobility solutions in their personal lives,” said Cal Shintani, Chief Growth Officer, Oceus Networks. “By integrating LifeRing’s BFT with Xiphos we are now providing much needed new real-time communications capabilities to the military.”

Mr. Beyer also commented that: “AGIS LifeRing software is being used by the U.S. military and federal agencies to provide the individual with a potentially lifesaving information bubble that uses an easily created ad hoc netted group. We are proud to support Oceus Networks in this first delivery of 4G capability in support of NAVAIR’s Counter Narcotics and Illicit Trafficking (CNIT) Program Office.”

If requested, a limited free evaluation copy of Android LifeRing is available to qualified military and government customers.

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/agis-lifering-android-software-selected-as-navy-bft-for-oceus-networks-xiphostm-4g-lte-solution-2012-05-22

Hanu Software today announced that they have been selected for Microsoft Corporation’s elite Windows Azure Circle program. The Azure Circle is the highest level of Microsoft’s Cloud Accelerate Partner program designed to validate the credentials of highly trained and tested partner organizations.

Hanu Software has already established a reputation of excellence developing applications to operate on Microsoft’s Azure platform. In addition to the Azure Circle selection, Microsoft will release two success stories featuring Hanu Software’s Azure development services next month.

“The Azure Circle partner program showcases our Microsoft partners’ commitment to helping shared customers take full advantage of the benefits of cloud services,” says Francesco Rietti, Business Development Manager for Microsoft US Azure Partnerships. “We appreciate the resources that our partners dedicate to mastering the latest technologies and their continued drive for success.”

As a result of the Azure Circle designation, Hanu Software will have access to additional Microsoft promotional and technical resources that will deliver faster and more cost effective results to customers.

“We are excited to be a part of the Azure Circle, furthering our efforts to help customers make strategic choices about their future in the cloud,” Anil Singh, founder and CEO of Hanu Software. “Our strong alliance with Microsoft’s Azure team assures our customers that they have a direct connection with the latest platform developments.”

Hanu Software is fast becoming the leading Azure development source for Microsoft’s extensive ISV (Independent Software Vendor) partner network, who supply the customized applications that support Microsoft’s legacy product line. To remain relevant, ISVs rely on Azure development experts like Hanu Software to re-write the underlying code of their applications to support cloud deployment.

Source:http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120522005215/en/Cloud-Application-Development/Cloud-Computing/Microsoft-Cloud-Platform

Integrated e-commerce software in the cloud that spans marketing, selling and fulfillment

IBM has debuted a new enterprise e-Commerce software version, Commerce on Cloud designed for data sharing and marketing and supply chain processes in the cloud.

Commerce on Cloud, is an integrated platform for offering, selling, transacting and fulfilling orders in the cloud, the company noted.

IBM stated the new offering enables chief marketing officers (CMOs) and e-commerce executives establish and maintain an on-line storefront, and automate and synchronise supply and demand engines in a bid to improve the flow of business-to-consumer transactions.

IBM Industry Solutions general manager Craig Hayman said accelerating commerce on the Cloud is a dramatic step forward in enabling companies to transform their business operations.

“Companies of all sizes can now deliver a better client experience by providing personalized marketing, selling the way customers want to buy, and delivering products through a supply chain that’s prepared for the unpredictable,” Hayman added.

IBM announced it has also has upgraded its other on-cloud collaboration networks for collaboration and digital information sharing across demand and supply processes.

The company has added new pricing and trade promotion collaboration capabilities for DemandTec that will enable a network of more than 15,000 members such as ConAgra Foods and PETCO to share information, for retailer-consumer packaged goods collaboration and execution.

A new certified Digital Data Exchange Partner program, retailers and third party digital marketing providers can relay on behavioral data to analyse specific processes and manage their marketing, promotions and customer behavioral analytics.

Source:http://ecommerce.cbronline.com/news/ibm-rolls-out-new-enterprise-e-commerce-software-version-230512

A special feature of advanced evasion techniques (AETs) is that they have an infinite number of possible combinations, meaning only software-based security systems can provide effective protection against them.

Unlike hardware-based solutions, software can adapt quickly and dynamically to changing threat patterns, which means that they have the best chance to keep pace with the latest methods of disguise.

AETs combine and vary methods for disguising an attack or malicious code, using different levels within network traffic. This unusual behaviour means that even modern intrusion-prevention systems (IPSs) and next-generation firewalls are unable to detect the disguised malicious code.

Recent estimates set the number of possible combinations of AETs at a very high figure (2,180) and it appears that this dynamic threat will present long-term challenges to the security mechanisms of corporate networks.

Simply updating signatures can only protect against single AET methods and, as a result, this means of attack is currently giving cyber criminals a kind of master key for attacking any vulnerable system.

To disguise an attack, AETs make use of the way in which IPS architectures and firewalls work. For example, an IPS checks data traffic before passing it on to the network and blocks the data if the IPS suspects that it contains malicious code. The security system must therefore know the specific patterns of malware programs in order to detect them and protect the network.

Most IPS architectures use protocol analysis and signature recognition for this purpose. Upon detecting a new worm or virus, the devices usually update their fingerprint information within just a few days, sometimes even within hours. To a certain extent, existing analysis functions can detect and combat malicious software that is similar to known threats.

For their part, firewalls check data packets to determine their origin, destination, protocol and other properties. If the data packets fail to satisfy the network’s internal security rules, the firewall rejects them and alerts the administrator.

However, the AET methods have so many possible variations that they no longer resemble any attack pattern stored in the IPS, even after only a slight modification. For example, in the number of bytes or the segment offset, a malicious code enters the network, with the appearance of regular data traffic despite a fingerprint update.

Therefore, security patches no longer offer protection, especially as AETs do not follow the classic rules of the TCP/IP protocol suite. Tests have shown that AETs are able to attack the IP and transport layers (TCP, UDP) as well as application layer protocols, including SMB and RPC.

Thus, an AET-disguised data packet can sneak past the IPS and enter the network on different levels of data traffic. For a firewall, a data packet of this type may also meet all criteria of the defined security rules externally and it is therefore allowed to pass.

In order for security solutions to offer any protection at all against dynamic and constantly evolving AETs, it must be possible to update these solutions quickly and at any time. Once new AET variants have been announced, software-based IPS and firewall systems can be automatically updated to state of the art, and corresponding patterns of disguise stored.

However, the overwhelming majority of network security systems in use today are static, hardware-based solutions that are extremely difficult and sometimes even impossible to update, especially in light of the rapidly changing threat patterns.

Updating them would be very time-consuming and costly and, at the same time, it is virtually impossible for them to react flexibly to new AET variants. This means that administrators can no longer guarantee network security.

Flexible, software-based security systems, combined with a central management function, therefore currently offer the best protection against AETs. Thanks to software-based technology, updates can be loaded at any time and configuration work carried out without a great deal of effort.

It is not yet possible to provide full protection against AETs. One solution is dynamically adaptable security systems, to which new functions for inspecting data traffic can be added with little time and effort, offering the best protection available today.

One example of this is ‘multi-layer normalisation’, in which security devices interpret and fully assemble data packages in the same manner as the end system. This reduces the danger of disguised malicious code bypassing the security system undetected and entering the network.

Patch management and updating signature databases are not adequate solutions as these measures cannot keep up with the highly dynamic AET over the long term. Searching for the right AET method when 2,180 combinations are possible is like searching for one grain of sand in 500,000 galaxies.

Source:http://www.scmagazineuk.com/aets-and-software-based-security/article/242219/

A delegation from Indian software company Infosys visited Israel early May, and presented the Infosys labstorm initiative. The software giant, one of India’s 30 largest companies, was hosted by the Israeli export institute.

The Infosys labstorm initiative is a technological content sharing platform. It offers companies, investors and businesses to share and view demos and PR videos of technological products, software and firms.

To promote collaboration between Israeli technologies and Infosys, the Israeli export institute invited dozens of Israeli technology, software, communication, new media and energy companies to meet the Indian delegation. Among the participants were Radware, Checkmarx, leviathan Energy Inc, Safend and CQM.

Infosys is a leading information technology company which provides business solutions, technology, engineering and outsourcing services to costumers in 30 countries.

In 1999 Infosys became the first India-based public company to be listed on an American stock exchange, the NASDAQ. In 2001 it was crowned “best employer in India,” and in 2003-2004 Infosys was the first Indian company to win the MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises) award.

Yafit Katz Rubin, director of software department in the export institute said the innovative initiative may become the next big thing in technology marketing.

“We believe that the unique meeting will become a fertile ground for further cooperation between the software giants and Israeli firms,” she said.

Source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4230022,00.html

Calyx Software(R), the preferred mortgage solution provider for banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and brokers, announced today that they have been awarded RegulatorConnect(R) Certification by ComplianceEase(R), the mortgage industry’s leading automated mortgage compliance solution provider. Point 7.6, released on April 19th, can export data in RegulatorConnect’s Licensee Examination File (LEF) format, which all state-regulated lenders must use under new state Limited Scope Electronic (LSE) Examination procedures.

ComplianceEase developed the LEF format, which the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR), and the Multi-state Mortgage Committee (MMC) have adopted for electronic examinations (e-Exams). The new e-Exams require that lender licensees provide up to 100% of their loan portfolios electronically in the LEF format. If a lender does not already use ComplianceEase’s ComplianceAnalyzer(R) software themselves, the lender must submit loan information by uploading an LEF to the secure RegulatorConnect examination web portal at www.regulatorconnect.org . Examiners then use ComplianceAnalyzer(R) to conduct compliance audits on each loan.

Jason Roth, senior vice president of ComplianceEase, explained, “One of the most important components in the e-Exam process is the technology system that a lender uses to originate loans. As committed partners like Calyx continue to build the necessary export capability into their systems, examinations get quicker and easier for lenders.”

To complete the RegulatorConnect certification process, a technology system provider must demonstrate that its system creates valid LEF exports, follows the complete LEF technical specification, and performs correctly under a variety of loan scenarios. By achieving this level of certification from ComplianceEase, Calyx demonstrates a dedication to helping lender clients save time and money under the new e-Exam process.

“Many of our clients have been asking for Point to create the LEF exports required for submission to RegulatorConnect,” says Jody Collup, director of marketing for Calyx Software. “We are pleased to provide our lenders with the software functionality they need to efficiently automate compliance with federal and state regulations and to provide required regulatory reports. This certification was both timely and necessary, and we’re pleased to have once again met the growing and changing technology demands of our clients.”

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/calyx-software-named-regulatorconnect-certified-partner-2012-05-22

EMC Corporation introduced its largest-ever – 42 in total – new range of products and technologies across information storage, back-up, virtualization and management portfolio.

Just over one year ago, EMC announced a portfolio refresh with a wave of storage systems, technologies and new capabilities.

Pat Gelsinger, president and chief operating officer, EMC Information Infrastructure Products, said: Throughout the evolution of IT, the data itself has remained the ultimate source of value. We build ‘data centres,’ not application or server centres; but rigid technology constraints effectively forced data to a lower priority. The onset of virtualization, cloud computing and big data analytics, however, have restored data to its rightful place as the center of IT gravity.”

“The shift is swift and irreversible, from dedicated infrastructure silos built around specific applications where data is either locked in a specific application or orbits the periphery, to a data-centric approach to computing. Today’s EMC announcements address this fundamental shift head on and deliver to customers the next wave of technology required as they transform their IT, their business and themselves,” he added.

The new product and technologies are:

New VMAX Family: Consisting of VMAX 10K, VMAX 20K and VMAX 40K line-up of enterprise storage arrays.

Complementing the new EMC VMAX Family is a host of new software capabilities that streamline operations and extend VMAX to new hosts and applications, while integrating customers’ existing storage assets into an integrated and unified pool of storage resources, says the company in a release.

EMC is readying the next version of its Isilon OneFS scale-out NAS operating system, code named “Mavericks”, with enhanced data protection, security, system performance and interoperability capabilities.

New VNX unified storage enhancements aimed at midrange storage market. The new channel-only VNXe3150 delivers better performance and capacity per rack unit, according to the company.

EMC and VMware extended their partnership to develop, sell and deliver storage analytics for VNX unified storage.

New Data Domain and Avamar systems and software for backup and recovery.

The new combination of EMC VPLEX virtual storage with EMC RecoverPoint data protection delivers the industry’s first solution to combine active-active data centres with third site disaster recovery protection, adds the company.

New suite of enhancements to Atmos Cloud platform. EMC also announced new Atmos Cloud Accelerators that make it even easier and faster to move data in and out of Atmos-powered clouds, adds the company.

New EMC DataBridge enterprise management tool: This provides a “single-pane of glass” management to easily build customizable dashboards for delivering ITaaS.

Source:http://www.ciol.com/Cloud-and-Virtualization/News-Reports/EMC-brings-new-VMAX-10K-Mavericks-Atmos/163128/0/