Content about cloud

Heart failure (HF) is a disease experienced globally by 26 million people. A new EU-funded project will monitor breath, saliva, and other symptoms of HF and send smartphone alerts to HF patients every time they find themselves in a critical situation.

Industry analysts repeatedly point to uncertainty around legal issues as a major barrier to cloud adoption. The SLALOM initiative was launched earlier this year with the mission to help drive the uptake of cloud services with model service-level agreement (SLA) legal clauses and technical specifications. 

To keep up with growing demand from its network of users, RNP, the Brazilian national research and education network, has turned to a hybrid, community, federated cloud to supply its services. The hybrid model allows RNP to act as a public (commercial) contract broker for low-risk services. Through the community model, universities and research institutes can offer their own data center infrastructure — either fully or partially — to the national cloud.

Sara Pittonet Gaiarin speaks to José Luiz Ribeiro Filho, director of services and solutions for RNP, on behalf of EU Brazil Cloud Connect. He explains more about the organization’s plans...
 

Only 18% of people living in the EU today have never used the internet, according to a recent Eurostat survey of people aged 16-74. Roughly two-thirds of respondents reported using the internet almost every day and over half say they used the internet while away from home or work last year.

The European CloudWATCH project recently held its latest concertation meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Over 100 participants from 52 projects came together to take stock of the current situation and to identify common research priorities for the Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEIT) 2016-2017 work program. Delegates reached consensus on the importance of moving towards a cloud service portfolio that is dynamically managed, with interoperable services and secure, flexible delivery models. 

Cloudscape Brazil 2014 was held on 20 October 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event took a practical look at some of the major barriers to the adoption of cloud computing, exploring pathways for closer collaboration between Brazil and Europe on issues of common interest. High on the agenda was the ambition to shape cloud developments in Brazil and Europe by bringing insights into both current market trends and the challenges slowing down mainstream adoption, as well as into the cloud services and best practices to address them.

Rainforest Connection uses simple devices created from discarded cellphones to listen out for illegal logging activities and provide rangers with real-time alerts. The organization was founded in 2012 by Topher White, who gave a talk about his work at TEDxCERN last month. White’s system has already helped stop illegal logging in Indonesia and further pilot projects are set to be launched soon in both Brazil and Cameroon.

Monday 29 September marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, otherwise known as CERN, located near Geneva, Switzerland. A new book, entitled 'From Physics to Daily Life', highlights some of the many ways in which technology developed at CERN has impacted upon society at large.

Bob Jones, the head CERN openlab, writes in this book about the growth of distributed computing and the vital role this technology plays across a wide range of academic fields and business sectors.

While most of the original concepts for cloud computing originated within the academic research community, industry has driven much of the design and architecture as cloud use has grown.

Read about a new, $20 million cloud computing initiative, funded by the US National Science Foundation, that will enable researchers to develop and experiment widely with novel cloud architectures at scale, and discover and share new innovations.

Kuan Hon, research consultant to the Cloud Legal Project, recently came to CERN to discuss the work she and her project colleagues have been doing. She tells iSGTW why it’s important for researchers, businesses, and citizens alike to better understand the legal implications of entering into cloud computing contracts.

"Law always lags behind technology — just look at copyright issues for instance. And, because the pace of technological change is now so fast, it’s getting even harder for the law to catch up. Nevertheless, it’s important for businesses to know what the laws are and do the best they can to comply with them," says Hon.

Urban regions around the world are aiming to offer a more efficient, sustainable, and better quality life for their citizens. ICT plays a substantial role in achieving these aims and thus in meeting the growing demand for smarter and more efficient cities.

iSGTW reports from Cloudscape VI, where Helix Nebula gave attendees a first glimpse of its new production platform. Discussion at the event, held in Brussels, Belgium, also focused on sustainability and the legal aspects of cloud computing, as well as the barriers to greater adoption of this technology in both the public and private sectors.