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Hybrid Data Centers Key Part of Cloud Evolution- McVey

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When it comes to IT infrastructure decisions, including the choice of where to host business-critical applications, enterprises are amid a reality check, said Ian McVey, director, Enterprise and Systems Integrators Segments, Interxion.

Writing in Industry Perspectives, a content channel at Data Center Knowledge highlighting thought leadership in the data center arena, McVey said that enterprise IT leaders know it’s time to move on from the days when computing models were built exclusively on mainframe and client server computing models, but they’re still working out what the next model will actually look like, based on the large-scale adoption of cloud computing.

He said that many think the next era of computing will be rooted in hybrid infrastructure, in which legacy systems and other on-premise infrastructure integrate and interconnect with cloud-based workloads and applications – multi-sourcing of compute resources.

The challenge with predictions, he said, is obviously that they are based on opinions and assumptions.

So to get to the facts, Interxion and IDG Connect commissioned an independent survey of 625 IT decision-makers across Europe to investigate questions including:

Will enterprise cloud adoption become a reality in 2015?

Which cloud adoption model will prevail: public, private or hybrid?

What percentage of workloads will move to the cloud and which percentage will remain in the data center?

What will the role of corporate data centers be in the cloud era?

Will data center outsourcing become more common?

How will on-premise and cloud-based IT infrastructure be connected?

What will cloud 2020 look like?

The results produced findings that demonstrate the importance of the data center in cloud’s evolution.

 

Clouds Have Waves

According to the survey, 50 percent of enterprises have already adopted cloud models, and 45 percent of those enterprises have deployed a hybrid model, using both a corporate data center and private or public cloud services.

The study found that by 2016, 85 percent of all enterprises will have adopted cloud services to some extent, with 80 percent of those enterprises choosing a hybrid IT model.

“Our view is that the first wave of enterprise cloud adoption began with specific applications and workloads, often in an SaaS deployment model. This wave has already happened.

“Today, we’re in the second enterprise cloud wave that will involve the large-scale transition of workloads to the cloud in the form of IaaS or PaaS. This wave will feature hybrid IT and is expected to happen over the next five years.

“But as appealing and as likely as a cloud-based future is for enterprises, there are still obstacles to be navigated before widespread adoption,” he said.

 

Resolving Networking Challenges

According to the survey the barriers enterprises face to cloud adoption include security (53 percent) and network performance (47 percent).

“These inhibitors shouldn’t be surprising. Whenever enterprises have to sacrifice control over their information to another party, as they do when they rely on the cloud, they’re going to be concerned about compromising security and performance.

However, the big question isn’t really, “What problems are holding up cloud adoption?” but rather, “How can enterprises resolve these networking issues?”

“The survey clearly shows that there would be a 69 percent increase in cloud-based workloads if these networking issues could be resolved.

Private connection services such as AWS Direct Connect, Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute or IBM Direct Link are likely catalysts for cloud adoption as they can resolve networking issues.

 

The Role Of The Data Center Is Changing

McVey also said that the study shows that data centers are becoming the connection point between traditional IT and various cloud platforms, and colocation data centers are increasingly being recognized by enterprise IT departments as the ideal locations to build their hybrid IT solutions.

“Colocation facilities offer a combination of connectivity options, such as private connections to the major cloud platforms, Internet, IP Peering (via Internet Exchanges) and access to all major WAN providers and local and international private cloud providers within the facility.

“This connectivity and cloud-rich environment simplifies the task of enterprise IT departments to architect their own hybrid IT solutions.

“Hybrid IT is the next wave of computing and will continue to drive enterprise IT architecture in the next five years.

“European enterprises will continue to “drive in the middle lane” mixing tried-and-trusted deployment models and a (large) number of cloud platforms, dynamically assigning workloads to the most appropriate deployment model,” in the Industry Perspectives report.


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E-Business

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

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Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

 

China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.

The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.

“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.

The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.

It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.

Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.

Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.

A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.

“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.

Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.

Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.

It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.

Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.

 

 

 


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NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

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National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.

NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”

The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.


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NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

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National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.

The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.

In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.

“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.

Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.

“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.

He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework.  He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.

According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.

Earlier in her opening remarks,  Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.

Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.

“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”


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