Accelerating Business with DevOps in the Cloud

When Netflix launched its business, some shrugged, thinking: How much money can a company make renting movies? Obviously, when done right, a lot. To succeed in today's market requires agility -- a characteristic Netflix and other organizations have in spades. This agility includes the ability to quickly respond to market demand with new software applications -- an approach supported by initiatives called DevOpps.

Technology's growing importance in the classroom is prompting schools to seek the same computing and network resources once only used by the likes of NASA. Educational initiatives, such as distance learning, are creating new demands on administrators, who must accommodate higher network use and security. The Alabama Supercomputer Authority, the U.S.'s first state supercomputer center, has expanded its services from supporting R&D at universities to serving public K-12 schools, training centers and libraries.

Life is full of surprises. In IT, few know that better than those in cybersecurity. As the world becomes more connected and organizations experience massive increases in infrastructure access points, the ability to rapidly counter threats continues to challenge even the best technologists.

Well into the 21st century, the Belgian government found some of its operations resembling something from the prior century. So the Federal Public Service Economy set its sights on evolving into a more modern organization, one focused on its citizens and businesses that provide and request economic and demographic data for decision-making support.

Even though it sometimes seems like the mobile world is old hat, mobile users continue to multiply, seriously motivating organizations to create innovative solutions. Peregrine Network did just that -- launching the first private-label mobile broadband service. The new service lets individual users and businesses access and use the Internet on a pay-as-you-go basis, and not be tied to monthly contracts or have to rely on WiFi.

Whether you are the frightened parent of an abducted child or someone simply trying to make it through a winter storm to get to work on time, the ability to quickly post Amber Alerts or determine Maryland's fastest, safest roadway is priceless.

With extreme weather becoming more commonplace, what used to to be the province of the scientific community is increasingly moving mainstream, as public and private sectors search for better insights and techniques to mitigate risk, limit disruptions and adapt.

Some compare the challenge of responding to today's cybersecurity threats to playing an extreme version of Whac-A-Mole: where the minute one focuses on destroying one mole-like threat, other moles are already popping up. New security information and event management tools can help detect cyberattacks and theft, when other methods can't.

Regardless of where you are or what industry you work in, how you find and use data is dramatically changing. A data-driven economy is emerging, and organizations are just beginning to explore the possibilities. It takes technology to unlock, manage and gain value from the volume of data the world is generating. Get ready to handle petabytes, exabytes, zettabytes and yottabytes.

Off Florida's Gulf Coast, scientists are diving into a sea of data. They're tracing tiny Atlantic bluefin tuna larvae, and their parents, to better protect and monitor the environmentally delicate and highly migratory fish.

The term "winter sports" used to conjure images of heavy woolen clothes, bulky boots and wooden ski equipment. Today, sportswear and equipment manufacturers rely on technology to give athletes and sports enthusiasts the ability to do more, more comfortably, safer.

Talking about data can be as exciting as talking about mud, unless you're living at the bottom of a fire-torched hill on the third day of a torrential storm. Today, companies are finding themselves at the bottom of that hill, watching as their organizations fill with increasing pools of data.

Data is the lifeblood of any company. In sales, access to high-quality information is crucial to closing deals. For global enterprises in the biotech field creating life-saving devices, however, the challenges of providing consistent data and real-time access to it can be daunting.

When you're one of the world's biggest rail operators, staying on top means keeping an eye on opportunities. And when your drivers wish for a mobile application to support their work, you turn to an expert in mobility and rail solutions.

The healthcare industry is venturing into a world of tremendous risk. Changes, such as linking systems and medical devices to the Internet, and adopting electronic health records, are creating a health IT landscape fraught with security challenges. Cybercriminals have increased their assaults on critical medical systems to steal valuable patient data.

While the disruption of a social networking site may be annoying or the hacking of a new channel of concern, the potential destruction of critical infrastructure, and the associated cascading damages, is unthinkable. Escalating attempts in the U.S. to destroy infrastructure prompted the president to issue an order and directive aimed at reducing the risk of cyberthreats and attacks on the nation's critical infrastructure.

Despite cloud's stratospheric adoption rates among businesses, governments and personal users, lingering doubts about data security remain.

As aviation-governing bodies around the world work to define appropriate and safe use of drones for commercial use, companies are rushing to find new ways to take their business to the skies. The drone industry is ready to take wing as the technology, once regulated to hobbyists and militaries, primes for growth.

As a leading global provider of graphics solutions to the newspaper industry and a worldwide leader in providing solutions for commercial and packaging printing, Agfa Graphics needs to guarantee its clients receive critical systems and components in a timely manner.

In Australia, an electronic voting system that allows constituents to cast ballots via the Internet and telephone had a successful trial run in New South Wales' parliamentary election. With that success, officials are preparing iVote for its first full operation in the NSW state election.

Whether you make tanks, electronics or toys, protecting your intellectual property has become challenging. Companies are looking to tighten their cybersecurity as thieves become increasingly capable of pulling together seemingly innocent data and compiling it to create insightful information for adversaries and competitors..

It could have been a scene from a Tom Clancy novel. Take representatives of 192 countries, mix strong feelings with serious economics and differing agendas, and it could have spelled disaster. It didn't.

Science needs data - and today's technologies are giving researchers more data than ever before. But making sense of all that data requires computing power on an extreme scale.

As a strategic transmission player in Europe's power-grid network, Swissgrid needs to meet the most robust cybersecuritry standards.

You learn a few things when you operate Europe's densest and most intensively used railroad network. Switzerland's Federal Railways was ready to build a new rail dispatching system and knew exactly what it wanted: a solution that harnessed innovative technologies and would serve the country well into the future.

When Denmark and Sweden settled a 300-year-old debate about linking the two countries and began building Europe's longest road and rail bridge, the Swedish Transport Authority anticipated a boost in traffic and traveler inquiries. To cope with this influx, they chose a custom solution, Boomerang.

The numbers are staggering. At least 1.8 million people die from sepsis each year, and some say that the bloodstream infection really kills closer to 18 million worldwide. What's worse is those numbers are growing, fueled by aging populations and antibiotic-resistant infections.

The saying, "Time is money," couldn't be more true, especially when it comes to driving. Traffic affects more than just a schedule; it also hits the bottom line. By distributing video, messaging, system alerts and data to Maryland's Statewide Operations Center, it can evaluate and post road and weather conditions, provide emergency response, manage traffic flow and provide real-time information.

How does a high-speed train company compete with the airline industry for international business travelers? Thalys International, which operates passenger trains between Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam, decided to offer a premium service meeting travelers' particular requirements to win new market share.

A combination of environmental awareness, rising energy costs and road congestion continues to drive growth for rail transport. However, that growth is not without challenges, including truck and airline competition, decaying infrastructure, disparate systems and demanding customers. IT offers the potential to overcome these challenges, drive efficiencies and level the field.

To provide its customers with greater value, YRC Worldwide, the largest less-than-truckload carrier in North America, decided it was time for two of its subsidiaries to share more than the highway.

Increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks are putting the energy sector on the defense as it adds links and complexity to meet growing demand. Simultaneously, the bad guys are looking to create chaos.

For some companies, the worst fallout from a cyberattack may be hits to earnings, loss of competitive edge or enduring damage to customer relations. However, for owners and operators of critical infrastructure, a successful attack could affect a nation.

For one of the world's largest automakers, not all success takes place on the road. VW uses Europe's dense railway network to supply many of its production and distribution facilities across the continent. When the manufacturer wanted to more efficiently manage its freight logistics operations, it chose a paperless solution.