Oracle sues Google over Android

Business software maker Oracle has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the search engine giant of infringing patents on its technology.

Oracle says Google infringed patents on its Java software while developing its Android operating system.
Oracle acquired the Java technology when it took over Sun Microsystems in deal agreed last year. Android is fast becoming one of the most widely used operating systems used in smart mobile phones. Google "knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property," Oracle said.

"This lawsuit seeks appropriate remedies".

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday night in the US.

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Microsoft Office vs. Google Apps: The Business Brawl

n the business battle to rule the enterprise office suite of the future, Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) both must overcome significant problems.

On Google's side, despite the Google Apps price advantage and Google's announcement that 2 million companies are now using Google Apps, various research data still shows Google is losing out in the enterprise. Google Apps adoption not only lags way behind Microsoft but also trails behind OpenOffice and even IBM's (IBM) Lotus Symphony. Estimated revenue for Google Apps in 2009 is $50 million, a tiny portion of the company's $22 billion war chest.

Microsoft, meanwhile, must be competitive with Web apps — but not too competitive, since these apps will presumably drive much less revenue than its longtime cash cow, the traditional Microsoft Office suite. In fiscal year 2009, Microsoft's business division (of which Office is a major component) generated a healthy $18.9 billion in revenue. Microsoft must also convince customers that it "gets" cloud computing the way that Google does.

If anyone has the cash and the consumer branding power to take on Microsoft, it's Google, analysts say. But there's still plenty of explaining to do.
Web Apps By the Numbers

The enterprise today is offered a plethora of productivity tools: There is the big horse, Microsoft Office, followed by lower-cost or free alternatives such as IBM's Lotus Symphony and Web-only products Google Apps and Zoho's Office Suite, among others.

Yet although the Web browser may be the most prevalent computing platform for both consumers and businesses, enterprise use of cloud-based alternatives compared to Microsoft Office remains low, according to recent data from Forrester Research.

In a March survey of 115 North American and European enterprise and SMB technology decision-makers, Forrester cites that 81 percent are currently supporting Office 2007 — while only 4 percent are using Google Apps.

Moreover, despite Office 2010's higher price than current alternatives, one-third of survey respondents plan to upgrade to Office 2010 in the next year and one-quarter plan to upgrade in the next two to three years.

So does Google Apps stand a chance against Microsoft Office in the enterprise? Maybe not right away, but Google is in a good position to advance as the enterprise shifts to the Web, say industry analysts.

Continue Reading @ CIO.com - http://www.cio.com/article/593149/Microsoft_Office_vs._Google_Apps_The_Business_Brawl?page=2&taxonomyId=3012

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Cloud Forms Integration Point for Printing from Smartphones

Hot on heels of smartphone popularity, cloud-based printing scales to enterprise mainstream

As enterprises focus more on putting applications and data into Internet clouds, a new trend is emerging that also helps them keep things tangibly closer to terra firma, namely, printed materials – especially from mobile devices.

Major announcements from HP and Google are drawing attention to printing from the cloud. But these two heavy-hitters aren’t the only ones pushing the concept. Lesser-known brands like HubCast and Cortado got out in front with cloud printing services that work to route online print orders to printer choices via the cloud. [Disclosure: HP is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts.]

Still a nascent concept, some forward-thinking enterprises are moving to understand what printing from the cloud really means, what services are available, why they should give it a try, how to get started—and what’s coming next. Again, we’re early in the cloud printing game, but when Fortune 500 tech companies start advocating for a better way to print, it’s worth investigating.

HP's Cloud Printing
HP is no stranger to cloud printing. The company is behind a service called MagCloud that lets self-publishers print on demand and sell through a web-based marketplace with no minimum orders. But a recent announcement suggests HP is looking to deeply lead the charge into printing from the cloud for the broader enterprise ... and consumers.

Earlier this month, HP rolled out the ePrint Enterprise mobile printing solution developed in collaboration with RIM. It’s based on HP CloudPrint technology and works with BlackBerry smartphones. As HP describes it, CloudPrint lets users print documents from their mobile devices, computers and netbooks while they aren’t in the office on a LAN.

Essentially, CloudPrint blends cloud and web-services-based technologies to let people print anything—like reports, photos, emails, presentations, or documents—from anywhere. All you need is a destination network-connected printer. With CloudPrint and ePrint Enterprise, HP has a wide margin of enterprise printing needs covered.

Google's Cloud Printing
Google got into the cloud printing game in mid-April. Dubbed Google Cloud Print, the search engine giant’s service will work with the Chrome operating system, where all applications are web apps. Google wanted to design a printing experience that would make it possible for web apps to give users the full printing capabilities that native apps have today. Access to the cloud is the one component all major devices and operating systems have in common.

Here’s how it works: Instead of relying on a single operating system—or drivers—to print, apps can use Google Cloud Print to submit and manage print jobs. Google Cloud Print will send the print job to the appropriate printer, with the particular options the user selected, and then return the job status to the app. But Google Cloud Print is still under development, which gives HP and other players a chance to gain market momentum.

Cloud Printing Pioneers
Indeed, there are other players promoting printing from the cloud—and some could be considered pioneers. Hubcast is one of them. Hubcast bills itself as the only worldwide digital print delivery network. It routes your online print order to the high quality network printer closest to you. This way you don’t have to pay shipping charges for printing. Hubcast won the Gartner “Cool Vendor” Award back in 2008.

Meanwhile, Cortado offers one-stop mobile business software solutions that aim at the enterprise—including cloud printing. Cortado competes with HP, offering a free cloud printing app called Cortado Workplace for BlackBerry and iPhone that lets you print your documents to any printer reachable via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Enterprise customers can also get Cortado Corporate Server for use on their company network behind the firewall.

Why Print from the Cloud?
Road warriors, mobile workers and on-the-go professionals can see the value in being able to access information and personal documents from just about any device. The problem historically has been the need to install drivers that make printing possible. Keeping up to date with print drivers for the various printers you might meet with while out of the office is cumbersome at best and nearly impossible at worst.

HP has also invested heavily in new ways of publishing, of making the mashup of printing and cloud services a commercial opportunity, with even small-batch, location-focused publications possible via printers rather then presses.

Similarly, the latest user-focused cloud printing solutions that are integrated with mobile devices make publishing boundary-less and set the stage to boost productivity with the ability to print documents on the fly at places like FedEx, hotels, business centers or anywhere else along a professional’s travels that offer access to a printer. In other words, these solutions extend the corporate network and offer cross-platform conveniences that aren’t available through traditional printing options.

Getting started is getting easier easy. You just have to download an application to your BlackBerry or iPhone. Becoming an early adopter of cloud printing puts you on the cutting-edge of business and could give you an advantage in a competitive marketplace.

Think about the possibilities of being able to print, sign and fax a document back to a client from just anywhere you happen to be. Cloud printing is poised to revolutionize the enterprise work environment in much the same way that cloud computing is transforming IT settings.

It also highlights the longer-term strength of cloud models, beyond more than cost savings from outsourcing. And that value is the powerful role that clouds play as integration platforms, to enable things that could not be done before, to bind processes -- like printing -- that scale up and down easily and affordably.

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Facts People Don’t Know About SaaS

No need to worry about disaster recovery

Some people in the technology field tend to understand and appreciate the fact that the more a company runs its business in a SaaS environment, the less the company has to worry about disaster recovery. Many SaaS providers are running in data centers in a variety of places besides the United States. As a result, businesses often end up with some distributed data operations for its solutions – without one center - giving the companies multiple solution providers. For example, a company’s ERP system could derive from one SaaS provider in Virginia, while all of that same company’s mail could come from Google- a SaaS provider - in Seattle.

SaaS companies emphasize security procedures

SaaS companies will spend an extraordinary amount of money on security and privacy while a typical business will not spend as much. That said: “A SaaS company can actually provide you with better security and privacy than your own operations in a data center,” says Cakebread. “Most SaaS companies spend proportionally more dollars on security, privacy and prevention than a typical business would today because they have leveraged their customer base and their investments.”
SaaS lets you run your business everywhere

With the availability of broadband, WiFi and netbooks anytime, running a business from any location is now a reality. As airplanes begin to introduce wireless internet early next year, an individual can run a business from his or her coach seat, target specific applications, and save information on the Internet.
Multi-tenant efficiency

On the technical side, computer experts need to understand and appreciate the difference between a multi-tenant and the typical way of keeping data with one provider. With SaaS, there are multiple users for the technology which results in a faster turnaround. SaaS technology allows for a sharing model in a multi-tenant environment – and it is simply a matter of setting “switches” to determine who can see what data.

For almost twenty years now, technicians have sought out all the computers and units at companies to upgrade their applications and distribute the information. In a SaaS environment, particularly in a multi-tenant architecture, only one upgrade is needed – and generally this upgrade can be accomplished over a weekend. This dramatic change is due to the fact that the solutions are delivered via the Internet.

SaaS Providers Today

According to Cakebread, Google has a development platform - resulting in numerous providers with Google solutions. Meanwhile, Salesforce.com has a business solution platform called Force.com, with 60,000 subscribers. “What you’re starting to see is third parties developing on those platforms in a SaaS environment,” notes Cakebread.

Most software that exists today was developed in the late 70s and early 80s. Back then, the Internet, broadband and wireless did not exist. The architecture and technologies - and billions of lines of code- will not be converted to a SaaS environment. “This becomes a cash flow issue for most traditional software companies. It will be a rare software company that will deliver you a SaaS platform,” Cakebread adds.

Typically, a SaaS provider will upgrade or enhance their solutions every three to four months. “That’s something unheard of in traditional software, which is typically two to three years,” he says.

Challenges for SaaS

SaaS is a new “programming language” that IT people have to learn. Although it is the latest generation, it is not hard to learn. “Programs can be developed in SaaS very quickly,” notes Cakebread. “However, if you’re a third party developer, you have to create a business and what hasn’t changed is brand building, marketing and sales.” As Cakebread points out, if you create a product in SaaS, you still need to create a business that delivers that solution to your customers, and it could take five to seven years to do that.

One of the problems that SaaS has not solved yet is the ability to quickly integrate applications. If SaaS is to be implemented with ten to twenty old solutions, it will take the IT department longer to get the integration completed. It is better to be point specific and integrate over time - rather than trying to do every application at once.

What Is an OpenCloud API?

When it comes to defining Cloud Computing I typically take the stance of "I know it when I see it". Although I'm half joking, being able to spot an Internet centric platform or infrastructure is fairly self evident for the most part. But when it comes to an "OpenCloud API" things get a little more difficult.

Lately it seems that everyone is releasing their own "OpenCloud API's", companies like GoGrid and Sun Microsystems were among the first to embrace this approach offering there API's under friendly open creative common licenses. The key aspect in most of these CC licensed API's is the requirement that attribution is given to the original author or company. Although personally I would argue that a CC license isn't completely open because of this attribution requirement, but at the end of the day it's probably open enough.

For some background, a Cloud API determines the vocabulary / taxonomy that a programmer needs employ when using a particular set of cloud services. To be clear, an API is only the documents and processes for the usage of a certain cloud API, without these there is no API. In a recent twitter post Simon Wardley said it this way, "Companies can't own APIs only the documentation, tools and processes (which are generic to the API)."

Generally there are three types of Cloud API's.

1. Blind APIs - API's that don't tell you their restrictions. Amazon Web Services is the best example. (Personally I'd rather know what I can or can't do then not know at all)

2. Closed APIs - API's that do tell you their restrictions. Google App Engine is a good example using a highly restrictive license. The Google terms state in section 7.2. that "you may not (and you may not permit anyone else to): (a) copy, modify, create a derivative work of, reverse engineer, decompile or otherwise attempt to extract the source code of the Google App Engine Software or any part thereof, unless this is expressly permitted" Which would make things like AppScale which is an open-source implementation of the Google AppEngine illegal under Google's terms of use.

3. OpenCloud APIs - API's that generally let you do whatever you want as long as you give attribution. Rackspace, GoGrid and Sun are the best examples. A major issue facing a lot of these so called open API's is although you maybe free to remix and use the API, you could be limited by the use of a company's name or trademark. Making the attribution clause a potential mine field.

I'd like to also note that a sub branch of OpenCloud API's are Open Community API's such as the OGF's OCCI project. These community API's apply an open source model that allow anyone to get involved in the development and specifications of a Cloud API at little or no cost.

This brings us to what exactly is an OpenCloud API?
A Cloud API that is free of restrictions, be it usage, cost or otherwise.

Original Article - http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/node/1105600