Stories by Beth Schultz

Staying ahead of cloud complexity

Managing cloud infrastructure and services is similar to traditional network management - only bigger, badder and more complex.

Cloud storage a steep climb

It's been nearly five years to the day since Amazon introduced its groundbreaking Simple Storage Service -- or S3, as it's more commonly known. But despite that offering's track record, many enterprise IT executives still struggle with the notion of using cloud-based storage services to hold their corporate data.

How to get started with cloud computing

1. Get smart

10 cloud career skills

Cloud computing demands a mix of technology skills, negotiating skills, business acumen and people skills. Here are 10 key skills that can help boost your career into the clouds. 

AppFirst offers basic server monitoring service for free

Year-old start-up company AppFirst is trying to shake up the way IT administrators think not only about application performance management but also server monitoring in general.

Navigating the politics of storage

Like Facebook for employee use and iPhones in business,data storage policy is a topic that can be a political hot potato within corporate walls.

Data center derby heats up

Network thoroughbred Cisco jumps into the blade server market. Server stallion HP adds security blades to its ProCurve switches. IBM teams up with Brocade. Oracle buys Sun. And everybody courts that prize filly VMware.

10 ways to get blazin' apps

How to optimize, accelerate and otherwise ignite application performance

Eight technologies for better data storage

Managing data stockpiles can be tough. These technologies can help ease the difficulty.

Sleeping SAN for an energy-conscious world

US Navy servicemen and women don their blues, whites or khakis, depending on the occasion and task at hand. For systems engineers at the Navy's Surface Combat Systems Center, however, the color of choice these days is green.

Five tips for getting more out of your IT salary

Network executives share their success factors.

Seven things every IT person should know about storage

Thanks to virtualization and a host of other technologies, storage has left its silo. Its performance affects the whole computing shebang. Fortunately, new technologies that cross the boundaries of storage, management and compliance are smoothing over performance issues and easing the pain (and expense).

The new backup tools you can't live without

Spun off from the broader storage-resource management market, these tools monitor and report on backups across multiple vendors' backup products. In doing so, they can ease the auditing process. They create a way to implement chargeback programs for backups. They let network executives offer and verify service-level agreements for backups, and more.

Are we automated yet?

For the past five years, Dave Bartlett has been IBM's chief authority guiding large enterprises on how best to use self-managing technologies and standards. Today, as vice president of industry solutions, Bartlett is charged with using his autonomic-computing expertise to create highly repeatable, end-to-end packages that any company in a vertical market segment could implement easily. Here he delivers a status report about autonomic computing, a foundational New Data Center concept.

VOIP: an invaluable asset

When it comes to using advanced technology, 120-employee Goldsmith Agio Helms could teach the mega-sized investment banks of the world a thing or two. Take, for example, the sophisticated, converged network infrastructure over which the Minneapolis-based firm conducts its multinational business. Because it supports advanced applications such as instant messaging/presence, unified messaging, video calling and VOIP, the network lets bankers stay in touch and up to date at all times.