Stories by Brandon Butler

LinkedIn investigating compromised passwords

Professional social network LinkedIn is investigating reports that user passwords have been compromised.

Competition, games can bring about enterprise app advances

Back in 2006, Jim Lavoie, president of Rite Solutions, a Defense Department software contractor, wanted his employees to play a more active role in innovating new ideas. But he knew a top-down approach from management ordering such behavior wouldn't work. "Organizations that are smart enough to ask employees for ideas know that the best approach is to do it in a fun way," he says. "If it's not fun, it's work; and if it's work, it sucks."

Is the Cloud really ready for prime time?

Coupa, a 2006 startup that helps more than 200 customer companies manage purchasing and procurement, doesn't own any IT infrastructure - it is run completely from the Amazon Web Service Cloud.

Intel adds sleep-mode Wi-Fi connectivity feature to ultrabooks

Devicescape today announced a deal with Intel that will give owners of certain Intel-powered machines "enhanced connectivity" to Devicescape's Wi-Fi network of more than 7 million public hotspots.

Gartner: Don't trust cloud provider to protect your assets

When a family with a baby buys a new car, they don't buy a car seat from the vehicle manufacturer: There is specialized equipment to handle the family's most sensitive asset. John Pescatore, a Gartner vice president and security analyst, says cloud security can be thought of in a similar way: Users shouldn't rely on their cloud service provider's security features to protect their most critical data.

Take me out to the ballgame, with 4G

Ever been to a sports game and tried to send a text message, upload a photo to Facebook, or send a tweet about that awesome play that just happened? If so, you may have been left frustrated by the overcrowded network that prevented that all-important message from making your friends jealous.

Avaya lays out roadmap for unified software management

As Avaya continues its transition from a hardware company into a communications and collaboration software provider, it is going through some growing pains, including a shakeup of executives and uncertainty around a potential initial public offering that's been rumored for months.

Up next for the Cloud: Big data analytics?

In an effort to diversify its Cloud offerings, NaviSite - a Time Warner Cable Cloud computing and managed hosting company - announced plans to offer storage service for customers in what one analyst says could the beginning of service providers looking to offer big data analysis from the Cloud.

VMware: Virtualise the rest of the datacentre

The server has been virtualised, now it's time for the rest of the datacentre - including the network - to catch up. That's the message form VMware at this year's Interop, as the company seeks to ensure it remains a major enterprise IT player while the software-defined networking trend continues to gain momentum.

Defining 'big data' depends on who's doing the defining

Big data is an IT buzzword nowadays, but what does it really mean? When does data become big?

Cloud providers touting multi-hypervisor support

When Tata Communications, the Indian telecommunications company, rolls out its infrastructure as a service cloud offering in America in the coming months, company officials want to claim differentiating features in the products. And one they're hoping to include is support for multiple hypervisors.

Gartner says half of enterprises are wasting money on social media

Getting a positive return on investment from a social media campaign is about more than tracking the number of your Facebook fans and Twitter followers. It's about linking the social strategy to measurable business objectives, according to Gartner, which says most businesses aren't doing this.