NuWave Solutions and Jumpstart Widgets for Endeca

April 23, 2011 By

NewWave Solutions is a world-class technology creation and services firm with extensive experience in Web2.0, Gov2.0, Web Services, Intelligence Visualization and Search/Discovery tools.  Over the last five years they have demonstrated a proven track record of success on projects of all sizes, in part due to their ability to articulate and build to open frameworks that anyone can work with. Their solutions are renowned for an ability to work with legacy data and architectures while delivering modern capabilities to users.

Of particular note is their framework of support tools and open API’s for enterprise discovery. NuWave’s framework includes new suite of capabilities they are calling Jumpstart Widgets for Endeca.

This set of pre-built Widgets will jumpstart the development of Endeca applications and allow enterprise development teams to focus on business requirements and advanced functionality instead of basic foundational code and application wiring. Their widgets provide a wide variety of functionality that has been utilized in the development of business intelligence, Geospatial analytics and other applications in the intelligence community, DoD and Law Enforcement domains.

NuWave’s widgets are designed for portability and can be deployed to any java application server that provides a servlet container. These widgets have been deployed in Tomcat, Jetty, WebLogic Server, WebLogic Portal (as JSR 168 portlets), IBM WebSphere Portals (as JSR168
portlets), IBM WebSphere Application Server, Ozone Widget Framework (deployed as widgets).

These pre-built widgets include tools for search, navigation, discovery and analytics like:

Breadcrumbs
Text Search
Guided Navigation
Temporal Search
Geospatial Search
Term Cloud
Geospatial
Clipboards
Google Maps
Google Earth
Comet Map
Charting/charts
Data Grids
RSS

Attached is a detailed overview of Jumpstart Widgets for Endeca.

http://ctolabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Jumpstart-Widgets-for-Endeca-1-1.pdf

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CTOlabs.com Survey Finds Data Deduplication Aids in Managing Data Growth in Federal Agencies

April 13, 2011 By

Crucial Point LLC subsidiary CTOlabs.com has just published the results of a study on the impact of data growth in government. To download your copy see: http://www.carahsoft.com/dedupesurvey

From the press release:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/04/prweb5243224.htm

Data Growth and Virtualization Mandate New Approach to Federal Storage Management

Survey Finds Data Deduplication Aids in Managing Data Growth in Federal Agencies

Washington, DC (PRWEB) April 12, 2011

CTOlabs.com, provider of innovative research, evaluations and technology concepts, announced today the results of its study on the impact of data growth and government best practices to protect, manage and replicate mission critical data.

Survey results showed that data is growing at a rate of 30 percent per year in 50 TB or more environments. The report concluded that if left unchecked this data growth overtime could become overwhelming since results also showed that the federal government is lagging behind private industry in switching from tape to disk back up infrastructures. While the majority of respondents indicate they do plan to eliminate tape-based systems, currently outdated federal backup strategies are being driven by needs to retain data for the mission at great expense. Many agencies have embraced virtualization as a way to control data sprawl and its associated costs, but management of virtual data has since become an issue.

“It’s no surprise that server virtualization is a high priority within the federal government, but as more agencies implement the technology they’re experiencing an increase in the time needed for backup due to virtual data growth,” said Bob Gourley, founder of CTOlabs.com. “Data deduplication technologies hold great promise in addressing the storage and management needs of today’s federal enterprises.”

Almost 90 percent of survey respondents ranked data deduplication as a priority and over 60 percent are planning to deploy the technology within the next 12 months. However, there are many IT professionals in the federal government who are already using data deduplication technologies to lower storage capacity needs by eliminating the storage of redundant data. In addition to achieving significant savings through reducing the amount of data stored, federal IT professionals can more efficiently manage virtual machines, optimize their infrastructure, and enhance agency disaster recovery and continuity programs.

“Federal agencies that have implemented or are thinking about implementing virtualization should also be thinking about data deduplication, since we’re already seeing the pair yield dramatic results,” said Gourley. “These survey results have made it obvious to us that the technology is poised for takeoff in the very near-term.”

Top ten data points coming out of the survey:

  • Data Growing at 30% Annually
  • Majority Still Utilizing Tape Backup Methodologies
  • 67% Intend to Eliminate Tape- Based Systems
  • 72% Have Deployed Virtualization
  • 80% Not Meeting Backup Window Requirements in Virtual Server Environments
  • Data Retention and Disaster Recovery Are Top Concerns
  • 80% Are Using Data Deduplication or Plan to Implement Within 12 Months
  • 87% of Organizations Rank Data Deduplication as A Priority
  • 61% of Non-Users Plan to Deploy Data Deduplication Within 12 Months
  • 91% of Users Are Satisfied or Very Satisfied

This survey was conducted by CTOlabs.com, in conjunction with Carahsoft Technology Corp., of U.S. federal government enterprise technologists, architects and systems integrators. The purpose of the survey was to seek actionable insights to provide the federal IT community with information regarding backup and recovery with data deduplication best practices. The full survey report can be seen here:http://www.carahsoft.com/dedupesurvey

About CTOlabs.com

CTOlabs, a subsidiary of Crucial Point LLC, provides technology concept development, vendor evaluations and technology assessments focused on enterprise grade technologies. Visit CTOlabs online at http://ctolabs.com.

About Carahsoft

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is the trusted Government IT solutions provider. As a top-ranked GSA Schedule Contract holder, Carahsoft serves as the master government aggregator for many of its best-of-breed vendors, supporting an extensive ecosystem of manufacturers, resellers, and consulting partners committed to helping government agencies select and implement the best solution at the best possible value.

The company’s dedicated Solutions Divisions proactively market, sell and deliver products and services from Symantec, EMC Data Domain, VMware, Adobe, Open Source, HR, HP Software, Intelligence, and SAP among others. Carahsoft is consistently recognized by its partners as a top revenue producer, and is listed annually among the industry’s fastest growing firms by VAR Business, CRN, Inc., Washington Technology, and the Washington Business Journal. Visit us at http://www.carahsoft.com.

 

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New at Crucial Point LLC, Online Job Database

April 11, 2011 By

We are hiring now for some very exciting jobs providing high end technical services to clients in the federal government. All current positions require government clearances.  Please check our job database by visiting us online at http://crucialpointllc.com/jobs

Filed Under: Concepts

Is the Instant-On Enterprise Right for You?

March 21, 2011 By

 

This post sponsored by the Enterprise CIO Forum and HP.

How is your enterprise dealing with Big Data? We’ve written much about the growing benefits and challenges Big Data is posing in the Federal enterprise and have highlighted a number of tools and approaches to addressing issues of big data analytics. While the analytics piece is important and is certainly a significant challenge, there are many other elements of Big Data that can also pose significant challenges. In this post, which is sponsored by the Enterprise CIO Forum and HP, we lay out a framework for addressing enterprise Big Data challenges based on the Instant-On approach of HP. In future posts we will examine this framework in more detail.

There are fundamental shifts in the way information technology is being used to meet changing business models and mission sets. No where is this more true than in the federal enterprise, where old ways of doing business are changing rapidly. In this new world, the enterprise faces challenges across the full spectrum of information technology and information management. To meet these challenges, only an enterprise-embracing, holistic approach to transformation will deliver the results needed.

This need for a holistic approach is driving approaches such as the HP vision for the “Instant-On Enterprise.” This vision provides a framework and a platform more able to support core business/mission needs. The Instant-On Enterprise approach should be studied for its emphasis on agility and interoperability. It is an aligning of technology to the organizational mission in a way that better addresses the rapidly changing needs of customers and, in the federal case, citizens. It is a model worth exploring as it provides just the sort of comprehensive enterprise view needed to meet many of today’s challenges.

The Instant-On Enterprise delivers on five critical success factors:

Flexibility The Instant-On Enterprise runs on applications and services that are always available and can easily adapt to new opportunities.
Automation The Instant-On Enterprise must rapidly and reliably scale technology resources up and down to meet changing needs. It neither over- nor under-provisions.
Security In the Instant-On Enterprise, assets, resources and information are closely guarded to manage risk and protect innovation. They are protected against failure.
Insight The Instant-On Enterprise harnesses the power of information to help executives make better decisions. It protects information and delivers it in accordance with enterprise needs.
Speed The Instant-On Enterprise selects the best delivery model for the solution—the delivery model that provides the right outcome, in the right time frame, at the right price.

To achieve the Instant-On Enterprise, organizations must modernize, transform, secure, and optimize IT architectures and services while taking advantage of the latest in converged infrastructure, cloud computing and information optimization techniques. Finally, the enterprise must deliver IT products and services in the most cost-effective, efficient means possible to meet increasing customer demand.

We’ll continue to evaluate enterprise solutions (i.e., Application Transformation, Converged Infrastructure, Enterprise Security, Information Optimization, Hybrid Delivery and, Cloud) in the coming weeks.

Additional resources discussing Application Modernization, Converged Infrastructure, Enterprise Security, Information Optimization, and IT Delivery can be found at the  Enterprise CIO Forum

This post sponsored by the Enterprise CIO Forum and HP.

 

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The Navy Virtualizes

February 18, 2011 By

If you thought data management was difficult in business, imagine the nightmare it becomes in the Navy. The Navy faces monumental and unique challenges with its shipboard networks as, just like everywhere else, data flows continue to increase. The systems aboard US ships tend to be outdated since they can only be upgraded while the ship is in port, and incompatible with each other because they tend to run unique software on custom-made hardware, which also drives up the price.

Though the challenges are unique, the solution comes from enterprise. The Navy intends to virtualize its hardware so that it can run its command, control,communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications (known by the acronym C4IRS) with common software on often off-the-shelf platforms.  This initiative is known as the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services, or CANES, program, which would transfer systems to powerful services that would then be accessed like the internet by shipboard thin clients. This would overcome massive inefficiencies as all systems would become interoperable, networks would be far easier to manage, hardware would become cheaper and easier to upgrade,  redundant data now stored on multiple computers would be deduplicated to save space, and there will be less technology lock-in when more systems become compatible, which will make the acquisition process more open and competitive.

While virtualizing Navy hardware and applications would solve these problems, it would also pose a new one. CANES would require sensitive defense information to be transferred wirelessly much more often, increasing vulnerability. Here the military can once again borrow its solution from enterprise, which has found that virtualization can actually improve security. Products such as Invincea can detect threats to a virtual environment, close it, and start a new one in seconds to pick up where the compromised environment left off. Instead of the hardware or software, the only element risking infection is the disposable virtual environment. By virtualizing its systems, the Navy may actually make them more resilient.

Last month, the CANES program entered the engineering and manufacturing development phase where Lockheed Martin Mission Systems & Sensors and Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems will produce prototypes to be tested in operational environments to see which company will get the billion dollar contract.

 

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Enterprise Video Flowing From Brightcove

February 6, 2011 By

Brightcove continues to demonstrate why they are deserving of a spot on the CTOvision.com Disruptive Enterprise IT List.

Brightcove is succeeding in changing the way video is done in industry, and in the federal space is making significant positive impacts as well.

Here is what I’m seeing regarding Brightcove federal space:

  • The State Department and US Army are two enterprises making great use of Brightcove to support their mission.
  • Some use cases include the ability to improve training programs with digital video, leverage online video to include use outside of the enterprise and into other major platforms (including Facebook and Twitter and Blogs), and the ability to live stream feeds.
  • Other use cases include the ability to serve US citizens and global audiences with critically important information.  The Department of State is doing great at this.
  • Brightcove has enticed one of the great champions of federal mission optimization, Chris Hill, to lead support to federal efforts.  Those who know Chris understand how his deep understanding of mission needs can contribute to agency success.

For a deeper dive into use cases like this and to see Brightcove in action, see:

http://www.beet.tv/2011/02/state-department-using-web-video-for-egypt-crisis-.html

For more info see: www.carahsoft.com/brightcove

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Technologists and Their Mobile Devices: An OS Survey

December 28, 2010 By

A CTOlabs.com Survey of your Mobile device OS.

Filed Under: Concepts

IronClad Security for the Enterprise

November 23, 2010 By

Ray Ozzie, writing at his blog Ozzie.net, captured the essence of a vision, saying “We’re moving toward a world of 1) cloud-based continuous services that connect us all and do our bidding, and 2) appliance-like connected devices enabling us to interact with those cloud-based services.”  His succinct statement captured an end state we are all moving towards.  One of the things that has slowed our progress towards that goal is security.   All enterprises today are concerned with secure access.  Enterprise users must be given access to enterprise resources and must also be given the power to interact with all the richness of the Internet.  And increasingly they must do this while mobile.

IronKey has been fielding key components of an architecture designed to enable this, and now as part of a team with Lockheed Martin they are fielded comprehensive solutions made to be enterprise ready. This is a secure PC on a stick that houses your operating system, applications and data on a trusted, self-contained USB flash drive.

An independent review of IronClad can be found at: http://techland.com/2010/11/17/ironclad-a-tiny-secure-computer-in-your-pocket/

As an enterprise concept, consider the contributions to the end to end security infrastructure that IronClad can make.  Security professionals everywhere understand the importance of the concept of defense in depth. IronClad can form a key part of this defense by ensuring user devices are not vulnerable to attack.  They also contribute to protection of enterprise data and contribute to governance since only authorized applications will run in this environment.

We have previously written about the need for enhancing computer security by two orders of magnitude.  With IronKey and the Lockheed Martin partnership of IronClad, we believe this is much more possible today.

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Take the data deduplication survey

October 27, 2010 By

CTOlabs.com would like to invite your participation in an enterprise data optimization survey. The goal of this survey is to produce actionable insights into backup, recovery and data deduplication concepts and strategies. Survey analysis and conclusions will be broadly shared and made available to all via CTOlabs.com.

Thank you very much in advance for your participation.

The CTOlabs.com backup and recovery survey can be found online at:

http://ddsurvey.ctolabs.com

As a thank you for your participation, all respondents who provide contact information will receive a $10 Starbucks Gift Card. In addition, we will enter your name in a drawing to win an Apple iPad.

Filed Under: Concepts

Make Maximum Use of CTOLabs.com

August 15, 2010 By

Use CTOLabs.com as a reference site and as fuel for your innovative processes.

We provide concepts you can borrow from and build on for your own use, we provide summaries of mega trends in the IT world that will be impacting us all in the future, and we provide evaluations of some of the most disruptive IT in the ecosystem.

CTO Labs provides technology concept development services for companies in the enterprise IT market segment. We provide support that ranges from initial brainstorming of concept applicability to articulation of requirements to establishment of designs. We also provide more advanced concept development, including support to oursourced Research & Development (R&D) and concepts based around use cases of your target customers.

  • CTO Labs also provides continuous analysis on the future of technologies in ways meant to inform your decisions today.
  • Whether you are a company seeking concepts to transform into offerings, a user seeking better ways to articluate requirements, or a CTO/CIO seeking decision-models and more info on advanced technology, CTOlabs.com is here to help.

Our offerings:

  • Rapid, continuous concepts for the implementation of your technology to meet enterprise IT mission needs
  • Detailed documentation and designs of ready to implement technology solutions
  • Full featured solutions leveraging the best of cutting edge technology
  • Evaluations of capabilities available now to meet your needs
  • Projections on the mega trends moving our industry forward

Deeper In The Labs:

  • Capabilities: A bit more about CTOLabs, the topics we track and our capabilities.
  • Concepts: Our clients ask for and get confidentiality.  But some concepts are worth spreading around. We list a few here to get the juices going.
  • Evaluations: We encounter technologies from throughout industry, including many just now becoming part of the Tech landscape.
  • Technologies: The broad technology categories we track all warrant continued examination to help in concept development.
  • Trends: Some trends are so significant they are going to impact us all no matter what.
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