Ten years ago, the concept of subscribing to a service was a novel approach in the software industry. Now, with the increasing popularity of software as a service, the subscription model has become mainstream, giving rise to the subscription economy. Merri Mack explains the concepts behind the subscription economy and explores some of its ramifications. [ + ]

Vendors claim cloud storage offers a range of benefits to organisations, including cost savings and increased flexibility. But with things like security breaches, data sovereignty and the US Patriot Act breeding doubt in customers’ minds, the future of cloud storage is not certain. [ + ]

Hosting your data in the cloud offers several benefits for organisations, including easier file sharing among employees, easy remote backup, and, in some cases, cost savings. But with the US Patriot Act, the DMCA, and similar, storing your data with an offshore company may allow foreign entities to rifle through said data - without your knowledge. Carlo Minassian, Founder & CEO of earthwave, explains how the physical location of your data affects your privacy. [ + ]

The Australian and Communications Media Authority (ACMA) today agreed to register the revised Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code, which ACMA says will give telco customers greater protection on issues such as bill shock, confusing mobile plans and poor complaints handling. [ + ]

With all the talk of consumer social networking tools in the enterprise, it’s easy to forget that there’s a whole world of social networking software designed specifically for use within the enterprise. Andrew Collins explains the difference between consumer and enterprise social networking software. [ + ]

SharePoint’s ability to function as a data repository and a collaboration platform has made it popular with many organisations. As with any database of company data, security is paramount. Kane Lightowler*, Regional Director, Imperva Australia & New Zealand, provides five tips for securing corporate data in SharePoint. [ + ]

Lexmark International today announced it has joined the Australia and New Zealand Recycling Platform (ANZRP) as a founding member. As a member of ANZRP, Lexmark will be compliant with the federal government’s new National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, due to begin in July 2012. [ + ]

With the impending introduction of Australia’s carbon tax on 1 July, the data centre and its escalating running costs are coming under the spotlight. Contributor Merri Mack reports on a recent VMware oblong table discussion on what the carbon price will mean for Australian organisations. [ + ]

The High Court of Australia recently ruled that ISP iiNet was not liable for the copyright infringements allegedly perpetrated by its customers through peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies like Bit Torrent. Meanwhile, a US study has found that despite the entertainment industry’s claims that piracy would kill content creation, the film, book and video game industries have thrived over the last decade. John Stanton, CEO, Communications Alliance, discusses the impact of piracy on content creation and the steps Australian ISPs are taking to limit piracy on their networks. [ + ]

The most obvious problems with allowing your users to bring their own mobile devices into the workplace are ones of security. But as important as security is, there’s much more to a successful BYOD strategy. Denis O’Shea*, CEO at Mobile Mentor, explains three tips to help make your BYOD strategy a success. [ + ]

More and more Australian companies are looking to employ social media - including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn - as a means of customer service. But many are making mistakes that are often quite costly, causing damage to their brand. Stephen Withers explains how to get the most mileage out of your social media strategy. [ + ]

Ninefold has congratulated all winners and participants of the largest GovHack 2012 competition yet in Australia, particularly the 10 of 22 winners using Ninefold virtual machines. GovHack is a not-for-profit event that brings government, industry, academic and civil society together to create new mashups, data visualisations and apps from government data sets. [ + ]

Aspect, provider of customer contact solutions, has appointed Mohamad Ali to the role of CEO of its workforce optimisation division. Ali will be expected to accelerate Aspect’s market growth, customer development and product innovation. [ + ]

Proponents of software defined networking claim that it will revolutionise network infrastructure. Merri Mack reports on a lively debate on the subject that took place recently at the NetEvents APAC Summit. [ + ]

If you read certain sections of the media you would not be wrong in thinking that flash storage is like ‘the cavalry’ coming over the hill to save the day, but is it going to be the industry saviour? Clive Gold, CTO Marketing at EMC and Vice Chair of SNIA ANZ, comments. [ + ]