Telstra launched its new 4G LTE mobile network earlier this week. Andrew Collins discusses the impact of the network, the phones that may or may not run on it and pricing.

Cloud computing is offering small business the applications and IT concepts that were previously exclusive to large enterprises, like disaster recovery and data resiliency. Merri Mack reports on this flattening of IT.

The cloud promises many advantages - dynamic allocation of resources, CAPEX-based pricing and so on. But so far, there are no widely accepted standards for security in a cloud environment, leading some organisations to be wary of the technology. Patrick Eijkenboom, Principal Consultant at NetIQ, discusses best practices for security when adopting cloud computing.

Mobile operators are under increasing pressure to deliver higher volumes of mobile data, as consumer appetite for mobile video and internet grows. Christian Goswami discusses strategies to help mobile operators cope with this demand for mobile video and data, including caching and offline transcoding.

Australian telcos have begun ramping up their cloud service offerings in earnest, as part of a larger war effort to sequester a piece of the cloud services pie for themselves. So what does this mean for IT departments looking at adopting cloud solutions? Andrew Collins finds out.

With IT underpinning so many parts of a business, a CIO carries many responsibilities. Yet the importance of the role is often unrecognised by the board, and the business itself. So what gets a CIO out of bed in the morning? Merri Mack talks to Diane Fernley-Jones, CIO at Leighton Contractors, about the rewards of being a CIO.

Equinix, a carrier-neutral data centre company, has opened its new Sydney data centre. Merri Mack reports on the launch and the continuing demand for local data centres given the growth of cloud computing. [ + ]

Nowadays, ‘the cloud’ is a term that’s widely misused. It’s a broad, abstract concept that is frequently applied to many technologies, as though they were the same thing, despite each being radically different from the other. This leads to great confusion and frustration among users, who are growing increasingly cynical of the real value of cloud computing. This begs the question: do we really need the concept of ‘the cloud’?

Has social media killed off the traditional contact centre? Merri Mack examines the wane of the contact centre and the simultaneous rise of social media as a means of customer service.

Looking to save a few dollars, organisations are putting less and less consideration into security when developing software. While it may pay off in the very short term, it’s almost certain to cost businesses much, much more in the long term, with the cost of dealing with security breaches vastly outstripping the cost of developing secure software in the first place. So opines Rob McAdam, CEO of security consultancy Pure Hacking.

On 13 June, Australian web host Distribute.IT revealed that it had been the victim of a malicious hacking attack, one which had irrevocably annihilated the data of 4800-odd websites hosted by the company. Andrew Collins looks at what online storage customers and storage administrators can each learn from the incident.

As organisations continue to horde massive volumes of data for analysis - producing so-called ‘big data’ - database management technology must evolve to keep up with the challenge. Guy Harrison, head honcho of R&D at Quest Software, explains the technologies that can help cope with these massive data volumes.

Platform Networks, Australian telco wholesaler and NBN affiliate, last week revealed it had been on the receiving end of a six-month-long hacking attack. Andrew Collins talks to Platform’s managing director, David Hooton, about the disclosure of information on the incident to the Australian Federal Police, and a forthcoming case study on the attack and the company’s defence against it.

With the rapid explosion of data volumes occuring around the globe, the IT industry is scrambling for qualified workers to handle the challenges that arise. Merri Mack takes a look at the cloud and ‘big data’ storage certification programs that vendors and universities have to offer.

As part of Telecom New Zealand’s proposed functional separation, the company has announced that Mark Ratcliffe would become CEO of infrastructure business spinoff Chorus. [ + ]