This week In IT: 3/22/13

This Week On Tom's IT Pro: Working in the Cloud and On the Job,  Cartoon: IBM Moving Jobs to Mexico, Software License Management,  Where to Learn IT Skills Online, Unified Communications, Big Data Trends, IT Job Market Improving?, Google Compute Engine, and more.

• Planning Your Unified Communications Deployment

There's more to UC adoption than may meets the eye. 

• Working in the Cloud and On the Job

With the cloud, service techs can access job, client, and other information instantly, not to mention replace that bulky laptop with a slim smartphone that’ll fit in any pocket. 

• Is Amazon Building A CIA Cloud?

Even the CIA needs cloud computing and allegedly the intelligence agency has contracted Amazon Web Services to build their next private cloud. 

• Cartoon: King on IT: IBM Moving Jobs to Mexico

IBM to move the bulk of its server manufacturing jobs from Rochester, Minnesota facility to Mexico. 

Slideshow: Buyer's Guide - Application Optimization Appliances

As businesses struggle to meet the needs of remote, mobile and branch office users, IT pros are striving to find ways to improve the performance of line of business applications. 

• Software License Management: ABC, 123, Do-Re-Me

Software and hardware are to technology as yin and yang are to balance. Neither can operate without the other. However, tracking software can be a much more complicated endeavor.

• Preventing and Avoiding Network Security Threats and Vulnerabilities

Various technologies–collectively known as Unified Threat Management–make it easy to use appliance-based tools to provide thorough and comprehensive security coverage.

• Making the UC Management Decision

Important guidelines for choosing on-premise or managed UC. 

• Software Asset Management: Licensing Compliance and Enforcement

Save your company on software licensing costs while helping to avoid legal costs related to software licensing violations with a software asset management tool. 

Slideshow: Data Encryption Products - A Buyer’s Guide

There’s no reason you and your team need to learn the hard way about enterprise data encryption strategies.

• How to Use Amazon’s Glacier to Cut Storage Costs

Do long term projections of Amazon S3 storage costs keep you from moving some of your data to the cloud?

• Nvidia’s Grid Visual Computing Appliance: A Game Changer for VDI?

The industry’s very first Visual Computing Appliance (VCA) enabled by Nvidia’s grid technology, is seemingly making strides for virtual desktop infrastructure. Will it be a game changer for VDI?

• Cisco Launches Lean and Mean 100G CPAK Transceiver Tech

CPAK will help enable vastly increasing global IP traffic for video and other multimedia content.

• Implement QoS for Better Network Performance and Reliability

IT pros now looking to Quality of Service as way to alleviate the thorny network problems they wrestle with every day. 

Payment Card Security and Training: Why It Matters

Comprised of specific requirements regarding payment card security procedures, policies and guidelines, there are numerous programs that train, test and certify qualified professionals in PCI Security standards.

• Slideshow: Where to Learn IT Skills Online

There are plenty of resources online to meet whatever learning style you prefer. 

• Get Smart: Building Your UC Education

An inhibitor to any stage of unified communications deployment is a lack of education.

• Understanding Software Asset and License Management

Together, these disciplines are important because they provide important outward- and inward-facing functions to help avoid or mitigate risk, ensure compliance, and lower the burden on service or helpdesk operations.

• When Application Tuning Becomes Network Optimization

When application components have been tuned but performance problems remain, the network becomes a prime suspect.

Understanding HIPAA Privacy and Security

If you and your company gather and retain private patient data subject to HIPAA, you absolutely cannot afford to ignore these privacy requirements. 

• Big Data Trends: Surviving The Hype

Survey suggests you are trailing one of the most significant disruptive technology trends we've seen in years.

• How to Buy and Deploy the Right Software Asset Management Tool

This Buyer's Guide discusses how to right-size your SAM solution and evaluate capable SAM candidates, as well as how to deploy your chosen SAM in an enterprise setting. 

• IT Job Market Improving? Maybe Yes, Maybe No

Improving business confidence means fewer layoffs in the future for IT, and increasing business investments in IT jobs and infrastructure. But it’s not yet time for IT pros to celebrate.

• Tyan’s Newest GPU Units Featured at NVIDIA’s GTC 2013

Demonstrates several new cutting edge server motherboards and barebones systems designed for high performance computing.

Cisco Chief Futurist: An Interview

Cisco’s Chief Technologist says unified communications is an entry point into a much, much broader conversation.

• VIDEO: Application Optimization Tune Ups Network Performance

Before dismissing network performance problems as something you can live with, consider the adverse impact slow application response times can have on your business.

• Slideshow: Buyer’s Guide - WAN Optimization Appliances

What exactly can an IT pro do to head off the coming storm of overwhelming network traffic and prevent connectivity chaos? 

• VIDEO: How To Make iPads And iPhones Secure

Quickly secure iPads, iPhones and iPad Touches. 

• VIDEO: Bring It All Together with UC

Unified Communications makes your business rock! 

A Guide to Employing Mobile Security

Securely integrating mobile devices into an organization’s IT processes and infrastructure complex and challenging. 

• Sponsored: Converged Storage Reins in Big Data

Converged storage controls explosive data growth while maintaining operational efficiency and simplicity.

• Tripwire Grows Presence In IT Security Market

Tripwire and nCircle combine to grow the cyber security market by serving over 7,000 customers worldwide. 

• VMware Announces VMware NSX in a Move Towards SDDC

In an effort to advance VMware’s software-defined vision, the company plans to combine its vCloud Networking and Security and Nicira NVP products creating VMware NSX.

• BlackBerry to Push Secure BYOD Service for iOS and Android

BlackBerry still wants to do business with you, even if there are no actual BlackBerrys in sight. 

Getting Started with the Cloud: Google Compute Engine

Google could be the Amazon of but it is not, at least not yet. 

• Slideshow: Ten of the Worst Security Breaches of All Time

Enormous data breaches were much harder to accomplish in the days before networked electronic databases. 

• Are You Spending Too Much on Software?

Finding the right balance of licensing as much software as needed, but not more, is one of the challenges addressed by software license management.

• Justifying Information Security Investments

Accurate information about risks leads to better decision-making: The more accurate the risk information, the better the decision, especially when it comes to IT security. 

James Alan Miller is Managing Editor of Tom's IT Pro. He is a veteran technology journalist with over seventeen years of experience creating and developing magazine and online content. Founding editor of numerous business and enterprise computing sites at the internet.com network, James headed up the After Hours section at PC Magazine, as well as hardware and software sections of various Windows publications.

See here for all Tom's IT Pro articles written by James.