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Cloud Computing: the Next Big Thing or Incremental Improvement?
Lisa Middlebrook | November 16, 2011Having recently launched the Global Access Partners' National Standing Committee on Cloud Computing, I invited Dr Robert Atkinson, president of Washington DC based technology policy think tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), to speak to an informed audience about the cloud.
I worked with Dr Atkinson for six years at the Democratic Leadership Council and Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC. Please find below my reflections on his discussion.
Rob outlined the ability for the cloud to give organisations flexibility and agility. He said it lets you focus on your core business and can be less expensive than keeping data in-house.
Market research and analysis company IDC estimates the market for public cloud products and services at $16 billion in 2010, growing to $56 billion by 2014. Gartner more optimistically estimates the cloud market at $150 billion by 2013.
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Resilient futures – picking the patterns for 2012
Larry Quick | November 15, 2011Looking into the future is more than just a guessing game, but it’s a game that organisations have to play to remain competitive. Larry Quick says that investigating the present is the best way to predict the future. He shares his top 2012 patterns to watch.
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Focus on progress of society, not the wellbeing of individuals
Fergus Neilson | November 15, 2011Measures of social progress are as varied as the theories on how it can be achieved. Fergus Neilson believes there can be no purpose in measurement unless the indicators are relevant and their application triggers productive action.
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What do ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day mean to our sense of wellbeing as a nation?
David McLachlan | November 12, 2011As Australian's pause to honour the members of our armed forces who have died in the line of duty since World War I, David McLachlan encourages us to reflect on the ANZAC spirit and how we can make a difference through volunteering.
Australia’s national sense of well-being has been growing year on year for many years according the Australian Unity Well-being Index. Many factors influence this sense of well-being, but one thing that has been proven time and again is that helping others increases people’s individual well-being.
UncategorisedHave your say on proposed changes to the road rules
editor | November 11, 2011
The Australian road rules could be improved to ensure their benefit to the community, according to a National Transport Commission (NTC) discussion paper released on 2 November.
UncategorisedCelebrating Australian talent around the world
editor | November 10, 2011
The Advance Global Australian Awards celebrate Australians living overseas, who exhibit remarkable talent, exceptional vision, ambition and who are future leaders and innovators in their chosen field. They are the only awards to recognise the important contributions of the more than 1 million Australians living abroad.
The Awards are open to all Australians citizens or a non-Australian alumnus of an Australian university, working outside of Australia.
Saying goodbye to the greed of Gordon Gekko
Connie Comber | November 9, 2011Fictional Wall Street character, Gordon Gekko, famously said that "Greed is good", and for a while the business world seemed to agree. Connie Comber believes the time has now come for a more gentle business environment that is a better fit with our post-GFC sensibilities.
Cloudy with a chance of data loss – addressing the future of cloud computing
Lisa Middlebrook | November 9, 2011With the launch of the cloud computing report last week, and the announcement of Global Access Partners’ national standard committee on cloud computing, Lisa Middlebrook reflects on the importance of exploring the future of this expanding service.
Let’s start with a couple of quotes:
"The overall magnitude of this tragedy and the loss is simply incalculable, and we are distressed by the actions of the parties responsible for this reprehensible act." Distribute IT June 2011
"After these horrific attacks it’s evident that our Government needs to be transformed to meet the new challenges of this dangerous world." George Pataki, New York Governor, September 11, 2001
The idea of progress in history – how far have we come?
Mike Salvaris | November 8, 2011The idea of including human wellbeing in measuring societal progress is not new, but it is being re-thought in the 21st century. Prof Mike Salvaris looks at the history of ideas about human progress and explores their relevance today in this adaptation of a paper he wrote for the Australian Bureau of Statistics report, ‘Future Directions in Measuring Australia’s Progress’.
Seven billion people and counting – when will rational thinking prevail?
Alex Dunnin | November 7, 2011Last week the media celebrated the landmark birth of a baby girl in India, claiming her arrival brought the world population to seven billion. The event re-kindled age-old concerns that the current global birthrate is unsustainable. Alex Dunnin is still waiting for the rational population debate in Australia to begin.
The world population just ticked over to seven billion people, and the race was on to find just who the lucky person was. Low and behold, it was a child in India.
But don’t tell that to the parents of Danica May Camacho, who was born “amid an explosion of media flash bulbs” and “a celebratory cheer at a packed government-run hospital” in Manila, the Philippines.
Is optimism American? Thoughts from a citizen of the best country on earth
Victor Perton | November 4, 2011Australians like to think of themselves as easy-going and optimistic. But does that image still work for us in 2011? Victor Perton argues that, with the help of the media, Australia is in danger of becoming a nation of pessimists.
Recently to end an email debate, a Scandinavian friend wrote, "I guess you’ve become American; I just asked an American friend here to go out with me tomorrow, nobody is more optimistic than Americans!"
No doubt, she was right about my optimism. I am an optimist, even possessing a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses with rose-coloured lenses to augment my general world view. Was she right that optimism was an American trait, and my years of living in the states had further (rose) coloured my views?
