Canada Falls Short of Top 30 in International Telecommunication Union Index

Welcome to the Monday edition of the IP news roundup, where you will find the latest headlines in telecommunications, big data and cloud:

• Canada comes in at #32 on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Information and Communication Development Index. The ITU ranked Korea as the most advanced information and communication technology (ICT) country in its “Measuring the Information Society 2012” report. Other countries in the top five include Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. According to the index’s press release, all top-30 countries are “high-income countries, underlying the strong link between income and ICT progress.” On a chart showing samples from the index, Canada ranked between Australia (#26) and Qatar (#47). The 2012 ICT Development Index ranked 155 countries according to their level of ICT access, use and skills.
• With big data, capturing your data is only part of the equation. One of the key benefits of big data is that it can give you access to real-time information about your organization that can help you make valuable business decisions. However, according to an article on GigaOM, big data is useless unless you make it “fast, intuitive and easy to manipulate in new and interesting ways.” The article explains that many companies are relying on data scientists to mine their raw data, which can be valuable but is also expensive and slow. The article goes on to explore ways companies can quickly analyze their data, such as through new self-service business intelligence options.
• A new report by Navint Partners, LLC, revealed that Fortune 500 CIOs are achieving positive results from cloud. According to Forbes.com, “Nine out of 10 respondents say they have received 100% of the savings they expected from their cloud computing projects. In addition, four out of five say their cloud efforts have helped their organizations achieve some sort of competitive advantage, and two-thirds say cloud has helped their organization’s efficiency and effectiveness.” For more highlights from the Trends in Cloud Adoption study, see the Forbes.com article.
• “Just how far has cloud computing progressed over the last two years?” According to an article on The Art of Service, cloud has advanced so rapidly over the past two years that it is poised to replace grid computing and networking. The article states, “What makes cloud computing such a unique case is its ability to provide useful infrastructure or to mold to virtually any situation. In short, there isn’t really anything that the cloud can’t do. In fact, you can look at any piece of hardware and/or software in existence and chances are, there is a cloud computing equivalent.”
• When it comes to private cloud, who pays for what? According to an article on the Internet Evolution blog, “Organizations moving their IT infrastructure to private clouds are encountering demands from end users to pay only for the resources they use.” The article goes on to outline steps IT departments can take to adapt their funding to fit today’s pay-per-use trend, such as identifying fixed costs and asking business areas to pay for extras à la carte. Please see the article for more ways to modify your IT funding model to work with private cloud.

What is your take on today’s news? Feel free to share your opinions below.