Fall in Love with Cloud Again

There's no doubt that cloud computing has transformed industries and perhaps even the future of internet technology. And while cloud computing is no longer new, that doesn't make it any less revolutionary. The cloud revolution took us away from rigid sets of services into iterative, scalable environments that continually evolve to meet the needs of businesses and consumers.In today's fast-paced and fiercely competitive business world, companies must strive for increased agility, business continuity, scalability, and profitability. And make no mistake, cloud computing plays a vital role in meeting these ends.However, the way we look at cloud computing is starting to shift. With Big Data, IoT, and Docker offering powerful new possibilities, industry leaders are now looking for better ways to scale their environments. Much focus here has been on moving away from multi-tenant environments and toward single-tenant, high-performance machines for specific use cases. Or, in other words, embracing bare metal.What is Bare Metal, Exactly?Unlike the traditional cloud model, where multiple users reside on the same physical server, a bare metal server is a single-tenant server. Moreover, bare metal servers allow direct access to the underlying architecture and don't require the use of several layers of software like hypervisors. Bare metal servers offer numerous benefits, including:Customizability: Bare metal servers are highly customizable because the owner has root access to the server for fine-tuning.Performance: Bare metal servers allow for higher resource utilization and lower latency. They also facilitate robust workload type optimizations (memory, heavy I/O, maximum compute). In addition, single tenancy eliminates the 'noisy neighbor' effect.Security:By physically isolating data, applications, and other resources, bare metal servers offer a higher level of privacy and security.Essentially, anything that is data-intensive or processor intensive is an excellent candidate for bare metal. For example, some prominent use cases include:Multiplayer gaming servers: Server response time is critical in multiplayer gaming, making bare metal's low latency highly attractive.AdTech and FinTech applications: Applications in these industries demand high speeds, efficiency, and stringent security.Render farms: 3D animation studios and similar companies use specialized resource-intensive apps that demand real-time communication and collaboration.Enterprise apps not well-suited to virtualization:Some enterprise applications can be challenging to virtualize or carry compute-intensive workloads, as is the case with SAP, Grid Compute, and Oracle.High-Performance computing (HPC): HPC tasks like deep learning, predictive analytics, and risk modelingIncreasingly, organizations undergoing digital transformation are looking to bare metal cloud to meet their evolving IT needs. Bare metal cloud is a subset of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and is sold monthly as an OpEx.Top Reasons Developers Should Care About Bare MetalBare Metal Cloud is GrowingOrganizations today are generating truly colossal amounts of data. And companies are increasingly intent on leveraging this data for artificial intelligence applications and data analysis. As a result, the bare metal cloud industry is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. One industry analysis and forecast predicts that the global bare metal cloud market will grow from $5.61 billion in 2021 to 31.15 billion in 2029.Running Containers on Bare MetalContainers on bare metal servers get many of the same advantages VMs provide, but without the drawbacks of virtualization. For example, developers can gain access to bare metal hardware in apps without depending on pass-through techniques. This is because the application processes run on the same operating system as the host server. Moreover, you can achieve optimal use of system resources and achieve bare metal performance for apps because there's no hardware emulation layer getting in the way.At the same time, you can experience the benefits that have traditionally only been possible with VMs. For example,running containers on bare metal allows you to deploy apps inside portable environments that can move comfortably between host servers.Easier Coding and AdministrationHere's the bottom line. One of the primary benefits of bare metal for developers is more straightforward coding. Put simply, unlike in multi-tenancy environments, developers don't have to account for countless uncertainties and complexities like the 'noisy neighbor' effect and others. In addition, with fewer hosts, network connections, and disks to manage, bare metal allows for easier administration.Robust Security Is Needed More Than EverThe total damage caused by cyberattacks reached an eye-watering $6 trillion in 2022. With cyberattacks happening every 39 secondsand our IT environments becoming ever more complex, the need for robust security has never been greater. As the cyber threat landscape continues to increase in both severity and volume, more and more organizations will look to bare metal hosting for their most critical workloads. This is likely to be particularly true for organizations in highly regulated industries like finance, government, and healthcare.Reducing Time of ScalingWhen companies face exponential growth, they often encounter issues scaling their applications in the public cloud. If this friction is significant enough, the company might revert back to co-location hosting. Scaling a multi-tenant cloud environment can be challenging. For example, engineers may face performance and reliability inconsistencies related to compute, storage, and network. But when this happens, developers typically have to make it work, often leading to over-provisioning and increased application complexity.By implementing bare metal servers, developers are freed from dedicating time to the 'noisy neighbor' problem as well as managing the many issues in the scaling process. As a result, they can scale applications much faster.Wrapping UpWhile the debate over the pros and cons of bare-metal servers vs. virtualized hosting environments is nothing new (it's been ongoing since the 2000s), it has heated up in recent years. With the advent of Big Data and intensely resource-hungry workloads, the use cases for bare metal cloud are quickly expanding. With this in mind, developers should care about bare metal for one simple reason - IT decision-makers in leading organizations care about bare metal.Powered by Froala Editor

The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, might be acquired by the world’s largest, Binance. Why? The answer is the liquidity crunch.The current trajectory of the crypto crash has a lot of parallels with the housing bubble of 2008. Bank runs to Lehman Brothers led to insolvency, and now there’s reminiscence with a bank-run situation with FTX this year.History does repeat itself, and just 14 years later. The important question now is: Why and how?2022 was already a miserable year for cryptocurrencies in general. It was assumed that this year would be the year when the crypto landscape would transform for the better. But, regrettably, this was not the case.While we're still reeling from the catastrophic crypto meltdown, we can't help but wonder about the following; is 2022 the end of crypto? Or is there light at the end of the tunnel where we finally do move past this crash?We did see signs of recovery in the last 2 months when Ethereum was above 1500 and BTC was in 20,000s, all of this until last week when CoinDesk exposed FTX’s financial health.This kicked-off a major sell-off as investors started withdrawing their money from the platform, and the candles flashed red. A concurrent announcement came from Binance, the competitor, which said it would sell off all of its massive $500 million worth of FTT holdings- FTT is FTX’s native token.The sum of these causes caused FTT to collapse. By midday on November 8, the token had fallen from $22.79 (early November 7) to about $15.04. The market as a whole suffered from FTT's falling valuation, which caused most tokens to trade at a loss.Soon after, Binance revealed its intention to buy FTX, and things started to go south. FTT plunged from $19.01 late on November 8 to $3.59 early on November 9 due to the announcement.Fortunately, the announcement of the Binance acquisition soon calmed investor jitters as FTT began to show signs of recovery, rising to the $5 level a few hours later.But in an unexpected change of events, Binance pulled out of the agreement, and FTT plunged to new lows. At $2.25, it is presently 90 percent cheaper than it was at the same point last week.Does this situation ring some bells? The Terra breakdown also sent the markets plunging at the time, and the FTX disaster is frighteningly similar. Similar circumstances exist right now, with the majority of the top 100 coins flashing red and some with double-digit losses.The Domino EffectWhile the FTX meltdown impacts the whole cryptocurrency market and creates a domino effect, specific projects are doing worse than others.For example, Solana, sometimes referred to as the Ethereum killer, has suffered losses of 32% over the past day, second only to FTT. It may be because Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of FTX, invested and vouched for Solana early on that the currency has been in free falling over the past couple of days.As a result, most cryptocurrencies exposed to SBF's firms have been severely impacted. Since November 6, Sam-backed tokens, including Bonfida (FIDA), Raydium (RAY), and Maps (MAPS), have declined by an average of 40%.The FTX drop also hurts the two biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Bitcoin and Ethereum. After briefly approaching $15,711 this morning, Bitcoin set a new low for the year.The situation is similar for Ethereum, which has fallen by roughly 10% in the past day and is down by about 24% for the week.The domino effect was bound to be more predominant, especially after the market leaders BTC and ETH showed signs of dipping.What’s Next for Crypto?Is the crash here to stay?The FTX disaster is a brand new occurrence, and there appears to be a difficult path ahead. The crypto market will continue to be plagued by uncertainty as long as FTX's future is still uncertain. It suggests the fears will linger and that it will take some time for investor momentum to return to where it was.However, history has proven that markets bounce back even though the public sentiments are less than ideal. Once that confidence is back, there’s no stopping from there.As Google and big tech companies start adopting crypto as a currency in 2023, it is anticipated that more financial institutions will begin to accept cryptocurrency as payment.Furthermore, according to a research paper released on Thursday by JPMorgan (JPM), the underlying technology stablecoins, a class of cryptocurrency whose value is tied to another asset like the U.S. dollar or gold, will continue to be crucial to the development of the monetary system.The study said that the technologies, including tokenization of assets and securities, smart contracts, and encryption, will "change the future of financial institutions."For investors, what they should do is the most critical question. Most experts would advise remaining composed and moving forward.Withdrawing money from online wallets and storing it offline in cold wallets is another wise move. If FTX declares bankruptcy, it may cause several other bankruptcies. As evidenced by the Voyager and Celsius court cases, recovering funds from crypto companies facing bankruptcy procedures can be a time-consuming and challenging process. Doing your due diligence and securing your assets at this point is crucial as a crypto investor.We've seen the crypto market experience peaks and valleys before. There have been many times when cryptocurrencies have been written off or declared dead only for us to see them bounce back stronger than ever. It's not a question of if the crypto industry rebounds but when. The most important question you should be asking is: how will you be positioned when the rebound occurs?Powered by Froala Editor

Data centers provide organizations the physical infrastructure to run applications along with storing and processing massive amounts of data, among other things. For some businesses, the use of data centers can have drawbacks due to storage space limitations and complex data management requirements. Therefore, the future of data centers relies heavily on innovation and emerging technologies that can mitigate the ever-evolving demands of various industries and their associated applications. Let’s take a look at some of the technologies and innovations being employed in the data center field todayInnovations and TechnologiesData centers have been experiencing growth and evolution as the demands for applications increase. This also provides space for digitalization and the use of technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud storage, edge computing, sustainable and renewable energy means, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some of the technologies being employed include:Edge Data CentersEdge data centers are an innovative technological solution for applications that require cloud computing services and are situated closer to the end devices and the application premises. In addition to cloud computing, edge data centers provide cached content to end users. One of the main reasons for the proximity of edge data centers to their end users is the ability to provide data services with a minimal level of latency. Due to the recent surge in the use of IoT devices and their associated applications, the level of latency required to maintain a smooth and seamless speed of data has become significant. Therefore, using the edge data center technology we can achieve high performance for demanding applications with a cost-effective solution.Another important aspect of the edge data center is its smaller footprint while housing similar kinds of components as compared to the traditional data centers. It also acts as a part of a larger data center usually in the cloud architecture with the ability to communicate with other edge data centers.Edge data centers can be used in industries with critical low-latency requirements. It can be used in smart city applications to gather real-time data from IoT devices and allow users to utilize services in an uninterrupted manner. Self-driving vehicles can also leverage the low-latency feature of edge data centers to collect and transfer data in real time. In emerging technologies especially in the era of Metaverse and augmented reality, the amount of data to be processed can be in huge numbers, therefore, the use of edge data centers can play a pivotal role in accessing data that is readily available with low latency. Similarly, the use of edge data centers can be found in industries such as gaming, CCTV monitoring, manufacturing, 5G technology, IoT, healthcare, telecommunication companies, etc. The use of edge data centers might not be widespread in applications today, however, it is expected to spread at a very fast pace as technologies evolve.Cloud Data ServicesCloud data storage and access services are one of the most efficient ways of managing data resources as they do not occupy on-site premises thereby reducing the associated costs in maintenance, installation, and monitoring of traditional data centers. Leading industry giants such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have already been working on cloud storage services allowing their users to access data for both personal and commercial purposes. Depending on the types of applications to be stored and accessed, the use of cloud computing can be adopted. Applications that need any operation of legacy software and any industrial or governmental compliance do not usually opt for cloud services.Sustainable Data CentersWith the growing need for applications to access and utilize data, the power requirements for data centers have also been increasing. The use of traditional power and energy resources adds to an additional cost not just to an organization’s bottom line but also to the environment. In recent years, the colocation industry has been experiencing a radical shift towards markets that are more conducive to data center sustainability.Data centers involve the process of cooling, this can be carried out using the liquid cooling technique instead of air cooling systems that generally utilize more power. These systems can utilize the latest technology in terms of components that will eventually consume less power and will be more predominant in the future. Major US tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon have taken the initiative to relocate their data centers from different locations to colder regions such as Sweden, this means fewer resources would be required to cool down the data center components.The design of servers in the data centers has also been proposed to mitigate higher energy consumption. Low-power servers and modular design servers provide an energy-efficient design to store data and are advocated for to achieve better power consumption targets. The initiative of the undersea data center is already being taken by Microsoft which aims to go carbon-free by 2030. The main idea being employed by Microsoft is the utilization of natural seawater that acts as the coolant that will eventually lead to environmental sustainability.Facebook has undertaken steps to conserve the water being used to cool down the data centers by employing winter humidification, this aims to improve operating efficiency by optimizing the relative humidity (RH). During a pilot project, it was observed that the RH adjustment at the data center in Los Lunas, New Mexico was found by lowering the current 20% minimum RH to 13% minimum RH, which reduced the water use by 40% over nine months.ConclusionThe technological advancements in the field of data centers are crucial in providing seamless data storage and access facilities to users. Some of the technologies being employed for the future operations of the data centers include edge computing data centers that house their components close to the end users and offer the benefit of low latency. Edge data centers are ideal for applications that involve AI, IoT, autonomous vehicles, etc. Similarly, cloud computing is still one of the most important alternatives for different applications for data storage and access as it offers flexibility and cost-effective solution. The use of sustainable resources and technologies to operate the data centers have been adopted by tech giants that include the use of liquid cooling techniques, undersea data centers, efficient server designs, and relocation of data centers to cold regions.Powered by Froala Editor

Expanding your cloud infrastructure can be challenging, especially when utilizing multiple cloud providers. Thankfully there is an efficient way to manage more than one cloud service without overcomplicating deployments, security, and cost.The future is now multicloud, an approach to cloud infrastructure that operates with more than one cloud vendor while taking advantage of each one's strengths to offer a competitive product.While multicloud is necessary for many organizations, the actual management of it can become complicated for those who are unprepared. In this article, we will explore the barriers to integrating more than one cloud vendor and how best to unify your deployments with AI-powered multicloud on a single pane of glass.The Challenges of Multiple Cloud ManagementYour businesses may find that certain cloud providers accommodate your customers' needs more effectively than others. In addition, a single cloud vendor doesn't typically check all the boxes for factors like pricing, security, and scalability. In this case, you'll need to utilize multiple hosts.Many businesses deploy apps in AWS but use the Google Cloud for internal storage and maybe even Azure for collaboration. Another example is allocating resources between private and public clouds. You may not be comfortable sharing infrastructure with other clients for sensitive information but find it much more cost-effective to use a public data center for general storage.In 2020, Foundry'sCloud Computing Studyfound that the multicloud strategy is on the rise, with 55% of businesses using more than one cloud service. However, management continues to be an issue for organizations, below are the most significant challenges when dealing with various providers across more than one region.InfrastructureMigrating all your data frombare metalto the public cloud may not be an option; however, the rates and flexibility offered by virtual servers could be the ideal option for most of your data.While operating between two distinct types of servers is possible, having your data in separate places can be difficult to manage.Various RatesPricing also becomes a factor when using a multicloud strategy. For example, if you are required to use servers in proximity to clients thousands of miles away, hosting can get expensive. You'll want to find the best option for your business while accommodating international clients. Multicloud is likely the answer in this scenario but managing rates from different providers can become overwhelming.Inconsistent Security ProtocolsOffering the best security possible is your top priority, but communicating with clients and execution is complex when you are operating with multiple cloud providers.Separate FeaturesUnfortunately, there probably isn't a single cloud solution for every aspect of your business. Even if you've found the perfect provider to accommodate your data and deployments, your customers may request additional features that your vendor doesn't offer as you scale.How to Unify Your Cloud DeploymentsMulticloud is a necessary strategy as your business continues to digitalize or offers more services. Avoiding challenges requires you to unify your cloud deployments giving you complete control with one easy-to-use service. The best solution to manage your cloud vendors is to integrate your microservices with a multicloud platform-as-a-service. This strategy unifies your cloud infrastructure to a single pane of glass, keeping your company data connected and providing clear visibility over your multicloud environment.Advantages of Deploying on a Single Pane of GlassIntegrate with Client PlatformsWhen you've executed a multicloud strategy, you'll be able to easily manage all your client's integrations and cloud instances. Providing optimal visibility and control allows you to optimize all cloud-based interactions reducing waste and offering them more flexibility to scale.Optimize CostYour cloud service charges will become more transparent and much simpler to manage. An effective PaaS will also allow you to control costs. For example, you'll only have to pay for the CPU/RAM/egress workloads you consume. Since the multicloud platform manages time consuming tasks such as scaling, load balancing, metrics, and service mesh, this allows your organization to significantly reduce devops costs while focusing more on user experience.Faster Security RemediationEvery cloud provider uses different security protocols. Without a multicloud management strategy in place and a problem detected on one of your servers, you may not be aware of the issue causing a slow response. When your deployments are on a single pane of glass portal, you'll be able to receive notifications across all providers and provide a solution quickly.Deploy FasterOnce you've unified your cloud infrastructure, you'll be able to deploy and operate ten times faster because you won't have to worry about Ops and can focus 100% on development. Learn More About Multicloud DeploymentsMulticloudfrom Datacenters.com utilizes artificial intelligence to scale and manage your multicloud deployments. The highly advanced AI learns and adapts to your specific demands from each cloud provider. Automation creates a seamless process, dramatically reducing your runtime costs.If you are interested in unifying your cloud providers under one easy-to-use platform, you candeploy todayfor two months free. Schedule a demo today and our multicloud experts will reach out to you and answer any questions.Powered by Froala Editor