Telefónica and Intel launch an innovative pilot for hybrid clouds (Spain, USA)
Telefónica Digital and Intel have developed a joint pilot to demonstrate that enterprises can easily scale up their computing capacity by moving or growing applications from their internal data centers to the external public or third party cloud.
Telefónica Digital, Intel Labs and the Intel Architecture Group announced that they have successfully conducted the first phase of a joint innovative research program to prove technologies that will allow large, small and medium enterprises to seamlessly migrate computing workloads from their local data center to a third-party public cloud. This solution demonstrates the concept of a cloud-bursting hybrid cloud service.
This solution allows enterprises to move as much of their applications and information technology as they wish to the public cloud, allowing them to keep their important applications (or parts of applications) running internally. This flexibility allows enterprises to meet temporary spikes in demand for business continuity, and to optimize their data center use and capacity.
Companies can now seamlessly interact between their internal cloud and the external public cloud, with no portability or interoperability issues between these two different environments.
The public cloud provides an integrated portal where enterprises will be able to manage their internal data center resources and the resources deployed on the public cloud. Enterprises will be able to interoperate transparently between these two environments. The hybrid cloud provides complete IT capabilities to IT managers in a quick, secure, efficient and flexible manner.
This joint pilot has demonstrated successfully the cloud-bursting exchange from a local private cloud (played by the Intel Cloud Builder facility) to the public cloud (played by the Telefónica Virtual Data Center public cloud service). Cloud resource provisioning across the hybrid cloud is achieved under the OpenStack framework, proving the feasibility of distributing workloads from private to public clouds on top of this open source platform.
The next phase of activities are planned to illustrate the trustworthy enforcement of infrastructure management policies across cloud service boundaries. Operational parameters such as power management policies will be deployed using Intel Trusted Execution Technology, Intel Node Manager and Intel Data Center Manager.
Jim Blakley, Intel Architecture Systems Integration Division Director at Intel, said that this capability brings a previously unavailable level of transparency and federation between cloud consumers and Cloud providers, helping preserve the service policies across cloud boundaries down to the hardware platform level. Cloud consumers will have an easier time assessing service quality and SLA compliance. Cloud providers will be able to offer differentiated cloud services even when their offering is part of a larger service.
Moisés Navarro, Cloud Global Director for Telefónica Digital said that innovations like ‘GoToCloud’ or ‘Real Elastic Cloud’, developed by Telefónica, show their clear commitment on taking care of clients’ needs as well as providing value to the cloud service model. From the Telefónica Digital perspective, the hybrid cloud will contribute to the data-center operator’s ‘Go to Cloud’ strategy that aims to boost the migration of corporate applications to the cloud, as an evolution of its Virtual Data Center cloud product.
Android Tablets and Apple IPad expected to capture the market
A new research report has revealed that much of the growth in the computer market for 2011 is estimated to come from the tablet/pad market, which will ship some 52 million units this year. Of these shipments, Apple is expected to account for over 75%, leaving approximately 12 million units for other vendors.
Researchers anticipate that the iPad’s success will continue, and even accelerate, with the arrival of the thinner, lighter and faster iPad 2. This growth means, however, that ‘traditional’ PC companies, notably Microsoft, Intel and AMD, are likely to lose market share during the year.
Pads are disrupting the PC refresh cycle in highly penetrated markets. Their innovative user experience has captured the imagination of consumers, who are extending the life of their existing hardware, while taking an interest in pads.
Researchers also urge vendors not to dismiss the opportunity for pads in business: The number of affluent, highly-mobile executives buying pads will increase quickly in 2011. Likewise, vertical market adoption of pads, especially in healthcare and education, will gain momentum, as more appropriate applications are built.
For every 10 pads sold this year, researchers estimate that five netbook or notebook sales will be lost, across both consumer and enterprise markets. This trend will be most pronounced in developed markets, such as the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the UK, the Nordics, Benelux, Australia and Japan.
It is also expected that the notebook PC category will grow nearly 8% in 2011, despite the impact of pads, thanks to the ongoing Windows 7 refresh and improving business confidence in the commercial sector. Netbooks, however, will decline by about 13% to 34 million units.
Overstocked retail channels in many countries, including the United States, much of Western Europe, China and Indonesia, will further hinder notebook growth in the first part of the year. Even Russia, where high oil prices have led to a PC boom, has become oversupplied.
Intel acquires Egypt based software house
Intel, through its standalone business entity Intel Mobile Communications, has acquired most of the assets of SySDSoft, a privately held software company based in Egypt. The company has hired approximately 100 of the company’s electrical engineers and computer scientists.
SySDSoft designs IP solutions in the software stack and physical layer domain, and RF/analog circuits embedded in mobile platforms. Financial terms were not disclosed.
According to Arvind Sodhani, President, Intel Capital and Executive Vice President, Intel, the acquisition of engineering and design talent from an Egypt-based company in the field of cutting-edge wireless and communication technology is the first of its kind for Intel in the Middle East. The acquisition shows Intel’s continued long-term strategic commitment to the region and its appreciation of its young, growing talent pool.
According to the company, SySDSoft would add to its existing multi-communications portfolio, specifically accelerating its 4G LTE efforts.
As per Dr. Hermann Eul, President of Intel Mobile Communications, Intel is making the necessary investments to further enhance its existing world-class wireless product portfolio and to offer the most reliable platforms to their customers that will work seamlessly across a range of global networks. The acquisition supports this strategy and they believe that SySDSoft’s proven and experienced engineering team, combined with Intel Mobile Communications’ existing wireless strength, positions us well for continued growth in LTE.
Intel plans for new silicon, software and connectivity capabilities
Intel has announced a number of advancements to its mobile portfolio across a broad spectrum of silicon, software and connectivity, including the sampling of Medfield, the company’s 32nm phone chip.
The company has also announced accelerated LTE platforms, a new MeeGo tablet user experience, the acquisition of Silicon Hive, and several new mobile investments and software development tools.
According to Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the company’s Ultra Mobility Group, the mobile Internet, with all of its complexity, presents tremendous opportunity and growth prospects for the industry at large. Through these efforts and others still to come, Intel is bringing the full weight of its resources, technology investment and the economics of Moore’s Law to drive down costs and power requirements for new markets, while delivering the leading-edge performance that the industry has come to expect from them.
The company has confirmed that its subsidiary, Intel Mobile Communications (IMC) will sample its first compact, low-power multi-mode (LTE/3G/2G), LTE solution in the second half of the year with broad market availability for devices in the second half of 2012. IMC is also now shipping the world’s smallest, fully integrated HSPA+ solution with true 21 Mbps downlink and 11.5 Mbps in uplink for small form factor devices and announced a new platform supporting Dual-SIM Dual-Standby (DSDS) operation for the emerging Dual SIM market.
Expanding upon Intel’s silicon capabilities, the company announced that it is sampling its 32nm “Medfield” smart phone chip with customers. “Medfield” is scheduled for introduction this year and has been specifically designed for the smart phone market segment.
Further building on these silicon capabilities, the company announced the acquisition of Silicon Hive, an Intel Capital portfolio company, which brings better still imaging and multimedia video processor technology, compilers and software tools to its growing Atom processor portfolio. The Silicon Hive capabilities will aid in the delivery of more differentiated Atom-processor based SoCs as multimedia and imaging grow in importance across the mobile smart device segments.
Intel to Pay NVIDIA Technology Licensing Fees of $1.5 billion
NVIDIA announced today that it has signed a new six-year cross-licensing agreement with Intel.
For the future use of NVIDIA’s technology, Intel will pay NVIDIA an aggregate of $1.5 billion in licensing fees payable in five annual installments, beginning Jan. 18, 2011.
NVIDIA and Intel have also agreed to drop all outstanding legal disputes between them.
This agreement signals a new era for NVIDIA,†said Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA’s president and chief executive officer. Our cross license with Intel reflects the substantial value of our visual and parallel computing technologies. It also underscores the importance of our inventions to the future of personal computing, as well as the expanding markets for mobile and cloud computing.â€
Under the new agreement, Intel will have continued access to NVIDIA’s full range of patents. In return, NVIDIA will receive an aggregate of $1.5 billion in licensing fees, to be paid in annual installments, and retain use of Intel’s patents, consistent with its existing six-year agreement with Intel. This excludes Intel’s proprietary processors, flash memory and certain chipsets for the Intel platform. The existing agreement is to expire March 31, 2011.
Pursuant to U.S. GAAP, a portion of the proceeds will be accounted for and attributed to the settlement of prior legal claims. This amount, which NVIDIA anticipates to be less than $100 million, will be included in the company’s fourth-quarter results.
The balance of the licensing fees will be accounted for on a straight-line basis over the six-year term of the agreement. Accordingly it is anticipated that this would amount annually to approximately $233 million of operating income and an increase in net income of $0.29 per diluted share, on a full year basis.
Microsoft developing Mobile OS for ARM Based Smartphones
Microsoft is reportedly planning to port its next Windows Operating System to work on chips designed by UK based ARM Holdings – whose low-power chips are used in most of the smart phones on the market.
The move is a significant move for the company, which had traditionally based its main computer OS on high-power chips supplied by Intel and AMD.
According to reports, the company plans to demonstrate a new version of its widely used Windows operating system next month at the CES show.
According to sources, the company has had a project for some time to create a version of Windows running on ARM-based microprocessors. The effort is part of a broader push at Microsoft to make Windows more modular so that pieces of the operating system that are unnecessary for smaller, low-power devices like tablets can be easily stripped away to make the software perform snappily on the gadgets.
However, the current timeframe is for the next version of Windows OS to be released no sooner than 2012, leading to speculation as to whether the new variant being shown off next month will be a genuine new OS for smartphones, or an upgrade of the recently released Windows Phone 7 platform.
Intel in process to release Smartphone- CEO
Intel Corp.’s CEO, Paul Otellini claims that Intel Corp., the world’s largest maker of computer chips, got a late start in developing semiconductors for mobile devices.
Intel has been trying to grab the business from handset vendors with its Atom processor, a scaled-down version of its PC chips. It has also signed agreements to deliver Atom products to Nokia Oyj and LG Electronics Inc. According to Otellini, smartphones carrying Intel semiconductors will be released next year.
Efforts to develop mobile chips boosted when Intel announced to buy the wireless operations of Infineon Technologies AG for US$1.4 billion. The company is popular for making chips for mobile devices including Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S and may help Intel lessen its dependence on semiconductors for computers.
Otellini further claimed that Intel has begun working on chips aimed at smartphones four years ago. The company wishes that it would have been smart enough to start the process seven years ago because they are in a good position today, but it was not the same earlier.
According to Otellini, the government should offer U.S.-based and foreign companies tax incentives, or tax holidays that would last five to 10 years, to encourage the construction of new factories or the expansion of existing ones.
Olive Telecom,BSNL tied knots to offer Zipbook
Olive Telecom has collaborated with BSNL to offer its latest Zipbook with 3G broadband, the ‘V-X108′, in India.
According to the company, the Zipbook, when launched, was one of the first laptops in the country to come with a built in 3G data card for ready Internet access. The company had also reviewed one of the models from its line-up.
When the users buy the V-X108, they will have the option to avail a BSNL connection which will offers 6GB worth of free download per month, for the first three months.
The Zipbook, it is a 10-inch netbook which runs on Intel Atom N450 1.6-GHz processor and Windows 7 Starter Edition. The Zipbook also possess a 1.3MP webcam and comes with Microsoft Security Essentials pre-installed. The price of the Zipbook is US$ 457.99 and is on sale.
Sprint Rules Out Quick Clearwire Buyout
The third largest US mobile network operator, Sprint Nextel, is not concerned in trading out its partners in Clearwire, the US WiMax network operator, at this stage, but may consider such a transaction later.
According to Robert Brust, Sprint Nextel’s chief financial officer, a Clearwire buyout would be too expensive at present. In response to analysts’ speculation he alleged that Sprint Nextel might seek full ownership of Clearwire in order to increase its control of operational issues such as plans to expand into new markets and adopt other 4G technologies.
Sprint Nextel presently holds about 55% of Clearwire with the rest of Clearwire’s equity spread between a group of cable companies including Comcast and Time Warner, and technology partners including Intel and Google.
Clearwire is structuring a nationwide network based on WiMax.
Though, Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have specified that they may clinch a competitor 4G technology which has been widely adopted by mobile network operators in the US and overseas. This created a speculation that Sprint Nextel might want to reposition WiMax as a wireless alternative to fixed line broadband and has given a rise to the speculation that Sprint Nextel might look to buy its Clearwire partners.
While responding to the questions in a webcast of an investor conference, Mr Brust rejected the idea of an acquisition, at least in the near term, while acknowledging that it would help Sprint to have full control.
According to Brust, the path that’s almost certainly expected is that we’ll continue to instill some equity over the coming years and maybe some way down the road to take control of it.An imminent move on that would just be very expensive.
