DiData lands Aussie customer for new cloud

news Global IT services outfit Dimension Data has announced a new range of global cloud services, simultaneously revealing it has signed up the Australian Centre for Advanced Computing and Communications to use the platform.

The new Dimension Data Cloud Services, according to a statement by the company issued late last week, will enable customers to be more agile, lower their IT infrastructure management expenses and minimise the complexity of cloud migration. Dimension Data’s Managed Cloud Platform (MCP) is the global delivery platform for all its cloud services, and Dimension Data Cloud Control is a cloud management system that automates provisioning, orchestration, administration and billing. The two services are now going to be utilised by ac3 (Australian Centre for Advanced Computing and Communications) under a new contract between the two companies.

ac3 provides IT infrastructure management services to clients including the NSW Government. It offers a wide variety of managed services including operating systems management, database administration, network and security management and storage management.

“Dimension Data was the clear choice for managing our clients’ cloud computing environments. We were impressed by the inherent security features as well as the automation of cloud resource provisioning,” said Philip McCrea, CEO of ac3, in DiData’s statement. “This initiative enables us to offer our clients a valuable additional level of service by providing them with infrastructure to run their business applications instead of them having to procure their own equipment. Combining Dimension Data’s platform with ac3’s experience gained from co-location and managed services, gives us the ability to deliver cloud computing solutions to our clients with improved service level agreements.”

DiData said its new cloud suite is designed to address the many requirements of an organisation’s path to the cloud, whether at the beginning of its usage of cloud and virtualisation, or well on its way to leveraging the benefits of self-service, hybrid cloud models. The primary claimed advantage of using Dimension Data’s Cloud Services is that all services are delivered on the same platform making it easier and more cost-effective to expand from one cloud model to another when the demands of the business change.

Dimension Data’s MCP will be a key part of ac3’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering along with storage, data management and perimeter security services. The pre-configured infrastructure, according to the company, provides ac3 access to an orchestration layer for the deployment of cloud infrastructure that will allow ac3 manage its clients’ migration to the cloud more effectively.

In its media release, DiData said its cloud services would range across a number of areas, from advisory and consulting services to cloud systems integration, to public, private and hosted private compute-as-a-service offerings, to managed hosting and managed services, to applications services.

“Our clients realise the transformational potential of cloud computing, whether it’s moving into new markets, launching new products, or improving IT efficiency,“ said Steve Nola, CEO of Dimension Data’s Cloud Solutions Business Unit and former leader of the group’s Australian division. “They’re also aware that migrating to the cloud is complex, with significant implications to their business across operations and IT. Our Cloud Services are designed to help clients reduce cost, move faster and manage risk effectively.”

opinion/analysis

Not since CSC Australia issued a media release claiming it was offering “on-premise private cloud” has an Australian IT services organisation issued a media release so full of complete and utter waffle about cloud computing as DiData did last week. The company ought to be ashamed about the lack of technical detail which it included in its statement about its new cloud offerings.

DiData is a great company. Out of all the systems integrators and IT services companies in Australia, it’s one of my favourites. And I regularly hear good things about them from end customers (chief information officers and the like). However, the media release which the company issued this week announcing its new suite of global cloud services said absolutely nothing about what the company will actually be providing and simply appeared to cram in as many mentions of the word “cloud” as was humanly possible. For the record, it was 71 times in one media release.

I’d like to see the following basic questions about DiData’s “cloud” offered before I put any credence to the company’s claims that it can aid organisations in helping customers to be more agile, lower infrastructure expenses and reduce cloud migration complexity and risk:

What technologies does DiData’s cloud use (storage, processing, networking, virtualisation, management and so on)?

Where is it located (South Africa? Australia? The moon?)?

How much does it cost to use it?

How is the multi-tenanted cloud environment set up — what sorts of customers will be using this section?

What is the guaranteed uptime/availability?

Which virtual environments are supported (Windows, Linux, Solaris, etc)?

How possible is it to migrate workloads in and out of DiData’s infrastructure from and to the infrastructure of other providers?

What applications are supported on a ‘as-a-service’ model?

That’s just a start. I’ve got plenty more questions where those came from. If someone from DiData wants to get in touch (perhaps in the comments below this article) to provide some illumination on the situation, that’d be great.

Source http://delimiter.com.au/2012/02/27/didata-lands-aussie-customer-for-new-cloud/

Funeral to be held for former Solomon Islands Governor General

Solomon Island's first Governor General Sir Baddeley Devesi will be farewelled in a funeral service today.

The 71-year-old former statesman, who passed away on Thursday, served as Governor-General of the Solomon Islands for two consecutive terms - from July 1978 to July 1988.

Later he also served as Foreign Minister, Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the nineties.

Source http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201202/s3434706.htm

Changes to international student visas good news for economy

INTERNATIONAL students will more easily be able to apply for visas following changes announced by Federal Immigration and Citizenship Minister, Chris Bowen.

The changes, welcomed by the higher education sector, mean the number of assessment levels across a range of student visa subclasses will be reduced, making the visa application process easier for students from 29 countries.

The changes, which will take effect from March 24, are in response to the immigration department’s 2011 review of student visa assessment level settings.

"While it was recommended that some assessment levels be increased, I have decided to only implement the reductions in order to best support Australia's international education sector,'' Mr Bowen said.

Mr Bowen said the changes would help around 10,500 prospective students.

"These changes will particularly benefit the postgraduate research sector, English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students and vocational education and training providers.''

For example, South Koreans studying VET and ELICOS courses and postgraduate research students from China, India and Indonesia will now find it easier to apply for visas, Mr Bowen said.

Universities Australia welcomed the changes to the student visa system as "a terrific outcome''.

“It really is a terrific outcome not just for the higher education sector but for the Australian economy more broadly because at a time we’re seeing manufacturing struggling, tourism struggling, both primarily because of the strong Australian dollar, it’s really important for those industries that are strong to be able to step up to offset some of those economic implications,” said Universities Australia chief executive, Belinda Robinson.

"The international education sector is Australia's third largest export industry, and over the 2010-11 period international higher education students spent an average of $38,000 each in this country on goods, services and fees.

“And as well the stronger our international education industry is, the more affordable education is for Australian students.”

Meanwhile a new report released by ranking provider QS (Quacquarelli Symonds Limited) found Australian cities are among the most attractive study destinations in the world.

Using scores that take into account student mix, affordability, quality of living and employer activity, as well as their own QS World University Rankings, the company compiled a top fifty list of the ''best student cities''.

Ms Robinson said that according to QS, Australia had more cities than any other country in the world listed in the top 50, making it one of the world's most favourable study environments.

If "affordability'' was removed as a criterion, Melbourne and Sydney would be ranked at number 1 and 4 respectively.

"While it may be a little more expensive to live and study in Australia, the quality of living, employment opportunities, student mix and the quality of universities makes Australia a very appealing place for those seeking to study abroad,” Ms Robinson said.

Source http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/changes-to-international-student-visas-good-news-for-economy/story-e6freuzr-1226271725888

NBN to deliver virtual English tuition to new migrants

The Federal Government will introduce a three-year trial of virtual English classes via the National Broadband Network (NBN) to new migrants in regional and rural Australia.

The initiative, which is expected to cost $5.1 million and is part of the government’s Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), is designed to help migrants settle into regional communities and will initially involve up to 200 new migrants.

The immigration minister, Chris Bowen, said the trial would enhance the capacity for e-learning and will be deployed progressively from 2012.

“Gaining English language proficiency is crucial to successfully settling in Australia,” he said in a statement.

“This trial will deliver improved resources consistent with the AMEP distance learning and advanced learning options that facilitate real time video-based teacher/client interaction, leading to improvements in speech and pronunciation.”

The first phase of the trial will provide online resources for distance learning teachers and home tutors, followed by the delivery of interactive and collaborative services to distance learning members in NBN-connected areas.

The trial is expected to end in 2013-14.

Source http://www.cio.com.au/article/414697/nbn_deliver_virtual_english_tuition_new_migrants/?fp=4&fpid=21

Abbott promises hope and opportunity

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says his vision for Australia is to restore hope and opportunity by delivering lower taxes, better services, more recruitment jobs and stronger borders.

Mr Abbott began what has been billed as a positive National Press Club address by attacking the Labor government's record.

The government had weakened Australia's economy and society, he said.

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"It does not have to be this way. We could be so much better than this," he said.

"What Australia most needs now is a competent, trustworthy, adult government with achievable plans for a better economy and a stronger society.

"My vision for Australia is to restore hope, reward and opportunity by delivering lower taxes, better migration services, more opportunities for work and stronger borders."

Mr Abbott said a coalition government would do fewer things but do them better.

Harking back to the Howard years, Mr Abbott said he knew how to build a stronger economy because he was a senior minister in a government that did so.

"Australians can be confident that the Liberal and National parties will provide good economic management in the future because that is what we have always done in the past. We have done it before and we will do it again," he said.

"After all, 16 members of the current shadow cabinet were ministers in the Howard government which now looks like a lost golden age of reform and prosperity."

Mr Abbott said his plan for a strong economy was to scrap unnecessary taxes, cut government spending and reduce the red tape burden on business.

He said Labor was lecturing the Europeans while copying their failures, turning a $20 billion surplus into a $167 billion debt and $70 billion in net Commonwealth assets into $133 billion of net debt.

"That's $6000 for every Australian man woman and child," he said.

Mr Abbott said at the heart of Labor's failure was the assumption that bigger government and higher taxes were the answer to every problem.

"This government has completely failed to appreciate the iron law of economics that no country has ever taxed its way to prosperity. The only foundation for a successful country is a strong economy," he said.

Mr Abbott said the coalition would identify savings from programs that "have become by-words for waste".

This included scrapping the carbon and mining taxes, cutting the computers in schools program and GP superclinics, not adding extra bureaucracies for hospitals, finding cheaper ways to buy and install digital set top boxes on televisions, reducing consultancies and dropping 12,000 workers from the public service.

"We'll release all our costings in good time before the next election," he said.

If the coalition won government, Mr Abbott's first act as prime minister would be to repeal Labor's carbon tax legislation "to take the pressure off the power prices and transport prices that feed through to every price in our economy".

But that didn't mean householders could no longer look forward to tax cuts.

"Australians can have tax cuts without a carbon tax but only if we get government spending down by eliminating wasteful and unnecessary programs and permanently reducing the size of government," he said.

He said countries, like businesses, have to get better at what they do.

"We appreciate that all the stakeholders in Australia Inc eventually need to see a dividend as the reward for their hard work," Mr Abbott said.

The opposition leader also reiterated a coalition government would install local boards to run hospitals and deliver a "fair dinkum" paid parental leave scheme.

On the immigration front, Mr Abbott stressed that "nothing makes me prouder to be an Australian than the eagerness of people from all over the world to swap their life for ours".

He also wanted to end forever any lingering suspicion that the coalition had a good head but a cold heart for dealing with Aboriginal people too.

"Should I become prime minister, I will spend at least a week every year in a remote indigenous community because if these places are good enough for Australians to live in they should be good enough for a prime minister and senior officials to stay in," he said.

"The measure of a decent society is how it looks after its most vulnerable members."

But he also said there would be "tough love" for those on unemployment benefits.

"Why should fit young people be able to take the dole when unskilled work is readily available?

"Why should middle-aged people with bad backs or a bout of mental illness be semi-permanently parked on the disability pension because it's easier than helping them to experience once more the fulfilment of work?"

The Liberal leader said he strongly supported the Productivity Commission's recommendation for a disability insurance scheme "but with an estimated price tag of $6 billion a year ... this important and necessary reform can't fully be implemented until the budget returns to strong surplus".

Mr Abbott, a former health minister, said he always envisaged putting dental services generally on Medicare but stressed universal access was a coalition "aspiration and not a commitment".

"Like disability insurance this would be an expensive reform at over $4 billion a year," he said.

"It's the kind of initiative that can't responsibly be implemented until the budget returns to strong surplus."

Mr Abbott said that if elected prime minister he would lead a pragmatic, problem-solving government where pragmatism would be based on "mainstream Australian values".

"By the close of the next coalition government's first term, I am confident that waste, mismanagement and reckless spending will have been brought under control," he said.

"More tax cuts will be in prospect, there will be community-controlled public schools and hospitals, and just about every fit working-age person will be in work, preferably for a wage but if not for the dole."

Mr Abbott concluded his speech by arguing the best way to help the country right now would be to change the government.

"Changing the government, of course, is but a means to an end - to bring out the best in our people and in our nation."