Innovative Tech of the Week | The Million Year DropBox

"'The volume of data being created every day is exploding, but in terms of keeping it for later generations, we haven't necessarily improved since the days we inscribed things on stones,' Hitachi researcher Kazuyoshi Torii told AFP. 'The possibility of losing information may actually have increased,' he said, pointing out that CDs and tape storage are predicted to last less than a few decades at best, and in many cases fail within years." 

Hitachi has therefore proposed a new storage medium: quartz glass. They argue that data lasered in binary formatted dots on the glass in four layers can be stored at 40MB per square inch. And unless the glass is broken, the data will last hundreds of millions of years in the glass. In addition, since the dots can be read using a simple microscope, future readers of the data should be able to decipher it even if technology has changed drastically. 

We like being reminded that no matter how advanced technology gets, some of the core problems, like physical materials to store data in, can still be solved by 'basic' glass and dots.  

Click here to learn more about Hitachi's glass data storage 

Innovative Tech of the Week | Google Wallet

According to Engadget, Google Wallet's has officially stepped up its game and is looking to be the premier provider of cloud payment services for consumers. (And even businesses? We'll see.) By managing all your payment information in the cloud, you can 'tap to pay', monitor expenses and all credit/debit card information from any device, and disable advices if your security is breached. It'll be interesting to see if they can convince consumers of the safety of their data. In the meantime, check out the incredible promotional video below from Google for more details.

And click here to learn more about Google's virtual wallet technology. 

Eight Questions to ask any Cloud Services Provider | Construction Today

Published on July 11, 2012 in the Construction Today Blog
By James Benham, President of JB Knowledge Technologies, Makers of SmartBidNet

Whether you have cloud technology or you’re shopping around for the right solution, there are several crucial questions to ask any cloud services provider before taking a leap into the cloud. We have developed this list through personal experience of working with prospective clients who weren’t afraid to ask us the hard questions. Below are eight questions and my recommended answers that will keep you informed and your cloud services provider on their toes.

1. How extensive is your experience in the construction industry specifically?
   It is important to look for someone that has at least five years of experience in your specific industry. Don’t be afraid to ask for specific client references to confirm their abilities.

Click here to read the full article

Will cloud computing be your best option? Make sure you answer these questions first.

Cloud computing, cloud technology, cloud services, “in the cloud”, in whatever context, you’ve heard of it. And by now you could probably recognize it by this definition “a type of computing in which "massively scalable IT-enabled capabilities are delivered 'as a service' to external customers using Internet technologies" or by the services you’ve used personally for years that already employ the technology: Gmail, YouTube, Google Docs. Now that cloud technology is transforming corporate IT infrastructure, it’s being used in collaborative areas such as file storage and sharing, web and video conferencing, web-based project management software and online education and training. Many predictions are being thrown around involving billions of dollars saved as IT budgets expand the “Cloud services outsourcing” item, but the decision to use or not use cloud services has not come lightly, especially where sensitive monetary, employee, and client data are involved...

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What technology trends are having a huge impact on risk management?

The latest trends in information technology have a huge impact company-wide, from the IT department implementing new resources to the managers and executives who utilize them. Each office, person, and device add a dimension of risk, cost, storage, and compliance. I’d like to focus on the risk component, and how the information technology trends we are seeing today are challenging risk professionals, more than ever, to know what they are dealing with. And like Charles Tremper once said, “The first step in the risk management process is to acknowledge the reality of risk. Denial is a common tactic that substitutes deliberate ignorance for thoughtful planning.” So let’s get to acknowledging.

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