GlassHouse Technologies’ Whitepaper Details Risks and Rewards of Cloud Computing in Academia

Universities Poised to Widely Adopt Cloud Computing in 2011; Planning and Strategy Keys to Successful Implementation and Rollout

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GlassHouse Technologies, a global provider of independent data center consulting and managed services, today announced the availability of a whitepaper that highlights the drivers, challenges, advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing initiatives in higher education institutions. The whitepaper, “Clouds on Campus: The Risks, Rewards and Potential of Cloud Computing in Academia,” outlines strategies and best practices that will enable university CIOs and IT managers to effectively meet compliance regulations and the growing need for faculty and students to easily access classroom technologies while controlling costs. In the coming year, taking a cost effective approach to implementing new technologies is critical as states continue to cut operating budgets for state run institutions.

“Clouds on Campus: The Risks, Rewards and Potential of Cloud Computing in Academia”

Institutions of higher education have long been considered a hotbed of IT innovation and adoption. In the area of cloud computing, major concerns for privacy, security and data integrity are all top-of-mind for university CIOs. To address these issues, academia has combined cutting-edge research and new tactics to identify the true benefits of this evolving technology. Through this work, educational institutions are now ready to move beyond the experimental phase into adoption. However, implementing a cloud computing initiative takes proper planning and a strategic approach to ensure that a university CIO’s goals for the implementation are achieved in the most streamlined and cost effective manner.

“Universities have devoted significant resources to determining what technologies, including cloud computing, will best serve their student and faculty populations “said Paul Tallon, Associate Professor at Loyola College, The Sellinger School of Business and Management. “The combination of budget constraints, the demanding needs of technology-savvy students and faculty, and federal compliance regulations have spurred the need for cloud computing initiatives in academia.”

The technology is an attractive and increasingly feasible solution for institutions of higher education. The GlassHouse whitepaper outlines why campuses are an ideal place for early adoption of a new technology and looks at what other universities, including Cornell and Yale, are already pursuing in the area of cloud computing. Further, the whitepaper examines the differences and similarities of cloud initiatives for businesses vs. academia, including buy-in, cost analysis and IT staffing concerns.

The full whitepaper is available at http://www.glasshouse.com/resources/whitepaper.

About GlassHouse

GlassHouse Technologies is a global provider of data center infrastructure consulting services. In a rapidly changing data center environment, GlassHouse partners with customers to define a strategy, execute that plan and operate their environment. Our constant focus is on cost efficiency, risk mitigation and service improvement. This is provided through Transom, our unique business model comprised of proprietary software tools, methodologies and domain expertise. We help deliver on the promise of agility and usage-based spending in the next generation infrastructure paradigm. This journey is significant and requires an experienced and pragmatic guide to help you achieve your goals. Our experience is based on thousands of projects in addition to ongoing daily operations of customer environments. Visit the GlassHouse blog for expert commentary on key data center issues facing today's enterprises and follow us on twitter @GlassHouse_Tech.