An image of Kevin Matthews, HP UK and Ireland channel manager for enterprise storage, servers and networking (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — HP ( www.hp.com ) said it is planning to introduce a formal cloud computing component into its Preferred Partner Program starting its next fiscal year to address the continuing trend of resellers developing their own cloud propositions, according to a report by CRN .

An image of Kevin Matthews, HP UK and Ireland channel manager for enterprise storage, servers and networking (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — HP ( www.hp.com ) said it is planning to introduce a formal cloud computing component into its Preferred Partner Program starting its next fiscal year to address the continuing trend of resellers developing their own cloud propositions, according to a report by CRN . Kevin Matthews, HP UK and Ireland channel manager for enterprise storage, servers and networking, said that many of HP’s partners were turning away from the traditional reselling relationship with the company. Matthews said that this will continue in new formal benefits that will be introduced with PPP 2012 this November.

MS Says PBX Is Dead as Lync Unifies Communications Microsoft on Wednesday released Lync, the “next generation” of unified communications for businesses. The platform integrates instant messaging, presence, audio, video, web conferencing, and voice along with Microsoft Office , SharePoint and Exchange. Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of the company’s Lync and speech group, said Lync will help IT departments “enhance or eliminate their traditional PBX systems” by unifying all modes of modern business communications and offering “a more collaborative, ‘in person’ experience with features like HD video, conference recording, and social features like status updates and activity feeds.” …

Inside GalaxyVisions’ green data center in Brooklyn (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider GalaxyVisions ( www.galaxyvisions.com ) announced on Wednesday it is using ecologically-friendly practices at its Brooklyn-based data center. As a member of Green America’s Green Business Network ( www.greenbusinessnetwork.org ), GalaxyVisions is implementing many initiatives to conserve energy in order to provide more eco-friendly solutions. The company uses high powered exhaust fans and filtration systems to take advantage of the cold outside air throughout the winter months as its primary cooling system.

Images Could Change The Authentication Picture Memories of images stick with people far longer than words do. So why is it that the security world is still so set on relying on the recall of traditional text-based passwords when pictures could be more effective? It’s a question of execution, scalability, and fear of change, some experts say

IT pros still spooked by Office’s ribbon interface Four years after its debut, the “ribbon” interface in Microsoft’s Office suite still gives businesses the shudders, a research firm said today. The interface first appeared in Office 2007 to catcalls as users struggled with the massive redesign, which substituted a wide ribbon-like display at the top for the traditional drop-down menus, small icons and toolbars that epitomized Windows applications’ look-and-feel for decades.

Compared to the traditional file system approach used for typical email servers, Scality RING features a distributed storage model that offers greater reliability, as well as the ability to access data from any server and upgrade a server without downtime (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Carbon-neutral cloud hosting and storage service provider GreenQloud ( www.greenqloud.com ) has announced a technology partnership with object-based cloud storage provider Scality ( www.scality.com ) enabling it to launch its range of groundbreaking services later this year to users worldwide.

Google Could Drive Mobile Two-Factor Authentication Model Google’s announcement this week that it will offer two-factor authentication for Google Apps is an encouraging sign for the state of multifactor authentication in the cloud — particularly using the mobile form factor, which some believe could overcome some of the challenges that have plagued multifactor deployments in the past. The search engine giant’s new two-factor approach sends a verification code via SMS message or mobile app to augment the traditional username and password sign-in.

(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — The final presentation Tuesday morning at Hosting & Cloud Transformation Summit was delivered by Brian Burba, vice president of business development at CA, who said he was excited to be presenting because we are at what he considers a very exciting time for IT.

Mobile Devices Threaten Enterprises From Within Today, nearly every office worker carries a mobile phone into work.