Roger Strukhoff

A new study found that 60 percent of UK businesses do not use any type of cloud computing. Furthermore, 20 percent of them "suspect they will sidestep cloud computing all together," according to the report, which was conduced by IDC on behalf of the British hosting provider Fasthosts. About one in four companies surveyed said a lack of cloud expertise was a primary concern for them. Contrast this with recent research known as the Cloud Maturity Index conducted by Forrester Research on behalf VMware: 64 percent of respondents in Malaysia said they have deployed or are actively planning cloud initiatives 32 percent of Thai companies have cloud initiatives in place, and 90 percent of Thai companies said cloud is relevant to their company. We have to be careful about comparing apples and oranges here - and after all, the IDC numbers imply that 40 percent of UK business d... (more)

SOPA Seems Dead; Now What?

It looks like the SOPA bill, known formally as HR 3261 is dead now that President Obama has come out against it. As I write this, support among its sponsors, and of its twin PIPA (aka Senate 968), is on the wane. The day-long blackout by certain sites, and the publicity surrounding it, seems to have had a profound effect. But we all know we're trapped in a series Freddy Krueger movies. These bills will be back, no doubt shortly after the 2012 election. The strength of their venom will depend on the election results. To me, there were two nefarious aspects to SOPA - turning tradit... (more)

Startup Mania in Taguig City, Philippines

An event calendar that mines social media sites. A "gas nanny." Shoe-phoria. These were among 25 ideas presented at Startup Weekend Manila, a 54-hour event that just ended at MINT College in Taguig City, Metro Manila. The frenetic week-end saw more than 100 developers build out their ideas, try them on several mentors, then pitch them to a panel of local and international business leaders and investors. Some presenters were already in business, and looking to grow. Others were trying out their ideas for the first time. And some teams were formed only on Friday, and had the week-e... (more)

Back to the US: What's Wrong with Uncle Sam?

As I wrote yesterday, I'll be returning to the United States late this week, after spending most of my time over the past three years in Asia. From my base in the Philippines, I've covered cloud computing and related developments throughout Southeast Asia and China, with the occasional opportunity to cover India, Japan, and South Korea. Now I'll be setting up close to Chicago, with frequent trips to the San Francisco Bay Area, and planning to visit Asia when possible. I noted yesterday that most businesspeople are students of America to some degree. The notion's been seconded by ... (more)

eCommerce & Social Startups in Manila Spotlight

I've written previously about some of the winners and highlights of the Startup Weekend Manila event at MINT College in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The event featured 70 teams who worked over the week-end to create and refine their pitches. Some of the teams had established products and businesses, while others only just began the startup process during this event. The 70 teams were mentored (ie, had their original plans torn to shreds) by a variety of business executive and investors from the Philippines, Singapore, Australia, the US, and elsewhere. The process pared... (more)