Once you've found a definition of big data that you agree with, and calculated how much of it you have, now what? The mining and analyzing of big data has only just begun and while its benefits aren't guaranteed, it's possibilities are too enticing for anyone to simply ignore.

The cloud application portability promise is seductive, and open specifications position customer choice as a risk-free proposition. Seamlessly migrating applications across cloud service providers and achieving desired portability will require preventing lock-in.

With the relative ease of carrying out DDoS attacks, shouldn't the world's largest banks have been able to protect themselves—and us—from publicly announced breaches? A security expert and a state senator explain why more must be done.