Beth Cohen

Member for

13 years 10 months

Beth Cohen is a senior cloud architect for Cloud Technology Partners, Inc., focused on delivering solutions to help enterprises leverage the efficiencies of cloud architectures and technologies. Previously, Ms. Cohen was the director of engineering IT for BBN Corporation, where she was involved with the initial development of the Internet and worked on some of the hottest networking and web technology protocols in their infancy.

Job Function

Architecture - Design

Country

United States

Beth Cohen

Beth Cohen is a cloud strategist for Verizon, helping to develop cutting-edge products for the next generation. Previously, Beth was president of Luth Computer Specialists, an independent consultancy specializing in cloud-focused solutions to help enterprises leverage the efficiencies of cloud architectures and technologies, a senior cloud architect with Cloud Technology Partners, and the director of engineering IT for BBN Corporation, where she was involved with the initial development of the Internet and worked on some of the hottest networking and web technology protocols in their infancy.

All Articles by Beth Cohen

All Stories by Beth Cohen

	Beyond Docker—Containers, Take 2Everyone in the development community seems to be talking about Docker Containers. Given the interest to develop architectures and deployment tools that can spin up new applications faster than ever in virtualized and cloud environments, it is time to dig deeper into what all the fuss is about.
	Big Tech OpenStack Shopping Spree ContinuesThe OpenStack Summit has turned into a giant marketplace for OpenStack Technorati looking for new gigs and technology giants looking to inject some fresh talent and innovation into their product lines. Beth Cohen highlights the new round of OpenStack startups by large technology vendors.
	OpenStack Kilo—All Grown Up! OpenStack and the cloud infrastructure platform industry in general have gone through radical technology changes since OpenStack’s inception five years ago. As the world’s largest open source project, is the OpenStack community and technology finally delivering on all the hype and anticipation?
	Mad about Containers What is all the fuss about containers, the latest open source technology spearheaded by startup darling Docker? Are containers poised to be the next best thing in cloud application development, and if so, what about Docker’s competitors?
	SD-WAN: Orchestration/Software Defined Networking MashupSoftware Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is an emerging technology that promises to deliver more flexible WAN connectivity by combining the flexibility of cloud services orchestration with sophisticated traffic analytics, Software Defined Networking, and Wide Area Networking optimization.
	Hooray for the Application Programming InterfaceHave you ever wondered why there do not seem to be any new computer and network standards? Standards are still alive and well, but for the most part they have been replaced with application programming interfaces, which offer more flexibility in addition to being faster and easier to implement.
	The Cloudy Identity Theft CrisisEvery day seems to bring yet another massive identity theft news story. Who is actually responsible for maintaining the security of a person’s data in the cloud? Most consumers assume it is their responsibility to protect their account information and precious sensitive online information.
	Managing Enterprise Application Portfolios Using Cloud MarketplacesCloud marketplaces, where customers can purchase component applications, have been around for a few years, but with an increasing interest in moving enterprise applications to cloud services, there is a new push to add features and functionality that appeal to not only their core SMB market segment.
	The Next Cloud Innovation Wave Cloud technology has certainly had a great ride over the past ten years, transforming the way companies consume IT services, remaking the way applications are built, and giving companies the flexibility to apply IT systems to business challenges in ways never imagined before. Where is it going next?
	Integration Is Key for Enabling the Internet of Things Technology companies are rushing to establish market domination by creating platforms and interface standards to support their version of the IoT vision. With all the hype, it is hard to cut through to the reality that IoT applications only work if all the moving pieces are well-integrated.
	Better and Faster Wireless Networks with 802.11acIs your wireless network just not keeping up with your need for faster content and app delivery? The recently announced 802.11ac wireless standards have the potential to change the network landscape by bringing high-bandwidth-demanding streaming media content to a wide variety of wireless devices.
	Mind the Orchestration Gap in the Cloud Do you find that the orchestration tools for building applications in the cloud are missing key functionality? Some companies are building tools that integrate the application and network layers, which will allow developers to build cloud applications across hybrid environments faster and easier.
	Women in Technology ReduxSatya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, is the latest of many male technology leaders who has stuck his foot firmly in his mouth on the topic of female advancement. His comments raise questions on just how far women have come and what can be done to implement fairer and more effective hiring practices.
	Managed Hosting Services: The Next IT Dinosaur?For years, specialized data center management companies packaged collocation and managed hosting services for their customers. Long the bread and butter of many data centers, is there still a place for managed hosting services now that public cloud IaaS is a well-established $13 billion industry?
	Cloud Company Consolidation: Getting Ready for the Next Cycle?Over the past few weeks there have been a spat of announcements related to a new cycle of cloud technology consolidations and mergers. Is this a sign that cloud computing is entering the next great technology revolution cycle, or is it the beginning of the end of cloud innovation?
	OpenStack DefCore Committee—The Grown-Ups Are in the HouseAs OpenStack enters its fifth year, the OpenStack Foundation and its many contributors, big and small, are finally addressing growing concerns regarding sprawling code and inconsistent compatibility among the platform’s components. The DefCore Committee is coming to the rescue.
	Application and System Orchestration with Evolving Cloud ArchitecturesAs the cloud industry matures, it is finally poised for the next generation of cloud architectures based on innovative orchestration tools and service overlays designed to provide organizations more flexibility and more choices than ever before for building cloud applications and infrastructures.
	EMV—The Next Generation of Credit Card SecurityAccording to the US Department of Justice, approximately 16.6 million people, or 7 percent of all US residents age sixteen or older, were victims of at least one incident of identity theft in 2012. Beth Cohen looks at EMV cards—the next generation of credit card security.
	OpenStack Architecture Design Guide—Now Available for Download Organizations wanting to deploy OpenStack-based clouds have struggled with the lack of best practices for the many different use cases. To address the well-known gap in architecture design best practices documentation, the OpenStack Architecture Design Guide is now available for download.
	Darknets—Solving the Internet Security ProblemMany people have come to the realization that the Internet is so riddled with security holes that they have decided to take a different approach to securing their data. Welcome to darknets—stealth networks for those folks who really do not want to be found.
	How Emerging Technologies Can Revolutionize Utility Service DeliveryPeople seem to have forgotten that we are still heavily dependent on an older, more fragile underlying infrastructure of water, gas, and electric utilities. Can emerging information technologies such as big data, the Internet of Things, and Machine to Machine be applied to modernize utilities?
	The Hype of the Internet of ThingsIs the Internet of Things the greatest thing since the automatic bread slicer, or is it just the latest overhyped gadgetry? Beth Cohen's look at the past and present of the Internet of Things suggests it may be a little of both.
	Chief Technology Officer—The Newest Seat at the Table?More companies are moving CTOs into leadership positions, as they realize that understanding technology is a crucial driver of business success. What is the difference between the CIO and CTO position, and why do companies need both more than ever?
	Enterprise OpenStack Deployments—Why Hide?With more than 4,700 attendees, double the number at the Hong Kong Summit a mere six months ago, the May 2014 OpenStack Summit in Atlanta was by all measures a resounding success. So why are so many enterprises reluctant to go on record about their OpenStack implementations?
	Cloud Orchestration—Are We Finally Singing the Same Tune? Are you holding back on moving applications to the cloud because of a diverse portfolio of installed systems? Beth Cohen examines whether cloud orchestration tools can be used to improve the management of IT application portfolios as they migrate on to public, private, and hybrid cloud platforms.
	Data Leaks—Will Secure Programming Save the Day?2014 is already shaping up to be another horrible year for compromised data. With all the widely publicized large-scale data leaks, there has to be a better way to secure sensitive data and applications. Secure programming, combined with more sophisticated network separation, might be the answer.
	Just How Persistent Are Your Cloud Bits, Anyway? Have you ever wondered what happens to your data if you cancel services with your cloud service provider? Is the data really gone, or does it persist? Beth Cohen looks at the common data backup and disposal practices and how various backup practices can affect the outcome.
	Atlanta OpenStack Summit: OpenStack Grows UpHave you been waiting to jump into an OpenStack cloud deployment in support of your business or application but were afraid it's still an unsupported mess? Based on the recently published Atlanta OpenStack Summit presentations list, OpenStack is finally coming into its own as a maturing project.
	Women in Technology—More Important Than EverWomen in technology are still far from equal, yet now more than ever the industry needs the diversity and talent that women bring. Beth Cohen analyzes the grim statistics of women in IT and why those in technology fields should encourage the inclusion of more women.
	Two Options for Public Cloud and Private Connectivity Amazon and Microsoft are now offering opportunities to establish connections to their public cloud services over private networks. Beth Cohen looks at the Amazon Direct Connect program and Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute as new connectivity options and who would benefit from them.
	Can OpenStack Get Operations Right?According to many industry pundits—including Forrester—OpenStack is well on its way to becoming a standard, but the platform is still struggling with developing the proper tools to operationalize it. Beth Cohen examines whether or not OpenStack can get operations right.
	Software Defined Networking vs. Network Function VirtualizationTwo networking abstraction paradigms (SDN and NFV) are emerging to address the need for better tools that provide the greater flexibility and more rigorous control needed to manage the thousands of separate virtual networks used in a public cloud.
	Microsoft Office 365—Innovator’s Dilemma?Microsoft's integrated suite of cloud Office productivity products far surpasses its closest rival—Google Apps—in productivity. But is Microsoft fully committed to a complete cloud-based software delivery model that might well cut into its bread and butter desktop software business?
	Bring Your Own Device—We Have Arrived!In the past eighteen months we have seen a radical shift in the way companies use mobile devices in the workplace. With bring your own device (BYOD) more popular than ever, the pressure is quickly mounting to support BYOD and provide a more flexible, enterprise-friendly mobility solution.
	What Is Driving the Growth of Cloud Storage? Have you ever wondered what is really driving the widespread adoption of cloud services? It turns out that while everyone has been hyping the latest PaaS or IaaS platform, the real growth in cloud usage has been boring old storage—both in the consumer and business market segments.
	Why Is OpenStack Neutron Struggling?After attending the 2013 OpenStack Summit, Beth Cohen highlights the latest information about OpenStack Neutron, the networking component, and why despite so many successes, the project is experiencing some pain points and struggling to find its connections.
	After Three Years, Is OpenStack Still on Track?There are many exciting new projects planned for the upcoming Icehouse release of OpenStack, but there are also some troubling developments as the project moves from being an incubated alternate cloud toolkit to a serious production-ready platform. Is OpenStack finally ready for prime time?
	Will the Chinese Dominate OpenStack?Who could have guessed that Beijing is home to the largest pool of OpenStack developers in the world? The huge Chinese market has been all but invisible to outsiders until the Chinese OpenStack activities were highlighted at the November 2013 Havana Summit held in Hong Kong.
	Not Dead Yet—VMware Buys Cloud VDI Vendor DesktoneIs VMware’s purchase of Cloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) vendor Desktone an indication that cloud desktop virtualization will finally become more widely accepted? The cloud desktop virtualization forecast is looking more like mixed clouds and sunshine.
	Are You Rethinking Cloud Network Access?Are you worried about your cloud resources network security? Is accessing your SaaS CRM system over the Internet just not reliable enough to meet your required customer SLAs and business objectives? We all know public cloud services—love them or hate them—have some glaring deficiencies.
	Integrate Cloud Services Support to Avoid the Help(less) DeskA major downside of using cloud services is that customers often find they are responsible for any needed integration across different applications and vendors. Beth Cohen offers tips for minimizing the risks and improving service quality when integrating cloud services.
	The Dirty Secret about Cloud Service Level AgreementsHas your cloud service provider had an outage that affected your users or business? If so, you are not alone. As more companies turn to the cloud for its flexibility, cloud service providers owe it to their customers to provide services to match reasonable expectations for quality and reliability.
	If There Is No Network, There Is No CloudAs more services shift to the cloud, the reliability, security, and quality of the network become of paramount importance. Beth Cohen examines private networks as a way to solve the problem of notoriously unreliable Internet service.
	Cloud Application Migration—It’s the Network, StupidSaaS and IaaS vendors are looking for solutions to facilitate customer on-boarding, while customers are looking for ways to minimize vendor lock-in. Why have these services been so slow to mature? The functionality is much needed as more workloads are migrating or being built directly in the cloud.
	Cloud Prediction: High Availability with a Chance of DowntimeIn the past, disaster recovery meant either paying for expensive data replication services to remote data center hot sites or purchasing full sets of redundant hardware. Some companies were willing to pay for that peace of mind, but others went looking for more cost-effective approaches.
	Navigating the Platform as a Service (PaaS) Market SwampPaaS has been called both a revolutionary tool that enables developers to build true cloud applications and a leap of faith. Can PaaS really be leveraged to build new cloud applications quickly and easily, or is it just another expensive software development methodology that developers ignore?
	HTML5: Using WebSocket for Mobile and Web Convergence?HTML has overstayed its welcome as the web language of choice. Nobody foresaw the need to incorporate graphics, sound, alternate devices, or wireless network connectivity. Is it time to relook at HTML5 as a converged development platform for delivering real-time content to a plugged in audience?
	Is Private Cloud a Sustainable Solution for the Enterprise?With a lot of press about the coming private cloud revolution, it might seem like a sign that the anticipated widespread enterprise adoption of the private cloud has final arrived. Beth Cohen looks at why companies might not be quite ready to switch from a public to a private cloud.
	The Building Blocks of Private Cloud ArchitectureThe public cloud is a well-established place where consumers and enterprises are increasingly more willing to put their mission-critical applications. After a rocky start, there is growing interest by companies in building private clouds to complement their public cloud application portfolio.
	Wading through the Big Data HypeIs big data really the next big thing—or is it just a way for the big IT shops to scare their enterprise customers into buying more gear and services? Beth Cohen looks at the hype about big data and examines the various issues surrounding it.
	Anywhere, Anytime Data Protection in the CloudUntil recently, who was responsible for data protection was rarely an issue—it was clearly the company’s sole responsibility. Now that companies are relying on outside parties and SaaS services for delivery of basic IT services and allowing staff to use their own equipment, the answer is unclear.
	The State of Confusion for Cloud Management ToolsCloud management tools come in a confusing array of flavors and support functions, ranging from single point solutions to enterprise grade and priced comprehensive toolkits. Some tools work from the applications layer and extend down; others start at the infrastructure layer and work up.
	Cats vs. Cows—Which Cloud Do You Have?If you are treating your private cloud like a pampered and spoiled pet cat that requires expensive care and feeding, then maybe it is time to start treating your cloud infrastructure more like a consumable commodity, like hamburgers—cheap, reliable, and interchangeable.
	The OpenStack and VMware Smackdown Much has been made about rumored reports of PayPal's plan to replace their VMware infrastructure with OpenStack. Is PayPal really dumping VMware for OpenStack—or is it just hedging its bets by building a more diverse cloud infrastructure? Beth Cohen highlights the differences between the two.
	Bridging the Public/Private Cloud ChasmAre public/private hybrid clouds dead or have they morphed into something different? Beth Cohen looks at how companies are leveraging public clouds to augment their internal IT systems—cloud or otherwise—by using a number of various architectures and techniques.
	Object Storage: File System Database Mash-UpCloud storage consumer subscriptions are targeted to exceed 625 million this year. A new generation of cutting edge data storage, modeled on the distributed database rather than the traditional hierarchical file system paradigm, is revolutionizing how storage is built and delivered in the cloud.
	Share Nothing Means Nothing Shared in the CloudBeth Cohen details the use of share nothing in the cloud. Share nothing means that all application components are carefully segregated so that each customer has its own self-contained environment, application, and access. If a component fails, it will ideally affect only one customer.
	FedRAMP—Securing the Cloud Data Center Federal StyleIn its continuing support of widespread federal cloud adoption, the US General Services Administration recently rolled out a security certification program, called the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) for public cloud data centers and service providers.
	Deliver Cloud Apps Better, Faster, Cheaper: PaaS of the FutureSoftware development tools are changing to meet the new demands for automated elasticity, sophisticated rules engines, orchestration across heterogeneous clouds, and support for a different software development lifecycle model. It's the future of Platform as a Service (PaaS)—better, faster, cheaper.
	Using the Cloud to Build SaaS Applications the Right WayMany traditional applications companies have rushed to roll out SaaS versions of their products without fully thinking through how an application architected to work in a traditional corporate IT environment might need to change to fit far different SaaS implementation requirements.
	Ninety Percent of All Cloud Predictions Are WrongBeth Cohen compares the past predictions for cloud computing and the cloudy forecasts for 2013—covering Year of the Cloud, OpenStack, VCE Vblock, VMware Cloud, and Cloud Tools.
	Under the Kimono—Cloud Data Center SecurityDo you really trust that your cloud service provider is adequately protecting your data? An astonishing 94 percent of all compromised data involved servers, and most public cloud infrastructure providers offer customers little or no insight into their underlying data center security practices.
	The Sunny Future for Cloud Management ToolsAn emerging class of enterprise-ready, cloud management tools is in various stages of development, launch, or production, Beth Cohen takes a look at the more mature platforms, the up and coming tools, and the various categories of cloud management tools on the market today.
	The Case of the Proliferating OpenStack DistrosIt seems that a growing number of companies are not sticking with the main OpenStack program and deciding to fork off their own distributions for sale to their customers. If OpenStack follows the same development path as Linux, there will be hundreds of distributions with subtly different features.
	Merging IaaS and PaaS Platforms—Why We Should CareUntil recently, the OpenStack community was mostly concerned with building stable infrastructure platform functionality and viability. Now that it is robust enough for production, it is time to invest effort into integration with PaaS tools. Beth Cohen examines the options for integrated solutions.
	Superstorm Sandy Uncovers the Downside of Cloud ComputingWhile one can argue all day whether Superstorm Sandy was caused by global climate change or not, there is little doubt that the storm again uncovered the lack of real high availability for most online companies and supposedly outage-proof cloud systems.
	OpenStack Has Finally ArrivedAfter two years, 550,000 lines of code, 320 contributors, and 180 companies, the OpenStack cloud infrastructure project has finally arrived as a major player in the IaaS space. Beth Cohen explores the latest news from the world of OpenStack.
	Geolocation and the Cloud—An Oxymoron?As cloud computing services become more widely accepted, the regulatory compliance, geolocation, and corporate governance issues have global companies expressing a need to know where their data is actually located.
	Can Amazon Be a Viable Cloud Standard?Cloud users are asking when cloud computing standards will be mature enough so that more companies will feel comfortable implementing cloud architectures and using cloud services without feeling vendor lock-in. Beth Cohen ponders whether or not Amazon is a viable cloud standard.
	The Complex Web of Cloud Pricing On the surface the OpEx payment model is appealing because it allows organizations to purchase the right amount of services to fit fluctuating needs over time. When you dig deeper, you will find a complex web of pricing and feature sets that makes it almost impossible to compare vendor offerings.
	Bring Your Own Device—Are We There Yet?Outside of niche industries, no one has questioned having a company purchase and control the hardware and software that employees use to do their jobs. With more people having computers outside of the work environment and the widespread use of mobile devices, it is time to revisit that idea.
	Emerging Cloud Standards—A Technology Lay of the Land Beyond the roughly divided cloud architecture's layers, consisting of SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, there is room for the creation of viable standards within and between each of the cloud layers.
	Emerging Cloud Standards—Infrastructure First? While network standards that form the backbone of the Internet are widely accepted, cloud standards have been adopted more slowly by the community and the marketplace. As cloud infrastructure technology matures, increased vendor interest is driving a renewed effort to create viable standards.
	VMware Acquires Nicira: Is Virtual Networking Mainstream? Virtual networking as a concept is so new that there isn’t even agreement about what it should be called or how it should define itself. Is it software-defined networking or network virtualization? What will this acquisition mean to the networking industry?