Oracle needs some cloud computing mojo

Oracle’s cloud computing stance has, um, evolved, to say the least, over the past few years. As the company preps for its annualOracle OpenWorld mega-show in San Francisco next week, a question lingers: Is Oracle software and/or hardware cloudworthy?

Expect a lot of cloud talk out of the conference and more on hardware-software bundles a la the company’s Exadata, Exalogic and new database appliance. But Oracle still has a lot to prove on the cloud front.

Oracle’s cloud problem goes back at least two years, when Oracle CEO Larry Ellison famously mocked cloud computing hype at a Churchill Club event. “What do you think Google runs on? Water vapor?” he asked. “How about databases, and operating systems, and microprocessors and the Internet?”

As colleague Derrick Harris wrote for GigaOM Pro at the time, Ellison showed a lack of understanding of true cloud benefits:

Cloud computing is about far more than simply serving applications via the network. It is, at the least, about pay-per-use billing, process automation, on-demand provisioning of additional resources and increasing efficiency through multi-tenant architectures. Many believe cloud computing is about openness. If it does not increase flexibility and efficiency while decreasing extraneous costs, it is not cloud computing.

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Inspire WiFi chooses Meraki to provide wireless access for guests and patients at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York

Meraki, the cloud-based networking company, today announced that its wireless LAN solution is used to provide WiFi at the Montefiore Medical Center, one of the largest hospital and care networks in New York. Montefiore’s provider, Inspire WiFi, deployed Meraki to provide WiFi across all patient and guest areas, and continues the ongoing monitoring, maintenance, and technical support of the WiFi network.

Montefiore Medical Center has more than 350 practicing physicians and includes three main divisions: the Moses Division, including the Children’s Hospital; the Jack D. Weiler Hospital; and Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center. Inspire WiFi deployed over 150 Meraki MR14 access points to provide coverage across the three divisions.

Now Montefiore’s patients and guests are able to enjoy high-speed wireless internet access inside patient rooms, waiting areas, and outdoor courtyards. According to Greg Ebbert, Vice President of Inspire WiFi, over 7,000 users accessed the Montefiore WiFi network in the first six weeks that it was live. “We are excited to partner with Meraki and Montefiore to provide this amenity for Montefiore’s patients and guests,” Ebbert said.

“Our patients and guests have been asking for WiFi, so we were pleased when Inspire WiFi was able to provide us with a carefree hospital-wide wireless solution,” said Jack Wolf, CIO of Montefiore. “We are always looking for ways to set ourselves apart and to increase patient satisfaction. Inspire WiFi provided us with a great tool through Meraki to accomplish those goals.”

“Meraki is pleased to work with Inspire Wifi to provide WiFi at the Montefiore Medical Center, one of the largest employers in New York state,” said Kiren Sekar, Meraki’s Director of Marketing. “Meraki’s innovative cloud-based wireless architecture and Inspire’s expertise in deploying and running multi-site WiFi networks have already served thousands of patients and guests across several Montefiore locations.”

Meraki Rated “Promising” in Leading Industry Analyst Firm’s MarketScope for Wireless LAN Intrusion Prevention (WIPS) Systems

Meraki, the leader in cloud networking, today announced that it has been rated “Promising” by Gartner Inc. in the 2011 MarketScope for Wireless LAN Intrusion Prevention Systems:

This MarketScope analyzes the performance of vendors that have focused on the WLAN IPS market from the second half of 2010 through the first half of 2011. Gartner’s evaluation is based on (in order of importance) continuing discussions with Gartner clients that are using and evaluating these products, survey responses from the vendors, and interviews with reference customers that were provided by the vendors. The ratings shown quantify Gartner’s opinions of each vendor’s performance in the market and should be used as just one input in your buying decisions.

Gartner “MarketScope for Wireless LAN Intrusion Prevention Systems,” John Girard, John Pescatore, and Tim Zimmerman, July 12, 2011.

Indeed, by integrating WIPS functionality seamlessly into its cloud controlled wireless LAN, Meraki provides a highly secure wireless environment out of the box. Built-in security features include:
Two-factor authentication
Third party security audits: penetration testing, PCI compliance, SAS-70 Type II datacenter audits
Rogue AP detection, classification, and alerts
Stateful policy firewall with LAN isolation and identity-based policies
Layer 7 application firewall to block unwanted apps

Design Within Reach, a leading furniture retailer, recently deployed Meraki’s Cloud Networking solution across its 50 retail stores, warehouses, and headquarters. The deployment succeeded in preparing the network for iPads and guest WiFi, while maintaining security standards necessary in a retail environment. “While DWR extends connectivity to our customers, we must maintain strict PCI compliance,” said Roger Mueller, Director of I.T. at Design Within Reach. “Meraki gives us powerful new tools to provide the security, capacity, and management that we need in a premium retail environment.”

Meraki’s cloud platform delivers features like two-factor authentication and daily third-party security audits that are not feasible in traditional architectures. Meraki’s out-of-band control plane provides the benefits of the cloud while maintaining PCI and HIPAA compliance. Meraki includes complete wireless security at no additional cost, with no extra hardware or software licenses to purchase. Meraki also integrates seamlessly with third-party WIDS/WIPS systems.

About Meraki
Meraki is the recognized leader in Cloud Networking. 100% cloud-based from day one, Meraki’s architecture delivers out-of-the-box security, scalability, and management to enterprise networks. Meraki has been deployed in over 18,000 customer networks worldwide, including Stanford University, British Telecom, Burger King, Starbucks, and M.I.T. Meraki is located in San Francisco, California, and is funded in part by Sequoia Capital and Google. For more information, visit http://meraki.com.

About the MarketScope
The MarketScope is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The MarketScope is an evaluation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner’s analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the MarketScope, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest rating. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Renton School District Selects Meraki for Nation’s First Campus-Wide 3-stream 802.11n Network

Meraki, the Leader in Cloud Networking, today announced that Renton School District selected Meraki’s MR24 cloud controlled wireless access points to provide enterprise-class WiFi to Renton’s 16,000 students, faculty and staff. The Renton School District deployment covers 28 sites, including elementary, middle and high schools, the district office, facilities, and the football stadium. Renton is the first school district in the nation to adopt the latest generation of 802.11n WiFi, featuring 3-stream, 900 Mbps performance.

Meraki’s high performance MR24 access points are centrally managed by the award-winning Meraki Enterprise Cloud Controller. “Meraki allows me to manage the network across the entire district, and I’m a team of one,” said Todd Baker, Network Administrator for Renton School District. “The capabilities of Meraki’s Cloud Controller are incredible. There’s one dashboard for everything, from provisioning APs to troubleshooting client issues. The ease of use and powerful tools greatly reduce my site visits.”

The Meraki MR24, an ultra high-performing 3-stream 802.11n access point, is ideal for dense classroom environments and high-bandwidth applications. Renton is rolling out 352 MR24s in a deployment totalling more than 415 Meraki access points. The campus-wide coverage supports Renton’s Computer on Wheels (COW) program, which provides classrooms with “COW carts” to stream video, data and other media.

Renton leveraged Meraki’s contract with the Washington Learning Source (WLS), which facilitates deployments for Washinton state school districts. Prior to selecting Meraki, Baker carefully evaluated a number of networking vendors. In a performance test of 2 finalists, the Meraki MR24 outperformed in WiFi range. Moreover, the ease of use and reliability of Meraki’s cloud controller impressed Baker. “I’ve had a controller go bad on me in the past. With Meraki’s cloud controller, I’ll never have to deal with that again,” Baker said.

In selecting Meraki, Renton School District saved $1 million, enabling it to invest in new classroom learning technologies. “This project was funded by our community from the 2008 voter approved Technology Levy,” said Stosh Morency, Director of Information Management Services. “Working with Meraki allowed the district to add wireless building-wide in 28 facilities and still finish $1 million under budget. These savings will fund additional technology in our classrooms helping keep our students ahead of the curve.”

About Meraki
Meraki is the leader in Cloud Networking. 100% cloud-based from day one, Meraki’s architecture delivers out-of-the-box security, scalability, and management to enterprise networks. Meraki has been deployed in over 18,000 customer networks worldwide, including Stanford University, British Telecom, Burger King, Starbucks, and M.I.T. Meraki was named a visionary in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Wireless LAN, and won Techworld’s Wireless and Mobility Product of the Year. Meraki is located in San Francisco, California, and is funded in part by Sequoia Capital and Google. For more information, visit www.meraki.com.

About Renton School District
Renton School District educates students enrolled in its 23 elementary, middle and high schools in and around the city of Renton in King County, Washington. The award winning school district is at the frontier of technology implementation in accordance with its technology plan to promote and facilitate learning with emerging networking technologies.