The multi-data centre, open source test bed initiative by HP, Intel and Yahoo will provide a globally distributed, Internet-scale testing environment designed to encourage research on the software, data centre management and hardware issues associated with cloud computing. The initiative will also support software development and pilot projects in cloud applications
and services.

The test bed will initially consist of six "Centres of Excellence" at IDA, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States (US), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, HP Labs, Intel Research and Yahoo. The Illinois Centre of Excellence receives funding support from the US' National Science Foundation.

Each location will host a cloud computing infrastructure, largely based on HP hardware and Intel processors, and will have 1,000 to 4,000 processor cores capable of supporting the data-intensive research associated with cloud computing. The test bed locations are expected to be fully operational and made accessible to researchers worldwide through a selection process later this year.

As a Centre of Excellence in the joint initiative, one of IDA's main areas of focus is to create opportunities for research and development. Researchers from HP Labs, Intel, Yahoo Research and Singapore will jointly identify the research and development focus for the test bed, with the aim of building up a core group of people who have the skill set to undertake and develop cloud computing innovations.

The IDA test bed will target to facilitate as many as 45 projects, with 15 of them being global collaboration projects. It will also aim to provide access to grid services and resources for more than 10 Internet-scale projects on cloud computing software and applications.

IDA Singapore will also work closely with Yahoo to enhance local cloud computing capabilities through a "train-the-trainers" programme. The plan is to equip up to 60 local experts from the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and industry with in-depth know-how of cloud computing. The "trainers" will impart their knowledge of cloud computing to their students at the IHLs and interested industry parties.

Mr Khoong: Partnerships like this will allow Singapore to leverage this new paradigm for greater economic and social growth.

Mr Khoong Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive of the Infrastructure Development Group at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, said, "With the ready and available Internet-scale resources in Singapore to support cloud computer research and development work, we can collaborate with like-minded partners to advance
the field."

"Cloud computing is considered by many to be the next paradigm shift in computer technology, and this may be the next 'platform' for innovative ecosystems. Partnerships like this will allow Singapore to leverage this new paradigm for greater economic and social growth."

The test bed will run Apache Hadoop - an open source, distributed computing project of the Apache Software Foundation - and other open source distributed computing software such as Pig, the parallel programming language. Researchers at HP Labs (www.hpl.hp.com), the central research arm of HP, will use the test bed to conduct advanced research in the areas of intelligent infrastructure and dynamic cloud services while Intel (www.intel.com/research) will provide the platform technologies, including processors, chipsets, networking and SSD (solid state drives), for cloud computing data centres.

Click here for the media release "HP, Intel and Yahoo! Create Global Cloud Computing Research Test Bed".

With many countries undergoing trade liberalisation, the need to discuss the implementation of trade rules has never been more important. To address this, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) recently co-hosted
a workshop with Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) on telecom trade rules and their implications on national regulatory frameworks. The workshop, which was held from 19 to 22 August, drew a mix of 40-odd regulators, telecom operators and vendors from around the Asia Pacific region.

Said Mr Leong Keng Thai, Director-General (Telecoms and Post) from IDA, "Many countries who joined the WTO have made commitments on telecoms and IT services. There are clear benefits of open markets, and market liberalisation has indeed benefited Singapore. However, while these agreements have been entered into, many countries need some form of guidance to better understand what they are committed to."

With this in mind, IDA collaborated with APT, a telecoms best-practice community comprised mainly regulators, and WTO, to jointly conduct the training session.

Mr Yamada: With 24 APT members in the WTO, and five applying to be WTO members, we felt that such a training session was very timely.

"With 24 APT members in the WTO, and five applying to be WTO members, we felt that such a training session was very timely," said Mr Toshiyuki Yamada, Secretary-General of APT.

Although similar workshops were run in the past, what made this workshop different was that two of WTO's top international experts came to town to speak and run the sessions. Ms Lee Tuthill, Counselor at WTO and one of the main speakers at the workshop, said, "I wanted an interactive approach where the attendees learn the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) by doing realistic exercises, rather than just listening to speakers talk." GATS is a WTO treaty on multilateral services trade which all WTO members are committed to.

Ms Tuthill: Telecoms is undergoing much change. The good thing is that in telecoms regulators are receptive to sharing ideas on how to do a better job.

During the four-day workshop, Ms Tuthill and the other trainers ran the attendees through multiple case studies on topics such as dispute settlements, licensing procedures and understanding the
GATS commitments. Attendees were encouraged to role-play how they would apply and implement the fundamental principles of GATS - such as
transparency and reasonableness -
in national regulations.

With more than a decade's experience dealing with the world's regulators, telcos and vendors, Ms Tuthill and her colleagues shared many real-life examples in response to the lively and often candid questions raised by participants during the workshop. Examples included how incumbent telcos try to stymie new entrants and how regulators can use WTO rules to prevent such anti-competitive behaviour. "Telecoms is undergoing much change. The good thing is that in telecoms regulators are receptive to sharing ideas on how to do a better job," said Ms Tuthill.

From the perspective of the attendees, the workshop has given them greater insights into the telecoms trade process. Said Mr Kannan M, Economic Advisor to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, "The trainers were excellent, and the workshop subject matter was quite necessary, timely and relevant." He added that although all countries are in "different stages of development" and their needs may be different, it is "good to know what the rules of the game are".

"Member countries need to equip themselves to negotiate in the global trade forum," he said. "It was good that IDA - a pioneering regulator in the region - helped organise this workshop."

Click here for more information on the workshop on Telecom Trade Rules and Regulatory Disciplines.

Enterprise gateway security company Secure Computing (www.securecomputing.com) has moved its Asia Pacific headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore to provide centralised regional sales, technical and logistics support to customers and partners from across the region.

Secure Computing first set up its office in Singapore in 2004 to function as its South Asia headquarters. With its new role, Singapore will now also provide support for countries such as Australia, New Zealand and China.

Mr Prigge: Singapore offers excellent infrastructure, transparent regulatory regime, pro-business environment and a world-class legal framework.

According to the company, expanded centralised management became a
priority given the strong organic growth from Asia Pacific and Japan, as well as
a significant increase in revenue and headcount from its acquisition of companies like CyberGuard
and CipherTrust.

"Since 2004, our business in Singapore and the region has expanded beyond our initial expectations," said Mr Robert Prigge, Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, Secure Computing. "Our decision to locate our Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore is a logical one, as Singapore offers excellent infrastructure, transparent regulatory regime, pro-business environment and a world-class legal framework. As an international business hub, Singapore is an ideal base for us to expand our business across the Asia Pacific."

According to a 2007 Frost & Sullivan report, the Asia Pacific network security solutions market, worth about US$1.28 billion in 2006, is forecasted to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 9.3 per cent (2006-2013) to reach a market size of US$2.38 billion by end of 2013. The robust growth is fueled by sustained economic growth in emerging nations resulting in greater
demand for security solutions for infrastructure upgrades and by enterprises and government.

Secure Computing recently strengthened its marketing and corporate infrastructure to tap into the burgeoning network security market. The company has established a new inside sales team to drive revenue growth and added new training rooms to cope with the increased demand for support by its regional channel partners.

Going forward, Secure Computing will further enhance its infrastructure by adding facilities for product demonstrations and testing, as well as strengthening its capacity to provide technical support for customers across the Asia Pacific.