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The lineup of value-added Big Data solutions for the open source Hadoop platform grew a little larger this week with the introduction of new data transfer and replication features from Attunity, an information-management vendor focused on the enterprise. The move also highlights the steady demand for integrative software packages that fill in the missing pieces for organizations aiming to build Big Data platforms based on open source tools.

Oracle Corp. President Mark Hurd says the Sun Microsystems acquisition, which occurred three years ago, has absolutely paid for itself in terms of cash flow vs. the purchase price, and thanks to acquired technologies like hardware and Java. Here’s the background from Hurd.

When Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) unveils financial results on Jan. 30, keep a close eye on the company's CloudStack strategy and milestones. Most channel partners are familiar with Citrix's virtualization, mobility, collaboration and IT support platforms. But CloudStack represents a new battlefront -- one that involves the hearts and minds of emerging cloud services providers (CSPs) and private cloud builders.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) spent considerable time discussing hardware during an earnings call yesterday. Read between the lines and it looks like Google is making a very strong commitment to Chromebooks — those cloud-centric notebooks currently offered by Acer, Samsung and Lenovo. CEO Larry Page described the “multi-screen world” in which “we are living in uncharted territory.” And, he vowed, Google will push the user experience forward.

Amid rumors that Microsoft may invest in Dell, a massive question has emerged: If such an investment occurs, will Dell maintain its extremely close relationships with Canonical (Ubuntu), Red Hat, SUSE and other open source providers? Hmmm… Here’s my spin on the situation.

As a professional academic, I spend my weeks between the fall and spring semesters working on research projects, preparing for the classes I’ll teach next term and, occasionally, sleeping. At MIT, however, students are taking advantage of the winter break to learn more about OpenStack, the open source cloud infrastructure, through a program sponsored by Rackspace that brings open source cloud computing and academia together in novel ways.

It’s now been a full year since ownCloud, the open source data syncing platform, launched as a commercial entity. I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical back then that the company would be able to succeed in a market already inundated with competing products. But ownCloud managed to hold its own and more in 2012, and has its sights set on continued expansion in 2013, according to recent statements from the company.

HP cloud computing leader and OpenStack advocate Zorawar "Biri" Singh has exited the company, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has confirmed. At a time when the struggling computer giant needs consistency and strong execution, Singh's exit may raise eyebrows among HP's cloud partners and customers.

The Open Compute Project is gaining momentum, as evidenced by the increasing attendance at the Open Compute Summit. This week, the summit attracted more than 1,900 attendees that were interested in checking out the latest and greatest in Open Compute Project technologies, innovations and products. There has been a bit of buzz about some of the innovations unveiled at the show, and this can only mean good things for the open source cloud computing market.

For OpenStack to succeed, the open source cloud platform will need a big ecosystem of trained experts and channel partners. Enter Rackspace and MIT, which this week are training 20 students as part of a 12-hour introduction to OpenStack.

Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) now generates 65 percent of quarterly bookings from partners, up from 53 percent in the company’s Fiscal Year 2008. That’s impressive. But how is Red Hat going to train partners to cross-sell the company’s growing portfolio of software — Linux, storage, virtualization, middleware, etc.? Oh, and who are Red Hat’s top current partners? Here are all the answers — or so The VAR Guy claims.

When Microsoft killed Windows Small Business Server SBS) in 2012, some partners started seeking alternatives and replacements. Eager to fill the void, Canonical, Zarafa and Zentyal have been promoting an Ubuntu small business server to partners. But are Microsoft partners willing to give Linux a look?

Red Hat is approaching $1 billion in deferred revenue, a strong sign that financial services, government, technology and telecommunications customers see the open source company as a long-term software partner. But can Red Hat use all of that good will to attract a new generation of cloud, storage and virtualization customers?

It looks like just about everyone is seeing the light (and the return on investment) when it comes to OpenStack, the open source cloud platform. Mirantis, one of the largest systems integrators focused on OpenStack, just announced it has raised $10 million in growth capital financing from Dell Ventures, Intel Capital and WestSummit Capital. The influx of cash is intended to help Mirantis accelerate its growth in its OpenStack cloud business.

Amid the virtualization war between VMware and Microsoft, The VAR Guy continues to wonder: Can Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, based on the KVM open source platform, battle its way into a leadership position? The question is especially timely as Red Hat partners gather in San Diego for a major conference.

A Google Chromebook has arrived at my doorstep. Starting now, I will live on the cloud-centric notebook (running Google’s Chrome OS) for 30 days. Why should Google partners, businesses and consumers care about this niche (but promising) form factor? Here are 10 points I hope to cover during his real-world, month-long review.

Red Hat will update its open hybrid cloud strategy during a North America partner conference, scheduled for Jan. 14-16. Telcos, cloud services providers (CSPs) and other types of partners apparently are opening their arms to Red Hat's CloudForms (IaaS) and OpenShift (PaaS) strategies. But can Red Hat really muscle aside VMware and Microsoft as partners seek the building blocks for public and private clouds?

At Red Hat Partner Conference North America (Jan. 14-16, San Diego), watch for CEO Jim Whitehurst and Channel Chief Roger Egan to describe how the company’s growing portfolio of software (Linux, storage, virtualization, middleware and hybrid cloud management) empowers partners. The big question: Are partners ready to diversify into all those new areas with Red Hat?

OpenStack remains the largest and most active open source cloud computing project, Network World notes. But research from Chinese blogger Qingye "John" Jiang suggests that momentum is building for CloudStack, and interest in Eucalyptus and OpenNebula remains strong. For cloud services providers (CSPs) and consultants, it's critically important to track each of the four open source cloud platforms. Here's why.

So far, the “Secure Boot” feature that Microsoft requires for Windows 8-certified hardware has caused a lot more anxiety in the Linux community than actual harm. Most Linux distributions have viable plans for working around the potential problems that Secure Boot poses. Nonetheless, the Free Software Foundation has embarked on a campaign to fight the feature tooth-and-nail. And it wants your help.