What SMBs Need to Know About SaaS…Now
Software as a Service is one of – if not the most – popular cloud delivery models for small- and medium-sized businesses. According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Cloud Computing (2011), SaaS is entering the mainstream market in the next two to five years. The SaaS model levels the playing field between growing businesses and larger competitors, by equipping SMBs with application functionality that only large enterprises previously enjoyed. Moreover, this increase in functionality no longer requires huge investments in technology and resources.
SMBs no longer have to worry about the costs and investment associated with building and maintaining an infrastructure to support modern business applications as the SaaS subscription and delivery model now makes these applications affordable to businesses of all sizes…
Has SAP gotten cloud religion?
Last Friday, when SAP pre-announced better-than-expected earnings for its 2011 fiscal year, there was no mention of cloud computing. But, there’s a feeling the company, as it completes its buyout of SuccessFactors and closes more Business ByDesign deals, just might be able to put its reputation of cloud cluelessness behind it.
SAP is the leader in enterprise resource planning (ERP): the software brains behind most companies’ inventory and accounting systems. But in the tough transition from client-server to cloud computing, SAP lost its way. It launched a subscription-based Business ByDesign ERP offering in 2007, boldly predicting it would attract 10,000 customers and contribute €1 billion in revenue by 2010. It came in just a little bit short — only 100 companies signed up…
The downside of cloud computing: 4 reasons to think twice
You’ve probably seen tons of articles, editorials, and marketing anecdotes about how great the cloud is; how it can save you tons of money, empower you to do incredible things, free your staff up to do all kinds of important projects, and more. There’s a great deal that is true and accurate in all of those assertions to be sure, even if most of the writing is intended to convince you to buy into the hype. I’m a fan of cloud computing, having bought into it while at two separate companies and working in it now for a cloud services provider.
However, both as a customer twice over and as a consultant helping others move to the cloud, I have seen the other side of the rainbow; I’ve seen where the rain falls and where the reality doesn’t quite live up to the hype, and where you as a customer might be surprised or disappointed…
Amazon starts offering free Windows Server in the cloud
Amazon Web Services plans to start letting businesses run Windows Server applications for free for up to 750 hours of usage per month, putting the Microsoft operating alongside Linux in the Free Usage Tier designed to help new AWS customers get started with cloud computing.
The offer, through the company’s Elastic Compute Cloud infrastructure, was announced this morning.
“Our customers want the flexibility to choose how they build their applications without being locked into a particular programming model, language, or operating system. We continue to focus on increasing that flexibility,” say Amazon GM Peter De Santis in a news release…
“Cloud Check-What’s Your Next Move?” New Event Series Launch in 2012
Zenith Infotech, an international company that specializes in delivering innovative business continuity and cloud computing for IT service providers, announced today the launch of an advanced series of events focused on cloud computing. These events, appropriately named "Cloud Check – What’s Your Next Move?" will begin in Mid-January in Los Angeles and continue throughout 30 U.S. cities as well as South East Asia and the Middle East.
Zenith is thrilled to partner with CompTIA to present an education-based program that will elevate IT service providers’ ability to gain entry into the cloud and/or improve their cloud computing business. The focus of the program is on educating attendees on setting business goals, developing effective marketing programs, enhancing the sales pitch and overall operations. In addition, attendees will be able to increase their knowledge by networking and sharing strategies with their peers…
Symantec acquires cloud archiving company – LiveOffice
Symantec today announced it acquired cloud-based archiving firm LiveOffice for $115 million (£75 million).
LiveOffice partnered with Symantec as its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the firm’s Enterprise Vault offering, but will now be fully integrated into the company. Symantec said the deal would help bridge the gap between its storage and eDiscovery units, as well as increase its presence in the cloud computing space.
Overall, it means the security firm will be able to offer on-premise, cloud or hybrid solutions, allowing for a bigger push of its governance portfolio…
Cloud server shipments to skyrocket in 2012
For anyone needing yet another data point to show that cloud computing is driving IT, check out new projections from IHS.
The researcher predicts that unit shipments of “cloud servers” — computers used to power public and private cloud computing infrastructure — will soar to 875,000 in 2012, up a whopping 35 percent from 647,000 units shipped last year. This server segment has nearly doubled since 2010, when 460,000 such boxes sold, according to IHS, formerly known as iSuppli.
These numbers bolster other research showing that the cloud computing juggernaut continues to roll. For example, recent CB Insights data found that venture capital investment in cloud computing companies accounted for more than a quarter of all Internet-related deals and more than a third of Internet investment dollars last year…
Content Delivery Companies Accelerate Enterprise Cloud Migration Report
Demand for content delivery and high speed streaming have soared in recent years and content delivery companies are vying with each other to provide extra bandwidth for high quality media. The current Paragon Report focuses on this aspect and highlights the contributions of a couple of content delivery companies.
The press release states that cloud computing appears to be the answer to boosting customer appeal and enhancing the delivery of content and applications over the Internet. In this context, the report mentions Akamai (News 
– Alert) Technologies and Level 3 Communications.
Akamai Technologies, Inc., is well reputed for providing services that improve the delivery of content and applications. Toward this end, it acquired Israel’s Contendo for $268M. Contendo, which extensively uses cloud technology…
Dialogic Launches Powerful Software Media Server for Mobile, Broadband and Cloud Environments
Dialogic Inc. /quotes/zigman/611063/quotes/nls/dlgc DLGC -0.03% , a leading provider of communications technologies that power advanced networks, today launched a powerful software-based media server for mobile, broadband and cloud environments. Dialogic(R) PowerMedia(TM) Extended Media Server (PowerMedia XMS) enables service providers to deliver standards-based video conferencing features to create new — and to enhance existing — audio and web conferencing services. The software based media server runs on a wide range of physical and virtual computing platforms and it scales easily to meet variable demand for conferencing and other value added services (VAS).
Software media processing represents a highly efficient approach to delivering VAS as it can reduce deployment and operational costs, giving service providers an opportunity to improve their overall business results by adding IP-based value added services such as conferencing. Standard SIP call and media control protocols can simplify the adoption and integration of PowerMedia XMS into a range of next generation networks…
Vivek Kundra Joins Salesforce.com as Executive Vice President of Emerging Markets
Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the enterprise cloud computing ( http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/ ) company, today announced that Vivek Kundra has joined the company as executive vice president of emerging markets. Kundra is an accomplished technology leader with a demonstrated track record of driving innovation.
As the first Chief Information Officer of the United States, Kundra managed more than $80 billion in technology investments at one of the world’s largest information technology organizations. He was an early evangelist of the benefits of cloud computing in the public sector. Kundra authored the groundbreaking Cloud-First policy, which now serves as a model for government IT organizations around the world seeking to increase efficiencies with less resources…