Tag Archives: cloud computing

A Look At The Major Cloud Computing Players – Rackspace

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Today we complete our look at Cloud Computing with Rackspace, a lesser-known but very important company in the Cloud realm.

Rackspace:

Rackspace is similar to Amazon Web Services – they offer specific cloud based solutions aimed at the technical side of your business (the IT department).  Like Amazon Web Services, they offer flexible pricing plans and server space that can be expanded or contracted in a matter of minutes.

In Conclusion:

Cloud Computing is an exciting area of growth for the technology sector, and we hope these snapshots of the major players have allowed you to get a better handle on what exists currently in Cloud Computing – and a hint of what you can expect in the future!

A Look At The Major Cloud Computing Players – Google

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In this week’s blog post, we’re continuing our look at the major Cloud Computing players by focusing on a titan in the industry, Google.

Google has been working in the cloud space for some time, and is primarily known for their Google Apps programs, which include: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sites and much more.

Google argues that cloud computing is the way of the future for a variety of different reasons.  Google Docs, for instance, offers a level of online collaboration not seen in standard software-based solutions.

Google also highlights the big impact that Cloud Computing can have in terms of tweaks to programs.  Quoting from their online blog, “In 2009 alone, we launched over 100 improvements [to our online applications], and customers didn’t need to manage any upgrades or patches”.  The easy-to-update, always evolving approach means that users don’t have to consistently re-learn new software every few years – instead, their knowledge grows slowly and consistently, as the software does.

In Conclusion:

Google has been a major leader in the cloud space, and their leadership is likely to continue as cloud applications continue to become more dominant.

Stay tuned next week for a look at Rackspace, and a perspective on where Cloud Computing is heading.

A Look At The Major Cloud Computing Players – Amazon Web Services

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We continue our look at the major players in Cloud Computing this week with one of its innovators – Amazon Web Services.

As Amazon.com grew, it built powerful cloud-based hardware solutions to grow with them.  Amazon Web Services takes this cloud architecture and offers it to businesses across the world.

Amazon Web Services encompasses a number of very specific offerings, and while Microsoft’s cloud solutions are aimed at the consumer level, Amazon Web Services is targeted primarily at the IT provider level.

Like many other cloud providers, Amazon Web Services prides itself on the unique pricing structure of Cloud Computing – subscribers to their services only pay for the capacity that is actually used.

In Conclusion:

If you’re looking at a solid DIY solution to your Cloud needs, Amazon can be a great provider.  However, if you’re looking for a solution that’s ready “out of the box”, you may want to look at a few of our other featured players.

Stay tuned to our blog for more perspectives on other Cloud players like Google and Rackspace.

A Look At The Major Cloud Computing Players – Microsoft

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Cloud Computing is a hot topic in technology circles – the technology is consistently getting better and better, and more and more companies are coming into the cloud computing fold.

With so much going on in the cloud space, we wanted to provide a few blog entries designed to help you recognize some of the major players in the industry, and understand what they have to offer.

In this blog entry, we’ll focus on Microsoft.

Microsoft:

Microsoft primarily focuses on two areas in Cloud Computing:

- Microsoft Office 365:

This is the cloud version of Microsoft’s widely used Office suite.  In the cloud version of Office, users are able to access Office from anywhere and on a variety of devices – from smart phones to a work computer to a home laptop.

Office 365 also brings advances to collaboration tools – for instance, 365 users can see each other’s availability for scheduling, or work together through social networking.

- Windows Azure:

Windows Azure is Microsoft’s cloud platform, which provides a wide variety of services.  IT specialists can move a company’s existing applications into the Azure cloud, or develop new web applications using Azure’s proven technology.

In Conclusion:

Microsoft is bringing some of its staple products to the Cloud, and it will be interesting to see how companies move to adopt the new offerings over the next year.

Stay tuned to our blog for more perspectives on other Cloud players like Amazon Web Services, Google and Rackspace.

Application Hosting and Cloud Computing Future for SMBs

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I think this is a pivotal time for all of us who use, service or otherwise take an interest in technology. As you are all aware, Microsoft put out 2 version of their operating system in the last few year – Vista and Windows 7. While Vista proved to be a flop in my opinion, I believe the era of the OS and desktop computing is on the decline. As this http://bit.ly/6g72rS and many other articles point out,  and in my opinion, Cloud Computing and SaaS only makes sense.

What does this mean for you?

I think what it means is that we will see less hype around the desktop, and the operating system. Yes, the MAC still does have a “cool” factor, however, when in comes to productivity at the workplace, cool may not be a substitute for fast, cost effective and available. And this is what The Cloud promises us. As we see widespread adoption of broadband across the US and other countries, and in the next few years we are also bound to see blanket, high-speed wireless coverage finally taking place, I believe more and more businesses will elect to move their computing environment to the cloud. Perhaps this full-on adoption will be slower with the larger companies who have their own, highly customized applications, lots of confidential data, entrenched IT departments, etc…but for the smaller, more agile firms out there, this should be a way forward.

The benefits are numerous:

  • Always On – access from any location 24/7
  • No upfront costs
  • No worries about upgrades or new releases
  • No “server down” situations (in a properly architected cloud environment redundancy should be in place)

..i can go on, but I think I have made my point. The technology will mature, and more and more businesses will find themselves using cloud computing in one way or another..Meanwhile, Spirinet has build a cloud computing and application hosting environment built with the small business in mind called AppsOnDemand. It’s core package includes Office 2007, file storage, email and other things that will serve as a starting point for most companies..And in case you need other apps, we can easily add them. Please check out our new product and provide any feedback, it is appreciated.

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