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Ten Steps from Desktop to the Cloud

The road to virtual servers is paved with good intentions and bad planning. More and more these days companies are discovering that finding the best way to move their businesses from desktop to the cloud must include precise planning. In order to have your sales force and your back office in sync, they need to have portability of applications. In other words, they need virtual servers that can connect them anyplace and anytime. But how to make that migration without disrupting business or ending up with a less efficient system then you have now?

TechRepublic’s analysis of the best approach to this problem is clear and precise, giving not only the right questions to ask, but the right order in which to ask them. Author Jeanne Morain is well versed in the road blocks to put a business on a virtual server footing, having deployed thousands of applications over the years. In this article she outlines a 10-step program that will give guidance to the lead investigator in looking at the solution instead of the problem.

The program starts with the basics and leads you through a series of questions that will help anyone get the upper hand when it comes to a company’s upcoming move to virtual servers. Here is a short look at this approach to taking on the migration to cloud that many will be facing soon:

1. Look at the User, not the Machine – Begin by defining each user’s role and impact on the business, what they need it to do in terms of content and the context in which they need to do it.
2. Look at the Assets Today – Some technologies and tools you use now work well for you, and some do not. Knowing the difference will help in deciding what changes and when.
3. Look at the Political Landscape – Who do you need to give you buy-in for this change? Who will it affect the most? Eliminate turf wars by being inclusive of all teams.
4. Look at your Processes – Are there in house processes done by hand that could be automated? Are there ones that should never be automated? What processes are essential for the new cloud server based business to run successfully?

This is just the tip of the iceberg. However, it gives you a good idea about the kind of top of mind checklist every business needs for a move to a cloud server based operation. For the full ten steps and more of the details in each step, be sure to read more at TechRepublic.

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Deciding When Moving an SMB to Virtual Servers Makes Sense

If you have a small business, you know that in years past many of the ways to make operations more economical were just not practical for a business of your size. But the development of cloud computing, especially when it comes to a variety of cloud services such as virtual servers, means that many small and medium businesses can take advantage of new technologies without breaking the bank. The following article from PC World’s Business Center takes a look at a variety of points when discussing how a move to the cloud could be a smart one for many SMBs:

1. The Benefits for SMBs – There are many for a smaller business, including reducing overhead and software costs. Secure backup systems, long-distance collaboration, and reduced reliance on hardware upgrades are all explored here.
2. Asking the Right Questions – There are, of course, some concerns to moving to virtual servers in the cloud. The author looks at privacy, availability, data loss, and data mobility and ownership as causes for concern and how to address them with any potential cloud provider.
3. Cloud Transition Tips – Before the move to cloud computing, think about how to start small but think big, be sure your data can be transferred in its current format, read and understand agreements and always price out multiple options before deciding on a cloud service provider.

For more on what you need to consider on your way to cloud computing, be sure to read the full article at PCWorld.

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Cloud Hosting 101 – Public, Private and Hybrid Cloud Hosting

Within the concept of Cloud Hosting, there are three different types of cloud hosting, each of them the right solution for different needs. The main difference between the three types of cloud hosting is how the infrastructure has been developed.

Public Cloud Hosting – With public cloud hosting, you are using another person’s infrastructure along with other customers. Your virtual servers are provisioned on their cloud infrastructure, and since the overall structure has a greater capacity than you need, you are able to tap into this larger capacity during short terms of sudden need. Security and compliance issues can sometimes be seen as a drawback, but for many this is a not as important an issue.

Private Cloud Hosting – The biggest difference between private and public cloud hosting is that with private cloud hosting when it comes to the physical resources of the system your data is hosted on, you are the only client. The environment is run on a hypervisor platform, but you are the only company that is running in the structure. A company gains the benefits of a hosted virtual solution coupled with the ability to preserve their dedicated and managed hardware and resources. For some types of businesses, the benefits in security, compliance and support outweigh the cost factors and make this a better solution.

Hybrid Cloud Hosting – In a hybrid cloud hosting situation, you get the best of both worlds. The hybrid cloud allows you to combine the scalability of virtualization with the high performance of dedicated hardware. For an application that has less need for hardware resources, this allows them to run in a dense virtual environment while at the same time allowing greater overall performance and hardware utilization for the database by removing the virtualization abstraction layer. A good example of this would be if your web and application servers were virtually hosted while your data servers ran on physical dedicated hardware with shared storage. For some business this makes the most sense, as it covers both needs without compromising on either.

As you can see, there are always more ways to approach the concept of Cloud Hosting. As the technology continues to evolve, we will see even more ways that this new concept continues to find applications that are perfect for any kind of Cloud Hosting.

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Cloud Technology Startups Attract VC Funding

There was a time when any company that was rooted in cloud technology was just the kind of business an investor might avoid, but not anymore. In fact, the CEO of cloud technology-based start-up GramercyOne says that while three years ago being a cloud-based business made sales more difficult, these days it is almost a requirement. And he should know what he is talking about as his company is one of three New York cloud technology-based businesses to complete recent rounds of venture capital funding.

These companies have shown an ability to demonstrate how low costs to startups make them an attractive alternative to a traditional approach for new business. That is why these technology companies have made the latest funding round particularly successful. Three companies that saw funding this past month are:

1. GramercyOne – A software business that helps retail merchants track and control special promotions.
2. ErPly – A software provider for point-of-sale inventory management that uses cloud technology that frees merchants from needing constant internet access.
3. Profitably – Business analysis software for startups to help with forecasting cash flow and more.

For a look at the type and amount of funding, along with more information on what VCs are looking for in a cloud technology-based startup, read more at NYCovergence.

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London Olympics is Connecting Through the Cloud

The cloud has arrived at the Olympics as London prepares for the 2012 Summer Olympics with the help of cloud-based communications through British Telecom. It will be using the cloud server communications network to connect 25 sites as part of a converged voice, video and data network that will run throughout the summer games.

With 25 sites and 94 venues converging on 16,500 portable devices the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games will be the most connected games held ever. For a closer look at the cloud servers technology that will be offered and how this will provide flexible coverage for all participants in the games, see the full story here.

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