GMO Cloud

Web-Based Education Business ConnectEdu Reduces Infrastructure Costs with Cloud Move

ConnectEdu is a web-based education business that empowers its students to manage their education. Because the education industry is seasonal, they wanted a solution that would be flexible and allow them to scale up or down resources as needed.

They decided on cloud computing because it was more cost effective and would allow upgrades and a move from development to test and Q&A with ease.

They implemented the change with a strategy that saved them upfront costs on applications and decreased their internal IT expenses by 80%. The basics of the plan were:

1. Used remote servers to install app-specific software
2. Cloned the platform for a clean installation
3. Converted internal servers to SaaS based model

Rick Blaisdell outlines the basics of his plan, with a link to more specific information, in this blog that tells why he chose to use cloud computing and how it helped his business grow. For a closer look at the steps to implement a cloud computing system onto his education-based web business, read Blaisdell’s recent article.

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Is Multi-tenancy the Way for your Business to Go?

For any companies that are looking at cloud hosting as one cloud-based solution to their business needs, the first big question always seems to be whether to go with a multi-tenancy public cloud solution. Many of the larger enterprise companies are taking the path of a private cloud solution, but it isn’t the solution for everyone.

One of the elements that many companies are questioning is the security aspects of a multi-tenancy cloud server. There has been plenty of talk on the web about whether the problems outweigh the answers. But do you even know what multi-tenancy is and what the questions are concerning security? This article takes a look at both a simple definition of how this particular type of cloud hosting works and the situations where going that route makes sense.

There are questions you can ask to get clarification from a host server on what security they offer such as:

• Do they have SAS 70 certification?
• Are they willing to do a penetration test for your set-up prior to going live?
• Is the data encrypted?

For a full list of questions as well as a few links to some more detailed overviews of the security questions, please continue reading at Simon Withers’ blog.

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Tips for the Development of Mobile Websites

As we move into the mobile age and the rise of cloud hosting, more businesses are discovering that in addition to a traditional website, they need to create a mobile site for all those tablet and smartphone customers. Mobile marketing is now an integral part of any business plan, but conceiving it and delivering it are two different skills. Creating a mobile website is much more complex than a traditional website, as many have discovered after the work has begun.

Linda Mentzer looks at the twelve basics when designing and marketing your mobile website. Even if you think you understand cloud hosting and mobile marketing, you may want to take a look at her article for a checklist before you begin.

A few of the basics tips include:

• Minimize Hypertext in any mobile web design as they can be too small for clicking from a mobile platform such as a smartphone.
• Use HTML5 instead of Flash to decrease download time on mobile devices so your potential customers don’t get impatient and move on.
• Use location to market your products with such tools as location tracking.
• Use social media as a tool to your marketing and website strategy.

These and other tips are all great ways to look at how mobile websites can become a big part of your next marketing campaign. Learn how to implement these and other tips into your next strategy planning session by reading more at Web Host Industry Review.

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Photo credit: Dru Bloomfield via Flickr

Top Ten Technological Changes for 2012 in Business

With cloud computing and virtualization leading the pack of technologies, it is no surprise that the top ten list from Quest Software shows they are predicting cloud computing solutions to make enormous changes in how we do business over the upcoming year. The emergence of cloud-based solutions for a wide variety of business applications has threatened to change not just the IT side of business, but also the whole way we look at doing business today.

Among the technologies for communications, security, operations and systems management that Quest sees being affected by the wider scale adaption of cloud computing, the following are included:

• SaaS – Software as a Service, especially shared business services that include such things as messaging and customer service are going to be amongst the top services in popularity next year.
• Better Cloud Service Provider Services – The very concerns many now have over public cloud services will be addressed such as security issues, ability to conform to compliance requirements and the ability to access management controls.
• Apple’s leadership role in IT mobile market challenged – Google and Microsoft are cranking up the competition with Android and Windows 7. It will soon lead to businesses needing to make some decisions about what platform to go with.
• Social Networking in Business – As more and more employees continue to expand the amount of time spent on social networking, businesses will need to grow more aware of how this will affect their bottom line.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how cloud computing will be affecting all businesses, but especially SMBs in the coming year. For a look at the complete top ten list, be sure to read Michelle Hammond’s full list at StartupSmart.

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Friday Cloud News Roundup

Considering a Move to Private Cloud?

When the talk comes up of private clouds, do you know what really constitutes a private cloud and how to make a good decision about them? There are many companies that think they can throw a few data servers into a center and call it a private cloud. Not so fast, say Chris Greendale and Bruce Coughlin of Cloud Technology Partners. Here is a chance to sit in on a discussion they have with Information Week on what to avoid when making the move to a private cloud.

Can You Recover from a Virtual Disaster Quickly?

Everyone talks about security in the cloud, but if the unthinkable were to happen to your cloud servers, are you ready? Virtual private-cloud disaster recovery is becoming big business these days, and for a good reason. If you are considering moving into the cloud, this is one aspect of it that needs to be part of the plan. Velocity just announced that it is expanding its managed application services to include a higher-level disaster recovery and business continuity solution. For a look at this latest offering and if it might be a good fit as part of your cloud plans, check out the latest release on their new security package.

Adobe Drops Flash for HTML5

There have been rumors for months now, but Adobe finally made it official this week when it announced that it will not be continuing to develop the flash player plug-in for mobile devices. Flash has been used for movies, video games and other media on a variety of devices but the emergence of HTML5, along with Apple’s decision to bar it from iPhones and iPads may have been the death knell for the plug-in. Developers will continue to be able to get support, but no new development work will be done.

Could 2012 Be the Big Year for Cloud Computing?

With the year drawing to a close, we are already seeing some predictions for where the cloud is going in 2012. ZDNet’s Larry Dignan shares some information on recent trends that point towards enterprise size businesses being the next big migration to the cloud. Is cloud computing recession proof and is Oracle’s purchase of RightNow a sign of things to come?

Open Virtualization Alliance Welcomes eG Innovations

Created as a non-profit consortium of businesses to foster the adaptation of open virtualization technology, OVA recently announced it’s expansion with the addition of service performance management solutions company eG Innovations to its fold. OVA’s stated goal of providing education, best practices and technical advice to businesses for evaluating virtualization options fits well with eG’s role as a provider of intelligent solutions for physical, virtualized and cloud environments.

Vidyo Announces Video Conferencing for the Cloud

Vidyo this week announced a move away from routers and into the cloud with the rollout of an all-software version of its popular video conferencing appliance. This move away from a hardware-centric to a software-centric application is just one more illustration of business moving to the cloud. The company is hoping to continue its trend of offering less expensive solutions to video conferencing by including collaboration as part of the video conferencing tool.

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