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06.29.2011

A recent survey of 1,800 small independent businesses revealed that 71% of small business owners had never heard of cloud computing.

The SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey was commissioned by Newtek Business Services as a monthly view into the concerns of independent business owners. It presented four questions covering cloud computing and security. It went on to show that of the 29% of those questioned who had heard of cloud computing, 74% could not describe just what cloud computing is.

The Small Business Authority CEO, Barry Sloane, commented on the results, stating that “Cloud computing will be the next important trend in the U.S. economy for businesses large and small…and (we) discovered that the concept of cloud computing has begun to disseminate into the marketplace.” He named cost control, data security, data protection, accessibility, efficiency and productivity as areas of great proficiency that small business needs to take advantage of in order to profit from this new business model.

In addition to the two questions regarding cloud computing, 78% thought their data was secure and yet 71% said their data was not backed up offsite. So when a disaster strikes, as the proliferation of extreme weather and computer hackers point to as a more likely scenario in the last few years, how are small businesses to recover?

Cloud Business Review points to the need for small business owners to learn more about the various cloud hosting opportunities as more and more companies offer a broad range of services. The business site commented on the results of this survey by pointing out that many small businesses need to do their due diligence when investigating cloud computing options and should be prepared to hire a cloud-savvy tech consultant. Reading up on reviews for cloud solutions you are interested in and discussing them with your IT team were among the suggestions made to small business owners who are looking to grow by moving onto the cloud. The most important point is to be informed.

Our newsletters and blogs are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. We invite you to engage in our online community by following us on Twitter @GMOCloud and ‘Liking’ us on Facebook.

06.21.2011

With the rapid growth of Cloud Computing, particularly Cloud Hosting, many web designers and developers are finding a need to rethink their processes. The potential for it is huge, but so is the potential for misguided solutions. Let’s look at how Cloud Hosting, a subject we are very familiar with, is affecting how web designers and developers work.

For many developers, the lure of the cloud for web hosting is the potential for freeing them from the time and expense of managing physical hardware, leaving them more time for their real passion, the actual development of sites. The ability to scale up while in the development phase, especially when memory for resource heavy applications are needed, and then scaling down just as quickly at the end of the project is a wonderful tool for any developer.

For many web designers, cloud hosting’s ability to deal with traffic spikes, especially in this age of special promotions on social network sites such as Facebook or Twitter, make it an ideal environment. Traffic spikes that result in crashed sites make any designer’s life a nightmare. Many ecommerce sites are considering the move to cloud hosting as such promotions become more prevalent.

When you couple this flexibility with the cost control for a designer or developer when it hosts for their client sites, a certain inevitable conclusion begins to appear. A developer or designer that hosts the sites for its clients as well can enjoy the added benefits of a more easily controlled IT budget by not being tied to the cost of physical servers added to control traffic spikes. For many web developers and designers, the concept of public cloud hosting couldn’t have come at a better time.

Our newsletters and blogs are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. We invite you to engage in our online community by following us on Twitter @GMOCloud and ‘Liking’ us on Facebook.

06.15.2011

GMO Cloud K.K. brings its experience as the number one hosting company in Japan to the US with the announcement of GMO Cloud America, its cloud hosting entry in the American market.

Cloud Hosting can offer a more cost-effective solution to hosting needs than traditional VPS or dedicated servers. Customers can design their own servers based on CPU, RAM, Hard Drive and Port Speed resource selection according to their individual or business needs.

The company’s three pre-defined packages, GMO10, GMO20 and GMO30, are being offered at a significantly low introductory price for the first six months following launch. Its basic plan, GMO10, is offered at absolutely no charge during this period.

Of course, with new technology comes a learning curve for everyone. That is why we have created the Think Cloud blog, to share the journey with you our fellow cloud innovators. Join us here daily as we bring you the latest and greatest in Cloud Computing and Cloud Hosting technology from around the world.

Our newsletters and blogs are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. We invite you to engage in our online community by following us on Twitter @GMOCloud and ‘Liking’ us on Facebook.