Benefits Of Cloud Computing

A cloud computing post every software CEO should read

Thursday, March 4, 2010 by Brian Wolff

OK – time to take it home. Hopefully you've already read my first and second post for SaaS CEOs, and now I’d like to finish up the final five tips for taking your applications to the cloud.

I'd also like to ask you for feedback on what you think and whether you think I’m on the right track. Please feel free to challenge and question me in the comments field below.

Tip #11: Set financial penalties for downtime: I agree, there should definitely be some financial incentive for the Cloud provider to perform for a couple reasons:

First, if they’re willing to put it in writing they’re likely to have given performance, or the lack thereof, more than a passing thought and then put some engineering behind the promise they’re making.

Second, it demonstrates that they understand there’s a direct relationship between what’s running in their cloud and the quality of the environment they’re supporting.

And third, now let me let you in a dirty little secret of financial penalties – if you actually do that math (my SLA included, by the way), you’re going to see that the number that I’m on the hook for is relatively small. In the words of one of my client CIO’s

“it’s not about the size of the payment back, I don’t want your money, I want you to hurt when I hurt and I want to know that you’re taking my uptime as seriously as I am.”

So in the end, it’s not about the size of the payment, it’s about the fact that it’s there at all.

Tip #12: It takes time to see ROI on SaaS development: Sage advice from Adam on this one – it’s going to take time and a concerted effort to make Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) pay off for you. His comments make me think about focus. Our experience is that many SaaS companies have little to no experience running a hosted infrastructure – so that skill must either be hired or acquired. Hiring people is hard, so I might argue (because this is our business) that SaaS companies can get further, faster by focusing on writing the code and driving demand, while leaving the hosting to experts like BlueLock. That’s exactly what SaaS company Right On Interactive did – they focused on writing better code and allowed us to help them get further, faster by managing their infrastructure. Check out their cloud computing case study.

Tip #13: Savings are not in the cloud, but in headcount: Oh man, I wish I could make this tip #1!! Adam hit the nail on the head. I’ve presented an infrastructure choices presentation to Rick Chapman’s Softletter SaaS University conferences several times and I tell the Software CEOs in the room that one of BlueLock’s key value propositions is about people. I even take them through a little back of the napkin math around the difference in cost of 5-10 servers doing it on your own, doing it at Amazon or hosting it with BlueLock. BlueLock wins and I tell the crowd that you could substitute BlueLock for another managed cloud provider because it’s not about my ability to pay my people less, it’s about my ability to “fractionalize” our labor cost, where they must have a full time equivalent (FTE) or 2 (if that person wants to take a vacation) or 3 (if you want 24x7 coverage and let someone take a vacation or get sick). So the software company that has dedicated staff to “manage” their cloud environment at Amazon is, in the end more expensive, than allowing me to manage their environment for them at BlueLock. If you’d like to see the analysis – send me a note at bwolff at bluelock.com and I’d be happy to share the slide and take you through my logic.

*By the way, doing it yourself and buying your own equipment is so far off the chart expensive, it’s only worth mentioning it for this reason – if you’re a SaaS company buying your own servers and collocating them – you’re in serious danger of being crushed by your competitors because their infrastructure will be a fraction of the cost of yours – nobody does it that way today – REALLY.

Tip #14: Follow the cloud into new markets: Another great pearl from Adam. Migrating into a SaaS environment brings many new avenues for companies to open other revenue streams that simply weren’t available to them previously. A fellow SaaS University presenter Lincoln Murphy has built an entire presentation on this topic. Migrating to a SaaS offering provides companies with a whole new way to view their World, because now it’s about collaborating and linking to other value added services and not just about delivering a single piece of functionality.

Tip #15: Let the cloud lead you to new innovations: This last tip takes the previous tip and Lincoln’s presentation to the next level. Companies that choose to deliver their software via SaaS (in the cloud) open up many new opportunities for revenue and value creation. The first step toward opening up new horizons for your software company is to migrate to SaaS and let the users take you to a better place. The cloud will only continue to get better, and SaaS companies taking advantage of the benefits of cloud computing will be leaps and bounds ahead of their competition in terms of cost efficiency and flexibility.

Thanks for reading this post – if you’d like to learn more about how BlueLock is helping enable other SaaS companies just like yours, drop me a note at bwolff at bluelock.com or visit our website to find out more about our cloud hosting services.

I would also love to hear what you think about my take and if you think I’m on track or “off in left field”.

--Brian

We do love a good disk expansion

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 by Greg Cripe

Having worked in IT for over 10 years, I've seen my share of ugliness. It generally has taken the form of botched configuration files or ill conceived program interfaces. Looking back, though, nothing could top the server hardware upgrade for sheer wretchedness. Coordinating the downtime necessary to start the upgrade required gargantuan effort and endless compromise. Finding the correct parts sent the technician through an endless maze of charts and arrays of compatibility. Performing the actual upgrade was at least interesting and sometimes fun. Praying for the server to power up without a hitch afterwards was not. And still, the job wasn't quite done. Little tweaks were needed here and there, then we had test to ensure the server was ready to reenter the world of the living. All told, a weekend was probably shot and a few gray hairs were earned in the process.

Welcome to the virtual world, where we have left most of that nonsense behind. Businesses can now rely on a well-trained team of engineers to build a thriving environment of servers, each capable of hosting dozens of virtual machines. It's not hard to tout the benefits of cloud computing. Just look at the ease of a disk expansion.

At BlueLock, we can turn around a non-system disk expansion request in minutes. When a client needs more space, the system administrators need only a few clicks to make it happen. No more downtime or worry about compatible parts. Even a system-disk (boot disk) expansion requires only a single reboot and a few extra minutes of work.

Having this kind of flexibility allows a client much more freedom in the planning process for a new server. The focus returns to the core function of the server rather than the hardware, which is Bluelock's concern. With full monitoring in place, our team of administrators and engineers strives to be proactive. A client may receive a call about a potential problem long before they would have noticed any performance degradation. It's about uptime and performance. And that's just the beginning.

The ease of expanding drive space barely scratches the surface of the benefits of working in the cloud. I plan to outline many of those benefits in subsequent posts. Communicating the advantages of virtualization is one of the easiest and most enjoyable jobs I've had since jumping into IT head-first a decade ago.

Our goals at BlueLock include staying in the vanguard of cloud hosting, so we work hard every day to set the bar higher. I hope this blog will help explain some of the nuances, many of the developments, and most of the benefits of life in the cloud.

Enterprise Computing in the Cloud

Sunday, January 17, 2010 by Alicia Gaba

So what is enterprise cloud computing? How is it so different from (regular) cloud computing?

Jill Tummler Singer explains that enterprise cloud computing is "a behind-the-firewalls use of commercial, Internet-based cloud technologies specifically focused on one company’s or one business environment’s computing needs."

It's a "a controlled, internal place that offers the rapid and flexible provisioning of compute power, storage, software, and security services to meet your mission’s demands. It combines the processes of a best in class ITIL organization with the agility of managed, global infrastructure to make your IT faster, better, cheaper, and safer. Enterprise cloud computing gives your business agility, survivability, sustainability, and security."

Many enterprises with highly secure data and strict up-time and performance needs feel that cloud computing is out of the question. Most of these companies questioning the abilities of cloud computing services are companies in the government, life sciences and financial services industries. Enterprise cloud computing is the answer for them. They need tailored, dedicated high performance environments to provide the benefits of cloud computing with the security and assurance of enterprise-class platforms.

BlueLock is a top VMware hosting provider - we use proven enterprise-class VMware virtualization technology to serve our clients no matter what industry or need level, but we are able to tailor and architect high performance, secure and compliant cloud computing environments specifically for our enterprise-level clients. BlueLock has been extremely successful serving clients in the government, life sciences and financial services, helping them to realize the advantages of cloud computing.

To learn more about BlueLock's enterprise cloud computing services contact us here.

The three things every IT leader should know about cloud computing

Thursday, December 17, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

If by now, moving into 2010, you are an IT leader and are still confused with all of this cloud computing stuff, rest assured you are probably not alone. This brings us to this new top five list to help acclimate everyone to to basics of what you should know about the cloud computing market.

Cloud Computing can in fact enhance performance.

Cloud Computing is designed to increase utilization of computing resources in way that traditional data centers and traditional hosting cannot. Corporate servers run at about 15% of their capacity, whereas by pooling those resources the servers can reach as much as 80% capacity. Also, the cloud eliminates the licensing fees and upfront capital costs associated with IT hardware and software. As with most outsourcing models, cloud computing is no different, it frees up resources, specifically those needed to support the infrastructure. With lowered support costs, those resources can then be focused on more strategic IT iniatives that have a bigger impact on the bottom line.

The Private Cloud is the hot spot for cloud computing beginners.

Many organizations who want to realize the benefits of cloud computing but still want the comfort of having their infrastructure at their own facility will build a private cloud in their data center. These in-house environments that manage workloads using cloud methods are managed within the company's own firewall. They offer the benefits and agility of better resource utilization without the security concerns of having sensitive data residing outside the organization's perimeter. Once you achieve a level of comfort with the cloud and can see how your applications perform, you will be better able to gain access to the advantages of hybrid and/or public cloud computing. BlueLock offers the BlueLock Box, a private cloud that can be installed at your facility or ours. Yes, that's right, your place or ours. What a nice and easy way to head to the clouds.

Security is a two-way street in the Cloud.

Just because the cloud you choose is secure doesn't mean your applications are secure, and vice versa. The issue of security in the cloud is a unique one in which both sides of the coin matter equally. The organization embracing cloud computing needs to have the correct compliance infrastructure in place to mitigate risks associated with everything from securing corporate data to managing who has access to it, when it's accessed and if it's being transferred from the cloud to other environments. The service provider must do the same.

Cyber Black Friday Shopping & the Cloud

Monday, November 23, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Cyber Black Friday is right around the corner - the infamous day that gives those of us who hate long lines and packed malls a much better alternative - online shopping exclusives.
Online shopping should give buyers the ease and convenience they're looking for, but in the wake of a huge rush of traffic, sometimes it just doesn't work that way (just like when you're out in the brick and mortar shops). Why? Because even today many e-commerce sites aren't built with hosting in place that allows for the site to expand and scale based on the amount of traffic coming to the site. The advantage of cloud computing is that websites are able to scale on demand, depending on the amoung of traffic it is experiencing, and they pay for that increase in infrastructure as they go.  So for instance, they only pay for the spikes as they happen, rather than all year long like with traditional hosting solutions.

A couple tips for e-commerce sites on Cyber Black Friday from BlueLock:

- Take an inventory of the amount of traffic increases you've seen in past years on Cyber Black Friday. Are you paying for the infrastructure necessary to handle that spike all year long? If so, its time to switch to the cloud.

- If you're an e-commerce site, you most likely need to be PCI compliant with whichever hosting solution you choose. Did you hesitate to realize the benefits of cloud computing because PCI compliance wasn't available? Look at your options again. BlueLock has many clients in our secured PCI compliant cloud.

Cloud computing continues to gain popularity, and with that more options, advances and opportunities will arise. E-commerce sites are prime targets for cloud computing simply because they will see immediate benefit from switching to the cloud due to the peaks and valleys they see each year around the holidays. What company wouldn't want to save all excess IT costs to put towards something else that will increase their bottom line?

Now to the shopper's bottom line...

CyberBlackFriday.com already has exclusive Black Friday coupons available and hundreds more will go live on November 27th.

Tips for shopping on Cyber Black Friday from cyberblackfriday.com:

    * Some brick and mortar stores will have exclusive online only specials not available in stores.

    * The US has three different time zones, each an hour apart. If an online store also has brick and mortar stores, the online store will usually operate in the time zone of the company's headquarters. Depending on where you are, an online store's 12:01AM may arrive early or late.

    * You could stay up late to wait for Cyber Black Friday specials to go live but instead enjoy time with your family, wake up early on Friday and get all your Christmas shopping done from your computer.

    * Shopping early ensures getting items in stock and free shipping with guaranteed Christmas delivery.

A YouTube Course in "Cloud"

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by Matt Hunckler

New to the idea of Software as a Service SaaS Virtualization? This video from Salesfor will help bring you up to speed:

This short video clip, produced by Salesforce.com, effectively points out that managed cloud hosting is a superior way to run your business. It's clear that multitenancy is simply a more efficient way to approach IT infrastructure.

For those of you who are new to cloud, some of the major benefits of cloud computing are that your data is:

secure
backed up in another location (redundant)
not limited in storage or resources

To help you better understand Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas), Common Craft recently put out a cool little video that is put together like School House Rock for the 21st century.

You can check it out here: Cloud Computing Hosting in Plain English

I always keep an eye open for better ways to explain the benefits of virtualization and cloud computing to not-so-technically-inclined friends as well as potential clients. I found these quick videos to be expremely helpful in succinctly illustrating cloud computing hosting.

Is Bigger Better in Cloud Computing?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Rackspace recently released their growth numbers for their cloud computing services. They are obviously very big and only hoping to get bigger like many other large clouds. Large cloud hosting providers are great at what they do – offer cheap cloud hosting solutions with no frills and no customization. When I say no customization, we’re talking McDonald’s cloud computing, not Burger King.

On the other hand, for those clients who don’t want McDonald’s cloud hosting, a big cloud computing company might not be better. Let’s face it; Seth Godin really has something going in “Small is the New Big.” Bigger companies tend to have lots of set processes, procedures, guidelines, systems and such that can get in the way of one big thing – the creation of client-specific solutions for even the most complex projects. But there are some slightly smaller cloud hosting providers (with just as much stability, maybe more) who can better focus on the specific client's need to create just the right cloud solution.

A client with those complex needs for their important data and processing like higher up-time, disaster recovery, compliance and security, can’t go with the McDonald’s approach. They need something more like Burger King. Obviously Burger King doesn't offer cloud computing, but BlueLock does. And we’re able to create cloud computing environments for our clients that fill their specific needs, not just the needs a "big" cloud computing company assumes they have. So, if you’re an enterprise client, with big ole’ security and service requirements, you can still enjoy the wonderful benefits of cloud computing. You just might not be able to do it with a huge cloud computing company. But that’s why we’re here.

Making the Connection between Private Clouds and Public Clouds

Friday, November 6, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Charles Babcock recently wrote an article entitled, “Hybrid Clouds Floating to Enterprise Forefront” which ran in InformationWeek. He attended the Cloud Computing Conference & Expo, where speakers raised the prospect of private clouds working with public clouds, creating hybrid clouds.

The hybrid cloud is not a term we’ve never seen or heard before. However, it seems in his article that there aren’t many providers out there actually doing the hybrid cloud approach with their clients. But BlueLock is. For over two years BlueLock has offered a private cloud solution (The BlueLock Box) in conjunction with our public cloud hosting solution. Our clients’ ability to have their own internal cloud which has the capability to spill over and utilize our public cloud when necessary has proved itself very valuable. So yes, Mr. Babcock and the Expo speakers, the hybrid cloud computing approach is going to continue to gain traction.

For those companies who are fearful of “losing control” in the cloud, the private cloud approach is extremely beneficial because those companies are able to gain access to the benefits of cloud computing while still controlling their own infrastructure in house. So not only is the private cloud a good starting point, but with the right cloud technology (like BlueLock’s), it doesn’t have to be the end of their cloud strategy.

Learn more about BlueLock's private cloud solution known as the BlueLock Box. Or contact a sales rep.

Watch our private cloud video.

Read the original InformationWeek article.

When will software pricing move to pay-as-you-go like cloud computing?

Thursday, October 29, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Cloud computing providers like BlueLock know that it would make a lot of sense to pay for software the same way you bill your clients – per-usage or pay-as-you-go. This pricing model is reflective of the utility-based model of cloud computing, the hottest trend in IT since the personal computer some say, where clients are charged each month based on the amount of infrastructure, power, compute, etc that they use. So what about the software licenses? Yes, cloud computing providers also lump that sum into the monthly cost, but it doesn’t cover the full upfront charge for the software because that wouldn’t be fair to the client. One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is the clients ability to pay only as they go, with no upfront capital costs, and in a good world that means they don't have to lay out costs for the software either.

Federal agencies who are now taking on the role of cloud service provider and other cloud service providers themselves are beginning to ask software vendors to price their products in a pay-per-use model so it makes more financial sense for them. The current license agreement requires service providers to outlay the money upfront for the enterprise license. In a cloud model that means the provider has to take on all of the risk by paying the upfront cost.

Do you think this is fair? Would it make sense and be feasible for software providers to charge for their software on a per-usage monthly basis?

CloudCamp Indy is getting closer!

Thursday, October 15, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

October 27th is getting closer! If you haven't registered for CloudCamp Indy #2 yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to register. (It's free!)

Not sure what CloudCamp is? Click here to read an earlier blog post.

Or click here to watch a video from CloudCamp Indy back in February.

Basically, CloudCamp is an event for anyone - users, vendors, experts or novices - interested in learning more about cloud computing technologies. Not sure if the cloud is right for your company or what to look for in a provider? Virtualization and cloud computing experts will be there (on the panels and in the audiences) to answer those questions. There will surely be discussions on the risks and benefits of cloud computing and how to find the right cloud computing provider for your needs. The best thing about an "unconference" like CloudCamp is that the topics and breakout sessions are designed by the audience.

Come and join the fun here at BlueLock from 4-8PM on Tuesday, October 27th. Just make sure you register first!

Building Sustainable Clouds

Thursday, October 1, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Ariel Schwartz wrote an interesting article in Fast Company recently titled “Can Cloud Computing Ever Truly Be Sustainable?” Schwartz brought up some interesting facts, such as:

Data centers are responsible for 1.5% of all power used in the United States
Without energy efficiency measures, data center consumption will total $7.4 billion annually by 2011. (We’re at $4.5 billion annually today).

With those large statistics in mind, will cloud computing become the sustainable option? Is cloud computing, a technology that uses mega-data centers, just going to make this problem worse? Or, is one of the greatest benefits of cloud computing the fact that it is and/or can be the most environmentally friendly option?

Thankfully, large companies like IBM and HP (both BlueLock partners) have already made some moves towards cutting data center energy consumption. IBM just began building a data center in New York that will use 50% less energy than traditional facilities. Some of the technologies being used in new eco-friendly data centers include:

On-site electrical co-generation systems with gas-fueled micro-turbine engines
Water-cooled server racks
Sensors to direct workloads to optimal servers
Cooling towers to evaporate excess heat and recycle cooled down water back into the facility

With the growing popularity of cloud computing, those data centers must be built with energy-efficiency in mind for two reason, both very good for all parties involved: because when we’re good to the environment it will be good to us (and our children) and because it cuts down on power costs, and I don’t know who wouldn’t benefit from that.

Are Private Clouds Just Another Form of “Server Hugging”?

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 by Brian Wolff

First things first, clouds can be anywhere. They aren’t just an external resource companies can tap into, cloud technology can be taken advantage of anywhere (i.e. inside the walls of your organization).

Private clouds exist and will continue to exist as the trend towards cloud computing continues. There are many organizations out there that can’t just up and move into a multi-tenant public cloud environment, but still want to reap the benefits of cloud computing. The only way to do this is by creating a private cloud, made possible with virtualization.

Companies are able to use the technologies and approaches associated with public clouds, just on a smaller scale, and still continue to own, operate and control their own IT infrastructure. Would some call this server-hugging? Of course. But at the same time, every organization has different needs and as stated before, they can’t just jump into a public cloud setting. Any IT infrastructure expert would probably tell those companies they’re doing the right thing. And some, like BlueLock, can even help to make that possible.

Definition of a private cloud.

For information about BlueLock’s private cloud solution, click here.

Cloud Computing Interoperability Making Treadway

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

The advantages of cloud computing include making IT more flexible, efficient and easier to use. While the key benefits of cloud computing are the ability to pay as you go or pay per use, capacity on demand and rapid provisioning, some may say that the current lack of interoperability is a detriment to the growing cloud computing industry. Many are asking for a set of standards that let cloud networks talk and work together.

The talks of interoperability open a can of worms for those companies who aren’t exactly “excited” about allowing that kind of technology to be incorporated into their offerings. The main thing that cloud interoperability creates is an environment where vendor lock-in is basically obsolete. If your clouds can talk – say your BlueLock, Amazon and Skytap environments – then there’s no reason that everything would have to say at the same space forever. If you all of the sudden decided that BlueLock was perfect for your production environment and Skytap was all you needed for test/dev, you could just have your Amazon stuff “talk” to your other environments and just move everything to those two, no longer requiring any engagement with Amazon. That is, in a perfect interoperable world. So what that means is that you’re no longer locked in at Amazon, or any other firm. This is perfect for a client, but not particularly for the vendor who doesn’t want to risk losing you or simply losing out on a chunk of money they’re already getting.

So where will the cloud computing industry go? Ultimately, I believe that for anything to succeed you must follow what the users/buyers want and therefore we’ll see more and more interoperability technologies emerge. Earlier this year, BlueLock partnered with rPath in a webinar focused on blending clouds with the rPath Management Console (formerly called the rBuilder) and in the webinar we demoed movement between Amazon EC2 and the BlueLock Cloud. So I think the technology is getting there – at least there are some smart people out there working on it.

What exactly is cloud interoperability? John Brodkin recently wrote a post in Network World on cloud interoperability and discussed some of the goals on the subject:

Moving virtual machines and workloads from one cloud compute service to another
Single sign-on for users who access multiple cloud services
Ability to deploy and provision resources from multiple cloud services with a single management tool
Letting one application span multiple cloud services (such as a storage service from one cloud provider and compute capacity from another)
Allowing data exchange between clouds
Letting a private cloud application seamlessly obtain resources from a public cloud when excess capacity is needed

I think what rPath is working towards with their Management Console is addressing many of these things and in time we’ll see more and more of what “the people want.”

Projetech: Secure Infrastructure in BlueLock's Cloud

Monday, June 15, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Interested in cloud computing Security? Watch our newest online video featuring our client, Projetech as they share their perspective on the benefits of cloud computing as a way of insuring data security for them and their clients. Projetech relies on BlueLocks VMware Hosted Environment to manage, monitor and secure their infrastructure .

Cloud Computing Spending on the Rise

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 by Brian Wolff

In recent studies Gartner identified two trends which on the surface might seem at odds:

Gartner: IT spending in 2009 will be worse than 2001's decline

Business spending on cloud computing rises to $9.6 billion in 2009, up 22%

While overall spending is declining, as IT managers adjust their budgets in light of the current recession, cloud computing continues to grow. Why? I think there are several key drivers behind this trend. The first is the convergence of a maturing technology with a correlating market need. Cloud computing offers significant cost savings at a time when IT managers are looking to reduce costs. With major players like VMware continually improving their VMware Cloud (vCloud) with increased functionality, responsiveness and reliability makes the transition to infrastructure as a service a natural choice.

The second factor is the dramatic increase of companies developing Software-as-a-Service products which require SaaS hosting solutions. While Salesforce.com led the way, we are seeing many other companies moving to the cloud. For example, 5Buckets by Right On Interactive which integrates marketing applications and systems clients already have in place such as ExactTarget and Salesforce.com and WebLink connect a membership management software program (link to client sites or case studies) have chosen the BlueLock Cloud for their infrastructure so they are free to focus their time and resources on product development, not infrastructure management.

And even as the economy continues to recover I believe smart IT managers, having seen the benefits of cloud computing, will continue to make this transition to fuel their growth and manager their costs.

Cloud Computing More Than Just Economic Benefits

Thursday, April 23, 2009 by Brian Wolff

In a controversial presentation last week titled “Clearing the Air on Cloud Computing,” an analyst from McKinsey delivered his findings on the costs and benefits of cloud computing. His preliminary finding, based on one client, is that cloud computing would actually be more expensive. The response to this report has varied dramatically.

Personally, I felt the study was too narrow, and failed to consider the implications of a gradual transition, or the benefits of improved access to data and process. In fact, I might suggest that McKinsey is playing catch up in the cloud and showed us that they’re a little behind on content and vision. There is a tremendous amount of energy being spent by many companies, especially VMware on creating cloud “inter-operability”, which will allow large and small companies to be very thoughtful about where they place certain applications.

Thus, as John Foley suggests in his post, it will not be an either or proposition – it will likely be both. I met a company last week at VMware by the name of IT Structures and their main value proposition was the ability to turn up and turn off quickly demo sites and test sites. They can do in days what it would take internal IT departments weeks to do. Now why wouldn’t a large enterprise “bless” that sort of behavior? It makes them more flexible and it keeps the business happy and moving forward. This, of course is just one idea for how “specialty” clouds will add value to enterprise companies.
Here is what a few others had to say:

Amy Wohl, In a post entitled McKinsey Got it Wrong She says:

The value of cloud computing lies elsewhere:

In the flexibility of being able to gain immediate access to additional computing (or to shrink your system when you don't need it).
In the difference in Time to Market for new business opportunities.
In the additional value (not included in the McKinsey study) provided in clouds that offer to manage the hardware (via systems software and other offerings) or to provide applications (SaaS).

Writing for Information Week, John Foley is less critical of the report overall, but he does say:

McKinsey paints cloud computing too much an either/or decision, and that's the wrong way to look at it. IT pros need to do both--virtualize internal systems like crazy and investigate cloud services as a fast, flexible, and cost effective (if not always cheaper) option to capital investment in on-premises software and hardware.

As the responses continue, what do you think or the McKinsey report?

BlueLock to Talk Cloud Computing at Talking Tech Series Webinar

Thursday, April 16, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Brian Wolff, co-founder of BlueLock, will present "Cloud Computing Landscape and Opportunities" in the Talking Tech Series webinar hosted by FormSpring on Wednesday, May 13th at 12pm EST. Wolff will offer his views on the benefits of cloud computing and its differences from traditional data centers.

Attendees will learn about:

- the different types of clouds
- capabilities and characteristics of the cloud
- financial and organizational differences between traditional data centers and cloud computing environments
- different cloud options and the advantages of each
- how to leverage the benefits of cloud computing without the constraints of vendor lock-in

The webinar is part of a three part series featuring thought leaders in the business and technology fields. Lorraine Ball of Roundpeg and Troy Burke of Right On Interactive will provide their insight in the areas of marketing and automated software respectively.

Click here to register for the free event!

Why Cloud Computing Will Succeed

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 by Brian Wolff

With much of the conversation about Cloud Computing focused on the “Open Cloud Manifesto” it is easy to lose sight of why cloud computing is at the center of almost every tech conversation lately. That is because cloud computing, with its many advantages, is the future.

Just as we have made transitions from vinyl records to cassettes, 8tracks and CD’s to iTunes and Pandora our business processes are making the same evolution from dedicated hardware to virtualization solutions such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

Why? Jeff Kaplan identifies several key reasons for the accelerating pace of the transition:

SaaS/cloud computing solutions are delivering measurable business benefits, and generating high customer satisfaction and referral rates.
Corporate executives and end-users need and want a better way to acquire and utilize technology and business applications to meet their rapidly changing business and workplace requirements.
A new generation of workers—Generation “F” for Facebook, are entering the market who have grown up online and will demand web-based services to do their jobs.
Today’s tough economic climate demands that organizations of all sizes fundamentally change the way they do business, and few will resist the temptation to revamp the way they procure and use technology and applications so they can get a lower price and higher ROI.

Any one of these would be enough to add “fuel” to the cloud fire. Together, they are creating a perfect storm, where the needs of businesses, preferences of workers and consumers, economic pressures, and the capability of the technology converge to create an environment ready to capitalize on the benefits of cloud computing.

The Advantage of a Managed Cloud Hosting Solution

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 by Brian Wolff

Thirty years ago, as desktop PCs entered the workplace; many assumed the “4 hour work week” would follow shortly. Surely these processing marvels would reduce the time it took to complete routine tasks, freeing workers for more productive tasks, and more leisure time. A generation later, what we have learned, is the ability to do more, brought with it more requirements to support and manage these machines and the applications they created.

A generation later the same conversations are occurring surrounding the advent of cloud computing. With expanded processing and storage capabilities the cloud will allow us to do more. The challenge is that “more” will come with a premium. As Alan Williamson, Editor-in-Chief of SYS-CON's Cloud Computing Journal says when describing the benefits of Cloud Computing:

"I wouldn't necessarily say that cloud computing makes it easier for developers. Cloud providers merely remove the need to worry about physical hardware, and instead of waiting days for a new server to be available, it's up and running in minutes. But that's where they stop. You still have to manage the process of loading, distributing, backup, and so on."

Companies wishing to leverage the benefits of cloud computing have many choices. They can tap into the very cost effective clouds provided by companies like Amazon and Google. The challenge is they will need to be prepared to manage the process, configure their services and monitor the performance. Or they can choice a more full service alternative (AKA managed cloud hosting), where the essentially transfer the control and the headaches, to experts who can manage the infrastructure so they can manage their business.

Private, Public, or Hybrid – What is the Best Cloud Computing Alternative?

Monday, March 23, 2009 by Brian Wolff

Commenting on the 10-Year Anniversary of Salesforce.com Jon Urquat reflects on the growing debate regarding the form cloud computing will take in the years to come.

On the one hand you have Marc Benioff who clearly believes the future will see companies abandon their existing IT departments as he says: “no software, no hardware, don't hire anyone, just sign up to these various cloud platforms and pick the flavor that is appropriate for your application.”

On the other hand, many experts feel the real growth will come as companies internalize cloud strategies into their existing operations. And Urquat suggests the real growth may actually lie somewhere in between with Hybrid clouds, which allow companies to leverage the best of both worlds.

At BlueLock we have clearly seen clients adopt each of these strategies from Right-on-Interactive which runs their entire application in our cloud, to Marian College which still maintains their own servers, but relies on us for disaster recovery and connects their private cloud (BlueLock Box) to BlueLock’s public cloud. I don’t believe there will be one ultimate solution, and perhaps that is the real benefit of cloud computing; the ability to build an environment which serves the unique needs of each business.