Cloud Computing Providers

Private Cloud Solution in Higher Education

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

BlueLock provided a cloud computing solution to Marian University as their aging hardware began putting a toll on IT efficiency within the organization. Marian University needed the comfort of a virtual disaster recovery solution, greater uptime and better computing capabilities. BlueLock's private cloud solution was able to meet those goals with virtualization storage, copmute stability and flexible growth capabilities without a large upfront investment.

With the BlueLock Box, essentially a private cloud solution, Marian replicates their systems from their LeftHand SAN to BlueLock's LeftHand SAN, allowing them to "talk" to each other in cases when Marian University needs more compute or storage space. Watch this video to hear more about Marian's success with BlueLock.

TechTarget vCloud Express Review

Thursday, December 10, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Jason Langone did a recent review of the five official VMware vCloud Express providers. Langone is a tried and true user of Amazon EC2, and therefore was somewhat skeptical of vCloud Express (although he's a VMware expert and a fan of most all of their products).

When vCloud Express was announced at VMworld 2009 in September, it was was showcased as a portal that will allow for cloud-based virtual machines to be easily configured from a virtual hardware perspective. What's the big deal? Well, there are millions of VMware users who can now extend their existing virtual infrastructures into a hosted and secured VMware cloud. That's a big deal.

Langone tested all five vCloud Express cloud computing providers, including BlueLock.

His intent was to test ease of setting up an account, total time to have an instance running, basic input/output (I/O) metrics and overall user experience while using AWS Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) to measure against.

Find out how BlueLock vCloud Express Beta II fared here.

Read the original post about his review here.

Top 5 Cloud Computing Predictions 2010

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Because we needed another "top" list, I'd love to go through David Linthicum's latest list, "Top 5 Cloud Computing Predictions for 2010."

Prediction #1: The rise of cloud computing standards

The whole theme of standards and interoperability was a big topic in 2009, but those discussions were very conceptual, and not really actionable. Some organizations waited on the wayside before adopting a cloud computing solution because standards and interoperability would prevent them from experiencing vendor lock-in. On that note, some have said that BlueLock was a bad name choice because it has a connotation that we would "lock" our clients in. I like to think that BlueLock would make someone think of security, but I guess not. However, our cloud uses VMware virtualization technology, so you can take your VMware stuff and take it wherever you like (as long as it stays VMware) if you decide you aren't a big fan of us. No vendor-lockin here. Back to topic - I can already tell from listening in on some strategic meetings here that interoperability will take on a large role this year for us. I can only guess that we aren't the only cloud computing provider with that on our mind.

Prediction #2: First Major Cloud Computing Outages

This one is only a matter of time. Stuff happens in the cloud. The cloud still involves real people and of course, real technology. Although outages will happen, your provider should make sure that there is a sufficient backup plan in order that will help alleviate those pains. And of course, the second a "big" provider has a "big" mishap, all aim will go to the cloud. However, Linthicum reminds us, "Despite the outages, cloud computing providers will maintain an uptime record that far exceeds that of most on-premise systems, but you won't hear about that in the technology press."

Prediction #3: Microsoft will be relevant in the cloud

Most businesses run Microsoft, so to say that Microsoft will not become a larger cloud player would be silly. Now that they've finally got going on the cloud front, we'll see just how much of an impact they'll make, but we're sure to see them make some sort of splash. However, "Google will continue to dominate small to medium-sized businesses, using its free ad-driven model for delivery of Google Docs and Gmail, with a few larger enterprise deals thrown in."

Prediction #4: Rapid Consolidation of Existing Providers

As cloud computing continues to grow, many of the successful providers will want to expand even more, which will involve buying up the smaller guys. Hence, there will be less small providers and more big - consolidation.

Prediction #5: Rise of Cloud Computing Startups

As if 2009 didn't see enough, there will be more in 2010 as the technology leaves the stage of early adoption and reaches the masses. As consolidation occurs (see prediction #4), market value will increase and more VC-backed startups will sprout up. Think you've seen a lot of "as a services" this year? It won't be the end of it.

Read David's original post here.

Do you have a prediction for the cloud in 2010?

Advantages of Cloud Computing Meetups

Thursday, December 3, 2009 by Matt Hunckler

All schmoozing and business-card-swaping aside, there are some fantastic advantages of attending cloud computing conventions and expos. I've found meetups like Cloud Camps, ITEC, TechPoint Summits, and Cloud Users Groups to be a fuel source for both professional and personal growth.

Assimilation of knowledge through osmosis is simple.
There are usually tons of super-smart people at events like those listed above. Whether these people are cloud computing providers, vmware virtual server specialists, or others utilizing a cloud computing platform; just standing b and listening in on conversations can be a learning experience. Be curious, pay attention, and ask questions.

Networking -- the interpersonal relationships kind -- reaps rewards.
Meet some new people, nd expand your network. How can you help event attendees? I always make it a goal to make at least three connections that don't immediately benefit me in any way. While you should never help someone with the intent to gain something in return, the law of reciprocity always pays dividends.

Fluency increases competency.
The simple repetition of explaining the advantages of cloud computing has helped me build a certain level of confidence and competence around the benefits of virtualization, vmware hoted environments, and SaaS irtualization. Join in the conversation and learn to talk the talk. The act of speaking about cloud computing platforms, helps to organize thoughts, enhance comprehension, and vet new ideas.

Bottom line: get out of the office and learn somthing from somebody -- including yourself. Find the next cloud computing meetup in your area. Hope to see you there.

BlueLock Launches BlueLock vCloud Express Beta II Program

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

New integrated solution enables users to take advantage of a high availability,
truly scalable storage solution in the Cloud

(Indianapolis, IN – December 1, 2009) - Indianapolis-based BlueLock, provider of cloud computing and managed IT services, announces its second round of Beta testing with BlueLock vCloud Express Beta II. BlueLock was one of only five cloud computing hosting providers chosen by VMware to provide VMware vCloud Express services since its launch in September 2009.

BlueLock vCloud Express Beta II is a Compute-as-a-Service solution designed to support transient workloads by providing a high level of elasticity for faster turnaround time and future workload federation. BlueLock vCloud Express will compete with services such as Amazon EC2 and Windows Azure.

“BlueLock vCloud Express Beta I was an instant success,” said Pat O’Day, CTO, BlueLock. “We filled up our Beta I slots in less than two months. With the feedback we garnered from those early users we’ve been able to make some major changes and the offering will continue to get better as we prepare to launch the public offering early in 2010.”

BlueLock vCloud Express Beta II is a reliable, on-demand infrastructure solution that ensures compatibility with internal VMware environments and with VMware Virtualized™ services worldwide. The technology allows users to create virtual machines as needed and add compute capacity via an online interface. The beta services are currently free, but the public offering in the future will include a pay-as-you-go payment structure where users pay only for the compute and storage space they use.

BlueLock vCloud Express Beta II is available immediately. For additional information, visit http://vcloudexpress.bluelock.com.

Yes, Cloud Computing is Credible for Education.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

What makes education different from any other business with hundreds or thousands of users? The economics are all the same, so why wouldn’t the education industry be able to benefit from the advantages of cloud computing like other organizations? A recent article in Campus Technology entitled, “Is Cloud Computing a Credible Solution for Education?” visits that subject.

Bruce Schneier points out that cloud computing is really nothing new. Hotmail and Gmail have been doing it for a long time; social networking sites, remote backup companies and remote email filtering companies have also been in on the game. Schneier says, “Any IT outsourcing—network infrastructure, security monitoring, remote hosting—is a form of cloud computing.”

Cloud Computing provides computer applications to users without the need to purchase, install or support those application. The software and data is hosted on a remote computer. Infrastructure-as-a-service providers such as BlueLock are able to provide substantial financial advantages as well as increased IT agility, improving collaboration and innovation within that organization. And we’ve done that for higher education organizations already.

Gartner Group blogger Thomas Bittman said this: "The Web, social software and cloud computing will definitely have an impact on enterprise IT--but the impact on our educational system will be astounding, and many in our educational system don't see it coming."

But the downside…

Schneier also cautioned that cloud computing forces reliance on a third party, which may not always be the best idea. Why? Because when the computer is outside your network, you’re not able to protect it with security systems like firewalls and IDSs. Not only that but you have to trust your vendor completely – its security, reliability, availability and business continuity.

That’s not a downside at BlueLock.

So yes, you’ll have to rely on us, a third party. But we install firewalls and IDSs and most likely take more security precautions than you are already taking. We are SAS 70 and PCI compliant. Not only that, but we provide SLA with promised uptimes of 99.99%, in case you’re worried about availability. As for business continuity, we’ve got that too, and at a fraction of the cost. You can click here to learn more about our virtual disaster recovery solutions. And most importantly, the trust issue. Our clients view us as a trusted advisor. We don’t want to be just another vendor; we want to be an extension of your organization, a partner. That’s our goal (and we tend to hit goals over here).

And when it comes right down to successes in the education industry, just click here to read our case study on Marian University. You could say they were more than pleased with what we were able to do for them.

Step #3: Cloud Architecture Planning

Thursday, November 12, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

It has been a couple of weeks since I’ve blogging about taking the first steps into cloud computing, but here we are at step number 3, cloud architecture planning. As you recall, step number one is to take inventory of your infrastructure. Step two, is to compare cloud computing providers.

When it comes to cloud architecture planning, this is something that I would hope your trusted partner (cloud provider) would help with. But to get started, these are some of the vital questions that need to be answered regarding the application you are going to host in your cloud environment (whether it’s in a private cloud or public cloud):

How important is the application to your business? The application or its data can range from being extremely vital to running day-to-day operations to being not so important. Think about it in terms of how long you could go without the application or data. If your app is your business, the answer is obvious and this will determine the service level agreement you might need.
Does the application contain time sensitive data? Does it need to be accessed in real time, or are delays acceptable?
Does the application have regulatory requirements?
How many users in your organization have access to the application and how heavily is that access controlled?
How many systems interact with the application?
How dynamic is the data and/or users in the application and do you forecast and increase or decrease in the volume of users and/or data?
How old is the application?

All of these questions (and more) will become major factors in how the cloud computing environment should be architected. Unfortunately I can’t really tell you HOW to architect the environment because that would be giving away BlueLock’s special sauce. What I can tell you is that you really must take into consideration the level of uptime you need, how dynamic the app is and what security measures are absolutely vital for the functioning of the application. That will get you going on the road to architecting your cloud environment.

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?

BlueLock is Looking for a Qualified Controller

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Brian Wolff

BlueLock serves its clients by providing the people, expertise and IT infrastructure in a world-class, SAS 70 certified data center. The company provides Virtual Cloud Computing through Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) where clients subscribe monthly to just the right amount of computing, storage and bandwidth capacity needed today with the ability to grow “on demand” in the future. Their unique IT environments are ideal for Web-facing software applications (also known as software as a service) and IT environments that require high availability and the ability to expand and contract dynamically for production or disaster recovery. Our rapid growth earned BlueLock the accolade of one of 50 Indiana “Companies to Watch” in 2009 by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. BlueLock, a Collina Ventures company, is privately-held and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Position Summary
BlueLock is looking for a Controller. This role will be vital to the Finance and Administration team and is being added due to explosive growth.

The Controller would report directly to the Chief Financial Officer. This position is responsible for a variety of accounting, finance and treasury activities. Specific responsibilities will include directing the monthly reporting and daily accounting activities, budgeting, forecasting and planning of the company performance. This is a key position and the individual must have high energy, strong work ethic and experience in a fast paced entrepreneurial environment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee all aspects of the Company’s accounting functions. Some of these duties include general accounting, operational accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, taxes, internal controls and reconciliations.

1.    Prepares monthly financial statements, monthly reporting package and analysis to meet established deadlines for reporting to Board of Directors and management team.
2.    Coordinates all financial planning and performance analysis activities for the company, covering monthly, quarterly, annual and three-year periods. This includes budgets and forecasts for the company.
3.    Coordinate all external activities with public accounting firms and responsible for the overall internal controls for the company.
4.    Treasury responsibilities to include preparing weekly rolling 8 week cash flow projections and assisting CFO with management of lines of credit, and banking relationships.
5.    Review, management and payment of accounts payable, accrued expenses and outstanding debt.
6.    Research on all technical accounting issues to ensure financial statements are in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
7.    Assist the CFO on a variety of projects including pricing, contracts, strategic planning and deal making.

Ideal Personal Profile:
To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies to perform the essential functions of this position.

•    Analytical—the individual synthesizes complex or diverse information. Able to think logically and quickly. Problem solving—the individual must be a creative problem solver and analyze information skillfully.
•    Business oriented- demonstrate a broad understanding (beyond a narrow functional perspective) of the way a business functions and succeeds.
•    Flexible- Able to cope with changing priorities and effectively lead multiple projects in a challenging fast paced results oriented environment.
•    Strong computer skills – the individual must have the ability to create complex spreadsheet and database models for decision making.
•    Strong interpersonal and communication skills—the individual must be an articulate and persuasive communicator, with excellent written communication skills. Clearly a team player who thrives on working with and through people.
•    Responsive- Decisive well organized and effective leader able to train, grow and mentor a team.
•    Pro-active- Exhibits as sense of urgency with an appropriate balance of sensitivity towards people.
•    Sound Judgment—Able to balance the needs of various constituencies. Sensitive to how decisions are made and display a willingness to make decisions quickly but thoughtfully.
•    Experience with Netsuite or equivalent system and the ability and track record to expand company usage to provide more effective use of sales, customer and financial information.

Education, Experience and Licensure

This position requires a bachelor’s degree preferably in accounting or finance, and 4 – 8 years of related accounting and financial experience. Strong understanding of accounting and finance principles is required. A CPA, MBA or other advance degree would be preferred.

Company Culture
If you’re a motivated self-starter that shares our commitment to building a world-class organization, you might be the right person for BlueLock. We believe that each employee who joins our staff is important to the success of our company, and that each and every employee makes a difference. The key to our success lies in the hard work, dedication and commitment of our employees, whose accomplishments we recognize with personal acknowledgement, competitive compensation, excellent benefits, and opportunities for personal and professional growth and advancement. We are committed to attracting new employees as we grow as a company, but believe that the key to our long-term success is the retention of current employees

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature of a level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees so classified. Management retains the discretion to add to or change the duties of the position at any time.

If you want to join one of Indiana’s best employment opportunities, please send your resume to Brian Modiano, CFO bmodiano@bluelock.com

Step 2: Cloud Vendor Comparisons

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

In order to continue the conversation about getting started in the cloud, let’s move on to step number two: comparing cloud computing vendors (to determine which best fits your needs based on the infrastructure and expertise inventory you took).

Getting Ready to Compare Cloud Computing Providers:
After looking into the amount of IT infrastructure you currently house and run as well as the people and expertise you need to manage it you should have a pretty good idea of what it takes to keep your company up and running. From there you need to decide what kind of cloud computing solution you’re looking to use. Is it something simple like an additional software-as-a-service account? Or are you hoping to use PaaS to access some infrastructure? Or better yet, does your company want to outsource its entire infrastructure to the cloud?

There are many options when it comes to “moving to the cloud.” For this post we’ll focus on the migration to an infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud. One easy first step is test and development. This is a low-risk way to test out cloud providers and their capabilities while also making a decision around the type of infrastructure you prefer. Do you want enterprise-level VMware hosting or is Amazon EC2 for you? Do you want to be able to migrate between clouds and providers and if so, what might that look like and what additional platforms would that require?

While engaging in a test/dev environment, developers should focus on testing their application’s functions, performance and scalability. Keep in mind that most applications can be tested in a public cloud, but that some for technical or cultural reasons should be kept in-house, unless you are able to secure the type of SLA that would allow you to migrate those “special” applications.

Now let’s say that you’re ready to make that infrastructure move to the cloud (sometimes this may mean you skip the whole test/dev show). There are four main items to consider when comparing cloud computing vendors.

1.    Service Level Agreements (SLA)
2.    Technical offerings
3.    Control
4.    Price (this is the most obvious)

The SLA is the most important item you need to compare vendors against. If you have sensitive data or applications that require high uptime capabilities, you would be wasting your time to look at any vendor with and SLA below 99.99%. But if you just need a test and development environment it wouldn’t make sense to pay the premium for such high availability (higher availability = higher price). Find out your uptime needs and then locate the vendors who offer the SLA you need.

Technical offerings are the next determining factor. Depending on which kind of infrastructure you prefer (if you have a preference) you would need to figure out which providers use which technologies. For instance, do you need enterprise-level VMware hosting technology or does your organization want to use something more along the lines of Microsoft Hyper-V? If you have a preference work around that, and if not, let’s move straight to #3 – Control.

How much control do you want of the infrastructure? Do you have your own people to manage your infrastructure or are you on a hiring freeze and need your cloud provider to manage the infrastructure. There are a number of options in the cloud – some vendors provide managed cloud hosting services (like BlueLock) and others just provide the infrastructure while you manage it. Whatever your preference, there is a vendor for you.

Lastly, and most obviously – once you’ve compiled a list of vendors who provide the SLA, technical specs, and right amount of control, you’re left to look at pricing. By now, you may only have a couple cloud vendors left, but you should be in a great place to compare and make the right choice.

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!

Key differences between Amazon EC2 and VMware vCloud Express

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Rick Vanover ran a very interesting post on TechRepublic regarding the key differences between Amazon EC2 and VMware’s vCloud Express, which BlueLock, a VMware hosting provider, is participating in. vCloud Express was publicly launched at VMworld 2009 in San Francisco. BlueLock and four other cloud computing providers where chosen as launch partners to provide the new cloud computing platform.

Amazon EC2 is based on Citrix XenServer technology and VMware’s cloud offering is targeted directly at Amazon. vCloud Express is obviously based on VMware virtualization technology as well as their vCloud API.

Snapshot of the differences between pricing and offerings:

- Pricing is very similar although they do not align directly

o EC2 instances start at $.10 per hour, but they offer 1 or 3 year subscriptions that can bring that price down to $.03 per hour for Linux instances

o vCloud Express instances start at $.036 per hour and they offer subscriptions for Windows licensing as well
o vCloud Express charges $.01 per hour for public IP addresses and $.01 per hour for external internet access for the workload including load balancing (which isn’t available on EC2)

- vCloud Express has more instant provisioning options in regards to cores, processors and quantities of RAM
- Operating Systems

o vCloud Express has a broad offering including Windows 2008 server instances which aren’t yet available on EC2
o AWS has a comparatively limited OS

I’m a little confused why he closes his post by saying that AWS is currently the winner. Based on what he’s stated above about the offerings, I would say it seems as though VMware’s vCloud Express is the winner. Ah, because its beta and there are still a few limitations here and there. Watch out Amazon, vCloud Express could give you a run for your money when it graduates from beta status.

To learn more about vCloud Express, click here.

To read Vanover’s full post, click here.

BlueLock to Host and Sponsor CloudCamp Indianapolis 2.0

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Brian Wolff

Indianapolis-based BlueLock, provider of cloud computing and managed IT services, announced they will sponsor and host CloudCamp Indianapolis #2 on Tuesday, October 27th. CloudCamp events are free and follow an interactive, unscripted format as attendees suggest topics of discussion, before and during the event. Attracting IT professionals and non-technical business managers alike, the cloud computing event is designed to expand awareness of cloud computing, from both a technical and business integration perspective.

At a typical CloudCamp, activities include:

• Panels and discussions focused on different types of Cloud Computing technologies
• Identify and discuss challenges posed by Cloud Computing
• Exchange ideas with other Cloud Computing innovators
• Learn about business models and discover opportunities
• Networking between potential cloud clients and business partners

In response to the growing interest in cloud computing, these camps have been held in major tech centers around the world, such as San Francisco, Washington D.C., Atlanta and London. Upcoming events, in addition to the Indy event, include: Silicon Valley, Munich, Germany, Phoenix, AZ and Tel Aviv.

"We are excited to host and sponsor another CloudCamp event in Indianapolis,'" said Brian Wolff, VP Sales and Marketing for BlueLock. “We had an amazing crowd of more than 100 people, who brought an abundance of questions, knowledge and ideas about cloud computing back in February at the first CloudCamp Indianapolis. We’re hoping to attract even more participants to share more ideas and knowledge about the current and always-changing cloud landscape.”

The unique unconference will be held from 4 – 8:30 pm at BlueLock, 6325 Morenci Trail, Indianapolis, IN. CloudCamp is a free event, but space is limited so you must register.

Virtual pre-conference discussions can be found at www.cloudcamp.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cloudcamp.

For more information or to register for this event go to www.cloudcamp.com/indianapolis.

BlueLock Featured in Gartner's Hype Cycle

Tuesday, July 28, 2009 by Brian Wolff

BlueLock, a provider of cloud computing and managed IT services was featured in a July 23, 2009 Gartner report entitled Hype Cycle for Business Continuity Management, 2009 in the Cloud-Based Recovery Services section.

The report features findings on the increasing costs and risks of business disruptions and how they continue to drive the importance of effective business continuity management operations for business and technology executives. BlueLock was featured as a cloud services company able to cost-effectively solve business continuity issues using cloud computing and virtualization technologies.

“BlueLock has worked hard over the years to build a cloud computing platform that enables businesses to easily and efficiently integrate a cost effective disaster recovery solution into their IT infrastructure,” said Pat O’Day, CTO of BlueLock. “It’s nice to get this kind of recognition from a highly recognized and respected source such as Gartner.”

BlueLock’s disaster recovery solution is built on virtualized servers and uses virtualized storage. The two solutions work together to provide rapid recovery and performance on demand enabling BlueLock to readily adjust to client needs and quickly provide production capacity should a disaster occur. A couple of BlueLock’s local disaster recovery clients include Marian University and Wooden & McLaughlin, LLP.

“Using a combination of VMware and HP technology, we’re able to clone a bootable copy of a client’s production environment and move it hundreds of miles away to a disaster recovery site. When they declare a disaster or want to test their recovery plan, we simply boot them into production. You can’t do that without virtualization,” said O’Day.

Going Green in Your Data Center: Cloud Computing & Virtualization

Friday, July 17, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

There are a million reasons to go green these days and economic pressure to do so (or to hold back). So here comes a great reason to go green in your data center (or data center provider): enter, cloud computing. Enterprise IT accounts for up to 40% of a company’s energy requirements. Cutting back in that area could lead to a huge decrease in your organizations “carbon footprint.”

According to Forrester, over 40% of people in IT departments believe energy efficiency and equipment recycling are important factors to consider (go Earth!) and about 65% believe that reduction of energy-related operating costs is the driving factor surrounding the implementation of green IT.

In the traditional data center, large and small you’ve got servers requiring massive amounts of cooling power and electricity to keep them running properly. More importantly, those servers are running at low utilization levels (20% or lower) but still require full power to cool them. What’s that mean? Lots of wasted energy, basically. You’ve got redundant hardware, memory, network devices and power supplies to keep everything chugging along. So how do we make this situation better?

MODERNIZE! It’s all about cloud computing and virtualization. And what’s it do? Reduces the number of servers you need (i.e. reduces the amount of space, electricity & cooling required as well) or gets rid of almost all of your in-house data center requirements if you so decide to outsource everything (most people would keep some of their stuff in-house, and that’s recommended for the most part anyway). And that’s a great step towards decreasing you energy needs and dependency, making your office green.

Lots of companies think going green sounds great, and trendy – same with their thoughts on cloud computing (very trendy and sounds pretty cool), but it’s not about being green, trendy or cool – it’s about saving money (and Mother Earth at the same time). Virtualization allows you to partition physical hardware into multiple logical “boxes” each running on its own operating system and network connectivity in a “sandbox.” Additional standby servers are redundant, thanks to the rapid provisioning capabilities in the cloud and best of all, you can host more application with less servers. Higher utilization with lower costs!

With a cloud computing solution like BlueLock’s you can cut your infrastructure costs by $50,000 a year or more and disaster recovery, another added bonus, becomes just a fraction of the cost than in traditional DR environments (savings are usually about 40%).

So what are you waiting for? Go green and cut your IT costs.

Your Infrastructure Choices: A cloud is not a cloud…is not a cloud

Thursday, July 16, 2009 by Brian Wolff

Cloud computing providers differ in two main ways: people and control. No two cloud services are alike for that very reason and people and control are the two variables that differentiate cloud computing providers from one another.

The definition of cloud computing varies everywhere, but some main characteristics of “the cloud” are: virtualization, capacity on demand, shared resources and subscription-based pricing. If you fit that bill you’re a cloud, but which segmentation of cloud?

It's either:

SaaS (Software as a Service) – The web-facing software that users interact with (i.e. SalesForce or Google Apps)
PaaS (Platform as a Service) – a platform that helps utilize cloud resources (i.e. RightScale or rPath)
Or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) – the actual infrastructure behind the cloud, the virtualized servers and network (i.e. BlueLock, GoGrid or your internal cloud)

For purposes of this post, we’re going to focus on Infrastructure as a Service (makes sense because that’s what we’re experts at). From here, there are also a few different type of IaaS clouds (surprise, surprise!) and their characteristics, to make things just a little more interesting. Here they are:

Private internal cloud:
-    Limited Capacity
-    Expensive
-    Highly Secure
-    Enterprise Features
-    Self Managed

Public utility cloud
-    Limitless Capacity
-    Lower cost
-    Self Managed (DIY)
-    No/DIY SLA
-    No/DIY Security

Full-service public cloud
-    Large Capacity
-    Fully Managed
-    Customized Security
-    Enterprise Features
-    Enterprise Services
-    SLA

Back to IaaS cloud differentiation – again, all about people and control. First, you have to decide how much control of the infrastructure you want, can manage or more importantly, can afford. Then take a look at the other components that will affect your costs in the cloud (some of these you may already have):

-    Hardware & software
-    Licenses
-    People
-    Place

If you’re looking at a do-it-yourself platform like Amazon EC2, you’ll have to purchase your own people and they’ve have to monitor, control and manage the infrastructure. With this option you’ve got a lot more control, but a much higher TCO – because those people are going to cost you lots of money. But if you don’t have the people, or you want them to focus on something else, like your core business (i.e. your software solution) instead of the infrastructure then a trusted full-service cloud option like BlueLock makes a lot more sense and could save you about $50,000 a year.

How’s that even possible? When you purchase a BlueLock solution, you’re not only purchasing the infrastructure and place to house that infrastructure, you’re purchasing the people and expertise behind it – meaning less employee costs for you (or more beneficial employee costs). Some would argue you lose a little control because your people, your team isn’t the one working on the infrastructure, but others think that a partner like BlueLock is just an extension of their own team – and a better use of their IT budget at that. Take Projetech for instance – watch this video and you’ll see that they really see BlueLock as an extension of their company not just another vendor, and that’s the way we like to think about it too.

Cloud Computing Order for SMBs

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

A recent article by Paul Korzeniowski called "Cloud Computing Needs Time to Establish Order" addresses his thoughts on the infancy of cloud computing and how that impacts the growing market, specifically the SMB market.

Korzeniowski argues that while several groups are emerging to set standards in the cloud industry and help to bring it to maturity, SMBs face options of limited functionality in the short term. (This post argues otherwise)

He states, “One irony with new information technologies is that vendors focus first on deploying them and only later on figuring out how to manage them. That’s the scenario unfolding with cloud computing.”

Yes, many startup vendors are jumping on the cloud bandwagon trying to figure out how they can get a piece of the pie, but not all of them are having trouble figuring out how to manage the technologies. At BlueLock, we’ve been using virtualization technology for over two years to create solutions for our SMB clients – those same clients that Korzeniowski feels have limited options. Over 25% of our clients fit into the SMB profile, and each and every one of them find value in BlueLock’s virtual cloud environment – they’ve cut IT costs almost in half while no longer having to worry about managing and monitoring their IT environments -- because BlueLock’s experts take care of all of that for them. This frees up the companys’ valuable time to focus on their core business – driving growth and innovation.

Korzeniowski believes that the management factor for cloud computing lies in the hands of these ad hoc “standards making groups” such as the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) and the Cloud Security Alliance. I would argue that while these groups are doing all they can to set standards in this youthful market, they are by no means the only people worried about cloud computing “management.” These groups will take a couple years to come to any standards agreements, and more time will be taken for vendors to get up to speed with them, so in the meantime cloud computing providers such as BlueLock are working their butts off to solve the biggest management issue: making the clients happy.

So far, I must say we’ve done a good job. Our clients are saving time and money – in the cloud. Those SMB clients are among the clients who most benefit from a managed cloud computing solution. They face rapid growth, have tight budgets to work with and normally need things done yesterday. Well, we know the feeling and we also know that those clients are the ones we like because we can make them happy. They have control, high availability, support and a partner that manages and monitors their IT infrastructure for them while they go do important things with their talented people.

I don’t see the “limited functionality” for SMBs that is spoken of in the article…maybe in Amazon’s cloud, but not in BlueLock’s.

Innovative Cloud Computing...or else

Friday, May 22, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Jake Sorofman, our friend at rPath, wrote an interesting piece in Dr. Dobbs. He sings Amazon praises, and says, "today, EC2 may well be the truest expression of cloud." Yes, according the numerous definitions of cloud, Amazon most always fits the description. And Jake states, its "just a darn good example of what a cloud should be."

But in the cloud computing realm, there needs to be competition and innovation and choices among cloud computing providers that can drive the messages and solutions around the advantages of virtualization.

Jake writes:

For cloud to marute into mainstream and potentially transformative alternative to traditional computing, there must be many players -- each contributing their own unique value to the marketplace. Luckily, we've seen innovators like Rackspace, GoGrid, BlueLock and private cloud infrastructure like Eucalyptus deliver their own unique pieces to the cloud puzzle. We'll also see major platform vendors like IBM, EMC, and Oracle/Sun with their own cloud offerings.

I thnk its becoming more and more accepted that virtualization and cloud computing will become more of the norm, and what will matter the most during that "switch" is the ability to control and deploy the systems that run the infrastructure. What Jake doesn't mention is that rPath is innovating ways to do this every day. Without the virtual appliances they are creating like the rBuilder and the competition that will come their way, he's right, the cost and risk of cloud "may actually wash away the benefits of this new computing model itself."

Click here to read the full article.

Take Cautious Approach to Cloud Computing? Just Lay Out Your Needs.

Thursday, May 14, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

SearchSecurity.com just released an article about a recent Forrester report. The report advises a cautious approach to cloud computing or cloud-based services. The study found that early adopters ran into some roadblocks such as not knowing where their data is located or what happens to the data if they want to change services and even not knowing specifically how the service provider protects customer privacy.

Forrester advises that companies who are considering cloud-based services gain a clear understanding of security, privacy and legal consequences of contracting with a service provider. At BlueLock, we like to make it as easy for you as possible to learn about our practices and procedures and match those up against other cloud computing providers. In our opinion, the last thing we want is to have clients come in and sign on unaware of how their security, privacy and data will be handled.

In regards to security, Forrester recommends that organizations create a checklist of data security and compliance priorities. This is great advice. The more you can elaborate on your needs, the better able BlueLock is to provide you exactly what you need.

We’ve had lots of requests for highly compliant IT environments. The beauty of cloud computing is that BlueLock is able to build your company a compliant environment at a fraction of the cost of building an entire IT system and infrastructure on your own. Right On Interactive chose BlueLock as their SaaS hosting provider for that precise reason. Their 5Buckets solution (integrated marketing automation software) needed to be highly compliant in order to be able to integrate with companies such as ExactTarget (email marketing) and SalesForce.com.

They turned to BlueLock, laid out their needs and wants in regards to security and compliance, decided where they wanted their data stored (Indianapolis facility) and off BlueLock went designing a VMware virtualized IT environment. They now pay for IT infrastructure as a monthly operational expense; their compliant and secure environment can scale on demand and its environment if fully managed by virtualization experts 24/7/365. What more could a growing software company ask for?

Security and Compliance: What Cloud Clients Want

Monday, May 4, 2009 by Alicia Gaba

Jian Zhen wrote an interesting article about Cloud Computing – stating that “You can outsource responsibility, but you can’t outsource accountability.” At the top of most cloud customers/prospects minds is the issue of security and compliance - but when you give the cloud computing provider the responsibilty of protecting your data and environment, how do you know they'll take on accountability as well?

Zhen states that it doesn’t matter if data is in the cloud or on-premise, what matters is that the there is control and transparency on the client’s data, applications and identities. Every client, no matter what their industry or specialty, must be compliant with whatever regulations and mandates they’re responsible for. So this not only means that a cloud prospect looking to outsource their IT infrastructure must find a reliable cloud provider – they must also do their due diligence to make sure that the provider will go to any length necessary to build an environment that is not only secure but fully compliant.

Zhen states, “If you look across all of the regulations and mandates out there, like SOX, PCI, HIPAA, COBIT, ISO, etc etc, they all require essentially two things: transparency and control.”

Does your cloud computing provider allow you to see who’s accessing what data, when and where with documentation? Are your data, applications and identity protected?

This image shows the three primary focuses when it comes to control and transparency – identity, applications and data. If any of these come under attack, your entire business could falter.

Zhen argues that enterprises are better off in their own environment where they can “do many things…to ensure they are ‘as compliant as possible’” but in the cloud “they lose that control.” However, it’s important to note that he’s mainly referring to Google App Engine and Amazon’s AWS. He says that the problem is not necessarily that the clouds aren’t secure; it’s that the enterprise loses control and transparency when they move to those clouds.

So what if you want to outsource your IT and get into the cloud - but you don’t want to lose control or transparency? You want enterprise level IT security and compliance. You want an IT environment that can withstand audits and attacks.

You look for an enterprise-level cloud provider who has clients who came to them because they could build a secure and compliant environment that cost a fraction of what it would cost for that company to do it themselves – plus the provider has 24/7/365 management and monitoring (we call this full-service offering managed cloud hosting). You don’t lose control and transparency. That cloud provider takes on the responsibility of protecting your environment, data, applications and identities, all the while being accountable for what goes on in the environment. You won’t get that in a GAE or AWS cloud, but you just might find it somewhere else…like the BlueLock Cloud.

The way we see it enterprises shouldn't feel like they can't reap the advantages of virtualization and managed IT hosting because of security and compliance. If they want to virtualize and need security and compliance, it's just the beginning of a great conversation.