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:  

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. 

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

Attend Nimsoft's upcoming webcast (2 attendees will win an Amazon Kindle!) and get proven guidance that can boost your business’ chances for success in the cloud. Learn from three successful cloud computing service provider leaders (including BlueLock) who have already established successful cloud-based businesses. Get practical guidance based on the experiences of our expert panelists.  Find out what worked and what didn’t, and discover some of the key challenges and opportunities that service providers face when moving into cloud computing.

While some service providers tend to look at cloud computing as a threat, the reality is that the cloud is opening up myriad opportunities for businesses. Each of the panelists has taken a fundamentally different approach to cloud offerings, based on their unique business objectives and opportunities. In this interactive webcast, you can ask questions and get specific guidance into the directions that make most sense for your business.

Our Service Provider Expert Panelists Are:

    * Dave Durkee, CEO, ENKI
    * John Qualls, President and CEO, BlueLock
    * Brian Ritchie, SVP and GM, Support and Managed Services Division, GlassHouse Technologies

Attend And Get Answers To These Questions:

    * Is cloud computing an opportunity or threat to your business?
    * Which kinds of service providers will be well-equipped to succeed in the cloud, which won’t, and why?
    * What are some of the best tips for service providers looking to embrace the cloud?
    * What traditional managed services can an MSP leverage in cloud environments?
    * What are some of the keys to making cloud services robust enough for clients’ high stakes business services?

BlueLock has been named to Nine Lives Media Inc.’s third-annual MSPmentor 100, a
distinguished research report identifying the world’s most progressive managed service providers.

“We are honored to be recognized by MSPmentor as one of the world’s most progressive managed service providers," said John Qualls, President and CEO, BlueLock. “We believe our selection is recognition of our continued company growth over the past year and further validates our business plan and the market’s need for different classes of managed IT and cloud hosting services. Three years of cloud experience has allowed us to deliver true cloud computing services that enable developers to Fortune 500 enterprises to deploy and operate their applications on a highly available and scalable platform that is tailored to the
needs of their apps.”

The free MSPmentor 100 report, available at www.MSPmentor.net, is based on data from MSPmentor’s global online survey, conducted October through December 2009. The MSPmentor 100 report recognizes managed service providers based on a range of revenue and management metrics.

Founded three years ago, BlueLock was one of the country’s first providers of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), enabling companies to provision and manage their technology infrastructures more efficiently and cost-effectively. Delivering pre-configured, secure and resilient virtual IT environments which scale ondemand,

“Despite the challenging economy, MSPmentor 100 companies generated more than $700 million in combined recurring revenue and managed services revenue, up 31 percent from the companies’ combined results in 2008,” said Joe Panettieri, editorial director, MSPmentor. “Our report also reveals how MSPs are already profiting from SaaS and cloud services.”

MSPmentor, produced by Nine Lives Media Inc., is the ultimate guide to managed services. MSPmentor features the industry’s top-ranked blog, research, Webcasts, and FastChat videos. It is the number one online media destination for managed service providers in the world.

If you've been following the most recent BlueLock blog posts, you know that a good number of the BlueLock team members returned to Indianapolis this week after spending last week in Las Vegas for the VMware Partner Exchange. With milestone achievements like winning the VMware Cloud Service Provider of the Year and the launch of the BlueLock CloudSuite, there was a ton of excitement.

Luckily for you, the BlueLock marketing team was well-equipped with their Flip video cameras and documented the adventure. For your viewing pleasure, I created a quick video montage, complete with Fat Boy Slim conference-esque soundtrack.

My favorite quote is near the end of the video when, after the VMware Partner of the Year award is announced, John Qualls (our CEO) is asked, "What are you going to do next?" John's Resopnse: 

"Do it again next year."

Over the past two years, BlueLock and Apparatus have built a strong and dynamic partnership with their complimentary virtualization and data center expertise.  By joining forces, the teams are able to work together to wrap services around BlueLock's cloud hosting solutions to better serve clients.

Due to our great success together, VMware asked BlueLock (a VMware Hosting Provider) and Apparatus, to take the stage during the keynote session at this year's VMware Partner Exchange to share our story in front of 2500 conference attendees. The VMware Partner Exchange is an annual partner conference dedicated to educating and enabling partners for success with VMware. 

Brian Wolff, VP of Sales at BlueLock and Casey Watson, Chief Evangelist at Apparatus went on stage and showed the virtualization community at the Las Vegas conference what Indiana's technology Community is all about - innovation, trust and execution.  That's right, Indianapolis is a virtualization hot-bed.

The week of the 2010 VMware Partner Exchange (PEX) was one of great accomplishment.  The conference started out on Monday Feb. 8, the day BlueLock launched BlueLock CloudSuite, a comprehensive offering of cloud hosting solutions.  The news took off and the PEX excitement began.

Kim and I drew large crowds at the BlueLock booth as we challenged visitors to test their "Cloud IQ."  Many walked away with enough points to earn a Starbucks gift card while other weren't so lucky and had some studying to do!

While we manned the booth, BlueLock's executives kept busy with many of our current partners such as Consonus, F5, DoubleTake Software, and of course, VMware representatives.  BlueLock's engineering and development squad, which was filled with a few new faces to the BlueLock team, found great value in the training breakouts and the time they spent with other virtualization experts from around the globe.

Tuesday morning, BlueLock's VP of Sales, Brian Wolff and Casey Watson of Apparatus took the stage at the PEX keynote address to spread their knowledge and expertise around creating meaningful and successful partnerships between cloud hosting providers (BlueLock) and managed service providers (Apparatus).  BlueLock and Apparatus have worked together in a number of cloud hosting projects with great success.  That success stemmed from each company doing what they do best while creating a partnership of understanding and strong communication.  Brian and Casey's participation in the PEX keynote helped to build heavy traffic at the BlueLock booth, which made Kim and I very happy!

Tuesday evening, BlueLock CEO John Qualls, CTO Pat O'Day, and Chairman Mark Hill attended an exclusive dinner to receive BlueLock's honors as Americas VMware Service Providers Program Partner of the Year and Global runner-up.  The following morning, the entire BlueLock team gathered at the regional breakout for the Americas where the award was announced in front of the entire congregation.


BlueLock was thrilled to receive such an honor.  We couldn't have done it without our expert team and our faithful clients who have made us who we are.  Congratulations to the entire BlueLock family and our friends, our clients, for a great year of accomplishment in 2009.  Here's to a great 2010!

flexibility, security, & possibly reduced capital expenditure…

By Jon Schackmuth

Savvy business owners looking to get in the cloud are looking for flexibility, security and reduced cost.

The underlying question is:  Can small and medium sized businesses find what they are looking for in the cloud at a price they can afford?

Let’s start with flexibility in the cloud.  Simply put, this is what the cloud does best.  When the marketplace changes and we all know it does, the cloud allows business owners to turn the dial up or down as needed.  As an example, if a business jumps from 1,000 hits to 50,000 hits on their website and it’s positioned at a cloud hosting company like BlueLock, running on virtual machines, they can call the 24/7/365 operations staff and spin up more virtual servers – scalability on demand.  Conversely, if traffic slows in six months, simply turn the dial down and pay for the services being utilized – the beauty of metered usage…

Now that we have established that the cloud is flexible, the true objection of the cloud must be security.  Security is paramount when it comes to companies like BlueLock.  If in doubt, schedule a visit and see the layers of security BlueLock has to offer.  BlueLock’s privately owned building is made of poured concrete with a steel and concrete roof.  The actual servers are secured behind six levels of security and are accessed on a need-to-know basis. - TOUGH.

The use of Check Point firewalls and SAS 70 certification is the gold standard in the IT world and BlueLock utilizes both to protect its clients.  Ask yourself:  Where are my servers stored and who has access to them?  What if your servers crashed today?  What is your disaster recovery plan and how long could your servers be down before you start losing one customer?  What is the value of that customer?  These questions may be hard to answer, but the results could save your livelihood.  BlueLock has all of them answered for you, 24/7/365.

At this point, if I haven’t given you enough to think about with flexibility & security, you are probably in the mindset that it’s too costly!  Consider the amount you pay for your infrastructure.  Excessive CAPEX (capital expenditure) can bankrupt a company faster than a lack of customers.  What does it cost to build your own data center plus a back up site and then maintain it at the level that allows you to sleep at night?
 
Depending on the situation, the business may be a start-up or they may be upgrading existing servers. If you are a start-up, what do a full time IT employees cost?  If you build for today and you hit the home run you planned for, your company may be crippled.  If you spend too much CAPEX on IT infrastructure, you may not have enough left over for marketing and sales generating programs.  Once the original hardware purchase has been made, switching to outsourcing and OPEX (operating expenditure) is sometimes a difficult decision.   At some point, enough is enough when it comes to excessive CAPEX - you may need to go in a new direction and outsource – you may need to put your business in the cloud.

Having been a small business owner in the past, I can attest to each of these topics.  Flexibility is paramount in any business, security is critical when clients trust you with their personal data, and cost overruns will bankrupt even the well-informed business owner.  Having choices in the cloud is something that hasn’t been available in the past… Until now.

Fresh off center stage at VMware Partner Exchange 2010, BlueLock introduced its latest surprise, BlueLock CloudSuite.  After years of offering a robust enterprise-level service, businesses can now have the flexibility and price competitiveness of the newly introduced Bluelock vCloud Express.  For those who want managed services with varying levels of scale, security, and performance - choose between Virtual Cloud Professional and Virtual Cloud Enterprise.  A business that requires onsite control of their own isolated cloud can try the Virtual Private Cloud, you own it and BlueLock manages it.

If you have questions about BlueLock's enterprise cloud computing options, please contact us.

In my last post, I tackled tips 1-5.  This week I’d like to take a look at the next five tips Adam Stone referred to in regards to "Making sense of the cloud: 15 tips for software CEOs" and provide you with the BlueLock perspective on what companies looking to migrate to cloud computing should be thinking about.

Tip #6:  To Avoid vendor Lock-in, stick to open standards. 
This one makes a lot of sense to me – in the end, you need to make sure that whatever you put in the cloud you can get back easily and intact.  While some may argue that deploying VMware technology locks you into VMware’s virtualization platform, I would argue that VMware is the defacto standard for virtualization technology for the enterprise, by virtue of their large market share.  Deploying VMware gives clients a lot of flexibility to move that server to another VMware host if they wish to move.  We even have cases where companies wish to protect themselves from something happening to BlueLock as a cloud provider.  In that instance, we’re replicating the entire virtual machines to a neutral third party, Iron Mountain.  If a triggering event were to occur, the company simply contacts Iron Mountain and receives immediate access to the virtual machines, which can immediately be loaded on servers running VMware.  That’s just one straight-forward example of how “portable” the environment is as a result of running in a VM ware-based virtualization platform.

Tip #7:  Location, Location, Location. 
Yes, indeed, it’s difficult to bend the laws of physics and the speed of light.  This tip talks about two real issues – the first is latency and the second deals with the laws that govern the location where the data center sits, in both cases, BlueLock has engineered solutions to address our client’s specific challenges.   We have clients that need to have the data closer to them than our data centers in Indianapolis, IN or in Salt Lake City, UT for speed or data privacy issues.  For these clients, we introduced our version of a private data center called The BlueLock Box in October 2007.  This private cloud solution entails installing an HP C3000 blade chassis with redundant SAN shelves behind the client’s firewall.  This solution provides them with the same benefits of BlueLock’s public cloud such as fault tolerance and scalability, but puts the data closer to them for speed and/or privacy issues. 

Tip #8:  Consider using a middleman. 
I agree with Adam – there is a huge opportunity for cloud brokers or companies that have expertise in helping clients make thoughtful decisions about what can and/or should go into the cloud and then to actually help architect and deliver the cloud solution.  We’ve worked closely with several partners who have trusted advisor relationships with large fortune 1000 clients that have chosen BlueLock as their cloud solution.  In fact, we’ve been asked to present next week in VMware’s Partner Exchange keynote on the topic of how partners can work with a cloud providers to deliver real value to their clients.  I will be sharing the stage with Carl Eschenbach, EVP of Worldwide Field Operations and Casey Watson, VP Business Development for Apparatus to talk about how BlueLock and Apparatus have built a sizable business delivering cloud integration services for large clients.

Tip #9:  Monitoring uptime isn’t enough, you need an action plan. 
We couldn’t agree more with Adam on this point.  From day one, we’ve had a resolution-based 99.99% uptime SLA in place for our clients.  This means that not only will we respond quickly to the issue, but we’ll promise resolution of that issue.  On top of that, we’ve also patented a portal that we call “the VITAL signs portal” that provides our clients with an overall view of the health of their environment, as well as an ability to drill into each aspect of their environment, to see what’s actually happening.  Finally, we have also built capabilities in the portal to send alerts and alarms when something goes wrong or when the environment has reached a pre-determined limit on things like CPU, RAM and storage.   If those measures aren’t enough, we’ve also built tailored metrics for some clients that wish to monitor additional key metrics in their environment.

Tip #10:  A clause may look good in the contract, but be useless in the real World.  Adam’s tip in this area covered a “useless” escrow agreement.  In tip number six, I shared how we’ve put an escrow agreement in place that can be tested and actually works.  Having said that, I agree that empty legal promises are not the way to make sure you’re protected.  Testing the system is the best way to insure what’s being set aside actually works.  In addition to the escrow agreement, we also have numerous disaster recovery clients that have performed successful tests of our geographic failover disaster recovery service.  In the end, you want the “promise” in writing, but then you want to do a test to make sure it performs as expected.  Reminds me of an old Reaganism – “trust but verify”.

Next week, I’ll take us down the homestretch and walk through the final five tips for migrating successfully to the cloud. 

Tip #11:  Set financial penalties for downtime
Tip #12:  It takes time to see ROI on SaaS development
Tip #13:  Savings are not in the cloud, but in headcount
Tip #14:  Follow the cloud into new markets
Tip #15:  Let the cloud lead you to new innovations

If you'd like to read the original post by Adam Stone, go here.

BlueLock recently announced the appointment of Kim Graham Lee as Chief Marketing Officer. With nearly 30 years of experience, Graham Lee is responsible for leading BlueLock’s branding initiatives, as well as driving the company's corporate and product marketing efforts. In addition, Graham Lee oversees all enterprise and partner marketing initiatives, from product planning and positioning, to the execution of customer acquisition and retention strategies.

“Kim brings a wealth of business experience, a customer-centric attitude, and an energetic presence that make her a strategic asset for BlueLock,” said John Qualls, CEO, BlueLock. “She has a proven track record of building successful marketing and sales organizations, as well as a deep understanding of high tech marketing. Her valuable combination of Fortune 500 client service experience as well as hands-on leadership of growth companies will certainly position BlueLock for continued growth and success in the cloud computing space.”

Prior to joining BlueLock, Graham Lee served as CEO of Vontoo, a privately-held technology and marketing startup in the direct voice marketing space. Under her leadership, the company had a successful capital raise in December 2008, doubled its revenue, and expanded its product suite. Graham Lee spent the first 19 years of her career at Walker Information, a global marketing research firm specializing in customer satisfaction measurement, where she served as senior vice president of global marketing and sales. Graham Lee also was president of OneBridge, a debit and credit card processing company. She held the executive marketing, communications and client service roles with two other technology organizations, LMiV, a convergent new media company and Eviciti, a Web integration firm.

“I am thrilled to join the BlueLock team and be part of a brand that is built on technology leadership, integrity and superior client service,” said Graham Lee. “The company has laid a fantastic foundation upon which to build our sales and marketing efforts and is poised to expand its leadership position in the rapidly evolving cloud computing space. I am excited about the opportunity to work with the team of professionals at BlueLock and contribute to the company’s growth.”

BlueLock recently announced that the company nearly tripled its workforce in 2009, and also has projections to virtually double its employee base and revenue in 2010 as cloud computing continues to gain traction. Graham Lee is one of the first hires of 2010 as the company looks to bring on more top engineering, developer and sales talent throughout the year.

Click here to read about Kim Graham Lee joining BlueLock, click here.

Adam Stone over at Software CEO wrote a very timely article compiling the opinions of several respected industry experts into 15 tips for understanding cloud computing. 
I thought Adam’s article highlighted several ways that BlueLock thinks about the cloud differently (or the same in some instances).  I plan to break the 15 tips down into three blog posts providing my perspective on each point he makes.

Tip #1:  Be Careful how you use the term. 

Adam’s point is that “cloud is not cloud is not cloud” – so it’s best to think about what you need most for your applications and then look for cloud computing service(s) that solve those specific needs.  For example, if you need a better CRM system – you’re probably looking for a SaaS (software as a service) application.  If your developers are spending way too much time writing code for functionality that is not core to your software package – you’re probably looking for a PaaS (platform as a service) – an opportunity to use someone else’s code to extend your core software’s functionality (billing comes to mind).  If your developers or infrastructure team are spending too much time managing failed servers, network or patching OS’, or if they can’t keep up with the growth of your very successful company – you’re probably looking for IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

Tip #2:  Make the Trendy Pitch. 

The din of people talking about Cloud Computing is deafening, even Dilbert has gotten into the act.  No doubt, your CEO and CFO have even been thinking about the proposed advantages of cloud computing and how they might help the business.  There are ways for almost every company to leverage cloud computing.  There are most likely servers or processes in your company that could be improved by a provider of SaaS, PaaS or IaaS, so take a look around, find a business need and explore ways that a cloud provider might be able to help cut costs and increase efficiencies - this should make your CEO and CFO happy.

Tip #3: Take One Step at a Time. 

One misconception/mistake that I see over and over again is that companies evaluate sending their most mission critical systems to the cloud first.  You should think about your IT environments and applications plotted on a graph of concentric circles with your most critical environments/applications in the middle.  As the number of users goes down or the criticality of the applications or the amount of attention an application receives from your IT staff goes down, move those applications to the outer circles.  The applications in the outer rings should be the ones that are evaluated for cloud first.  There’s less risk, less integration (maybe) and a higher chance for success with these environments.  We’ve built a very crude tool (that will be refined over time) to help you evaluate your applications and where they fit on the “circle of risk."

Tip #4: Keep Your Eyes Wide Open. 

I agree, due diligence on the provider is key.  As the gold rush continues, there are many companies rushing into the space to claim their fortune.  Many will come up with sand and dirt when they realize there’s a huge difference between running a data center and running an entire infrastructure with many, many clients.  In addition to all the points that Adam made about the questions to ask, my experience tells me that time in the market as a cloud provider (not just a co-location provider) is one of the best indicators of stability and staying power.  You’ll want to choose a provider with minimum of three years of success as a cloud hosting provider.  It was around the 2-year mark when we really started to hit our stride around managing the scale of our cloud environment, stabilized implementation and refined the management of our capital effectively, proving we could run a profitable business in the cloud.

Tip #5:  Make sure to get live support.

We’re a live support kind of company – because it’s relationships with our clients that matter, however, I would take a slightly different angle on this.  This is where I’m back to the criticality of the environments/applications.  If you’ve chosen a system that is less critical to the business, it might be perfectly acceptable to use chat, email or other means to get support from your cloud vendor.  Of course, they have to be responsive, that goes without saying.  But if you’ve chosen wisely, you may not need to talk to someone in order to get your problem resolved.  One caveat of course is that if you’re going to run mission critical applications in the cloud – then live support is a must.

So that’s the first five points around understanding cloud computing – stay tuned for the next five.  If you’re interested in learning more about how we do things at BlueLock  - send us a note here.

Coming in future posts:

Tip #6:  To avoid vendor lock-in, stick to open standards
Tip #7:  Location, location, location
Tip #8:  Consider using a middleman
Tip #9:  Monitoring uptime isn’t enough, you need an action plan
Tip #10:  A clause may look good in the contract, but be useless in the real world
Tip #11:  Set financial penalties for downtime
Tip #12:  It takes time to see ROI on SaaS development
Tip #13:  Savings are not in the cloud, but in headcount
Tip #14:  Follow the cloud into new markets
Tip #15:  Let the cloud lead you to new innovations

*If you’d like to read the original post by Adam Stone go here.

  Support - Done Well

The word 'support' has become cringe-worthy, much like 'Vista' or 'Millennium Edition.' Opinions seem to fall on one side or the other of a distinct dividing line - no vendor's 'support' is merely adequate these days. It's either phenomenal or terrible.

It's crazy to think that vendors strive for an utter lack of excellence. Still, many end users report just such an attitude in their communications with support personnel. Too often, customer support calls are considered unavoidable nuisances in an otherwise productive day. Of course, no one would ever admit they feel that way. But the attitude is pervasive, and it is all too easy for customers to detect, whether in voice inflection during phone calls or while reading hastily prepared e-mail responses. Worse still is getting no response at all.

BlueLock works very diligently to avoid falling into that trap. Working the front lines for a VMware hosting provider is a unique opportunity. Customers can contact us via e-mail or by telephone and all sorts of queries come in which keeps things interesting. Much of our work is generated automatically by our monitoring system. It's important for BlueLock Support personnel to be able to juggle several roles each day and we employ several tools that make it easier to provide top-level service. 

Don't Hesitate, Educate!

We understand that Cloud Computing is a fairly new concept, so one of the primary roles that we perform on the support desk is education. It takes time to become familiar with virtual servers, online disk expansions, and balloon drivers. At BlueLock, we can help make such concepts more clear - and it's as easy as calling the Support Desk.

The most popular topic for education at the BlueLock Support Desk is snapshots. Proper use of snapshots can make an administrator's job much easier. In a nutshell, each virtual machine on our environment is comprised of a file - that's right, the entire server is essentially a file running on a host system. Snapshots serve basically as restore points for those files. This is useful mainly when making major configuration changes or installing new software. When a snapshot is created, what really happens is that a 'change file' is generated. All subsequents changes to the virtual server are written to the change file. When testing is complete, the snapshot must be either committed or reverted. Committing the snapshot merges it with the original server file. This happens on the fly with no interruptions to service. Reverting essentially destroys the change file and returns the server to its state before the snapshot was taken.

The primary drawback of snapshots is that they tend to grow very quickly. Thus, BlueLock has a retention policy of 24-48 hours during which the snapshot must be committed or reverted.

VMware virtual servers are unique entities, especially when backing them up. Backups at BlueLock work much differently than with standard, physical hardware. We perform a combination of snapshots, disk-to-disk and tape backups to protect customer data. The current system is complex enough for its own blog posting, so I'll cover that in more detail at a later date.

BlueLock is poised to double workforce and revenue in 2010 as cloud computing continues to gain traction.

In 2009, BlueLock's workforce more than doubled and there are no plans to slow down.  Spurred by the growth of the cloud computing industry and combined with the continued need for IT expertise and infrastructure, BlueLock looks to capitalize on the growing shift toward cloud computing from on-premise IT with current and future product offerings, as well as bringing on top engineering, developer and sales talent in 2010.
 
"We are thrilled about BlueLock's growth over the past year and our recruitment of top talent, growing from eight employees in 2008 to 22 in 2009." said John Qualls, CEO, BlueLock. "We believe our 2009 growth is a testament to our innovative products and services and further validates our business plan and the market's demand for Infrastructure-as-a-Service. As cloud computing continues to grow, companies will continue to demand different classes of service for different tasks and BlueLock is perfectly positioned to make even bigger strides in 2010."

Topping Interactive Data Corp's (IDC) technology predictions for 2010, cloud computing is forecasted to see strong growth in the coming years. A recent IDC report found that the current worldwide revenue for IT cloud computing services stands at $17.4 billion, a number that will jump to $44.2 billion by 2013.

Interested in working for BlueLock? Contact us at jobs at bluelock.com

By 2015, ABI Research predicts that more than 240 million business customers will be leveraging cloud computing services through mobile devices, reaching revenues of $5.2 billion.  According to ABI Research, an evolving IT supply chain, business adoption of cloud platforms for IT services, and greater business use of handsets and smartphones are creating new revenue streams for both IT and mobile suppliers serving businesses.

ABI Research practice director Dan Shey said, "The immediate opportunity lies in leveraging cloud platforms to develop mobile applications, particularly mobile applications that leverage enterprise data. Directly and indirectly, Microsoft and Google are major players both influencing and enabling these developments. Mobile operators have the most to gain through offers of cloud services to the enterprise leveraging their networks, application enablement, and data centers."

I can think of many applications we use at BlueLock that would be great to be able to access on a mobile device.  We've also begun to see a number of clients asking for mobile cloud options.  I can definitely see this trend taking hold in a big way.  What do you think?

If you have questions about BlueLock's enterprise cloud computing options, please contact us.

Link to the original article.

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.

Security and compliance are hot topics in the cloud computing industry. PCI DSS is a set of requirements that, when adhered to, increase the level of security for payment cards transactions.

To become compliant with the PCI DSS, an organization must meet all of the security requirements and maybe even go through a formal auditing process, depending on the number of transactions processed each year. While these requirements may seem inconvenient,

But, can organizations really become PCI-compliant in a cloud computing hosting environment?

In searching for an answer to this question it's importnat to ask, "What kind of cloud computing service?" Many security experts have discussed the topic on panels and in the blogs, like this one. Most of my experience is with infrastrucutre as a service.

Just in working on small business virtualization projects with clients, here at BlueLock, I've had get educated on PCI DSS. The tricky thing for cloud computing hosting companies is that with standards like PCI, there are both application-side and infrastructure-side requirements for compliance.

So with IaaS, where does the responsiblity reside?

Ultimately, it's the responsibility of the company that is doing the payment card processing. The scope of PCI DSS goes beyond what infrastructure as a service companies provide. So, if a cloud computing service provider claims that they are "PCI compliant," it's important to remember that you must still assess your own organization outside of what the service provider manages.

At BlueLock, we use tools from our partners at Shavlik to run regular compliance scans of our clients' environments. If it's important for your organization to be in compliance with PCI DSS, then it's important for you to audit yourself regularly.

To find out more about PCI DSS, visit the PCI Security Standards Council website.

"The cloud" is still in its youth, maybe adolescence, so its easy to point fingers and scream when an outage occurs.  Just recently, Amazon Web Services had an outage in its Northern Virginia data center due to the failure of a power supply in an "availability zone" as well as a second failure of a component in the redundant system.  Outages happen, so it shouldn't have been as big of a shock as it was made out to be. 

However, when companies are beginning to outsource data center operations, they have high expectations, which is why zero failure is a good standard for providers to aim at in the clouds.  The fact is, all internal systems fail too, but there is no one to point the finger at.  When real people and real technology is involved, outages will occur.  I strongly feel that the cloud, outages or not, will have higher up-time and availability than most, if not all, internal systems.  High-profile clients, sensitive data and the fear of hundreds of clients yelling and screaming is enough motivation for any infrastructure as a service provider to architect a bullet-proof cloud. 

At BlueLock, we like happy clients, that's why we promise 99.99% up-time and push every day to make our cloud bigger, better and stronger.

SaaS virtualization is creating an ocean entrepreneurial opportunities, where small, nimble businesses can create real value by making creating more efficient ways of doing things.

One thing that James Urquhart points out in his Wisdom of Clouds blog post is that there is still a lot of opporutnity in the SaaS virtualization realm. Businesses that currently use enterprise apps need experts who can transition them to more robust and reliable SaaS apps. There is certainly plenty of room for experts like these to create value, while collecting strategic consulting and referral fees.

As more and more companies take on SaaS apps to manage their business processes, the need for consolidation will increase. Imagine the ability to pay for your campany's blogging platform, accounting system, email marketing platform, and CRM tool -- all on one bill. Now wouldn't that be nice? Urquart rightly points out that SaaS meter consolidatoin could craete a level of convenience for which some companies would be willing to pay.

It will be interesting to see how enrepreneurial companies take advantage of the small pockets of opoprtunity in the SaaS industry next year. It's hard to say which ideas will win, be you can be certain that speed and agility in deploying new business models will be key ingredients to success in SaaS virtualization innovation.

 

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. 

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.

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.