Cloud Service Provider Blog

News Round-up 5/25/2012: Privacy in the Era of Big Data, Cloud Threats Telcos, Boom in the Cloud and more

Brian — Sat, 26 May 2012 16:00:19 +0000

Each week we compile the hottest stories in cloud computing and gather them for you on our blog. Take a look at the top news and stay current with developments.

The world moves to cloud. Is it time for cloud-based mobile management?

The shift to the cloud in consumer services indicates a greater shift of business services to come. How do you manage your employees’ mobile devices? Forbes provides some important questions to answer before deciding on a cloud solution.

Innovation isn’t dead, it just moved to the cloud

A recent interview in Atlantic magazine said that innovation was dead in Silicone Valley. Tedd Hoff from High Scalability responds by saying innovation is alive in well in the cloud.

Social + Mobile + Cloud = The New Paradigm for Midsize Business

Social media and cloud computing are relatively new in terms of business adoption but their impact is already being felt. It this the new paradigm for business customer relationships?

That Boom You Hear Is the Cloud

Did the Facebook IPO bust signal there was a bubble in tech that couldn’t be sustained? Cloud stocks are performing well and signal greater growth in the near future.

Private Cloud: 'Everyone’s Got One. Where’s Yours?'

Forrester blog post warns against ‘cloudwashing’ your business and points out three common mistakes when choosing to migrate to the cloud.

How Cloud Computing Is Threatening Traditional Telco

Traditional telecommunications solutions are rapidly turning over to cloud based solutions handled by IT departments. New software and hardware makes it easier than ever to shift away from traditional telcos.

Also in the news:

Global SMB Market: Hosted Infrastructure

Parallels Administrator — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:08:09 +0000

Part 2 of a 5-part series detailing Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ research. View part 1 here.

In part one of our Global SMB Market insights™ series we defined some of the key global SMB market categories and segments. Now, we’d like to look closely at how SMBs around the world are adopting and using each major cloud service, beginning with hosted infrastructure.

Hosted infrastructure, also known as infrastructure-as-a-service, includes dedicated servers, virtual private servers (VPS), managed hosting, and utility (or elastic) computing. As we mentioned in the previous post, whether or not an SMB uses hosted infrastructure depends a lot on where it’s located and the level of economic development and cloud services maturity there. Take a look at Table 1 to get a better idea of what we mean:

Developed with Mature Cloud Services

Hosted infrastructure is relatively common in these markets, with about 20% of SMBs already using hosted servers. Encouraging the micro and small SMBs (aka Cloud Converters) that are using in-house servers to switch to hosted servers can lead to even further growth.

Hosted servers don’t require maintenance or technical expertise, which is a huge advantage for SMBs who don’t generally have in-house IT staff, but price is a top factor keeping them from making the leap. Service providers should consider offering lower-priced options to these SMBs, but also on educating them about the true cost of owning an in-house server. Pushing VPS offerings is likely the best route to take with these SMBs, as they deliver all the security and isolation benefits of a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost.

Developed with Maturing Cloud Services

Fewer than 15% of SMBs in these countries use hosted services, so the hosted infrastructure market for this group is definitely still growing. Since many of them are currently using in-house servers to about the same degree as they do hosted services, they make a good target for service providers looking to encourage conversion.

We also identified a significant opportunity among companies that currently don’t use servers at all—the Cloud Leapers. The best targets among these Cloud Leapers are the micro SMBs, approximately 65-70% of which have no servers.

Developing with Emerging Cloud Services

In developing countries less than 10% of SMBs use hosted infrastructure and 75% have no servers at all, which is unsurprising given their limited Internet access. The market should grow as Internet usage does though, with much of the growth driven by Cloud Leapers moving directly to hosted servers. Willingness to adopt hosted infrastructure is high, so as infrastructure improves and bandwidth and connectivity issues fade, usage is poised to increase dramatically.

Any questions or thoughts to share on hosted infrastructure in the global SMB market? Check in soon for the next blog segment on our SMB Global Market insights: Web Presence!

Want to know more? Parallels has updated and enriched its wildly popular research on SMBs and their move to the cloud. We'll present our findings in a webinar on May 30th. In this webinar, we will share the results of our latest US SMB research, including how SMBs are adopting cloud services, how much is being spent on each type of service, and how service providers should market to SMBs to benefit from the upcoming growth in this booming market.

CRN Names Parallels in 2012 Virtualization Who’s Who

Parallels Administrator — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:21:01 +0000

CRN.com, leading source of news, analysis and perspective for VARS and technology integrators, recently published their 2012 Virtualization 100 list. With the number of businesses in the virtualization industry increasing year over year, Parallels is honored to be named among the ‘who’s who of virtualization players’. Parallels is a global leader in hosting and cloud services enablement and desktop virtualization software. Whether you’re looking to virtualize Windows on your Mac without rebooting and access everything from your iPad or migrate your business to the cloud, Parallels offers a solution.

CRN previously named Parallels in their list of 20 Coolest Cloud Platforms & Development Vendors.

New whitepaper available on best practices for growing your VPS and cloud server business

Joshua Beil — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:32:22 +0000

We are pleased to publish another best practices whitepaper on Parallels PartnerNet, this one focused on optimizing your Virtual Private Server (VPS) business using Parallels Virtuozzo Containers (PVC). These best practices are the result of our years of experience in providing PVC to our service provider partners, combined with the latest customer and VPS market research and our most recent PVC product improvements. By implementing these best practices, you will be able to establish and grow your VPS business and maximize the revenue per container from your PVC infrastructure.

This paper begins with the results of a survey we recently conducted among some of our most successful partners, to find out what lessons they’ve learned over the years that have contributed most
to their success. It then goes on to discuss best practices for growing your VPS business, and it ends with a 1-page checklist for maximizing revenue per Container.

CLICK HERE to register or login to PartnerNet to get a copy today.

News Round-Up 5/19/12: Google's Cloud, Future of Data Centers, Cloud IPOs, Cloud Security Myths Busted and More

Brian — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:00:47 +0000

There have been some exciting announcements and fascinating news articles recently regarding cloud services and service providers. Every week we will round up the most interesting topics from around the globe and consolidate them into a weekly summary.

Hitch a Ride Through Google's Cloud

Your Gmail box lives somewhere in the jumble of servers, cables, and hard drives known as the "cloud" but it often migrates in search of the ideal location. Find out what happens when you hit send.

The Future of Data Centers: Is 100% Cloud Possible?

Guest blogger Robert Offley explains how the market is shifting today, what barriers remain for total cloud adoption, and if an evolution to 100% cloud is likely to occur.

Big Data is Worth Nothing Without Big Science

As with gold or oil, data has no intrinsic value, writes Webtrends CEO Alex Yoder. Big science, which bridges the gap between knowledge and insight, is where the real value is.

The Hottest IPO You've Never Heard Of

With an expected valuation of close to $100 billion, it’s understandable that no one can stop talking about Facebook’s initial public offering this week. But while Facebook basks in the social media spotlight, companies tackling tough business problems are exciting investors, if not consumers. Workday, for example, is expected to be among the largest IPOs this year in the business software market.

Five Busted Myths of Cloud Security

“Cloud” is one of the most over used and least understood words in technology these days, so it’s little surprise that there’s so much confusion about its security. This article busts 5 myths about cloud security.

Also in the news:

New whitepaper on best practices for bundling hosted and cloud services - now available at PartnerNet

Joshua Beil — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:29:45 +0000

As recently as 2009, service providers could profitably deliver a single cloud service—such as e-mail or domain registration. As cloud services have matured, however, adoption rates have risen, with small and medium businesses (SMBs) now typically consuming two or three cloud services rather than just one, and preferring to get all their cloud services from the same provider. In addition, the increasing commoditization of cloud offerings has driven down prices, making it harder to deliver a single service profitably.

Both of these trends point to the growing importance of creating offerings that bundle several cloud services together, and then upselling your customers to higher-value packages and cross-selling them other services that might be of interest to them. All of these approaches are win/win solutions for both you and your customers. For you, they increase revenues and profitability while decreasing churn—because being able to get several services from one place makes for “stickier” customers. For your customers, they provide the convenience of a “one-stop shop.”

A new whitepaper just published on PartnerNet begins with a discussion of the overall SMB cloud opportunity—how big it is, and where it’s headed. Then it explains how you can increase the profitability of the cloud services you offer by bundling similar services together, upselling your customers to higher-value services, and cross-selling other services in which they might be interested. Finally, it takes a closer look at three categories of cloud services— hosted infrastructure, Web presence, and hosted communication and collaboration—and provides specific recommendations for bundles, upsells, and cross-sells within each category.

The whitepaper is available immediately for anyone who is a member of PartnerNet - register today if you're not!

News Round-Up 5/12/2012: Cloud Tipping Point, OpenStack Public Beta, ECM Goes All Flash and More

Brian — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:00:17 +0000

Google CIO Ben Fried Says Cloud Tipping Point Is At Hand

Is the cloud tipping point upon us? Google CIO Ben Fried says ‘cloud-based computing is fast approaching a tipping point that will make it the standard for IT’.

Is Your Cloud Provider Exposing Remnants of Your Data?

Security researchers report that incorrectly configured hypervisors can lead to a separation of data issue in multi-tenant environments that can expose data remnants. However, you can prevent hosting your data on 'dirty disks.'

HP puts OpenStack Cloud into Public Beta

Hewlett-Packard put its public cloud based on the open source OpenStack technology into public beta. The services had been available to a limited number of customers up until now.

Could an Oracle Win Against Google Blow Up the Cloud?

With a copyright lawsuit currently being decided in San Francisco pitting Oracle against Google, the implications could have meaningful repercussions for cloud computing.

Gartner Says The Personal Cloud Is Poised To Eclipse The PC As The Hub Of Consumers' Digital Lives By 2014

The personal cloud is poised to eclipse the PC as the hub of consumers' digital lives by 2014 as rapid growth in the use of apps and services introduces a new paradigm for how people store, synchronize, share and stream content, according to Gartner, Inc.

Also in the news:

APS and SaaS Webinar for Service Providers featuring Solgari, Ecwid, VMWare and Quest

Brian — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:17:29 +0000

Our recent case study describes how leading Hong Kong hosting service provider, Pacificnet Hosting Limited (PacHosting), used Parallels Application Packaging Standard (APS) to broaden its portfolio and reduce time-to-market for new services. With APS, PacHosting was able to create new revenue opportunities in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) space and rapidly ramp-up services. We have arranged for some leaders in the SaaS field to explain how your business can profit like PacHosting by offering the most in-demand applications to small and medium business customers. This is a great opportunity for service providers to learn how to easily market and sell high-demand commercial applications and services, and how Parallels can help providers of any size be successful in increasing ARPU and reducing customer churn.

This month's scheduled presentations include:

Solgari – Discover the fantastic opportunity to provide Solgari Hosted PBX & Voice Services to your business customers

Ecwid – Find out how you can grow your ecommerce base with our 100% AJAX widget shopping cart

VMware - Learn how Zimbra Collaboration Server allows you to offer an advanced enterprise email & calendaring solution at a low TCO

Quest – Discover the many benefits of Quest’s OnDemand Migration for Email

Webinar starts Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 8am PDT. Don’t miss it - Register now!

News Round-Up 5/5/2012: What Makes the Cloud Cool, Feds in the Cloud, 10 Things Your Cloud Contract Needs

Brian — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:00:50 +0000

Cloud Computing Gains in Federal Government

The Federal Government is warming to the speed, agility and functionality of cloud computing.

State companies helping Army with cloud computing

The U.S. Army has turned to cloud computing, and to Wisconsin companies, to improve its intelligence gathering in Afghanistan.

Saas Offering Provides Detailed Analysis of Your Software Portfolio

Are you faced with the need to do a software portfolio analysis but find the prospect daunting given the scattered nature of your operation? A new SaaS-based offering might fit the bill.

SaaS Business Apps Drive SMB Cloud Computing Adoption

Lots of small and medium businesses have discovered the benefits of software-as-a-service. These SaaS applications are driving cloud adoption among SMBs.

Here’s What Makes The Cloud So Cool

Mike Pearl from PriceWaterhouseCooper provides a useful plan of attack for business adoption of cloud computing.

10 Things You Just Gotta Have in Your Cloud Contract

CFO’s guide to the wild and wooly world of cloud services in which contracts are mutable, companies come and go, and politics a continent away could materially impact your business.

Also in the news:

Best Practices for Growing your VPS and Cloud Server Business

Brian — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:48:07 +0000

Parallels recently published a case study looking at how leading Australian web hosting provider, Net Logistics, was able to create new revenue opportunities through Virtual Private Servers (VPS) offerings. In the case study, Net Logistics Business Development Manager, Joseph Salim, described how it took just three years to go from no VPS offerings to VPS accounting for 40% of their customer base. Today, 60% of all new customers buy VPS from Net Logistics.

The demand for Virtual Private Servers continues to explode, and can include everything from a single VPS to elastic, hourly-billed cloud infrastructure. Deploying cost effective VPS and cloud server solutions is the key to accelerating revenue and realizing profit. In our upcoming webinar on May 9, the focus is on growing your VPS and cloud server business. Lowell Anderson, Parallels Director of IaaS Product Marketing, will share the results of our latest market research and the best practices to optimize your cost structure and drive profits from your VPS solutions. Liam Eagle, Editor in Chief of Web Host Industry Review (The WHIR), , will moderate the discussion through a range of topics including market survey results describing VPS revenue opportunities, buyer preferences and what drives purchasing for VPS services, best practices for profiting from VPS services and how to plan for the future.

Would you like to find out how your business can capitalize on this market opportunity by offering VPS to your customers? Please join us May 9, 2012 at 11am-12pm Pacific, 2pm-3pm Eastern for our Best Practices for Growing your VPS and Cloud Server Business webinar.

To register or invite customers to attend, click here.