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

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.

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:

• • Public-sector cloud computing: The good, the bad and the ugly
• • EMC goes all-flash, buys XtremIO for $430M
• • Cloud Providers Touting Multi-Hypervisor Support
• • Foreign Invasion Through Cloud Computing

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

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

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.

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:

• • BofA Tech Guru Preaches 6 Cloud Truths
• • Google Opens Up Its BigQuery Data Analytics Service to All
• • SaaS Optimization: How WAN Acceleration Speeds Up the Cloud

Best Practices for Growing your VPS and Cloud Server Business

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. 

Cincinnati Bell Launches Cloud Services With Apptix and Parallels

Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB) today announced in a press release the expansion of its portfolio of telecommunications and IT services for businesses with the addition of cloud-based Microsoft® Communication and Collaboration Solutions powered by hosted business services provider Apptix® (OSE: APP) and Parallels, the leading provider of cloud service delivery software. These new solutions will allow Cincinnati Bell to more effectively serve small & medium businesses, as well as key industries including healthcare, government, and education.

According to the 2012 Parallels SMB Cloud Insights™ report, businesses are increasingly turning to cloud solutions such as hosted communications and collaboration services. In the past year, it is estimated that more than one million SMBs in the United States have started using some form of cloud services.

“Purchasing and maintaining software and hardware can be daunting and expensive for many SMB customers,” said Stuart Levinsky, General Manager of Cloud Computing at Cincinnati Bell. “Cloud Solutions from Cincinnati Bell allow businesses to focus on what’s important to them – their customers – while letting us do the heavy lifting to provide a proven, reliable communications network and the top cloud-based services available anywhere.”

Cincinnati Bell’s new Cloud Solutions – including hosted Microsoft Exchange email with mobile synchronization and hosted Microsoft SharePoint – keep employees connected on the go, enhance productivity, and reduce the cost of IT services. Optional archiving and compliance features help businesses meet stringent regulatory requirements, such as HIPAA, PCI, FRCP, and SOX.

“We’re pleased that Cincinnati Bell selected Apptix to support their strategic move into the cloud,” said David Ehrhardt, president and chief executive officer of Apptix. “Our partner program reflects Apptix’s extensive experience in the hosted services market, providing everything our partners need to successfully transition into the cloud market. Apptix offers our channel partners flexible business models, diversified solution offerings, and dedicated sales, marketing, and support resources and staff to fast-track their revenue growth from cloud-based solutions. ”

“Cloud services represent a significant growth opportunity for communication service providers such as Cincinnati Bell,” said Birger Steen, CEO of Parallels. “We are pleased to join with our valued partners Cincinnati Bell and Apptix and as they use Parallels Automation to rapidly syndicate and deliver cloud services.”

For more information about Cincinnati Bell’s new Cloud Solutions for business customers, visit www.cincinnatibell.com/cloud.