Cloud Computing - Crossing Over?

It’s a testament to the times that as a new burgeoning technology is hatched by an “army of geeks” in a caffeine drenched frenzy, I can have a conversation at a party with a lawyer from a completely different field and find that he already has a rudimentary grasp of that technology - Cloud Computing.

Even if I normalize for the natural demographic skew of my location (San Francisco), it is impressive to consider how quickly this phenomenon has progressed towards the mainstream.  Clearly, the message has a lot to do with the rate of transmission.  “Software-as-a-Service”, or worse “SaaS”, didn’t catch the imagination as well as Cloud has done.  Which is ironic, considering SaaS is actually what the consumer/user really touches, and what was originally represented by “The Cloud” - a metaphor for all of the networking, server hardware, storage, and software bits and bobs that no one really wants to know about.  As I said in a previous post, it really does matter what you call something.

So I looked around for some other indicators of “Cloud Computing” crossing the chasm from geekland to consumerland, and didn’t find very many.

So we’re still very much at the edge of mainstream consciousness.  I guess a real litmus test would be a mention on Oprah’s website - but we still need to wait for that.  (There is a lone comment on one of the forums that I’m sure left the other participants scratching their heads.)
Have you seen any signs out there that the mainstream is starting to hear about and maybe understand Cloud Computing?

Connect with me:

Posted under cloud, marketing

This post was written by James Colgan on August 31, 2010

Tags: ,


 

Imagination and Creative Genius

This is really a break from the usual….

Not owning a TV “link” (cable or dish) we have the great fortune to miss all commercials (thanks Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Vimeo, and the good-ol’ web!).  The downside is, I miss some of the most intense distillations of creative genius…the commerical.

Fortunately, thanks to a friend of mine via one of my favorite social media channels, I’m able to catch up for a chance to chuckle, wonder, and be inspired.

A small collection by Michel Gondry.

Enjoy!

Leave your box to think outside of it.

- James

Connect with me:

Posted under Social Media Marketing

This post was written by James Colgan on August 30, 2010

Tags: ,


 

Xuropa Official Amazon Solution Provider

We’re very excited to announce Xuropa’s entry into the Amazon Web Services (AWS) official Service Providers Directory.  We’re proud  to provide to our customers unique CRM and AWS provisioning and automation technology.

While the Xuropa Application is Cloud and Data Center agnostic, our preferred public cloud provider is Amazon.  Back in 2008, when we first started development on a public cloud solution to move away from dedicated co-location data centers, we reviewed pretty much every public cloud vendor on the market.  The flexibility, level of automation, and security made AWS stand head-and-shoulders above other vendors.

As our market continues to grow, we’re very happy to see Amazon’s product offering grow with us.

API

The sophistication of their API was the real deciding factor why we went with AWS from the beginning.  If server instances cannot be started and stopped via a command API, then your cloud provider is missing a key part of “the point” of cloud computing.  This has been available from AWS from the start.

Security

It was clear from the beginning that AWS hold security as high a priority as we do.  Not only do they offer state-of-the-art physical and logical protection, they do not compromise usability or automation.  Practical and secure - a pragmatists approach to the cloud.

Performance

The Xuropa Platform hosts some of the most demanding applications on the planet.  Not only do we need the highest available performance machines today, but our customers continue to push the boundaries in terms of CPU and memory requirements.

AWS promisese to catch up and keep pace with our most demanding customers.

Global Footprint

Our customers are using the Xuropa Application to penetrate and serve global markets, and to deliver the lowest latency performance possible means that we need to be able to instantiate servers within those regions served.  AWS provides this facility unlike any other.

We look forward to a very fruitful partnership between our two companies, and are happy to contribute our unique products and services to the Amazon Web Services ecosystem.

Are you using the Cloud?

We’d like to discuss your move to a cloud delivery model.  Our application enables a step-by-step approach as you migrate your products and your business to the next paradigm in computing architectures.

Software-as-a-Service Delivery

The Xuropa Platform was architected from the ground up to support cloud deployment and monetization.  It may be early days for your particular industry, but we’ve been in this space for three years already - and we’re ready to support you in the migration of your business.  Drop us a line at saas_at_xuropa_dot_com to discuss.

Online Evaluations

Using the Xuropa Platform, you can easily allocate to your prospects cloud computing resources hosting your software for a day, a week, a month, or for however long your customer needs.  The system removes all need for IT resources and your customers don’t need to worry about downloading and installing software.  Your prospects securely upload their data into the cloud and use your software to perform realistic yet hassle-free evaluations.  The platform is secure, and you monitor all activity so you can see the progress your customer makes in the evaluation process.

Hands-on Demonstrations

The Xuropa Platform, with its integrated Social CRM system, enables you to easily reach out to your market via online social and professional platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.  From just the click of a link, your prospects are brought into a secure collaboration area from where they can connect to your dedicated cloud servers hosting your software to start kicking the tires and educating themselves on your differentiating features and value proposition.

Hands-on Training and Workshops

Pre-sales or post-sales, training and workshops are a valuable tool in moving a sale forward and getting new customers up to speed on your software.  They are traditionally very expensive propositions usually involving shipping out hardware and technical experts for setup and delivery of the material.  Take all of the hassle and the cost of logistics out of the process by delivering your material from the cloud via the Xuropa Platform.  You’ll save money and the valuable time of your subject matter experts.  Your customers will also appreciate the ability to take classes from their own desk and revisit material later for a quick refresher - all with no downloads, no installation, and no license keys to worry about.

Let us know how we can help your company leverage Amazon Web Services in the comments below.  Or drop us a line at saas_at_xuropa_dot_com.

- James

Connect with me:

Posted under Sales Automation, cloud

This post was written by James Colgan on August 24, 2010

Tags: , ,