What is The Cloud and What Does it Mean for My Business?

The Cloud

A specific definition for “the cloud” is the cause of much controversy on blogs, in popular tech publications and even within my own office. The prevalent definition is based on the fact that clouds are constantly changing, much like the Internet itself. Whatever your definition may be, “the cloud” certainly encompasses many different technologies. A few of these include cloud computing and cloud web hosting.

Cloud Computing

What is it? Cloud computing can be many things, but it is most accurately described as a network of computers with a centralized load balancer that constantly analyzes where resources (CPU and RAM) are available. The load balancer then distributes those resources to fulfill the needs of whatever program or calculation that is being executed. This ensures that the resources of each individual computer are fully utilized. Cloud computing also prevents total system failure if a component of the system fails. A great example of this is the Stanford Protein Folding Project.

What does it do? Cloud computing was invented so that a complex computer system could be be self healing and self optimizing to maximize equipment usage. Applications running on the cloud computing model do not require additional programming to function across multiple machines because the “cloud” acts as one machine.

Is it useful? Cloud computing is popular for research projects and large scale software or application development as they can be incredibly resource intensive. By using the cloud computing model for development and research projects, it is ensured that resources are available and distributed as needed. Cloud computing really is brilliant for its intended use.

Cloud Hosting

What is it? Cloud hosting was developed years ago and in certain ways mimics cloud computing. It is a type of web hosting that has a load balancer to determine how much CPU and other resources each customer will need. It then allocates these resources on an on-demand basis from the web hosting provider’s server farm. Users then only pay for what they use.

What does it do? Cloud hosting can host websites, but is really built to be a scalable virtual environment for resource intensive application development.

Is it useful? Cloud hosting is very useful if you are developing an API (application programming interface) or anything that requires large amounts of CPU or other resources. Examples of this include:

• If you need to upload thousands of images, resize them, and deploy them on a web site similar to iStock Photo.

• If you have a project that requires thousands of calculations without a time constraint.

What Does This All Mean For My Business?

Most businesses will not need to be part of a cloud computing network as they just don’t require the resources that the network provides. However if your business does rely on resource intensive application development, a cloud hosting platform may be an excellent option for you. If cost is a concern, keep in mind that the more resources you use the more you will pay. Also, remember that many cloud web hosting solutions do not include “stateful storage,” meaning you cannot store applications on your server space. Instead you may upload and run them, but once that is completed the cloud will wipe it clean in order to provide resources for other users who may need them.

For a typical small or medium business website, stateful storage is necessary. Some cloud hosting will have storage, but it is important to know where, geographically, your web site is going to be. In some cases, the “cloud” might actually be on the other side of the world! This will lead to slow uploads and downloads. This is obviously not something you want to deal with for your website. Look for storage/hosting geographically close to you.

What are the different types of cloud computing?

What are the different types of cloud computing?

Web-based email services from Google and Yahoo, backup services from Carbonite or MozyHome, CRM and Project Management like ZOHO.com, instant messaging and voice-over-IP services from AOL, Google, Skype, Vonage and others are all cloud-computing services, hidden behind yet another layer of abstraction to make them seem even simpler to end users who want the kind of power sophisticated computing can give them, but don't want to know how it's done.
There are three basic types of cloud computing:
• Infrastructure as a Service — provides grids or clusters or virtualized servers, networks, storage and systems software designed to augment or replace the functions of an entire data center. The highest-profile example is Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud [EC2] and Simple Storage Service, but IBM and other traditional IT vendors are also offering services, as is telecom-and-more provider Verizon Business.
• Platform as a Service — Provides virtualized servers on which users can run existing applications or develop new ones without having to worry about maintaining the operating systems, server hardware, load balancing or computing capacity. Highest-profile examples include Microsoft's Azure and Salesforce's Force.com.
• Software as a Service — The most widely known and widely used form of cloud computing, SaaS provides all the functions of a sophisticated traditional application, but through a Web browser, not a locally-installed application. SaaS eliminates worries about app servers, storage, application development and related, common concerns of IT. Highest-profile examples are Salesforce.com, Google's Gmail and Apps, instant messaging from AOL, Yahoo and Google, and VoIP from Vonage and Skype.
You also get a nice and very popular Software as a Service on CRM , Project Management, Support , HR(people) from ZOHO.com. For more help OscilloSoft.com.au.
source: http://www.cio.com/article/501814/Cloud_Computing_Definitions_and_Solutions.

New in Zoho CRM: Minor UI Improvements

2010 has been a year of integrations for Zoho CRM. It has been a successful year with lots of internal and external integrations. Before Zoho bid fareZoholl to 2010 , Zoho are rolling out a few more UI improvements in Zoho CRM.

Here they are:

Earlier, Zoho Zohore supporting 17 types of czohotom fields, like Text, Decimal, Formula, Lookup, Pick List, etc. Now, Zoho have added the Long Integer type czohotom field that can support up to 18 digits. This field will help you to record numbers that exceed 9 digits. For example, Bank Account numbers​ , Support Ticket numbers etc.​

We have also added a one-click option to close the tasks from the List Views. This option will save you a few clicks while closing tasks.

Another addition is the product description field for the line items. This will help you include a small description of the products associated to Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders and Purchase Orders.

The next new feature lets you transfer ' Lead Created Time ' details in Accounts, Contacts and Potentials upon lead conversion. This will help you keep track of the time the lead was generated and the time taken to close the deal .​

Lastly, there is now an option that lets you choose the Section while creating a field. This too, will save you time as you won't need to visit the Edit Page Layout feature to add the new custom field in the appropriate section.

What is Cloud Computing

The cloud computing revolution is real: it’s on the front page of theAustralian Financial Review this morning. But is it really “a radical new business model that purports to slash technology costs by up to 80%”?

What is cloud computing?

Every business bigger than one person needs somewhere to store its data and run its business applications and communications, including email. A generation of businesses has installed a server — or many servers in a data centre — and hired specialist IT staff to run it.

With cloud computing, you instead rent capacity in a provider’s data centre, and connect over the internet. The provider’s staff install, maintain and upgrade hardware and software as required. Typically you’ll rent a service, such as data storage or email or accounting, rather than ‘a server’ as such, and pay $X per user or $Y per business per month.

Why is it called cloud computing?

Network diagrams have traditionally used a cloud symbol to denote ‘the internet’ or, before that, the telephone network outside the customer’s zone of responsibility.

What services are on offer?

You name it. Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Windows Hotmail are email in the cloud. In the lucrative business productivity market, Google Docs and Google Apps compete directly with Microsoft Office and Exchange — the latter now ‘in the cloud’ as Microsoft Online Services.

Accounting, customer relationship management (CRM), project management, email marketing, spam and virus filtering, data storage, ecommerce, online publishing, audio and video streaming, general databases — all available in the cloud.

Why use cloud computing?

Potentially cloud services are cheaper and more flexible. Because they’re internet-based, you can access them from anywhere — often including mobile devices.

Most servers and internet links lie idle most of the time. Cloud providers host many businesses on a pool of hardware, sharing the cost of servers, electricity, data links, backup systems, IT staff and even real estate. A cloud provider can quickly add extra capacity or scale it back again when you need it. Capital expenditure on servers and up-front software licenses, and the unpredictable costs of dealing with emergencies, are replaced by a predictable operational cost.

Can it really cut IT costs by 80%?

That’s hype. Hardware and internet costs are dropping, sure, but supporting end users is still a significant cost. Moving to the cloud removes the cost of maintaining your own systems, but you still need to configure the generic cloud-based service to match your business’ unique needs, train your staff and help them find lost spreadsheets.

Is there a downside?

You become dependent on your cloud providers. If there’s no easy way to extract your data in a usable format, your business success is now intertwined with theirs. There may also be legal and privacy issues: will your data become subject to the privacy and data retention laws of another country; will you still be compliant with your industry requirements in Australia?

Is it secure?

Big cloud providers like Microsoft and Google have some of the best security staff on the planet. Their backup procedures are likely to be better than yours too. (Where are your business data backups right now?) However big cloud providers do represent an attractive target to hackers — if they can break in.

Is cloud computing “radically new”?

Not everyone thinks it’s that big a change. It’s more evolution than revolution. “Cloud computing is not only the future of computing, it is the present, and the entire past of computing is all cloud,” saidLarry Ellison, founder of Oracle Corporation and the world’s sixth richest man, in a passionately entertaining rant last year. “It’s not water vapour. All it is is a computer attached to a network. What are you talking about? I mean, what do you think Google runs on?” As Ellison points out, CRM provider Salesforce.com has been running more than a decade.

In many ways cloud computing is indeed just the current buzzword for what has also been called utility computing, grid computing, software as a service (SaaS), IBM’s ‘On Demand’ branded services, the application service provider (ASP) model, or even good ol’ mainframe timesharing.

Where is Australia in all this?

Some big companies have committed to cloud computing, including the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Visy and Komatsu. The Royal Australian College of General Practice will provide GPs with cloud-based e-health applications by this time next year. Even the Department of Defence’s CIO is advocating the cloud.

On the supply side, Telstra is investing heavily to become a player — they’re providing the RACGP’s services. Saasu and Campaign Monitor are Australian success stories in cloud-based accounting and email marketing respectively.

Cloud computing does require solid internet links, however. Australia’s relatively expensive broadband infrastructure may have held back adoption. The NBN will presumably fix this.

Zoho Projects Now Integrated With Google Apps

Web-based productivity suite Zoho has continued to integrate its products with Google in order to make it easier to use Gmail and Zoho apps simultaneously. Last summer, Zoho, a web-based software suite that includes document, project and invoicing management tools, integrated Google and Yahoo sign-ins, allowing users to sign into Zoho using a Google or Yahoo account. And over the summer, Zoho is launched sign-in integration with Google Apps, letting users login to Zoho using their Google Apps credentials. Today, Zoho’s project collaboration product, Zoho Projects, will become an extended application to Google Apps.

Zoho Projects is a team collaboration and project management application that allows teams to plan, track and collaborate on everyday activities and big projects with external customers. With the new integration, Google Apps users can login to Zoho Projects using their Google Apps sign-in info. Users can then upload their documents from Google Docs to Zoho Projects directly. Any tasks, meetings or activities in Zoho Project will automatically bee updated in Google Calendar. And Zoho Projects gadgets can be embedded within Gmail, iGoogle and any other OpenSocial compatible sites.

The integration comes on the heels of the initial roll out of Google’s own all-in-one, futuristic collaboration tool, Google Wave. But despite facing competition from the big guns like Microsoft and Google, Zoho continues to remain as a player in the document management space thanks to continuous innovations and iterations to its products. It’s almost reminiscent of Salesforce.com’s strategy.

In fact, because of this highly competitive landscape, integrations are vital to the software’s success as an application suite. Recently, Zoho launched integration with Microsoft Sharepoint as well as with Microsoft Access. Zoho’s project management application, Zoho Projects 2.0, also added the capability to import existing projects from MS Project, Microsoft’s project management desktop software. And Zoho also launched a forum tool, called Zoho Discussions. It looks like the startup’s strategy is paying off—Zoho has been able to accumulate 2 million users in just 4 years.

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SaaS battlegrounds: Salesforce v Zoho

When Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff put on his jocular performance for the analysts and press at Dreamforce yesterday, I’m sure he didn’t expect little ol’ Zoho to come bite him in the pants. That’s exactly what’s happened.

According to Venture Beat’s Anthony Ha:

Salesforce.com’s strategy can be boiled down to one word, according to chief executive Marc Benioff — love. Of course, Benioff was being a little tongue-in-cheek…

As with its other offerings, Microsoft’s new cloud-computing application platform, Windows Azure, is all about tying people into Microsoft products and services, Benioff said. Salesforce, on the other hand, is much more about being open and cooperative, both in its customer relationship management (CRM) services, and inForce.com, its platform for business applications. Salesforce is interested in connecting multiple clouds, platforms and devices — witness today’s announcement that Force.com will integrate with the Facebook platform and Amazon Web Services, or Salesforce’s integration of Google Apps earlier this year.

Comparing Microsoft and Salesforce, Benioff said: “They hate everybody and we love everybody, and that’s pretty much the difference. We even love Microsoft. … This is our core strategy, love.”

Rough translation: we’re good guys (ergo trust me) and Microsoft are bad guys (ergo don’t trust them. Sounds sweet until you understand the game of hardball Benioff plays when faced with anything he sees as a competitive threat. Benioff’s message certainly raised hackles with Sridhar Vembu, Zoho’s CEO. In a blog post today, Vembu recounts how Benioff tried to strong arm Zoho into giving up on its CRM development:

Benioff told me he could not permit us to play on the AppExchange as things stood, but he would be happy to acquire us. We had several rounds of meetings on this,  finally I told him I really don’t see any cultural compatibility between the companies. He changed tack and repeatedly tried to get us to discontinue Zoho CRM, in return we would get to play on AppExchange. I was furious because both Benioff and his team clearly knew we had a CRM offering going into this engagement, and if they had this as a pre-condition for us to integrate into AppExchange, we would never have put in the resources we did.

Since then, Salesforce has repeatedly tried to block customers from migrating to Zoho CRM, by telling them (falsely) that they cannot take their data out of Salesforce until their contract duration is over. We have emails from customers recounting this.

This is not a new story but one I have heard Vembu recall on a number of occasions. Vembu then goes on to assert that while Google represents a potentially much bigger competitive threat, Zoho has experienced no difficulty in getting engineering assistance from Google. What’s going on here?

Readers need to understand that Benioff comes from Oracle, a company famed for playing hardball as epitomized by its CEO, Larry Ellison. Oracle has a knack of turning out hard nosed, often successful Silicon Valley execs that are super competitive. Benioff is another in a long line of execs that include Tom Siebel (Siebel Systems), Craig Conway (PeopleSoft) and Zach Nelson (NetSuite.)

These companies understand one thing - winning is all about lock in and with the Force.com, Salesforce.com is no different any of its predecessors. Benioff as near admitted as much when he said to Ha that:

When an audience member pressed Benioff on his touted openness, Benioff emphasized that he’s talking about cooperation with other companies, not open source, per se. He also acknowledged that Force.com has its closed aspects, namely the fact that if you build an application on Force.com, you can connect it to other platforms, but you can’t fully move it to another cloud.

Ergo once you’re on Salesforce.com’s cloud for business critical applications, you are in no different a position than if your code was tied to SAP’s ABAP. You can’t move without significant retooling. This runs contrary to many people’s expectations about what ‘cloud computing’ is all about; openness, flexibility and the ability to on and off-ramp as requirements demand. That may not apply so easily for transaction based systems and that is what Salesforce.com is counting upon.

Is Zoho alone? Is it a case of the yappy dog going after the farmyard pitbull because it isn’t getting its share of scraps? Hardly. If GE successfully completes its evaluation of Zoho Office, then Zoho will have scored one of the biggest, if not THE biggest saas applications deals to date. Something that must stick in Benioff’s throat but which ironically will have been won from Google.

On the Silicon Valley grapevine, I have heard of other cases where Benioff has tried to strong arm technology vendors, only to be sent away with his tail between his legs. Of course in the Valley, there is always an element of hubris, but every now and again, these stories bubble up.

As Salesforce.com gets bigger and it attracts more developers to its Force.com platform, we can expect more yapping and reminders about however much Benioff may declare his love, he is really acting like every other enterprise vendor that has gone before: locking you in while smiling benignly. In the long term, that also means higher cost as the captor squeezes as much out of its prisoners as possible.

Zoho steps up its contextual search game

Zoho on Tuesday rolled out a search feature for its business apps that allow users to aggregate data across a company.

The so-called “actionable search” consolidates a bevy of search boxes specific to each Zoho application—Zoho Mail, Docs, Writer, Sheet etc. Zoho said in a blog post that its results are designed to show the interworking of the business apps and gives you context on relationships between the data on a single page.

As for the actionable part, Zoho said that each result allows a user to open an application from within search results. For instance, an email app doesn’t have to launch to reply to a missive in a search result.

Zoho’s new search is another incremental feature designed to better compete with rivals ranging from Google to Microsoft. Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu said in a recent interview that the company was staking its claimon contextual relevance between its various applications.

The Zoho universal search box will be integrated into all Zoho Apps.