• Holiday Recipe Contest

There are multiple factors that play into what is true SaaS. The software must be subscribed to, the software and data must be hosted, operated, and managed by the vendor, and the software architecture must be multi-tenant with a single code base that is shared by all customers. Customers, though, should care about SaaS because of the benefits it could potentially provide. Benefits such as cost savings, faster time-to-market, frequent software upgrades, and sharing capabilities, to name just a few. Certain SaaS applications are more suited for your needs than others, and this is where the buyer must come in and map out their needs before making a SaaS purchasing decision.

• What’s True SaaS and Why the Hell Should Customers Care?

What’s next for the cloud in 2012? Hurwitz maps out a few of her ideas for where the cloud is heading. Questions such as “what is the cloud?” are on their way out, and now companies are looking to expand their current cloud solutions. “2012 will be the year when companies need to tackle operational issues of cloud computing,” therefore companies will start to plan and implement a cloud management strategy, expand on the security and privacy of their data, and companies will start to take a closer look at their service provider’s SLAs and demand terms based on their customer requirements. What do you predict for the cloud in 2012?

• 5 Big Cloud Trends for 2012

Now with mobile and cloud development on the rise, developers have to “juggle more technologies than ever before.” With this has come a rise in developer platforms. These platforms reduce the time developers have to focus on non-application specific code, which means that, “apps can be developed faster at higher quality with a tighter focus on the core product.” As more focus spreads to cloud computing and applications, cloud platforms will only accelerate.

• The Case for Developer Platforms

We here at Delivered Innovation are firm believers that cloud computing can cut down costs with greater benefits. This article tightly sums up those cost advantages and benefits: “Cloud providers have greater economies of scale than IT organizations, run extremely efficient due to automation, and achieve the kinds of cost advantages that adhere to specialists in every field.” Controversy surrounding the cost of the cloud will surely continue in 2012, but cloud advantages are different depending on what your needs are, and the beauty of the cloud is that there are a variety of SaaS solutions, you are guaranteed to find one that fits your needs.

• The Great Cloud Computing Pricing Debate

• Oracle Acquires RightNow for 1.5 Billion, Aims Turrets at Salesforce.com

There are many possible reasons as to why Oracle bought RightNow. Being new to the cloud, this acquisition might bring some credibility to Oracle since it has taken them awhile to jump on the cloud computing bandwagon. Also, it may bring them more customers in small and medium sized businesses and reach more markets. Moreover, it allows Oracle to compete better with salesforce.com’s Service Cloud 3, which is their cloud computing customer service. Oracle purchased RightNow at $43 a share, making out to $1.5 billion.

• Why Oracle Paid $1.5B for RightNow

The technology and concept of paying to access resources on a remote system through a network connection is not new, companies have been doing it since the days of renting mainframe time. However, “the cloud” is being featured as a bold new concept, why? There are many factors that play in to this; this article lists 11. For starters, millennials are entering the workforce, and they are very computer literate who hardly remember a time without the Internet. Moreover, international outsourcing is easier and more accessible, software products are being launched faster now than ever before, new advances in mobile computing creates opportunities for employees to work from multiple locations, offices are becoming more fragmented, IT budgets are shrinking, and people trust and rely on the internet a lot more than they used to. All of these factors, and more, create the need for cloud computing.

• 11 Reasons Why SaaS and the Cloud are Taking Over

Sencha announced the public beta launch of Sencha.io this week, their new HTML5 mobile cloud service. Sencha.io provides various cloud services, “including Sencha.io Data, Sencha.io Messages, Sencha.io Login and Sencha.io Development.” These new services allow developers to use just a few lines of Javascript code to store data, send and listen to messages from users, deploy apps or login through Facebook and Twitter. In beta now, so check it out here. Cool!

• Sencha Launched Mobile HTML5 Cloud, Sencha.io

ebizQ always posts great question to ponder, this week it is regarding moving enterprise architecture to the cloud. Is it possible? To sum up our point of view, “definitely.” However, the cloud needs to mature a little more before it is ready for enterprise adoption. There are a few patterns emerging though that need to be taken into account as the cloud becomes a component of enterprise architecture, such as consumerization of IT, the importance of mobile access, and the idea of everything-as-a-service. These are just our opinions though, feel free to input yours in the link below.

• Is it Possible to Move Enterprise Architecture to the Cloud?

• Chicago Leads Tech Hiring

Many myths have developed to combat all the hype surrounding cloud computing. A large one I hear about consistently is cloud security. However, cloud security and vulnerabilities are not at all greater than traditional enterprise infrastructures. In fact, they are quite similar; “security, performance, scalability, and reliability are the vendors’ areas of business focus, so each is clearly a high priority.” Other myths this article touches on are hidden costs that make it more expensive over time, the loss of ownership and control over systems (just because you are in the cloud does not mean you lose control over your information and software), inaccessibility to your data if you switch vendors, and the “one size fits all” idea (the cloud is very customizable and can fit a variety of needs).

• Five Evaporating Myths About Cloud Computing

According to a recent study by Ovam, the global public cloud services market will grow from £11.4bn ($17.8 billion in US) to £42bn ($65.6 billion) by 2016. North America will most likely continue to dominate the market, but see a dip from 54.6% to 50% in 2016. However, the Western European public cloud market is expected to grow 31.2% from 2011 to 2016.

• Ovum Says Public Cloud Services Market is About to Explode

McKendrick outlines nine questions to ask yourself before making the final switch to the cloud: Is your business vertical? Do you have a competitive differentiation in your processes? Is this differentiation IT based? Are there any impediments to outsourcing business? Are there impediments to cloud adoption? Is the primary business driver compatible to the cloud? Is the business logic separated from the underlying technology? Will the cloud solution be a platform? Lastly, are the hardware, operating system and application custom-made or specialized? Answering these questions may allow you to uncover aspects of your business you have not yet considered, and possibly re-evaulate and align your objectives for moving to the cloud.

• Cloud Computing: Nine Questions to Ask Before Casting Your Servers Aside

Blaisdell argues that cloud computing is a safe bet for the future, but nevertheless, there are challenges associated with switching to the cloud. A major challenge revolves around lack of knowledge and understanding. “There are many misunderstandings about what the cloud can and cannot do,” and seeking out cloud case studies and networking with people who have adapted the cloud would be helpful to clear up any misconceptions. Moreover, the fear of trying something new, issues surrounding security, and reliability are all common worries about moving to the cloud. However, as Blaisdell states, “nothing worth doing is not without challenges,” and the benefits of the cloud are “definitely worth it.”

• 5 Challenges in the Journey to the Cloud

• Cloud Computing Security Concerns ‘Ridiculous’ Says Expert

Rick Blaisdell argues that cloud computing allows for small businesses to compete against larger enterprises with the use of cloud computing. In the cloud, companies often only pay for what they use, cutting down costs for SMBs. Moreover, SMBs do not need to pay for the infrastructure, management, or IT department to keep the system running smoothly. With the cloud, the size of the company does not necessarily matter anymore, instead, “the main differences between a companies offerings will be marketing and execution.”

• Cloud Computing Will Allow the Smallest Companies to Compete Against the Largest

Many cloud computing enthusiasts keep proclaiming that cloud computing will be as big as the internet, but is it all just wishful thinking? It is certainly growing rapidly for personal and business use. The cloud can save businesses 10-60% on IT costs and allow businesses to accelerate their business vision at a faster rate. There is also a lot of discussion around the government utilizing cloud computing, with savings estimated around $20 billion. Experts have actually collaborated to form US CLOUD2 Commission and drew a roadmap for the government’s cloud adoption. The roadmap outlines a phased cloud implementation that takes place between 12 to 18 months. A large U.S. Senate briefing with CLOUD2 is scheduled for later this month.

• Will Cloud Computing Really be as Big as the Internet?

During the “Great Recession,” many (if not most) companies had to make cutbacks and sacrifices to make up for lost revenue. Unfortunately, this came at the price of laying employees off. During this time, though, SaaS companies managed to grow 30% year-over-year. This was because many companies made the switch over to SaaS solutions, saving them significant money on software and technology. SaaS solutions required them “to get smarter about their businesses, markets and competitors, and solutions,” and offered them a flexibility and affordability they had not previously experienced.
There are a variety of SaaS services for different enterprise needs. This includes CRM, Marketing, Human Resources, and Financials, just to name a few. If you have a need for an SaaS solution, there is certainly one out there that can fulfill your requirements.

• SaaS Makes Good Sense, Even in a Recession

• Model Metrics Identifies Top Five Enterprise Cloud Computing Priorities

The cloud has allowed companies to grow rapidly without major expenses. It is now easier than ever before to start your own business and do what used to be impossible. It is now easier for companies to be self sufficient with less vendor intervention. “The advent of cloud solutions is allowing companies to maximize their operations by having the software available as SaaS.” They can use this to modify their existing suppliers, carriers, distances, routes, etc, which was otherwise performed by a third party.

• SaaS and Cloud Computing Enables Customer Self Service

Salesforce.com is more than just CRM, it is the basis for which companies run their business on. With Force.com, companies can customize their salesforce.com to do more than just CRM. For example, companies can manage their budgets with apps such as Marketing Budget Management, can connect to colleagues over the world with Chatter, and manage their schedules with CalenderAnything. Those are just three apps available on the AppExchange, with hundreds added every month, and even more when you count private applications that companies such as ourselves design. Don’t call salesforce.com “overhyped” just because you hear about it frequently- there is a reason why salesforce.com is frequently talked about and praised.

• Why Do You Still Doubt Salesforce.com?

This article has a similar point as the previous one. Instead of calling cloud talk “hype,” this author refers to cloud computing talk as “fog.” “Fog” refers to both hype and discussion about the hype (much like what this article is providing). You cannot really know if the cloud hype is built up too much or genuine; however, if the cloud was not useful, the hype would have faded away by now.

• Don’t Dismiss Cloud Computing Hype; Creative Fog is What Makes Cloud Work

I’ll admit it, what attracted me to this article was the title. Fortunately, it has some good points in it as well. A lot of people get simple cloud computing and SaaS confused. The “cloud” is the broader term, whereas SaaS is specific to the service being offered. SaaS is a business application that runs on the cloud, usually with a price. This article names iTunes as an example of a non-cloud SaaS, but that’s really not the the best example seeing as anything that is not in the cloud is in no way SaaS. Stronger examples include Google Docs, Dropbox.com, or Spotify (the priced, cloud version). The best example though will always be salesforce.com.

• Are You on Cloud Nine, or Just Sitting on Your SaaS?

• 5 Things to Consider Before Embracing Cloud Computing

To piggyback off of last week’s Cloudup in which we touched on the predicted growth of SaaS and IaaS, this article states that “enterprise spending on the public cloud is due to grow by 139 per cent between 2010 and 2011.” This was calculated by studying the positive trends recorded in IT expenditure such as “cloud computing, wireless, wireline voice, IP communications and wireline data.”

• Cloud Computing Spending Predicted to Rise

The idea that cloud computing is a new way of going green is not new; we’ve posted a lot of articles about this in the past. This article, unlike the ones in the past, puts a number to this idea. Verdantix’s report “estimates that cloud computing could enable companies to save $12.3 billion off their energy bills.” $12.3 billion also means 85.7 million metric tons of carbon emissions will be saved as well by 2020. If 12 billion dollars isn’t enough to persuade your company to make the swift, I don’t know what will.

• Cloud Computing Could Lead to Billions in Energy Savings

Cloud computing could be very beneficial for SMBs, but unfortunately, a recent Zoomerang survey found that many small and medium-sized business owners are confused on what “the cloud” means and what the technology could mean to them. 47% of the SMBs studied said they were not familiar with the technology, and 25% said they don’t know what it means. To set the record straight, cloud computing for SMBs means not having to deal with physical infrastructures like file and email servers, storage systems, or actual, physical software. “This means less time and money is spent on managing the technology,” as well as provides SMBs with “anywhere, anytime” accessibility to these solutions. Cloud computing means less hassle, less spending, and frees up their time so it can be spent on what really matters to their business.

• The Growing Cloud Computing Market for SMBs

Make sure to check out this ebiz forum on how cloud computing should evolve. Some responses so far claim that the cloud should become more user-friendly and easier to understand, while others say that the cloud does not necessarily need to evolve, per-se, but that it will just by default evolve. What are your takes on this discussion? Add your input through the link below.

• How Should Cloud Computing Evolve?

• Citrix Systems Acquires Cloud.com to Challenge Rivals VMware, Amazon

The four reasons Casey outlines as to why the cloud is not overhyped are geography, faster deployment speeds, room for growth, and frequency of updates and enhancements. Geography because companies with offices all over the state, country, world, what have you, can access the same data at the same time, without the fear that something problematic would happen to a single data center. Faster deployment speeds and room for growth are important because as businessues such as the Schumacher Group grow rapidly, the cloud services can be set up quickly, keep up with growth, and maintain high speeds better than an on-site server would. And finally, the frequency of updates and enhancements allows for more growth and simple updates without hassle.

• 4 Reasons Cloud Computing Isn’t Overhyped

According to new In-Stat research, public cloud computing “is set to grow “153% from 2010 to 2015.” IaaS is predicted to grow to about $4 billion by 2015, SaaS will grow 142%. In addition, small businesses are expected to be the fastest growing size segment, “growing from $2.5 billion by 2010 and $6.6 billion by 2015.” SaaS and IaaS are important to small businesses because of the ease of use, the accessibility, and the cost savings they provide.

• Public Cloud Computing is Set to Grow 153% From 2010 to 2015

Cloud services “can and will fail at some point,” there is no reason to deny it. However, to ensure that business runs smoothly during these times, businesses must fully understand what possible problems could arise and find out how to solve them if the event occurs. If an organization is experiencing performance problems, consider Cloudsleuth, “an open online cloud community sponsored by Compuware,” which helps uncover and solve performance problems. If companies do experience slower response times or lower network bandwidth, they should try to uncover the issue before it turns into something even larger, such as the service shutting down completely. Do not let these types of problems discourage you from joining the cloud. Just like IT services, problems will arise, but learn how to fix them and have an alternative plan prepared, and the downtime will go smoothly.

• What to Do When the Cloud Fails

VMware announced their new version of vSphere cloud operating system on Tuesday. The new upgrade is “aimed at making it easier for small and medium sized businesses to adopt cloud computing.” The upgrade included better security, storage, and recovery features. New storage features allows for companies to “pool internal storage from several computers into one secure pool” without needing to purchase additional services or hardware. VMwares announcement was juxtaposed with Citrix’s acquisition of Cloud.com, which puts the two companies in bigger competition with the other.

• VMware Expands Cloud Suite, Boosts Storage Abilities

• Under Pressure, Salesforce Steps Up Acquisitions

IDC/IDG Enterprise conducted a survey at their Cloud Leadership Forum, and posted questions about the cloud to the top information technology executives who attended their forum. Of those studied, over 70% believed that “by 2014, a third of all IT organizations will be providers of cloud services.” About 80% “felt that cloud service brokers that provide integration, management, security and other services” will emerge as “powerful industry players by 2014″. Most of the responses were hopeful about the cloud, and certainly proves that the cloud is on their minds, if not already in the works, at their companies.

• Cloud Will Have Dramatic Impact on IT Organizations, Vendors and Enterprises According to Survey of Top Tech Executives

Swete quickly outlines five reasons why SaaS and on-premise enterprise software make a “positive difference” for both vendors and customers. ERP software upgrades are costly and complex, whereas Workday’s SaaS has no additional cost, and customers can choose to activate it or not. Some of the benefits of their SaaS updates include the ability to embrace- not avoid- change, to keep current with innovation, to provide customers with a short update cycle, and give way for a lot of commonality and communication with the community.

• Five Reasons Why SaaS Updates Are Better Than ERP Software Upgrades

This summer, Force.com is letting us preview some of their APIs that are currently in developer preview. These include the Apex REST, with lets you “write killer integrations, easily,” the Chattter REST, which will make syncing Chatter to your mobile devices and other apps “in a much more intuitive fashion,” and Streaming API, which will “bring push technology to your apps.” Note though, that since these are still in developer preview, details may change.

• Summer of APIs: Streaming, Apex & Chatter

Infosys Ltd is India’s second largest software exporter, and they have reported saying that they see ” big opportunities in cloud computing.” CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan stated that the Confederation of Indian Industry is already preparing a draft on their cloud policy and is going to submit it to the Government next month. Gopalakrishnan stated, “The opportunities are huge for [a] country like India in providing citizen services.” The cloud will allow them to operate on a pay-per-user model, which cuts costs and makes it easier for their customers.

• Infosys sees big opportunities in cloud computing

• Five Reasons Why Cloud Computing is Essential For Health Care

Quickbooks announced Intuit Anywhere, a PaaS with pre-built integration to other cloud-based services. “With one-click, [customers] can “Connect to QuickBooks” from an Intuit Anywhere enabled app, sign-in with their Intuit Account, and instantly have QuickBooks data available to them.” A few well known Quickbooks partners are already signed up to use this application, including eBay and Concur. The idea of PaaS with pre-built integrations to other cloud based services is new in PaaS technology, and we cannot help but ask whether this was what PaaS was meant to do from the beginning, or is Quickbooks breaking new ground?

• Announcing Intuit Anywhere

This week, VMware announced that they intend to acquire Digital Fuel, an IT Financial Management SaaS solutions. Digital Fuel provides solutions to optimize IT cost and value, by enabling companies “to plan, manage and optimize cost and value in the emerging world of cloud based dynamic IT.” Digital Fuels’ mission corresponds with VMware’s, in the sense that VMware is constantly coming out on top as the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions in IT. Details of the acquisition were not announced, and is schedule to close this July.

• VMware to Acquire Digital Fuel, IT Financial and Business Management SaaS Company

GMO, Japan’s most sought after name in cloud hosting, announced their intention to move into the US with GMO Cloud America Inc. GMO decided to move to the US because of “the growing demand created by businesses that are embracing the scalability and portability of cloud hosting and computing.” At it’s launch, GMO will provide three different packages: GMO10, GMO20, and GMO30 at low introductory prices for the next six months. GMO10 will be free during this period. With more companies moving to the cloud every day, it isn’t a bad idea to open up more options for cloud hosting.

• GMO Launches Cloud Computing Solution in U.S. Market

Contendo raised $17million from partners Citrix and Juniper Networks to support the company’s growth. Contedo specializes in cloud-based acceleration technoligies, including site and mobile acceleration. Contedo expands to grow overseas with their funding, moving into Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Citrix stated their investment in the company was driven by, “the synergy between the services and technologies of Citrix Systems and Contedo blend on-premise physical and virtual appliances… thereby improving end user experience from any location to any device.”

• Cloud Technology Startup Contendo Raises $17 Million From Citrix, Juniper, VCs

• Workday and Hoover Dam: Valuing Cloud Companies

Sencha’s ExtJS 4 was promoted to Beta on Wednesday, complete with all new features to make web application development easier. This includes infinite scrolling, SVG and VML charting, and a theming engine to assist in styling web apps. Delivered Innovation leverages the ExtJS framework extensively for creating rich user interfaces in Force.com custom applications.

• Ext JS 4 Beta 1 is Available Today
  

Apex’s billionth line of coding is now in production, and each one has contributed to Force.com and Apex’s success. This momentous occasion has developers wondering about the future of Apex and what sort of improvements we will see in the future. Mountjoy promises better testing support, REST support, and improved Javascript components. He could not go into all the details, but he did describe the future of Apex as, “pretty darn exciting.”

• A Billion Lines of Apex
  

Since the rise of Web-based applications for iPads, iPhones, Androids and other smart devices, use of the web has significantly decreased. To counteract this, HTML5 was launched, representing “the next big step in the progress of the Web.” HTML5 allows you to write Web applications which are accessible through your browser that are just as content rich and lively as Web-based apps. Google Chrome has been using this technology since its debut last year, and Mozilla and Safari are slowly getting the hint.

• In A New Web World, No Application is an Island
  

Amazon launched their Cloud Player today, finally bringing music libraries into the cloud. Each user starts off with 5GB of storage, then can increase their storage by either purchasing 20GB for $20/year, or purchasing new music. Parr describes Cloud Player as, “fully functional, very usable streaming music player that could even make iTunes obsolete.” Apple and Google are set to launch their own cloud players in the near future, and Amazon has certainly set the bar high for competition.

• Amazon Cloud Player: First Impressions
  

Our favorite part of the season is finally here, time to vote for your favorite Salesforce Summer logo. What will it be: the sun, dolphin, or beach ball? More on this important and developing story to come.

• Vote For Your Favorite Summer ‘11 Logo
  

• Cloud Meet Crowd- A Match Made for the Enterprise
  

The Federal Government has began taking advantage of the cloud with their launch of the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy. The government can now consolidate data, making it easier to navigate and quicker to get to, as well as “reduce [their] data center infrastructure expenditure by approximately 30%,” up to $20 million, which could be spent on new cloud technologies. Every week, companies are switching over to the cloud, and the Government’s shift is just the beginning.

• Federal Cloud Computing Strategy Officially Launched

In the Public Cloud, PaaS has become somewhat of a middle ground between SaaS and IaaS. PaaS combines the positive qualities of SaaS, such as low costs and customization options, and the positive qualities of IaaS, such as efficiency and high amount of data storage. “As these capabilities become more sophisticated and their complexity increases, the drive to abstract and re-simplify pushes IaaS toward PaaS.” Ultimately, PaaS is advancing quicker than SaaS and IaaS, and will continue to do so.

• IaaS and SaaS Lead to PaaS

2010 was the year where everyone shifted towards the cloud, and 2011 will be the year everyone understands how to use it. Urquhart believes that cloud applications will greatly impact companies in three ways: making data and analytics faster and easier to swift through, allowing companies to more easily try out new business ideas without investing too much money, and by allowing companies to back up their data via context systems.

• Cloud Computing’s Killer Applications

With large corporations such as Google and Facebook hiring immense amounts of engineers, combined with an increasing number of US graduates pursing jobs oversees, a shortage of good engineers is underway. Which is why, Reddy suggests, graduates should look into working at a startup company. “The downside risk is relatively low. With lots of venture capital funding, salaries and benefits at startups are competitive to those at large companies.” Startups give engineers the opportunity to do what they actually love doing, as opposed to the bureaucracies of a larger corporation. At this point, we would like to give ourselves and other startups, a firm pat on the back.

• Why Engineers Are Better Off Joining Startups