November 2008 - Posts
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Objective: Show examples of an emerging hybrid of ‘cloud computing.’ Application services combined with dedicated, hosted servers.
Cloud computing is one of the latest buzzwords that our industry is so famous for generating. Gartner broadly defines cloud computing as a style of computing where IT-related capabilities are provided ‘as a service,’ allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet ("in the cloud") without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. Cloud computing goes beyond using the Internet as a means of communication, but allows IT vendors to provide services to consumers and businesses through hosted and virtualized systems.
Everyone knows that Salesforce.com is a major player providing a CRM solution in a multi-tenant environment. GoogleApps is often brought up as the main example of cloud solutions for the consumer and small business. The main theme in cloud computing is the reliance on the Internet as the vehicle for delivery. As data storage professionals, you are quite familiar with outsourced hardware, software and connectivity providers such as Level 3 Communications.
One of the main issues with shared, multi-tenancy, is that the customer’s ability to truly customize the solution is still limited. For example, Microsoft also offers a hosted CRM solution ‘in the cloud,’ however, one’s ability to completely customize or modify the system is limited due to the shared database or multi-tenant environment. However, a hybrid model is beginning to appear. While Salesforce.com offers a multi-tenant environment, or multiple customers on a shared server, and many hardware storage providers offer dedicated systems, a new hybrid model is combining the outsourced hardware and software with the business application or consumer service. The new hybrid allows customers to ‘lease’ dedicated servers and hosting services from one single provider.The first example is from imc2, a large advertising agency providing strategic marketing vision and interactive solutions for its clients, Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut, GlaxoSmithKline, and Diet Coke. The agency needed a web-based, collaborative solution to manage its projects and allocate its resources. The CIO evaluated 10 solutions and providers and chose a mid market, web based project management solution.Because its information technology department was in such high demand, the CIO decided to launch the software with a hosted provider, with the ability to migrate to an installed system.Another main objective was to integrate the chosen solution with their accounting system, MS Dynamics Great Plains, and their home grown expense tracking system. At first, the CIO thought the need for integration would require an installed or on premise solution, adding complexity and timeline of their launch. Instead they were able to find not only a project management application provider, but also a vendor that could host a dedicated server for them. The hosted, dedicated server option allowed the team to ‘dial into’ the box and perform the integrations themselves, using Web Service APIs and the Software Development Kit.The hybrid offering of both a project management system and a complete data storage and hardware environment, allowed the team to get their collaborative, project management solution up and running rapidly, without having to wait in the IT demand queue. At the same time it offered them the flexibility of customizing and integrating the solution as if it were their own hardware and software. Even more compelling is that the project system ‘in the cloud’ is integrated with software systems behind imc2’s firewall. Another example comes from J.D. Power & Associates. Similar to mc2, their IT team was overloaded and the research team wanted a project management solution in a short timeframe. What’s more, their IT security standards would not allow them to put a project management solution both behind their firewall, yet still accessible to their research consultants while at client sites. So, they searched for hosted service providers for their project needs. Starting with a small pilot team, they initially rolled it out to the first dozen team members. Once successful, they proceeded with a gentle worldwide roll out.Because the company is market research-focused, all client engagements are projects, making their project and collaboration solution a mission critical software application. As such, they needed a fully redundant project management system. Because team members reside in North America, the United Kingdom, and Asia, the system needed to be available 24/7.They opted for a hosted, dedicated server for their 900 team members, with a complete fail over server, so that if one server fails the other one takes over. Again, J.D. Power & Associates was able to find a single vendor to provide not only the data storage, back up services, hardware and software in a hosted data center, but the same vendor was able to provide the business software solution as well.
ConclusionThe new hybrid model of investing in software as a service, ‘in the cloud,’ and having more customizability and integration abilities is already under way. Instead of having to contract with multiple vendors for these services, more and more business-to-business ‘cloud computing’ providers will be offering more data storage, hardware and systems services options.
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This holiday season Metafuse, Inc., the creator of Project Insight project management software, is giving its customers the gift of an ‘Ark’ donation through Heifer International. The ‘Gift Ark’ empowers people in developing countries by giving them animals and training on how to raise them. Fifteen sets of animals will be contributed to families worldwide and will improve their lives by giving them a way to support themselves, derive an income, and “pass on the gift” to others in their communities. For example, two oxen will be sent to Uganda to pull plows and two llamas will be sent to produce wool and income to families in Bolivia. Metafuse, Inc.’s Vice President, Cynthia West states, “During this economic downturn, it is important for those of us living in the developed world to be thankful for our many blessings. Heifer International has been a Project Insight customer since 2003 and we have supported their project management efforts since that time. We wanted to take our support of this wonderful organization to the next level.” “We appreciate the generosity of the people at Metafuse and for their role in helping Heifer sow the seeds of self-reliance and dignity to impoverished families around the world,” said Dale Ingram, Director of Public Relations for Heifer International.
Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in more than 50 countries, including the U.S., to help families and communities become more self-reliant. It has helped millions of people through training in livestock development and livestock gifts that multiply.
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PRWeb
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As in the past, Metafuse has been responding to customer requests, one of which was the call for an Interactive Gantt Chart in the upcoming Project Insight 8.0 release. The main feature of the interactive Gantt is the ability to drag-and-drop tasks in the visual format. Rendering task time lines without page refreshes and baseline charting is just the foundation of future functionality. We want to ensure that we transition the Gantt chart display into a technology platform (Microsoft –based) we feel confident to provide fulfillment of not only initial customer requests, but those which are sure to come as we progress.
As always, we needed to maintain our cross-browser compatibility to support our growing user base of both Windows and Mac. Silverlight was determined as the best interactive technology platform to provide the performance and compatibility our customers demand. Silverlight Gantt charts are integrated seamlessly into code development within the ASP.Net programming environment. This provides rapid-response Microsoft SQL Server data in a format which provides visual representation of database information and further allows real-time changes to the data by authorized project managers using the Gantt chart.
Our Gold-level commitment to the Microsoft ISV Partner Program ensures that Silverlight technology will be best leveraged in the rapidly evolving world of interactive web application services delivery.
View Gantt chart details:
Project Insight Product Tour
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