Posts tagged Cloud applications
Google App Marketplace Could Revolutionize Cloud Computing
Mar 10th
You must have noticed that Google has been slowly inching towards a culture of Online cloud computing, and most companies, individuals and businesses have adapted to the culture of cloud computing because of its obvious advantages. Cloud computing allows users to manage data, applications and information in a way that traditional software or hardware don’t allow and the most important advantage is that you could access your data, application and software from any computer in the world, provided you have the ID and password.
However, cloud computing itself is not without disadvantages, and the most unpleasant one is the lack of applications directly integrated into Google. Hence, users copy and paste data, use different applications time and again in order to get everything into the cloud. Google itself has admitted that it does not have the expertise to integrate the hundreds of business applications out there into the cloud.
Thus Google has now announced that Google Apps Marketplace is now open for business. Developers and software providers can now join the new Online store for integrated business applications. These cloud applications will allow Google Apps customers to discover newer applications without having to manage each one of them separately.
At the moment, there are already more than 50 companies who are selling their applications. Some of the apps already available are
Intuit Online Payroll: It allows users to run payroll, pay taxes and check paystubs within an integrated online office environment.
Manymoon: It helps in organizing and sharing information with co-workers and partners, including tasks, projects, documents, status updates and links.
Professional Services Connect (PS Connect): This provides contextually relevant information about people, projects, customers and transactions so that one could make better decisions.
JIRA Studio: This app helps to track and manage project issues and workflow, especially in design and development of tools.
What the Google Apps Marketplace Is
It works similar to the Apple App Store, but is only cheaper. Google is asking the developers and businesses a onetime fee of $100 and 20% of the revenue in exchange to the access to 25 million Google users. Apps would be authenticated using OpenID and would be secured through oAuth. The applications would be accessible through a universal Google Apps navigation system.
How It Could Help Businesses
Businesses and companies could stop using multiple applications and get rid of the burden of having to remember multiple passwords for each applications. Whether you are an employee or a proprietor, you could use your Google account to access all these applications, and edit/use based on the permissions you have.
How It Could Help Individuals
Google Apps are used by not just companies and businesses but also students, freelance workers, and independent professionals. There are several account management apps, data related apps and other applications that could help the end user to make use of Google cloud computing and the Google App Marketplace makes it easy for everyone.
How Cool Is It Anyway?
Like I mentioned earlier, cloud computing has already become popular and most of us have been using Google Docs, and other apps successfully. The marketplace would allow us to access more applications which are not developed by Google but have been authenticated nevertheless. This allows for a streamlined system of working and managing data, software, accounts and information.
Companies and individuals could make use of payroll, data entry, management, and an office suite for instance and integrate them to the Google account. It would also help in terms of social media, data management and communication. Google App Marketplace could thus be a great beginning and a step in the direction!
Read more: Google App Marketplace Could Revolutionize Cloud Computing | Walyou
Related posts
Google Apps Marketplace Launches as New Cloud Computing Store
Mar 10th
Google March 9 opened its Google Apps Marketplace, an online store selling enterprises business applications that integrate with and extend Google Apps.
The Google Apps Marketplace will let Google Apps users access business apps for project management, billing and accounting, travel management, and other services. This will provide third-party software
developers a larger cloud computing channel into which to sell their applications.
Click here for a tour of Google Apps Marketplace.
| Resource Library: |
The move, announced during a Campfire One event at the company’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, is Google’s most aggressive play to drive growth for Google Apps, a suite of SAAS (software as a service) collaboration applications. The play also threatens existing cloud application stores such as Salesforce.com’s AppExchange.
Google Apps, which Google offers in free and paid versions, includes Gmail; Google Docs word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications; and Google Sites publishing software.
Google Apps has picked up more than 2 million business customers who opt to let Google host their business data so they don’t have to maintain on-premises solutions such as Microsoft SharePoint or IBM Lotus Notes on their own servers.
However, collaboration applications are only a part of the SAAS software ecosystem. As the success of Salesforce.com shows, there is a burgeoning market for enterprise applications based on the cloud.
To wit, the Google Apps Marketplace allows Google Apps administrators to purchase integrated third-party cloud applications and deploy them to their domains.
Google Engineering David Glazer, who shepherded Google’s OpenSocial movement, said that while many businesses
Related posts
Cloud Computing Developer Workshops
Mar 9th
Monday, March 15
Cloud Computing IT Workshops | Developer Workshops | Developing for Microsoft Windows Azure Platform
Attend developer workshops with experts from the leading cloud computing platforms. It’s the only place where you can, in theory, build three cloud apps on three different clouds, guided by the folks behind that cloud, in a single day. BEST VALUE–Register for a Flex Pass to attend the conference (including developer track) plus pre-conference developer workshops.
| 9:00 AM–12:00 PM |
|---|
 Building on Google App Engine
Google’s App Engine cloud platform differs from many infrastructure-centric cloud technologies in that it is an Application Platform as a Service (APaaS) and thus, requires only code to build and deploy apps onto the cloud. Google App Engine provides a free usage entry path which can accommodate most modest web site/service deployments. Sites requiring more industrial strength scalability and bandwidth can enable billing and pay as needed to handle increased growth. Google App Engine distinguishes itself by offering development in either Python or Java. This workshop will be run in two tracks in both Python and Java with the same programming goals. You Will Learn:
Instructor – Wesley Chun, Developer Advocate, Google
Speaker – Ikai Lan, Developer Advocate, Google
|
|
Cloud Performance Optimization
Cloud environments are shared environments, which means that despite your best efforts, someone else can impact your performance and uptime. What if a cloud neighbor doesn’t play well with others? How can you be sure that your users are getting the availability you’ve promised, and the application performance to keep them happy and productive? You Will Learn:
Instructor – Hooman Beheshti, Vice President of Products, Strangeloop
Instructor – Hon Wong, EVP of Business Development and Marketing, Coradiant
Instructor – Imad Mouline, CTO, Gomez
Speaker – Robert Rounsavall, Director, Product Development, Terremark Worldwide, Inc.
Speaker – Don Green, Senior Vice President of Product Management, OpSource, Inc.
Speaker – Joe Hsy, Vice President of Technology and Advanced Development, Coradiant
Speaker – Bernd Harzog, Analyst – Virtualization Performance Management, The Virtualization Practice
Speaker – Seth Redmore, VP of Products, Lexalytics
Speaker – Steve Shah, Principal, RisingEdge Consulting
Speaker – John Allspaw, VP of Technical Operations, Etsy
Speaker – Hal Kalish, Industry Marketing Director – High Tech, Akamai
Speaker – Ron Warshawsky, Founder and CTO, Enteros
Speaker – JL Valente, CEO and President, Rivermuse
|
Related posts
Guest Post: Si Chen on Cloud Computing and Open Source
Feb 26th
Introduction
Two years ago, I switched from Mozilla Thunderbird to Gmail. Ever since then, a little voice has bugged me each time I sent an email. You see, I’m an open source software developer, the name of my company is “Open Source Strategies,” and our mission is to promote open source software. So when I give up on one of the most popular and successful open source applications, is it just an isolated expedient, or does it mean something bigger?
After two years, I’ve decided that it does. Cloud computing is a big time game changer, and we open source developers better get prepared.
Cloud applications are everywhere today, offering a hosted alternative to just about every open source project. For example, just from Google consider the following:
- Gmail to replace sendmail/postfix and Thunderbird
- Google Apps to replace Zimbra
- Google Docs to replace OpenOffice
- Google Groups to replace forums
- Google Sites to replace wikis and content management systems.
Then there are smaller cloud-based applications like Disqus and MicroPoll to replace the discussion and poll features which are ubiquitous in ecommerce and content management systems like Joomla!, Drupal, WordPress, and Magento.
And yet, open source developers are amazingly complacent. We’re lulled by the fact that most open source applications are web-enabled. Some of us think the cloud is just another deployment option. Some of us hope that maybe a cloud computing vendor would buy us out. Does none of us ever wonder if “No Software” might just mean “No Open Source Software” as well?
We should take cloud computing more seriously. Cloud computing has created a new value proposition for users. Unless open source developers understand and adapt to it, they will be relegated to the sidelines of the software industry. Let’s first take a look at that value proposition, and then at what it means for open source.
Traditional vs. Open Source vs. Cloud Value Propositions
Traditional commercial software is often expensive. First you have to pay to license the software, then pay for hardware to run it, then pay again for the software to be customized, and finally pay regularly for maintenance and support. Furthermore, because the source code is not available, commercial software could be very difficult to customize to meet the users’ actual needs. This combination of high cost and lack of flexibility is pushing some CIO’s to look for greener pastures.
Open source addresses both of these issues with a once novel but now familiar approach. The software is available free of charge, and the source code is also available so the user could modify it to fit their needs. The user just has to pay for the hardware and any customizations he needs, so the cost to acquire the software is significantly lower. Most importantly, the user has the flexibility to modify and use the software according to his needs.
Cloud-based software takes a different approach. The user pays a recurring fee to use a cloud-based application. In return, the cloud vendor provides both the hardware and software as a package. Cloud-based applications themselves are highly standardized, and you don’t get to see the source code. However, they usually provide APIs for building third-party add-on modules. This way, cloud vendors (try to) provide flexibility via a better technical architecture, rather than by freeing the code.
Clearly, people like this model. Consider two cases in point:
- Salesforce.com has grown to over a million users
- Google Apps has signed up over two million businesses
This begs the question: Why are cloud-based applications so successful? Because they have made it easy. Even though open source software is free, you still have to get the hardware and then set up and possibly customize it. Cloud software vendors have taken care of all that for us, so we just have to show up with our browsers. For most users who don’t have very specialized needs, that convenience is far more important than having the source code.
So What About Open Source?
One viable option for open source software is simply to become the “anti-cloud.” Perhaps somethings aren’t meant to be “in the cloud” after all. For example, Eucalyptus is offering an open source solution to build internal clouds inside the data center. (The US Army’s Deputy CIO is quoted on their home page. Could you imagine why the military might not want everything “in the cloud?”)
Another interesting option is to make open source software the entry point to the cloud. Under this model, the real value of computing moves to the cloud, and open source becomes a way to mobilize developers to create as many entry points to that reservoir of value as possible. For example, Google made its Android platform open source to encourage the development of mobile applications which connect to the web—where Google rules. Skype’s plans to open source its client software seems to fit with this logic as well.
Finally, are there cases where flexibility is so important that standardized applications in the cloud wouldn’t work for a lot of users? We believe that Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is one such case. Because virtually every business has some unique processes, almost all ERP software packages must be customized to meet the needs of the particular organization. In these cases, open source is the right solution, and we’ve seen it in polls like this one from the home page of opentaps Open Source ERP + CRM, which tells us that most users of open source ERP are looking to deploy it internally:
Open Source and the Cloud Together
Ultimately, open source and the cloud are not mutually exclusive; they can work together.
I started my blog at opensourcestrategies.blogspot.com five years ago, but then moved it to WordPress last year. So here’s a case where I’ve moved off the cloud and back to open source. But I also use Google’s Feedburner to syndicate my blog, and I’m thinking about adding Facebook wigdets, MicroPoll, and Disqus as well.
I hope this may serve as an example for the future: a free and flexible open source core application enhanced by cloud add-ons. Open source software gave me more control, specifically over my online identity: I can have my own domain name, look and feel, and my choice of modules and add-ons. The cloud applications gave me easy, inexpensive, and maintenance-free ways to add standard features to this core. Today this is common in the blogging world, but we are re-architecting opentaps to bring that to enterprise software such as ERP and CRM as well: a world of open core architecture and platform-independent add-on modules.
Related posts
Cloud Computing & Natural Monopolies
Feb 24th
Mike Kirkwood of ReadWriteWeb recently wrote a piece asking the question “Will One Company Become the Dominant Player in Cloud Computing?” Kirkwood offered a series of arguments both for and against the idea of the market being one where a “natural monopoly” might occur and a few of his arguments are worth exploring in greater depth.
Addressing the potential for vendor lock-in (think Outlook .PST files), Kirkwood points out that cloud customers may demand data portability:
If customers demand solutions where they can move from vendor to vendor freely, it will impact the landscape. Companies with cloud solutions in the marketplace could be required by these customers to remove barriers to moving data and services between different entities.
Kirkwood should know that this is already happening. CRM solutions like HighRise by 37Signals and cloud-based office solutions like Google Apps already have these features built in. One of the biggest reasons that many companies are moving to cloud-based applications is because they’re weary of being locked-in to solutions that hold their data hostage. It’s doubtful that these exit doors will disappear when things like office suites, CRMs, accounting software, and other software categories are almost exclusively offered as cloud applications or web apps. Customers already expect and will continue to demand the freedom to move their data around—a new culture of data portability is being created as a part of the shift to the cloud and that consumer expectations may be permanently altered because of it.
So long as data is portable, it seems doubtful that any vendor will be able to gain anything near a monopoly status through the use of tired proprietary software shenanigans. Huge capital expenses, like those associated with setting up an Exchange server and installing the latest version of Outlook on hundreds of desktop machines is also a thing of the past. The massive upfront costs are being replaced by cheap subscription models that easily scale as a firm’s need for a given sort of software grows. This means switching to a new vendor in the cloud involves little more than an export and important of data, followed by an email supplying co-workers with a new URL, username, and password.
The one area that Kirkwood doesn’t explore which may have some potential for a would-be monopolist is exploiting possible network effects—the idea that everyone uses brand X because everyone else uses brand X. This makes sense when you think of something like Facebook, where the sole value of the product is derived from the fact that a lot of people use it—otherwise why would anyone use the abysmal site? But does this sort of logic apply to accounting software? Would I choose to use something from Intuit instead of FreshBooks because my friends use it?
No, but I might choose a software titles because my potential employees are more likely to already be familiar with it and those potential hires might choose to learn one software title over another because employers are more likely to be using it. This is the kind of a snowball effect that could give one vendor an advantage that has nothing to do with the quality of their product.
But here too I see the culture of the emerging cloud applications market being a strong force against this kind of software/employee compatibility lock-in argument. Aside from wanting to flee the world of proprietary standards, expensive servers, in-house IT staff, client-side software, and other technological nightmares that come with so many non-cloud applications, companies are fleeing the world of terrible user interfaces. The cloud based-apps that I use—BaseCamp, HighRise, MailChimp, Google Apps, FormSpring, WuFoo, Mint, as well as many others—are all orders of magnitude less daunting and needlessly complex than something like the UX abomination that is the Microsoft Office suite. (Hint: If the “plain and simple” guide to your software runs 384 pages, you’re doing it wrong.)
Cloud software creators seem to actually care about user interface, somewhat negating the notion of user training related network effects—fostering what I will now officially dub “user portability.” Again, one could argue that when some software categories become predominantly cloud-based, and cloud software creators are not longer selling the concept of web software itself along with their specific services, that this emphasis on user interface could be phased out in favor of making more “ribbons.” But because of the new culture of data portability, user portability is likely to be maintained as well because bad user interfaces will be punished through losing customers to a better UX that is just a export, import, and quick staff-wide email away.
I’m really interested to hear my fellow TLFers and our readers’ thoughts on this issue. Is the cloud a near-perfect market or am I just a naive idealist who doesn’t see the vapory beginnings of a future cloud monopoly looming in the distance?
Related posts
‘Cloud Computing’: What Exactly Is It, Anyway?
Feb 8th
For a lot of small-business owners, “cloud computing” is the latest IT buzzword to leave them scratching their heads. To demystify things, here’s a primer for companies looking to wade into cloud services for the first time.
What are cloud services?
The Journal Report
See the complete Small Business report .
Broadly speaking, any service or program sent over an Internet connection can be considered a cloud service. An outside vendor runs the servers and software, so the buyer doesn’t have to worry about the technical issues in-house—and can focus on its own business.
The services come in a number of forms. Many businesses are already familiar with one aspect of cloud computing: software delivered over the Web. Along with email services like Google Inc.’s Gmail, there are programs that help salespeople keep track of customer information, such as Salesforce.com Inc.’s software, and backup data-storage services from providers such as Amazon.com Inc.
Some businesses don’t just use software services, they buy computing power from vendors such as Verizon Communications Inc.—much like buying power from a utility. Let’s say a retailer expects lots of additional business during the holidays, and its in-house servers can’t handle the load of customer orders. The company might pay a vendor for the use of its servers, to shoulder part of the computing work as the need arises.
Other companies, meanwhile, might buy computing power on a regular basis. They might drop one or more in-house servers entirely—or not buy the hardware in the first place—and let a vendor run their vital programs on its machines. Once again, the buyer would pay a fee based on how much computing power it used.
How much will they cost?
Unlike traditional applications, which require hardware such as servers and IT staff for maintenance, cloud services don’t carry many upfront costs.
A Cloudy Outlook
- About 3.2% of U.S. small businesses, or about 230,000 businesses, use cloud services.
- Another 3.6%, or 260,000, plan to add cloud services in the next 12 months.
- Small-business spending on cloud services will increase by 36.2% in 2010 over a year ago, to $2.4 billion from $1.7 billion.
Source: IDC
Consider software. Salesforce.com’s offering for businesses costs between $5 and $25 per user each month. Google offers a host of programs including email, a word processor, video and a hosted Web site for an annual fee of $50 per user. For small businesses that have more-extensive computing needs, such as drug laboratories with extensive software, cloud services could cost more than $1,000 a month.
As for buying computing power, some providers charge for a certain amount of memory and computing configuration. Terremark Worldwide Inc., for example, charges six cents an hour for one gigabyte of RAM and the equivalent of one processor.
One caveat that might bump up costs a bit: If you’re going to rely on the Internet for your services, you will need a solid connection. While some believe a business-class DSL connection is sufficient, many industry observers and consultants recommend getting a faster line, such as a T1.
Continue Reading at WSJ
Related posts
The Promise of Cloud Computing and SaaS (Software as a Service)
Feb 4th
A global public relations firm with 120 employees transitions to cloud computing and the IT director lives to tell about the potential relief that software-as-a-service offers to IT.
The promise of cloud computing has been around for years.
Like any new technology, it’s taken time for the vendor community to work out the kinks and get cloud computing ready for prime time.
While cloud computing comes in numerous flavors, what I’m going to address and what’s typically most relevant to small or mid-sized businesses is software-as-a-service (SaaS). This means that applications are hosted by service providers instead of running on your hardware in the office.
This is a big deal.
My company — a global PR firm with offices across the United States, Asia, and Europe — depends on extremely high service levels from the IT function. As a one-woman band managing our technology operation, I’m always striving to simplify IT deployment, but it can’t be done at the expense of functionality.
This is what led me to evaluate cloud computing for our office applications. After doing my homework, three options were left on the table: Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
We opted to go with Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) solution which was best-suited for our size, reach, and 24×7 response requirements. This said, you should take the time to evaluate all three options because each provider offers a little different functionality.
Microsoft BPOS is a fully deployed, cloud-based version of Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications Online, and Office Live Meeting, which allows us to offload basic functions such as e-mail and Web-based collaboration tools.
Continue Reading…Inc.com
