Under-the-Radar Cloud News: Google Cloud, AWS, Azure, More
We're showcasing cloud news you'll want to catch up on.
Shutterstock
Nubosoft, Google Cloud’s 2018 Latin America Breakthrough Partner of the Year, has joined HYCU’s new Cloud Services Provider Program.
HYCU specializes in multicloud data management. Nubosoft now can add the vendor’s platform, Protégé, to customers’ Google Cloud services. This capability brings data migration and protection, as well as disaster recovery, all as a service to Google Cloud end users.
“We needed an easy-to-use-and-deploy data management service for our customers looking to move workloads, VMs and data from on premises to Google Cloud,” said Santiago Jiménez Abad, Google Cloud Director at Nubosoft. Being a member of the HYCU Cloud Services Provider Program is a win-win-win for us, our customers and HYCU.”
Amazon Web Services partner MontyCloud has released the latest version of its cloud management platform, Day2.
MontyCloud works with managed service providers. MSPs use the company’s Day2 platform to manage enterprises’ cloud applications and services. For example, Day2 allows MSPs to:
· Provision cloud accounts, resources and services on AWS.
· Gain continuous visibility into cloud server and serverless tools, across all accounts and regions.
· Automate management and compliance of server workloads in AWS and other cloud environments.
· Deploy application patterns into applications and services.
· Use extensible automated tasks.
MontyCloud says Day2 eliminates the need for custom agents and management servers, compared to legacy cloud management platforms.
“Our investments in a cloud-native, event-driven platform help our customers to gain full control all the way from the cloud infrastructure, to applications and operations aspects,” said Venkat Krishnamachari, CEO of MontyCloud.
By the end of the year, Google Cloud channel partners will have more Box capabilities to roll out to clients.
Box is integrating the following into G Suite:
· Native sharing within G Suite to easily share Google files stored in Box. This will let users rely on the same access settings and privacy controls they have in Box.
· Reciprocal transfer for Google Docs, Sheets and Slides between Box and Google Drive. This will let users move content while maintaining the Google file formats.
· A new G Suite add-on from Box will enable a “save to Box” experience for G Suite. This will let users start a document within G Suite and save back to Box.
“We’re in the middle of a major transformation in how business gets done,” said Aaron Levie, cofounder and CEO of Box. “The ability to work from anywhere, leverage global talent and virtual teams, and to collaborate securely with colleagues, partners, and customers is the ‘new normal’ for every business. … We’re excited to continue making the combination of Box and G Suite as intuitive and seamless as possible for our customers.”
Box also is adding more Google Cloud infrastructure to its operations to facilitate global data storage. Further, Box plans to enhance its single sign-on abilities using Google Identity and add support for two-factor authentication through Google Authenticator.
The Box for G Suite enhancements should be available in the fourth quarter at no extra charge to joint customers.
COVID-19 impacts have businesses paying more attention to IT costs than ever. So channel partners might want to emphasize the financial benefits of hybrid cloud environments to customers.
Forrester has found that hybrid cloud generates, on average, a $2 million return on investment within 36 months.
On top of that, analysts said that organizations using the requirement-specific software in the private cloud can save, on average, more than $250,000 in problem resolution. They also save an average of $670,000 through agile global capacity management, according to Forrester. Finally, entities that use public cloud see more than $900,000 in ROI when taking advantage of optimization and analysis tools.
Analysts conducted their research on behalf of vendor Virtana. The report is called, “The Total Economic Impact Of Virtana’s Hybrid Infrastructure Optimization.”
Microsoft Azure is readying to go up against AWS Outposts head-on.
According to various reports, Microsoft is developing its hybrid on-premises cloud offering. It’s code-named Fiji and is part of Azure Stack.
So far, Microsoft isn’t commenting on Fiji. It’s not clear when partners might have access to the new Azure Stack hybrid products. If it’s anything like Outposts, Microsoft will choose a “rent on an as-a-service basis” model.
CloudBolt Software has a new channel chief at the helm.
The cloud management platform company recently named Larry Kraft as senior vice president of global channels and alliances. Kraft works out of Columbus, Ohio. He leads CloudBolt’s partner strategy, which covers system integrators, value-added resellers and distributors, technology partners and more.
Kraft has worked in IT for more than 20 years.
“CloudBolt is a game-changer in the cloud management market and firmly rooted in an entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited to be on board.”
CloudBolt brought on Kraft not long after it closed its SovLabs acquisition, to better serve the hybrid cloud market.
Organizations still looking for easy-to-deploy platforms for remote workers have another option from Workspot.
The vendor’s cloud desktop now is available on Google Cloud. It already was available on Azure.
“Organizations need cloud PCs now more than ever, and in greater numbers than ever before,” said Amitabh Sinha, CEO and co-founder of Workspot. “While some legacy VDI providers have uploaded their VDI brokers to the cloud, the result is the same complexity and poor performance that customers have learned to hate. Our cloud-native desktop solution provides low latency from anywhere in the world, and scales easily and quickly.”
Workspot sells through the channel. Google Cloud partners may deliver and manage the company’s cloud PCs, workstations and virtual applications from multiple clouds on behalf of customers. Workspot places the virtual desktop in the cloud region closest to the user. This minimizes latency.
Workspot is a Google Premier Partner.
Cloud communications firm Intermedia recently scored a big coup. Navisite, a managed cloud service provider, has transitioned its 70,000-plus small business Microsoft 365 users to Intermedia.
That means the end users who were getting their 365 services from Navisite now get them from Intermedia.
Mark Clayman, CEO of Navisite, called Intermedia “the ideal choice” for the shift.
“As we move our focus to other areas of public cloud, application and data management support, we wanted to make sure that we selected a partner who would deliver an uninterrupted and great experience for these Microsoft 365 customers,” Clayman said. “Intermedia has long been known as a company that places a premium on service reliability, security and ease of use within the cloud space.”
Cameyo recently teamed up with IT service provider ASG Africa to bring its technology to organizations throughout Africa and the Middle East.
One caveat: Users must rely on Microsoft Azure to take advantage of Cameyo’s platform, which delivers Windows desktop applications to any device through HTML5 browsers.
“Organizations throughout MEA are adopting Azure to enable large-scale remote work today, but also to prepare for the ‘new normal’ after COVID-19,” said Andrew Miller, cofounder and CEO of Cameyo. “By extending our advanced features that were previously only available in our fully hosted service to Azure, ASG Africa’s customers can now experience … Cameyo while bringing their own existing Azure cloud, or by working with ASG to move to Azure.
The channel may be more valuable than ever.
So far, more than 105,000 IT professionals, including those who oversee cloud projects, have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.
That’s according to new statistics from research firm Janco Associates. Analysts project that overall net-new IT jobs created in 2020 will total barely more than 25,000.
The cutbacks open the door for more partners to help organizations get through unprecedented economic challenges. Several businesses told Janco they’re holding off on refilling those IT roles until the pandemic subsides, the U.S. presidential election ends, and when civil unrest settles.
Salesforce has new a new tool that allows partners to extend extra capabilities to customers.
The suite is called Feedback Management. It allows for the collection of opinions from customers and employees in real time. Organizations can use the information to guide decision-making.
“Salesforce Feedback Management can be added into our partners’ current offerings, allowing partners to expand into new market segments as well as new buyer personas, which may not have been traditionally open in the past,” said Aaron Kelly, director of industry technical product marketing at Salesforce.
Plus, Kelly added, Salesforce channel partners now may help customers “increase deployment speed and realize fast ROI through pre-built analytics and easy-to-use admin and design tools – all built natively to reduce requirements for further integration points.”
Salesforce has new a new tool that allows partners to extend extra capabilities to customers.
The suite is called Feedback Management. It allows for the collection of opinions from customers and employees in real time. Organizations can use the information to guide decision-making.
“Salesforce Feedback Management can be added into our partners’ current offerings, allowing partners to expand into new market segments as well as new buyer personas, which may not have been traditionally open in the past,” said Aaron Kelly, director of industry technical product marketing at Salesforce.
Plus, Kelly added, Salesforce channel partners now may help customers “increase deployment speed and realize fast ROI through pre-built analytics and easy-to-use admin and design tools – all built natively to reduce requirements for further integration points.”
Channel partners have been slammed with COVID-19 deployments. It’s been easy to miss out on the latest cloud news. Here, we bring together some of the more under-the-radar cloud announcements you may want to know.
For instance, second-quarter cloud infrastructure spending reached new heights. The impetus? COVID-19, which surely comes as no surprise.
As organizations sent employees to work from home, they shifted IT spending to support cloud technologies for remote access. That added up to more than $30 billion in outlay worldwide, according to new figures from Synergy Research Group – $7.5 billion more than the same period a year earlier.
“As far as cloud market numbers go, it’s almost as if there were no COVID-19 pandemic raging around the world,” said John Dinsdale, a chief analyst at the research firm. “As enterprises struggle to adapt to new norms, the advantages of public cloud are amplified. The percentage growth rate is coming down, as it must when a market reaches enormous scale, but the incremental growth in absolute dollar terms remains truly impressive. The market remains on track to grow by well over 30% in 2020.”
Per Synergy, Amazon Web Services remains the leader, holding around 33% of market share. Microsoft Azure came in next at 18% for the third consecutive quarter. And Google Cloud Platform rose a little higher to 9%, Synergy said. Collectively, China-based cloud providers Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu now claim more than 12% of the global market, according to Synergy.
So take a few minutes away from your COVID-19 deployments to see what you’ve missed on the cloud front since the pandemic began. It’s all in the slideshow above.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like