Lots of folks consider Amazon Web Services and their Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) platform a market-leading cloud platform. Now Morph Labs, developers of the Morph Application Platform, think they have a solution for MSPs to form private clouds that are EC2-compatible. Here’s the scoop.
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Morph Labs: Amazon Web Services Meets Private Clouds (Again)
Posted February 18th, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
Eucalyptus, Terracotta Make Next Cloud Move
Posted February 12th, 2010 by Matthew Weinberger
Eucalyptus Systems, the open-source cloud platform vendor that’s positioned itself as the free, private alternative to Amazon Web Services, told me they were going to spend most of 2010 looking for new business opportunities. It looks like they’ve found one, as they announce a partnership with Terracotta to provide enhanced data scalability and application performance for enterprises using their private cloud. Here’s the scoop.
MSPs: Is Drupal Right for Your Site?
Posted October 13th, 2009 by Matthew Weinberger
Drupal is catching on as a platform for building Web sites that have social networking capabilities. And since it’s a free and open source content management system, Drupal can be easy on your wallet when launching a Web site. But the big question: Is Drupal really an option for managed service providers that want to overhaul their own web sites?
Podcast: Fonality’s CEO on Asterisk, IP PBXes And Cloud Services
Posted January 29th, 2009 by Joe Panettieri
I interviewed Fonality CEO Chris Lyman for a podcast originally posted on TheVARguy.com. Our discussion offers managed service providers a high-level overview of Fonality’s IP PBX strategy. We touch on such topics as Asterisk, open source, and hybrid-hosted services that combine on-premise solutions with cloud services.
Software Wants to Be Free, Software Never Dies, And Other MSP Rules to Live By
Posted August 22nd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
I just got off the phone with one of my first editors — the man who showed me the ropes in the high-tech industry. Back in 1992 at InformationWeek, he made two rather stunning statements to me that I never forgot:
- Software Never Dies
- Software Wants to Be Free
Remember, he made those statements long before open source and the Internet revolutionized the way we think about software and collaboration. And both statements are critically important to managed service providers. Here’s why.
Five Things MSPs Can Learn From Open Source
Posted July 23rd, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
I’ve spent the past two days at OSCON (Open Source Convention) in Portland, Oregon. There isn’t much managed services news here — or is there? In fact, MSPs can leverage at least five key lessons from the open source movement. Take a look.
Open Source SaaS Scores Again With Apatar
Posted July 11th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Software as a service (SaaS) and open source continue to converge. The latest example is Apatar On-Demand, which now synchronizes Salesforce.com CRM and Intuit QuickBooks accounting software.
Managed VoIP Services Shifting to Open Source
Posted June 24th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
If you’re a managed service provider mulling your VoIP options, keep this in mind: A growing number of customers — especially in Europe — are embracing IP phone systems that leverage open source and Asterisk. In fact, the European market for open source VoIP is growing 70 percent annually, according to one market researcher. Here’s the scoop.
SugarCRM CEO John Roberts Describes SaaS Strategy, Potential 2010 IPO
Posted June 19th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
John Roberts is sitting in the middle of the perfect storm. As CEO of SugarCRM, he leads one of the fastest-growing open source application providers. And roughly 30 percent of SugarCRM’s customer wins now involve software as a service (SaaS) or an on-demand approach — meaning the company competes with traditional CRM (Siebel) and hosted models like Salesforce.com.
Untangle, N-able Deal Accelerates Open Source, MSP Convergence
Posted June 17th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
N-able has inked a security-related managed services partnership with Untangle. But I believe there’s a bigger trend here.
Red Hat Prepping Managed Services Strategy
Posted April 21st, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
The convergence of open source with managed services and software as a service (SaaS) continues. The latest example: Red Hat, arguably the world’s best-known open source company, has created two staff positions to serve hosting partners. Plus, Red Hat is evaluating a strategy to work more closely with managed service providers, MSPmentor has learned. Here’s the scoop.
Network Security Converges With Ubuntu Linux
Posted April 7th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Ubuntu, the fastest-growing version of Linux, is starting to attract interest from the managed services industry. One prime example: Untangle, which develops security solutions for managed service providers, is preparing to add support for Ubuntu within the next few months, MSPmentor has learned.
Managed Services: Built On Open Source?
Posted March 27th, 2008 by Joe Panettieri
Ben Yarbrough has seen it. Bob Walters has seen it. And now, hundreds of managed service providers are starting to see it. What exactly is “it”? The simple answer: The convergence of open source with managed services.
Managed Services Meets Voice Over IP
Posted October 1st, 2007 by Joe Panettieri
On their own, voice-over-IP and managed services are hot markets. Toss the two together, and maybe you can fan the flames of opportunity. For instance, check out how Cistera Networks is hosting VoIP managed services for schools.
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