Friday 03 September 2010
In fact much of their future growth is built on the principal of getting as many people as possible using their software whether it be Google search, Gmail or their Google Docs suite of office type programs. This of course is putting them in direct competition with Microsoft which means it has had to find different ways to get their software in the hands of consumers. One of the principal ways that they have done this is to use the same tactic that Apple and Microsoft have been using for years – hit the colleges and universities. The first prong of their attach started over two years ago with them making the education providers an offer they couldn’t really refuse in a climate of growing IT costs. Google would provide them unlimited hosted email and other applications all of which would be branded by the institution for the price of free.
With things like their browser, a possible operating system, and the in development Google Wave being added to this package Google has a chance to become an ingrained part of the student’s lives as they move from school to the business world. Right now Google is already providing services to some 4 million students and is providing serious competition to Microsoft for access to 17 million students on the more than 4,000 campuses in the US. The ability to offer colleges and universities a way to save millions of dollars a year in IT costs is making Google an almost irresistible force for these institutions while at the same time creating a constantly refreshing generation of Google users.
BasicGov web-based software streamlines key business processes for city and county community development departments. BasicGov consists of three integrated software modules (BasicGov - Permits & Inspections, BasicGov - Code Enforcement and BasicGov - Planning). Unlike enterprise software that’s expensive to acquire and difficult to implement, BasicGov requires no capital investment and is easy to set-up.
CloudBench Applications, Inc. (TSX VENTURE: CBH) (formerly Municipal Software Group, Inc.) develops, sells and supports BasicGov, an affordable web-based software used by small to medium-sized local governments to streamline their permits and inspections, code enforcement and planning processes. BasicGov is a reliable, secure solution delivered for an affordable price and the only web-based software for local governments built on Force.com, the cloud computing platform from SalesForce.com used by more than 55,000 organizations worldwide. BasicGov software requires only an Internet connection and a browser.
Product that challenges assumptions and pursues a solution that’s so simple and obvious that it could never survive the extended process by which conventional consumer hardware is developed and produced. It’s called the CrunchPad. Or it will be, after it’s finally demonstrated and shipped (“as soon as possible” is the only timeframe its makers will commit to, for now; check out CrunchPad.com for info and demo videos). It’s an 18mm thick tablet computer built like a S’More. At the bottom, there’s a crisp layer of a netbook-class computer. Then, a marshmallow-sweet software layer consisting of a WebKit-based web browser. They top the whole thing off with a full-sized 12” color touchscreen display.
The apparent lack of personal, local storage is annoying. But even here, Web 2.0 rides to the rescue via cloud storage services that allows you to put gigabytes of personal documents and media in a private directory, where you can play and view media files through any browser window. Hell, a $99 PogoPlug would allow me to share my office’s current USB desktop drives to the CrunchPad from anywhere in the world.
Low cost cloud computing infrastructure and managed services offering is powered in part by 3tera’s award winning AppLogic cloud computing platform and managed by Cirrhus9. The C9 CSP Platform enables Service Providers, like managed hosting companies, ASP firms, software companies and/or IT services companies, to offer Cloud solutions to their customers with minimal investment, short timelines and with reduced complexity. In addition, Cirrhus9 has configured a suite of Open Source products and management tools which provide low cost prepackaged solutions that include email, document sharing/management, collaboration, learning management and others.
AppLogic allows IT professionals to develop and deploy online applications in minutes instead of weeks, using only a browser to manage and scale on demand fully distributed systems and deliver security and business continuity for all applications, while fully controlling their cloud computing environment. Our mission is to help companies use and better understand Cloud technology to achieve measurable results,” continued Michalik. “As a Cloud Integrator, we are passionate about the success of our clients utilizing Cloud technology. For the Service Providers and Technology Companies the net result is that these features bring substantially greater efficiencies, shorter time to market and consistent high-quality infrastructure, with remarkably lower system associated costs.
