My business has been an internet services and cloud business since before cloud was a recognised term. Weve been lucky enough to have just celebrated our 20th anniversary, and have grown by staying at the forefront of managed service provision innovation. The managed and cloud services space has really rocketed and transformed the consumer, business-to-consumer and business-to-business sectors in this time.

In fact, in the past twenty years, technology has led a genuine business revolution, laying the platform for the digital transformation ahead. A 1996 business would be baffled by the leaps made in those twenty years. Caught up in it as we are, its hard to always appreciate just how far weve come. The revolution has not been an abrupt change, its changed our lives as consumers first, and now increasingly in our business lives.

In 1996, well for a start, no one would have read this. Blogging wasnt a thing. Most business people would be using their Pentium powered PCs for their typing (or maybe for playing Solitaire still a novelty! on their CRT monitors) using Windows 95, and they might be using the cool new CD-R technology to share content. Broadband wouldnt be around in a real sense for another four years, so sharing data over the web was definitely not the norm.

Websites looked terrible, web design was in its infancy and skills and tools to manage design and build were not yet common. And of course there were no smartphones. In fact, there was no ringtone industry then either which in retrospect, was a blessing! With minimal internet, and nothing spectacular in the way of mobile devices, of course there was no Wi-Fi either.

There were signs of things to come in the air. It was in 1996 that eBay and Ask Jeeves were also started. Globally, in one year, the number of Internet host computers went from 1 million to 10 million. Excitingly for the technology industry, IBM's Deep Blue defeated Chess Champion (and very human) Gary Kasparov. And of course, 1996 was the birth year of Google.

The pace of change picked up massively from this year. Broadband premiered in 1997, and increasingly business saw a digital, online future for the world. Wi-Fi followed in 1999, and the iPod and digital satellite radio followed in 2001. Hosted Microsoft Exchange launched in the early-2000s, and Cobweb provided connectivity and basic hosting from the start for the businesses who were early adopters of the cloud.

Towards the end of the noughties with the advent of the Kindle, iPhone and iPad, cloud services were able to come into their own. Consumers had mobile devices and had been using online services on their PCs for over a decade.

As the technology landscape has matured through mobile connectivity, cloud computing and managed services, entirely new industries have risen as part of the cloud boom, becoming household names or cautionary tales depending on their longevity and success. Who would have thought that an online bookshop would now be one of the biggest cloud service providers!

IT solutions delivered online or over the corporate network have radically transformed how organisations connect with customers, partners and prospects. The digital economy of today is a very different place to the business world of 1996. It has not been an easy or seamless transition. Many industries have been disrupted as they have adapted to the new normal, and some have fallen away completely. In 2016 everything from taxis and take-aways to dating and dog walking can be ordered and managed online, and usually with an app on almost any mobile phone.

Within businesses, colleagues are connected and collaborating like never before. Cloud computing has transformed the workplace in ways that have massively changed the pace of work. Although the dreams of a paperless office havent quite made it (like flying cars or jetpacks) we are now transacting much more business digitally rather than face to face or over the phone. These technologies are really changing industry dynamics. Thats why we see fewer high street banks, and no video rental stores, but lots of self-scanning machines in the supermarket. Consumers like doing more for themselves and it is digital technology that allows all this to happen.

HostingFacts.com predicts that by 2017, there will be more internet traffic than all prior internet years combined, and that by the end of the year Wi-Fi and connected devices will generate 68 per cent of all internet traffic. They say that online retail sales in the UK reached an estimated 52.25 billion in 2015, with the average shopper spending 1,174. Consumers certainly have voted with their feet (or perhaps with their fingers) and definitely their wallets.

Born in the cloud companies are emerging and growing at astounding rates. Established technology providers like Microsoft have pivoted to prioritise cloud services over on-premise solutions, and there is a healthy marketplace of big service providers offering an explosion of -as-a-Service offerings for businesses who need solutions to tough regulatory and operational challenges, including SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, and specific types like BaaS, DRaaS, UCaaS, and many more!

Subscription services like Microsofts Office 365 provide an ever expanding set of capabilities, accessible from the waffle icon, for enterprises of all sizes. No longer is the SMB outclassed by the resources of a large enterprise. The number of quality services grows month on month. And likewise, no longer are larger organisations beaten in the agility stakes by smaller players. Agility and access to technology have been democratised. Increasingly businesses are differentiated on their customer service and creativity rather than ability to transact and process business at a basic level.

And since the 2000s a huge change is that old fashioned telephony has been replaced by cheaper, more convenient solutions such as VoIP and services like Skype for Business, and business teams share information over the likes of Yammer, SharePoint or Workplace by Facebook no matter where or in which time zone they are based. Boundaries have been pushed back and many organisations are no longer limited by borders, access to skills, or language barriers.

Over this period Cobwebs services evolved to encompass hosted email and multi-tenant hosted solutions, and most recently managed cloud services, developing our provisioning, self-care control panels and billing system, key to operational efficiency in a cloud world.

With such a profusion of online activity, it seems that practically overnight IT partners have had to decide how they want their relationships with customers to function in a cloud world. Many IT departments have offloaded functions to automated services and deliver more innovative services than the past keeping the lights on/keeping the emails flowing requirements of the business.

Value-add services have come to define the relationships between IT partners and their business customers. New cloud aggregators have sprung up to serve the reseller market and allow partners to cost effectively provide new services without managing their own data centres or devising their own billing and automation requirements a hugely complex and costly undertaking.

The speed of change is such that its grown increasingly hard for IT service providers to start up in the cloud and meaningfully compete from scratch without turning to packaged services from aggregators who have cracked the difficult tasks of automating service provision, support and billing. You could take a view that we are heading to just three or four computers in the world, with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure leading the way.

Now IT departments and IT partners have a different relationship, based on a value provision rather a simple delivery of equipment and its maintenance. The dynamic matches that of the business users experience of cloud technologies: dynamic, fluid and seamless. Cobweb launched Vuzion, the value-add cloud aggregator in 2016, enabling any IT reseller to easily become a cloud solution provider. With an integrated marketplace of solutions and billing automation and an ecosystem of partners and value adding partner services, it helps any IT provider be up and running with cloud solutions almost instantly.

Cloud technologies are underpinning the digital transformation that most enterprises are going through, and which many SMBs are just starting to explore. The opportunities to respond to customer and market opportunities are bigger now than ever before, but more than ever require an ability to turn technology in to business value. Its a great time to be in technology and at the forefront of an ongoing revolution.

For Cobweb, an upcoming challenge really pushes cloud technologies to the limit, as they look to assist customer Team Britannia, the UKs bid to build the fastest and most fuel-efficient wave-slicing powerboat to circumnavigate the globe. Team Britannia will use Cobwebs cloud services to stay connected to the world, broadcasting the challenges and successes of the gruelling record-setting attempt. Telemetry from the boat will be uploaded, analysed, and visualised in the cloud and the crew will be connected to the outside world with online broadcast capabilities. The plan is to enable up to 10,000 people to simultaneously see and hear broadcasts, with the ability to ask the crew questions in real-time.

After 20 years of working with the cloud, the original promise of a totally connected, anytime, anywhere and however we want it world, is really here.

Michael Frisby, managing director, Vuzion and Cobweb Solutions Image Credit: TZIDO SUN / Shutterstock

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20 years of cloud computing a retrospective - ITProPortal

Organisations based in the US are gearing to spend up to $1.77 M in cloud computing in 2017, while organizations in the rest of world are planning a combined budget of $1.30 M for the same purpose.

Also, 10% of businesses employing more than 1000 workers are estimating to spend at least $10 M on cloud computing apps and platforms in the coming year. The breakdown shows 62% of these organizations are private enterprises, 60% public agencies and 26% are mixed.

Also by 2018, 40% of the typical IT departments will have some of the apps and platforms hosted in on-premise systems. These are the summary of insights a 2016 IDG cloud computing surveyed.

Modern businesses and organisations are adopting multiple cloud models to satisfy their business needs, and turning to web companies for fast and secure website hosting. Hosting and Domain Specialists - Freeparking.co.nz

Google too is getting more aggressive in the Cloud with heavier investments, according to a related study by Deutsche Bank Markets Research. The report, published in November, stated that between 2015 and 2016 alone, Google has made a total financial commitment of over $1 bn in acquisition, including the Apigee deal, as part of its Cloud development drive.

Here are other major insights that will lead the trends in 2017, according to the IDG cloud computing study.

Already, more than a third of businesses have more than 1000 host or two apps or platforms in the cloud today. This figure is set to explode in 2017 with different forms and categories of cloud use. 9 out of 10 organisations either have apps running in the cloud or planning to adopt one in the next 1 to 3 years.

The Cloud has become an integral component of modern and versatile businesses and 2017 is set to see an expanded number and varieties of apps among new and old organisations.

Top on the wanted list of cloud apps by organisations and businesses in 2017, will be business analytics and data management. The survey says that 22% of firms and agencies consider data storage analytics and storage, a priority for their organisations migration plan next year.

In 2017, organisations will invest a total of $1.62 M on cloud computing, while organisations with more than 1000 workers are estimated to spend about $3.03 M. Saas is expected to take up to 45% of this budget, 30% allocated to IaaS and 19% to PaaS.

Total investments in cloud computing by organisations over a period of three years has remained constant, with a spending of $1.62 M in 2014, $1.56 M in 2015 and $1.62 M in 2016.

10% of businesses with more than 1000 employees say that theyre looking to invest more than 10 M or more on cloud computing apps and platforms all through 2017.

The survey found that in less than 2 years from now, more than 28% or one third of respondents, will rely on private clouds as part of their IT infrastructure. Only 22% or a fifth of the organisations will continue on public cloud, while 10% will adopt for a mixed solution. Also, by 2018, 40% of apps and platforms in the average IT department of organisations will reside in on-premise systems.

These in-house IT specialists will take charge of budget and investment decisions, and become more influential, in contrast to the current practice where CEOs and CFOs control investment plans in cloud computing.

The worries, however, will not be limited to companies using public cloud; as even private and hybrid cloud adopters also face the challenges of cloud and vendor security as well as guarantee vendor data protection systems. One major slowdown of private and hybrid cloud users will be a lack of the technical skills to manage and maximize value on cloud investments.

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Analytics and Data Storage Will Dominate Cloud Hosting Adoption in 2017, Says Study - TG Daily (blog)

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ST. CLOUD Nearly 1,500 operation specialists and industry officials are in St. Cloud this week for the 33rd Annual Water & Wastewater Conference at the Rivers Edge Convention Center.

It comes on the heels of Governor Mark Daytons push to address aging water treatment systems, impaired lakes and polluted drinking wells.

Minnesota Rural Water Association Executive Director Ruth Hubbard says there are often no warning signs for these failing systems

A lot of what is involved with the water and wastewater systems is under the earth. You just cant see it. And, those pipes and that infrastructure is failing. When that fails, it is a public health issue.

And, Hubbard says the improvements to these treatment systems are costly

You know you have a water utility, you have a wastewater utility and in most cases you have a storm water utility. So, youre looking at three different entities that have to be upgraded.

Governor Dayton is calling 2017 a Year of Water Action. He says Minnesota is $11-billion behind in just maintaining our aging water treatment and delivery systems over the next 20 years. Dayton says many of the states water treatment systems are in serious disrepair and initial testing indicates 60% of private wells in central Minnesota may not provide safe drinking water.

Hubbard says the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act require oversight on treatment systems and ensure safe drinking water for Minnesotans.

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St. Cloud Hosting Clean Water Conference - WJON News

While Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is not a new concept, very few managed service providers (MSPs) have figured out how to harness VDI to their advantage. But when implemented the right way, VDI offers numerous advantages to both the MSP and end-customers, from reduced costs to enhanced user experience. In addition, MSPs can turn the desktop management experience into a profitable product line.

How is this possible? The first thing to understand is that VDI streamlines desktop management for MSPs. Since the early days of managed services, desktops have typically been a difficult component to manage, and effectiveness, profitability, and efficiency varied greatly from one provider to another. This is because, unlike locked down components like servers, desktops necessarily require a number of interferences by the user such as modifications to settings, applications, local user access permissions, desktop environment changes, security updates, and more. This makes management far more complex, and therefore time- and resource-intensive, for the MSP.

Since we cant very well ask users to give up their ability to control and customize their desktops, we need a better alternative to traditional desktop management that will enable the MSP to drive greater profitability and efficiency. This is where VDI comes in.

Thin Client Computing & RDS

Before we cover the benefits of VDI, its important to understand contextualize our understanding of desktop management. Before VDI became popular, MSPs would provide desktop experiences to their customers via thin client computing. This was done by hosting a version of the desktop on a centralized server, and allowing users to login to that desktop via a remote session.

One of the primary reasons thin client computing never grew in adoption was due to limited bandwidth. While users could access the desktop OS and applications with the security and redundancy of a thin client architecture, the user experience was frequently poor due to bandwidth limitations Now that Internet availability and speeds have dramatically improved, the viability of VDI has transformed. Just look at the overwhelming popularity of public cloud computing solutions like Office 365 and Googles G Suite.

Another early model of desktop access was terminal services (or RDS), which allowed for access and control of a remote computer via an Internet connection. Unfortunately, this proved to be slow and unreliable. All devices are forced to share the same resources, which can create major bottlenecks and thus reduced performance especially if the service provider has an erratic network. In addition, the RDS administrator must be very knowledgeable on the ins and outs of the system, otherwise a system outage could be mean serious problems for the organization.

VDI: Benefits to both the MSP and end-customer

VDI has thus risen to become the ultimate solution for desktop management. In essence, VDI empowers MSPs to manage desktops similarly to how they manage servers. By centralizing desktop software and computing power, VDI enables MSPs to deliver a superior desktop experience without the problems and inefficiencies of traditional desktop management. So not only can MSPs deliver a more powerful, available, and diverse desktop experience to customers, but they can streamline their management of the service tremendously.

The benefits of VDI for the customer also include fully customizable desktop profiles, profile-based application access, data backup and protection, as well as up-to-date security. These kinds of improvements maximize the utility and satisfaction of the user experience, which leads to greater customer satisfaction. For the MSP, the advantages are also numerous: lower administrative, startup, and maintenance costs, decreased impact on the service, higher client capture rates, and a more comprehensive service delivery model (like ITaaS).

How to implement a hosted VDI program

One thing to keep in mind is that some people may have a negative impression of VDI as it usually is complex or difficult to implement. Indeed, many first-time implementations tend to fail due to user experience challenges, performance issues, and cost. However, the key to successful VDI implementation is a proven track record: you can partner with an organization who has already completed and integration the necessary components of a VDI program.

So instead of trying to develop an internal VDI platform which can take up a ton of resources and time you may not have you can deliver hosted VDI through a ready-made platform from a technology partner. This way, you dont need to waste time or resources building VDI from scratch, but you can still retain maximum control over the service delivered to your customers. This kind of hosted option eliminates the technical challenges, added costs, and risks of a custom VDI implementation, while still delivering all of the VDI benefits

Summary

VDI takes all the key lessons learned from server management and applies them to desktop management, turning the desktop into both a lucrative and positive customer experience. Its also a dramatic enhancement to traditional remote monitoring of desktop devices, allowing MSPs to offer significantly improved security, availability, and end-user experiences.

MSPs can leverage and monetize VDI as a service product improvement, as well as a method of lowering desktop management costs. Why not leverage VDI technology to increase your own profitability?

About the author:

A creative technologist with a mind for business, Vadim Vladimirskiy is the head honcho at Adar. Vadims the brains behind the evolution of Nerdio, bringing Streaming IT to the masses that is, small and medium sized organizations.

Charles Weaver is the CEO of MSPAlliance, an international standards and accrediting association for managed IT service providers. He is responsible for growth of membership, expansion of membership services, and strategic targeting of consumer markets for MSPAlliance. members.

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How MSPs Can Monetize Desktop Management with VDI - The VAR Guy