Green Cloud Guiding Your Cloud Journey

Green Cloud Guiding Your Cloud Journey

By Maurice Nagle

The advent of cloud computing was a watershed moment in technology. Over time, as trust and performance have been confirmed in this burgeoning arena of innovation, firms of all sizes are looking to the cloud to improve operations. Firms like Green Cloud Technologies are furthering this trend, as its primary goal is to aid partners in cloud success.

Chairman of Green Cloud Technologies Charles Houser recently carved out some time to talk shop with TMC. Houser will be participating in the upcoming MSP Expo, where he will be leading the session “Finding Your Niche in the Cloud.” Houser’s complete conversation with TMC is below:

TMC: How have technology changes over the past 12 months helped businesses grow?

Charles Houser: Generally speaking, advancements in technology allow companies to do more with less.  Virtual desktops, for example, completely changes the way desktops are managed in a 1: many scenario as opposed to 1:1 traditional management.  This allows companies to reallocate resources and deliver more solutions - or grow - than it could previously.   

What does the term Collaboration mean to your business?

The term is supportive of the tools that we use to collaborate on a daily basis.  For our business right now, the most popular and useful is Slack. 

What elements of Unified Communications are most useful for your company?

All of them! With remote workforces being able to collaborate through many different mediums - audio, video, etc - can be crucial to the success of the company.

Are you leveraging big data/analytics to operate more efficiently?

Yes. We use big data to identify market trends primarily to streamline our partner recruitment process and make it as profitable as possible.  

How can artificial intelligence best be used in business applications?  

That’s an interesting question. Obviously, it been used for years with SPAM filters.  I think it will become big in the IT security space with the rise of DDoS attacks.  

How has the growing number of high-visibility security breaches impacted your outlook on security?  Which breach is of greatest concern?

All of them, but particularly if they are ransomware-related.  They are going to become bigger and more expensive.  Involving the authorities is too time-consuming for most businesses so they pay the ransom to get access to their data more quickly.  It’s a vicious cycle. 

Have you increased your investment in security technology in the past year?  Are you likely to increase your security spend in the next year?  Why or why not?  

Yes and yes.  With the increasing number and size of DDoS attacks we are seeing, we are highly invested in keeping our infrastructure environments protected from them.  

What percentage of your workforce would you consider mobile?  What technology decisions have you made as a result of your mobile workforce, to ensure they have the tools they need to remain productive?

At any given time, up to 40 percent.  We use tools like Salesforce, Slack, video conferencing, VPN tunnels, etc.

To what extent are you using cloud services in your daily business processes?

100 percent.  But we are a cloud service provider.  

Has your use of cloud-based resources increased over the past year?  Do you expect to make more use of cloud computing in the coming year?  Please elaborate.  

Any cloud technology we sell, we use.  For example, all of our employees use virtual desktops hosted in our cloud.

How are you handling shadow IT in your business?

Depending on the platform, we do try to have stakeholders involved. That said, for example, if our sales team needs Salesforce to operate, it is their decision to do so.

How has the growth in the managed services market impacted your business?

Since we partner only with MSPs and VARs to deliver our solution, it provides us with more opportunities. 

Is the cloud / MSP model a realistic one for reliable IT security?

Yes.

Are channel partners keeping up with the latest trends and developments?  Is more education needed and how can they better leverage the latest technologies to grow?

Some are, some aren’t.  It’s really a mix.  If they aren’t presenting the latest technology solutions to their customers, they have to know that someone else will.  We have seen it with the channel partners we work with.  

What is your session at MSP Expo about and who should plan on attending?  Why should this be a must-attend session for the week?

It’s about “Finding Your Niche in the Cloud.”  For those that haven’t yet fully embraced cloud services, this session will deliver strategic ideas to get your cloud business off and running.   

What are you most looking forward to at MSP Expo 2017?

Speaking!

Houser and a host of other industry experts will walk you through the paces at the upcoming event. The cloud is no longer a murky proposition; this nascent area of innovation is integral to the digital transformation at hand and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Tickets are still available for the event, but I wouldn’t wait.

PS: If you’re going to be in town for MSP Expo, ITEXPO is collocated – definitely worth your time. See you there!




Edited by Alicia Young
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