Zetta.net, provider of 3-in-1 hybrid cloud backup, archiving and disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS), has unveiled its new Managed Service Provider (MSP) Marketing Enablement and Lead Generation Program. Designed to accelerate partner success, the program offers multi-tiered support for MSPs based on Zetta.net’s proven methodologies for increasing inbound leads, conversion rates and customer acquisition.

«Marketing practices are experiencing disruptive change,» said Gary Sevounts, vice president of marketing, Zetta.net. «Older techniques such as cold calling, spamming and trade show exhibits yield increasingly less results, require large budgets and waste valuable resources. A majority of IT decision makers are increasingly using search engines, IT communities, peer and media reviews. Zetta.net has embraced the new inbound marketing model, which leads potential customers to our web site through the availability of relevant, educational content – and then they contact us when ready. This approach has generated strong results and we look forward to sharing many of the inbound marketing techniques and best practices responsible for these results, with our partners. We’re confident the program will help them generate interest and strong repeatable leads when marketing and selling Zetta.net’s 3-in-1 Cloud Server Backup and Disaster Recovery service.»

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Cloud enables SMBs to access new, scalable resources – previously only available to enterprises – in flexible and cost-effective ways. McKinsey’s SMB Cloud Report projects the public cloud market to reach $40-$50 billion by 2015, with SMBs comprising 65% of public cloud spending in 2015. But selling cloud to SMBs raises the questions of who, what and how.
In her session at the 12th International Cloud Expo, Manjula Talreja, VP of Cisco’s Global Cloud Business Development Team, will discuss the importance of knowing who SMBs are through market segmentation; understanding what cloud services they will consume; and understanding how best to sell to SMBs and from which channels.

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New cloud-based service leverages applications and insights within Ariba Network to streamline and enhance settlement and reconciliation of business commerce.
Ariba, an SAP Company, and Discover Financial Services has unveiled Ariba Pay. The new service, to be offered by Ariba, is expected to transform B2B payments by eliminating paper transactions, providing better visibility into cash flow, and producing rich remittance information that improves reconciliation processes for buyers and sellers.
AribaPay will provide a way for buyers to create purchase orders, receive invoices, and send payments, while sellers receive more-detailed remittance information in a fast, secure, electronic environment.

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MadeiraCloud, a San Francisco cloud management and visualization start-up, has raised a $1.5 million Series A round from Sequoia Capital’s China Fund that will help get its WYSIWYG SaaS widgetry to launch, a milestone it hopes to hit by the end of the year.
Madeira, which is focused on Amazon Web Services, has a drag-and-drop tool that lets users design, provision, manage and monitor cloud infrastructure resources quickly and easily.
This Visual Cloud Management Platform has been in public beta since last June and CEO Daniel O’Prey says it’s collected thousands of users in ventures from start-ups to teams in large companies across 85 countries.

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Cloud computing is transforming the way businesses think about and leverage technology. As a result, the general understanding of cloud computing has come a long way in a short time. However, there are still many misconceptions about what cloud computing is and what it can do for businesses that adopt this game-changing computing model.
In his General Session at the 12th International Cloud Expo, Gene Eun, Senior Director, Oracle Cloud at Oracle, will discuss and dispel some of the common myths about cloud computing that still exist today. Attendees will learn about the flexibility and choice that cloud can offer so that they can make more informed decisions when choosing cloud for their businesses.

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HIMSS 2013 was a big moment for cloud in healthcare. As a topic of discussion, it was certainly on the lips of many at the show, but increasingly the realities of cost and functionality are pushing direct-to-patient organizations to consider the cloud not only as part of how they run IT, but as the way IT will work moving forward.
Cost savings is only part of the conversation, as is scalability, and mobility. Healthcare organizations are certainly taking advantage of these benefits, though cloud computing has become, in a way, a more fundamental proposition to help solve some of the major issues these companies face.

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Tony Baer, Principal Analyst, Software – Enterprise Solutions

Actian, the vendor formerly known as Ingres, has suddenly put itself on the map through rapid-fire acquisitions of Pervasive Software, ParAccel, and Versant Software. The die was cast more than two years ago with its acquisition of Vectorwise, a fast, single-node analytic database.

Actian’s goal is to assemble a mini-stack that includes a data integration engine and different data platforms for different transactional and analytic use cases. With the acquisitions, Actian winds up with a mix of mature, maintenance-oriented businesses that can contribute cash flow towards developing emerging data platforms for harnessing Big Data.

While Actian has bought its way to a $150m business – big enough to be noticed – its challenge is building critical mass in at least one or two of its product segments.

Deep heritage

Actian, the outgrowth of the Ingres business, has been in search of a high-growth engine …

The best manufacturers I’ve visited this year all share a common attribute: they are obsessed with making themselves as easy as possible to work with from a supply chain, distribution and services standpoint.  Many are evaluating cloud-based manufacturing applications including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and several have adopted cloud-based applications across their companies.

With so much interest, there is much confusion as well.  I recently spoke with Cindy Jutras, founder and CEO of MintJutras.  Her firm has recently completed a survey of SaaS adoption in manufacturing, distribution and other industries.  She found the following:

• 49% of respondents in the manufacturing & distribution industries do not understand the difference between single- and multi-tenant SaaS architectures.  Overall 66% of respondents to the survey did not know.

• SaaS-based applications are 22% of all manufacturing and distribution software installed today, and will grow to 45% within ten years according to MintJutras.

• The three most …

The best manufacturers I’ve visited this year all share a common attribute: they are obsessed with making themselves as easy as possible to work with from a supply chain, distribution and services standpoint.  Many are evaluating cloud-based manufacturing applications including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and several have adopted cloud-based applications across their companies.

With so much interest, there is much confusion as well.  I recently spoke with Cindy Jutras, founder and CEO of MintJutras.  Her firm has recently completed a survey of SaaS adoption in manufacturing, distribution and other industries.  She found the following:

• 49% of respondents in the manufacturing & distribution industries do not understand the difference between single- and multi-tenant SaaS architectures.  Overall 66% of respondents to the survey did not know.

• SaaS-based applications are 22% of all manufacturing and distribution software installed today, and will grow to 45% within ten years according to MintJutras.

• The three most …