Amazon Web Services AWS Basic and Premium Support

August 29th, 2011 Posted in Amazon, Ira Bell, New York City
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Hello,

As we were working through an issue with one of our clients this morning, we realized that Amazon charges a fee structure for technical support. When you visit https://aws.amazon.com/support, you’re provided the opportunity to sign up for premium support or try your chances at three options:

So essentially what that means if you don’t have a premium support subscription is, (1) hopefully someone has raised the same issue you have in the forums, (2) hopefully Amazon has already thought of the issue you’re encountering, or (3) hopefully the very basic service dashboard points to something which is inhibiting your progress.

At the time of this writing, Amazon has created a four tier model for the premium support. It seems rather costly from our perspective. I do understand the need for cloud companies to created a structured support system – but its quite ridiculous that you must pay $49 a month to send an email to amazon support and actually get a response. You probably don’t want to know what it will cost to get someone on the phone over there for an issue. Go ahead, have a look for yourself at this link: http://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/

Amazon is a company which is usually cutting edge and one in which I look up to. This is a bad play.

- Ira Bell

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Cloud Computing – How Do I Get in the Cloud?

June 29th, 2011 Posted in Amazon, Cloud Computing, John Shaw, Microsoft Online
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As the diagram above shows, the cloud is not quite so simple as first appears! To connect your business to the cloud, you would need to deal with Google, Amazon or Microsoft, as they are the main service providers. As the diagram shows using Google as an example, the service providers offers what is called PaaS, or Platform as a Service, which is the same as saying service provider.

However, rather than dealing directly with Google, Microsoft or Amazon, it is better to employ an IT service company specializing in cloud computing. There are now dozens of these companies. Be careful about their expertise, though. You would need to know how much of your business relies on Microsoft software, how much on Google (I’m not just talking about Google searches) and how much on Amazon (I’m not just talking about buying books and CDs!). If it turns out you primarily use Microsoft – as many businesses do – you will do best by contacting a Microsoft Gold Partner, who can then do an assessment of your business needs in terms of gaining access to ‘the cloud.’

Cloud computing is the future of IT, and if you do business on the Internet, your revenue will ultimately benefit from gaining access to the cloud early. The trickiest part remains, of course – starting to understand the technology involved!

For more information about how to integrate your business in the cloud, please contact Nimbo at info@Nimbo.com or visit the website at www.Nimbo.com.

- John Shaw

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How Does My Business Access the Cloud?

June 29th, 2011 Posted in Amazon, Cloud Computing, Ira Bell, Microsoft Online
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An alternative to the common ‘cloud’ diagram is the above 5-point platform, showing how your business is connected to the main server. You are the client. The application is the kind of software you use to gain access to the platform – somewhat like using Facebook or Twitter to gain access to the main Facebook or Twitter site, which acts as the platform.

However, behind the scenes the controllers of Facebook or Twitter (men in dark suits in shady underground bunkers) operate what is known as the “infrastructure.” This is most likely what your business is lacking in gaining access to the cloud. This is where IT cloud specialists can help – they would do an initial assessment of your company’s needs, part of which is to assess where you host the infrastructure. Your main computer systems will either be hosted ‘on-premise’ (within your business, and thereby carrying associated costs) or otherwise partly – and this is the movement of the future – off-site, where everyone can do business together. The idea of the cloud is to get EVERYONE doing more business together off-site, with real time access to the internet.

The server is merely the central point of location in the cloud – run by Amazon, Google or Microsoft – but in order to gain access to the server, you need to clarify the kind of infrastructure you’re using. An IT company can make this transition smoother – and also work backwards from this infrastructure connection, to the platform you use, and the various applications your business requires – so you can do more business, more often, and more effectively.

Hence, cloud computing clients don’t usually own the physical infrastructure. Instead, they avoid capital expenditure by renting from a third-party provider. The business model is analogous to how electricity is provided, employing a utility computing model, while others charge on a subscription basis. Basically, everyone wins in this dynamic – the providers get more traffic (saving on hours when computers are idle) and the client gets a cheaper way of access to ‘the business cloud,’ without maintaining its own infrastructure, such as hardware servers, storage, etc.

For more information about how to integrate your business in the cloud, please contact Nimbo at info@Nimbo.com or visit their website at www.Nimbo.com.

- Ira Bell

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