With a new service to help small businesses craft and deliver email campaigns, Pitney Bowes Inc. is exploiting the emerging acceptance of cloud computing in hopes of extending its reach within businesses large and small.
Under the paradigm of cloud computing, which is fast becoming mainstream, businesses have the opportunity to access software applications over the Internet, which brings efficiencies in not having to administer applications on individual computers; and allowing for remote access from any machine.
In June, New York City”™s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center hosts Cloud Expo New York, which will feature more than 200 exhibitors.
In March, Pitney Bowes Inc. revealed a cloud-based set of services dubbed pbSmart, with the initial application allowing users to affix postage and labels to mailings from any computer. Its newest feature allows customers to create email campaigns and newsletters using templates, and push them through social media channels like Facebook while measuring their impact.
In a campaign to seize the high ground in cloud computing, IBM Corp. devoted the first half of April to outlining its recent product lines and initiatives ”“ including its sponsorship of the Cloud Standards Customer Council under the Needham, Mass.-based nonprofit Object Management Group, which is working to prioritize issues such as management and security.
“IBM is asking for client feedback regarding their direction and priorities around cloud standards development,” said Angel Diaz, vice president of IBM”™s software standards unit. “This council is designed to focus on the reality of what provides the greatest cloud computing benefits for clients. Ultimately, this effort is about how organizations can use what they have today and extend their business – using open standards – to get the greatest benefits from cloud.”
Cloud computing traces its technical lineage through earlier “software as a service” offerings. In 2007, IBM and Google Inc. teamed on a cloud-computing research project, and two years later IBM established its first set of commercial services based on the technology, run from a server farm in Southbury.
Many of Google”™s features, including its Google Docs document and spreadsheet application, are considered cloud-computing applications. Not to be outdone, Microsoft Corp. opened a public beta test of its proposed “Office 365” cloud-computing application based on its Microsoft Office applications.
In January, Stamford-based Gartner Inc. published a survey of chief information officers who identified cloud computing as their top priority in 2011, ahead of virtualization and mobile technologies. At that point, just 3 percent of CIOs polled had a majority of their information technology “running in the cloud” ”“ but more than 40 percent said they planned to be there within four years.
In its own study released this month through its TPI subsidiary, the Stamford-based outsourcing consulting company Information Services Group said many clients expect to adopt cloud computing in the near future, and want outsourcing contracts to reflect timeframes for provisioning them. ISG added that varying IT service providers continue to scout acquisition targets that can enhance their cloud portfolios.
One of those deals occurred in early April, as Long Island-based CA Technologies acquired Base Technologies, which has carved out a base providing consulting services to federal agencies moving applications to a cloud architecture, as well as state-based organizations such as the New York State Department of Transportation and its 511 NY Rideshare carpool program.
