About Cranium Solutions

Cranium Solutions’ flagship product, ASAP™ (Automated Security Assessment Program), is the first fully automated end-to-end network security testing solution that runs as a Cloud Based Service.  Businesses can perform simple and automated Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Tests of any systems they have deployed on the GoGrid Cloud. Furthermore, the Cranium Solutions ASAP Service is a GSI based service that can be setup in minutes and requires no configuration by the customer unless they are performing assessments of servers that do not have external IP addresses.

Cranium Solutions on the GoGrid Exchange

There is currently 1 image live on the GoGrid Exchange for Cranium Solutions. It is on a CentOS 5.3 (64 bit) image:

Pricing

The ASAP Service is sold on a prepaid, per-use system, which means customers only have to pay for what they need or expect to use.  To get set up, just click on the “New User” link on the login page once you launch the Image. You will receive a confirmation email after creating your account that allows you to log back in and finish setting things up. On creation you are given 2 free IP credits. You then simply purchase more scan credits using the PayPal button on the login page.

Single device assessment credits are sold through an integrated PayPal system for $15 each, with purchase of credit required prior to the assessment. Blocks of assessment credits are sold at increasing discounts and purchased credits are recorded in the user’s account without expiration or requirement for immediate use. All GoGrid customers that sign up for the ASAP service will be given two free assessment credits after registration for use on two single IP devices.

Cranium Solutions Press Release

The following Press Release was delivered by Cranium Solutions yesterday and is available online as well:

Cranium Solutions Launches Automated Cloud-Based Security Assessment Service on GoGrid

Cranium Solutions ASAP Provides Automated Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Tests of Cloud Deployments

CONCORD, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cranium Solutions, Inc, the creator of ASAP (Automated Security Assessment Program) and a leader in end-to-end automated Security Assessment solutions, today announced the release of its cloud-based Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Test services to GoGrid customers, based on its unique virtual portal delivery technology. The Cranium Solutions ASAP service is now available through the GoGrid Cloud in the form of a Partner GoGrid Server Image, enabling GoGrid customers to instantly deploy the portal and begin running complex security testing of their systems in the GoGrid cloud, including systems on a private internal network. As part of the launch, Cranium Solutions will provide each new GoGrid ASAP customer with 2 free IP assessments.

The Cranium Solutions ASAP service enables customers to quickly and easily identify vulnerabilities on their GoGrid servers, public facing or internal. Once found, vulnerabilities can be validated by performing the integrated Penetration Test to determine if they are truly exploitable or false positives. This comprehensive end-to-end assessment process creates highly accurate technical and executive summary reports, which contain recommended remediation steps. The Cranium Solutions ASAP infrastructure is fully hosted in the GoGrid Cloud, assuring that GoGrid customers will always have the latest updates and features without having to ever load a new version of the Virtual Portal Partner GSI.

“The deployment of the Cranium Solutions Virtual Portal on GoGrid enables GoGrid customers to easily assess and protect their systems, in a way that no other cloud provider can match,” said Mark King, CEO of Cranium Solutions. “Cranium’s Cloud based architecture and delivery system leverage the benefits of cloud computing, allowing us to offer a more comprehensive solution without requiring long-term subscriptions or licenses.”

About GoGrid

GoGrid is a Global Leader in Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure hosting. GoGrid gives users the control of a familiar datacenter environment with the flexibility and immediate scalability of the cloud. For more information, please visit: http://www.GoGrid.com.

About Cranium Solutions

Cranium is privately owned and headquartered in Concord, California. For more information about ASAP and Cranium Solutions, visit: http://www.cranium-solutions.com.

Please be sure to visit the GoGrid Exchange for other solutions that include: Software & Applications, Development & Testing, Disaster Recovery & Backup, Cloud Management, and Security Monitoring & Reporting.

Similar to its predecessor, this webinar covered many aspects of the GoGrid 3.0 release. Presenters were Jeff Samuels, Michael Sheehan and Kole Hicks of GoGrid. The topics we discussed included:

• Overview: Complex Infrastructure Made Easy
• Landscape & GoGrid 3.0: What is the Cloud, GoGrid 3.0 new features
• Partner Ecosystem: Solutions from the GoGrid Exchange
• GoGrid’s Unique Value Proposition: Direction of the GoGrid Cloud

If you were unable to attend this webinar, the full recording is available below as well as on our Vimeo channel:

GoGrid 3.0 Webinar: Learn How You Can Leverage the GoGrid Cloud from GoGrid on Vimeo.

The presentation deck is also embedded below and is similarly available on our SlideShare channel:

We realize that it is very difficult to cover all of the features and services available to GoGrid customers. This webinar obviously only touches upon a few key items. We encourage you to explore the newly redesigned GoGrid website and be sure to contact a Sales Representative should you have any additional questions.

If there are other topics you would like to see covered in future webinars (or blog posts), please leave a comment and let me know.

This webinar was recorded on June 28, 2010, the day of the official release of GoGrid 3.0. Presenters were Mario Olivarez & Justin Kitagawa of GoGrid and Ryan Holland of TrendMicro. The topics included:

• Overview: Complex Infrastructure Made Easy – GoGrid’s unique value proposition
• GoGrid 3.0: The latest version of the GoGrid platform – East Coast demo
• GoGrid Security: New services from Cisco, Fortinet, TrendMicro & Sentrigo
• PCI Compliance: PCI compliance in the GoGrid Cloud – Demo with TrendMicro
• Questions & Answers

I realize that not all GoGrid customers were able to attend this webinar, so I have provided the full recording below (it is also available on our Vimeo channel):

GoGrid 3.0 Webinar: Learn About the GoGrid 3.0 Release & New Datacenter from GoGrid on Vimeo.

Also, for those interested in seeing just the presentation slide deck, that too is available for viewing below (as well as online in our SlideShare channel):

If you have any questions about the content that was covered within this webinar, please leave a comment on this post and I will be sure that it is answered. Also be sure to check the “Webinar” category on the GoGrid blog for past webinars that have been delivered.

Are there any topics you would like covered in future webinars? Please let me know.

The following Press Release was distributed today:

GoGrid Names Mark Worsey Chief Information Officer
Infrastructure and Internet Veteran Joins Cloud Hosting leader

San Francisco, CA – July 21, 2010 – GoGrid, a leading Cloud Infrastructure and Hybrid Hosting Provider, today announced that it has appointed Mark Worsey as Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President of Technology. Worsey brings to the GoGrid team expansive industry expertise ranging from technology platform development to world-wide network operations. Worsey will be responsible for all technological and architectural advancements as well as managing the operating strategies for GoGrid’s products and services.

We’re proud to have Mark’s leadership driving GoGrid’s innovative engineering, technology and operations departments,” said GoGrid CEO & Co-Founder, John Keagy. “We will look to Mark’s technological vision and expertise to enable GoGrid to continue to surpass the expectations of our thousands of customers every day.”

Throughout his career, Worsey has successfully scaled and led numerous technology organizations. Prior to joining GoGrid, he was responsible for worldwide technology operations, customer service and product development as CIO and VP of Technology at a Safeway subsidiary Blackhawk Network, a leading prepaid and gift card payments processing company. Worsey spent 14 years at Anderson Consulting as a leader in its Advanced Technology Group.  He has also held senior technology leadership positions at industry-changing firms including Xign Corporation and Netscape Communications. As the VP of Engineering and Operations at Netscape, Worsey successfully managed and delivered a series of pioneering online services to include MyNetscape, Netcenter and the Netscape General Store through the acquisitions of Netscape by AOL and then Time Warner.

As a CIO myself, I deeply appreciate the need for scalable infrastructure – available on demand – delivered in a way that allows me to reduce spend,” said Worsey. “GoGrid nails this ROI value proposition and feature requirements for its customers better than any other provider in the market.  I’m ecstatic to be working with a fantastic team on delivering the most innovative cloud infrastructure solutions available.”

Worsey holds a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Purdue University.

More information on GoGrid’s thought-leading Executive Team can be found at: http://www.gogrid.com/about/executive-bios.php

About GoGrid

GoGrid is a Global Leader in Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure hosting. GoGrid enables sysadmins, developers, and IT professionals to create, deploy, and control free f5 load balanced cloud infrastructures and complex hosted virtual server networks with full root access/administrative server control. GoGrid physical and virtual server instances maintain industry standard specifications with no requirement to learn proprietary standards. Deploying GoGrid infrastructure takes minutes via a web control panel or GoGrid’s API. GoGrid gives users the control of a familiar datacenter environment with the flexibility and immediate scalability of the cloud. For more information, please visit: http://www.GoGrid.com.

The Press Release is available online on PRWeb as well as on the GoGrid site.

More information about the new datacenter can be found here.

Below is the Press Release that we sent out about the new datacenter:

GoGrid Continues Expansion with New East Coast Data Center

GoGrid Deploys Into Equinix to Meet Customer Demands

San Francisco, CA – June 30, 2010 – GoGrid, a leading Cloud Infrastructure and Hybrid Hosting Provider, announced today the opening of a new GoGrid data center in Ashburn, Virginia. GoGrid has chosen Equinix, Inc (Nasdaq: EQIX), a leading provider of global data center services as its data center partner as it continues to expand operations.

“We’re pleased to announce that GoGrid cloud computing services are now available from within our Ashburn, Virginia campus,” said Vince DiMemmo, general manager of Cloud and IT Services at Equinix. “Infrastructure on-demand is something our customers expect to be able to buy as they architect and deploy their Web and IT applications with us, and we’re pleased to add GoGrid as a cloud computing partner supplier.”

The new GoGrid facility is a comprehensive end-to-end hosting environment solution, complete with state-of-the-art environmental controls, power and security systems, and access to more than 165 network suppliers. Multiple interconnection options enable GoGrid cloud computing services to be readily accessible by its customers.

“The decision to expand GoGrid was a direct response to our customers and the market,” said GoGrid CEO & Co-Founder, John Keagy. “We are successfully executing our expansion strategy and securing an East Coast presence is critical for us to scale and capture a significant piece of the fast growing cloud market. We are very excited to be partnering with a leader like Equinix and deployed within their customer-rich Ashburn campus to help fuel the continued growth of GoGrid.”

GoGrid customers who deploy GoGrid Cloud (virtual) servers in multiple data centers receive a single invoice allowing for simplified financial insight into multiple infrastructure locations. Usage by data center will appear as line-item details. Also, the GoGrid API has been updated to allow for programmatic control of objects and appliances in multiple data centers.

For more information about the new GoGrid 3.0 features and East Coast Datacenter, please visit: http://www.gogrid.com/software-update/.

About Equinix
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) provides global data center services that ensure the vitality of the information-driven world. Global enterprises, content and financial companies, and more than 575 network service providers rely upon Equinix’s insight and expertise to protect and connect their most valued information assets. Equinix operates 87 International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) and partner data centers across 35 metro areas in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Important information about Equinix is routinely posted on the investor relations page of its Web site located at http://www.equinix.com/investors. We encourage you to check Equinix’s website regularly for the most up-to-date information.

About GoGrid
GoGrid makes complex infrastructure easy. GoGrid’s Cloud and Hybrid infrastructure hosting enables sysadmins, developers, and IT professionals to create, deploy, and control free f5 load balanced cloud infrastructures and complex hosted virtual server networks with full root access/administrative server control. GoGrid physical and virtual server instances maintain industry standard specifications with no requirement to learn proprietary standards. Deploying GoGrid infrastructure using a Standard or Partner Server Image takes minutes via a web control panel or GoGrid’s API. GoGrid gives users the control of a familiar datacenter environment with the flexibility and immediate scalability of the cloud.

For more information:
Product site: http://www.GoGrid.com

# # #

For the Press Release archive, please visit the GoGrid site.

Below is the full content of the newsletter:

Hello,

It’s been a busy start to the first half of the year for us at GoGrid. We’re excited to fill you in on all of our important news and how we’ve been working to make your GoGrid cloud even better. From opening a new East Coast data center to our release of GoGrid version 3.0, you’ll find this newsletter full of information on how you can enhance and expand your GoGrid cloud.

Specific topics include:

• New East Coast Data Center
• GoGrid 3.0
• GoGrid’s Leadership Team
• CloudHarmony Benchmarks
• New GoGrid Website
• Partner News
• Events and Other News

NEW EAST COAST DATA CENTER

We’re thrilled to announce our new East Coast (US-East-1) data center in Ashburn, VA. Our expansion to the East Coast has been in development for several months and is available now. All of our GoGrid data center locations are SAS70 Type II certified and Cisco Powered Networks.

Data Center Locations:

• West Coast (US-West-1): San Francisco, CA
• East Coast (US-East-1): Ashburn, VA

Virtual servers with GoGrid base images are available for immediate deployment at the US-East-1 data center; additional features will be launched in subsequent releases. You can use the GoGrid portal or API to provision virtual servers in real time, and in either of our locations; US-West-1 or US-East-1.

GOGRID 3.0

You’ll notice that throughout the newsletter we’ll be talking about making complex infrastructure easy and that’s really the goal of GoGrid version 3.0. In addition to continually enhancing our product offering, we’ve also been listening to you – our customers – and developing features that make creating a complex IT infrastructure in the GoGrid cloud easy.

Some of the new features and system enhancements you’ll recognize from previous newsletters, however, the culmination of all the hardware architecture and feature development make up GoGrid version 3.0. While each of our releases contain many features and improvements, the timeline below represents those that can help you make an immediate impact on how you leverage your GoGrid cloud.

GoGrid 3.0 Timeline: Complex Infrastructure Made Easy

• June 2010 New East Coast Data Center – GoGrid partners with Equinix, Inc (Nasdaq: EQIX) in the expansion to a new data center in Ashburn, VA. The initial rollout enables you to provision cloud servers in real-time and in either location Us-East-1 or US-West-1.
• May 2010 GoGrid Node Hardware and increased CPU allocations – All GoGrid data centers are updated and outfitted with the latest Intel Nehalem chipset architecture which allows for 25-50% more CPU for virtual servers. Cloud Servers also now have greater CPU allocations. See the blog posting.
• April 2010 Hardware Firewalls – Firewall services are introduced allowing you to manage security for your GoGrid VLAN from a single device.
• February 2010 Virtual & Physical Servers – The ability to create a hybrid IT infrastructure with virtual and physical servers within the same environment becomes available.
• November 2009 GoGrid Exchange – GoGrid introduces the GoGrid Exchange with new Partner Server Images (PGSIs). PGSIs provide a variety of software solutions deployed as software server images for common business challenges including: Software & Applications, Development & Testing, Disaster Recovery & Backup, Cloud Management, and Security, Monitoring & Reporting.
• November 2009 Content Delivery Network – GoGrid CDN is rolled out, allowing you to accelerate the delivery of all your web content using our global infrastructure.

GOGRID’S LEADERSHIP TEAM

Not only have we been enhancing our product offering, but, we’ve also been expanding our GoGrid leadership team. With a keen eye to selecting industry pioneers with proven track records, we’d like to introduce you to the newest members of our leadership team and formally introduce you to all of our GoGrid executives.

New Members of the Executive Team

• Jeff Samuels, CMO
• Mark Worsey, CIO and EVP of Technology

Executive Team

• John Keagy, Founder and CEO
• Brett Newsom, CFO
• Jeff Samuels, CMO
• Mark Worsey, CIO and EVP of Technology
• Jack Duffy, EVP of Sales and Business Development
• Paul Lappas, VP of Engineering
• Mario Olivarez, VP of Product Management
• Bobby Brown, VP of Operations and Support

Learn more about each of our executives on the GoGrid website.

CLOUDHARMONY BENCHMARKS

CloudHarmony just announced the results of the first industry wide test of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers. In the recently published Input/Output (I/O) Cloud Performance report, GoGrid Cloud Servers dramatically outperform most other cloud vendors in the marketplace.

GoGrid Benchmark Results:

• GoGrid’s 4 GB RAM cloud server benchmark performed best with input/output performance (IOP) of 161.14. This was over 50% faster than Amazon’s equivalent cloud server which had an IOP of 104.36
• Our 4 GB RAM cloud server was almost twice as fast as RackSpace’s equivalent cloud server which had an IOP of 86.75

Read the GoGrid blog for more details on the methodology and results.

NEW GOGRID WEBSITE

Our GoGrid website has been completely overhauled. Easily navigate to find product information, pricing plans and case studies to help enhance your GoGrid cloud. Explore the new site www.gogrid.com.

PARTNER NEWS

Did you know that a partner image (PGSI) can be provisioned in minutes, drastically reducing the time it takes to get new applications up and running in the cloud? As a GoGrid user, you have full access to any public PGSI within the GoGrid catalog of images. Detailed partner information, as well as descriptions of the available PGSIs can be found on the GoGrid Exchange.

The following images are NEW to the GoGrid Exchange.

• SNORT IDS/IPS – Snort® is an open source network intrusion prevention and detection system (IDS/IPS) developed by Sourcefire. There is an additional charge of $29/month per instance of this deployed. It gets the user access to updated rules via Sourcefire.
• MediaWiki – MediaWiki is a wiki package originally written for Wikipedia. It is now used by several other projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation and by many other wikis. MediaWiki was designed to be run on a large server farm for a website that gets millions of hits per day.
• JasperServer – JasperServer Community Edition, the open source report server, built by the developers of JasperReports, the leading open source reporting library. It provides a web and web services based environment for reporting and dashboards.
• Spree – The most powerful and flexible E-Commerce platform for the Ruby Enterprise. Spree.
• Coppermine – Coppermine is a multi-purpose, full-featured web picture gallery script written in PHP using GD or ImageMagick as image library with a MySQL backend.
• Rubystack – Ruby on Rails is a full-stack MVC framework for database-backed web applications that is optimized for programmer happiness and sustainable productivity. It lets you write beautiful code by favoring convention over configuration.
• LAPPstack – Includes ready-to-run versions of Apache, PostgreSQL, PHP and phpPgAdmin and required dependencies. LAPPstack
• Librato Silverline – Silverline allows you to process your workload on a smaller number of servers without any impact on the Quality of Service provided by your primary applications.
• Sentrigo Hedgehog – Hedgehog Cloud-Based Database Compliance and Security Suite.

OTHER NEWS AND EVENTS

• Structure 2010 hosted by GigaOm – GoGrid was a sponsor at the annual Structure conference hosted by GigaOm on June 23 and 24.GigaOm/Structure
• GoGrid Named One of The “Hottest Companies in San Francisco” by Lead411Read more on our blog
• GoGrid named “Best Cloud Computing Provider” for May and June 2010 by HostReview.com Read more.
• ASCII Awards GoGrid “Best Channel Incentives.” Find our more on our blog.

As always you can find more information about GoGrid at:

• GoGrid Product Site – www.gogrid.com
• GoGrid Blog – blog.gogrid.com
• GoGrid Wiki – wiki.gogrid.com
• GoGrid Forums – forums.gogrid.com

If you have any questions please contact me directly at Maria[at]gogrid.com.

Thank you,
Maria Gallegos

I told you we were busy! Please don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@GoGrid) as well as become a fan of us on Facebook. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. We hope you enjoy all of the great news coming from our San Francisco headquarters.

This post will not be about the nitty-gritty details of the release as there will be several other posts that touch on all of the activities going on at GoGrid. To provide some guidance though, here’s what I’m going to briefly cover:

• New GoGrid Product Site
• Webinar for New GoGrid Customers
• High-level Overview of GoGrid 3.0 Features
• Copy of Press Release on GoGrid 3.0

There are many ways to get more information about this release and what it can do for you as someone shopping for Cloud Infrastructure or already using the GoGrid Cloud. One of the best ways is to talk to a GoGrid Sales Representative as they have great ways to choose the right GoGrid infrastructure solution for you. You can call them at: 1.877.946.4743 (US & Canada) or 1.415.869.7444 (Worldwide). Or we typically have 24×5 Live Sales Chat & Contact forms available here.

New GoGrid Site

Before I dive into the items that make up this important feature and service release, I also want to point out that we have completely updated the GoGrid Product site.

We have revamped the look and feel and drastically updated the content and organization. The primary sections of the site are:

• Cloud Hosting – http://www.gogrid.com/cloud-hosting/
• Support – http://www.gogrid.com/support/
• Partners – http://www.gogrid.com/partners/
• About Us – http://www.gogrid.com/about/
• Sign Up - http://www.gogrid.com/signUp/

You will notice that many of the top navigation menus now have content within them.

For example, within the Cloud Hosting section, you will find the following subsections:

• What is GoGrid?
• NEW Case Studies
• Infrastructure Components
• Pricing
• Included Features
• Add-on Features

The Support Section contains Support and other Online Resources to make your GoGrid experience and education thereof even better.

The Partner section discusses the various Partner Programs available as well as shows the numerous GoGrid Exchange solutions that you can use to make your infrastructure within the GoGrid cloud even more robust.

The About section actually pulls in the latest GoGrid Blog posts as well as gives more details about the Company as a whole, upcoming Events/Webinars, Press Coverage and Press Releases and Careers at GoGrid (YES, we are HIRING!).

Lastly, you can Sign Up for GoGrid quickly and easily. All that you need is a Credit Card.

Be sure to take a quick look around the new product site. We are definitely pleased with how it turned out!

Upcoming GoGrid Webinar

Whether you are new to Cloud Computing, the GoGrid Cloud or an existing GoGrid user, we understand that with every release, you have questions. Well we have answers for you! To that end, we have set up a webinar for new GoGrid users.

If you are NEW to GoGrid, I recommend that you register and attend the “Complex Infrastructure Made Easy: Learn How You Can Leverage the GoGrid Cloud“:

• Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2010
• Time: 11:00 am PDT
• Summary:
  • Learn about the enhanced offerings included in the GoGrid 3.0 release and how they can help your business.
  • Understand how GoGrid’s robust partner ecosystem can help you leverage the GoGrid cloud.
  • Discover how GoGrid customers are expanding their cloud environment with our partners and the GoGrid Exchange.
• Details & Registration: http://go.gogrid.com/event_29_june_2010

We definitely hope that you can attend the webinar. If you miss it, don’t worry as we will be posted it and others later. And we do plan on having more webinars in the future.

High-Level Overview of GoGrid 3.0 Features

As I mentioned in my “Sneak Peak” post there are several important items that make up this release, specifically:

• New East Coast Datacenter
• New GoGrid Node hardware
• New CPU and Hard Drive allocations
• Cloud-like Physical Server deployments
• GoGrid Content Delivery Network (CDN)
• More Actionable & Usable List view of GoGrid virtual & physical appliances and networks
• New Pre-Paid and volume-licensing pricing plans
• Robust Partner Ecosystem with the GoGrid Exchange & Partner Server Images (PGSIs)
• Physical & Virtual Hardware Firewalls
• Updated GoGrid API
• Edit Load Balancer API support
• Custom Server Images (MyGSIs)
• Dynamically Scalable Cloud Storage

Critical components of the GoGrid 3.0 launch include:

• New East Coast Datacenter – GoGrid has partnered with Equinix, Inc (Nasdaq: EQIX) in the expansion to a new datacenter in Ashburn, VA which allows for GoGrid to have multiple points of presence in the continental United States. The initial rollout will allow for the provisioning of cloud servers within the new datacenter and with new appliances being rolled out shortly thereafter.

• New GoGrid Node hardware – the new GoGrid East Coast datacenter has been outfitted with the latest Intel Nehalem chipset architecture which allows for 25-50% more CPU for select virtual servers. Cloud Servers now have equal CPU-to-RAM ratios which means better performance across the board.

• Virtual & Physical Server deployments – GoGrid sets the standard for “hybrid hosting” by allowing customers to deploy Cloud Servers and Dedicated Servers within the same infrastructure. The ability to mix and match virtual and physical appliances within the same environment enables never before seen flexibility that maintain cloud characteristics.

• Growing Partner Ecosystem – GoGrid continues to expand its rich and robust Partner ecosystem called the GoGrid Exchange with new and updated Partner Server Images (PGSIs). PGSIs provide a variety of software solutions deployed as software server images for common business challenges including: Software & Applications, Development & Testing, Disaster Recovery & Backup, Cloud Management, and Security, Monitoring & Reporting.

Press Release on GoGrid 3.0

Lastly, below is the GoGrid Press Release that came out today:

GoGrid Unveils Next Generation of Cloud Infrastructure Hosting Service

Market and Customer Demand Drives GoGrid 3.0

San Francisco, CA – June 29, 2010 – GoGrid, a leading Cloud Infrastructure and Hybrid Hosting Provider, today announced the release of GoGrid Version 3.0. GoGrid 3.0 is designed to extend the company’s leadership position as the most flexible, secure, easy-to-use, and feature-rich Cloud Infrastructure Hosting Solution available. The release includes a number of security and management features designed to enable GoGrid customers to create innovative and compelling infrastructure solutions for their business needs.

GoGrid has been on the leading edge of the cloud market helping company’s like Gomez utilize the  power of cloud computing to transform our infrastructure,” said Colin Mason, Reality Load Product Manager of Gomez, the Web Performance Division of Compuware (NASDAQ: CPWR). “GoGrid delivers outstanding performance and flexibility as Cloud Infrastructure provider. With GoGrid 3.0′s features and new datacenter, we can further integrate the cloud into our business processes.”

GoGrid’s suite of features and services provide the Cloud Computing marketplace with a unique blend of compelling infrastructure solutions. The launch of 3.0 is an important step in realizing GoGrid’s vision of making complex infrastructures easier.

There are many features of GoGrid version 3.0 that will put more flexibility, control, and customizable computing power in the hands of customers. Some of these include:
•    a new East Coast datacenter
•    new CPU and hard drive allocations
•    industry-leading  pre-paid and volume licensing pricing plans and,
•    physical and virtual hardware firewalls for enhanced security.

For a full list of new features please visit http://www.gogrid.com/software-update

GoGrid has continually brought to market pioneering services that help businesses of all sizes seize the tremendous opportunity of cloud hosting.” said GoGrid CEO & Co-Founder, John Keagy. “Our latest release is a significant step forward in our efforts to make complex infrastructure extremely easy in the GoGrid Cloud. From the new East Coast Datacenter to our unique hybrid hosting solution, GoGrid 3.0 epitomizes GoGrid’s mission to handle the infrastructure for clients, so they can focus on their business.”

GoGrid will be hosting a webinar for new comers to Cloud Computing and the GoGrid Cloud on June 29th at 11:00am PDT. To sign up for the webinar, please visit: http://go.gogrid.com/event_29_june_2010.

About GoGrid
GoGrid makes complex infrastructure easy. GoGrid’s Cloud and Hybrid infrastructure hosting enables sysadmins, developers, and IT professionals to create, deploy, and control free f5 load balanced cloud infrastructures and complex hosted virtual server networks with full root access/administrative server control. GoGrid physical and virtual server instances maintain industry standard specifications with no requirement to learn proprietary standards. Deploying GoGrid infrastructure using a Standard or Partner Server Image takes minutes via a web control panel or GoGrid’s API. GoGrid gives users the control of a familiar datacenter environment with the flexibility and immediate scalability of the cloud.

For more information:
Product site: http://www.GoGrid.com

Pretty exciting stuff! If you have any questions about this new GoGrid release, please be sure to leave a comment on this post or contact one of our Sales Representatives.

And lastly, we want to introduce you to our new Unique Value Proposition: “Complex Infrastructure Made Easy™”.

We sent out the following Press Release today announcing the results of this independent, third-party study:

New Cloud Benchmarking Report Shows GoGrid at the Forefront

CloudHarmony’s Benchmarking report grades performance of cloud providers

San Francisco, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) June 22, 2010 — Performance benchmarking site, CloudHarmony, (www.cloudharmony.com) has just announced the results of the first industry wide test of Cloud Computing providers. In the recently published Input/Output (I/O) Cloud Performance report, GoGrid, a leading Cloud and Hybrid Hosting provider, proved that its Cloud Servers can dramatically outperform most other cloud vendors in the marketplace. Choosing the right cloud provider can be very complicated, and independent measurements of performance can make it easier for customers.

In summary, GoGrid servers delivered substantially more I/O and at a substantially lower cost. Using a methodology that established a performance metric for Input/Output Performance (IOP), and set the baseline average at 100, CloudHarmony then tested 19 cloud and VPS providers to see how they measured up.

GoGrid’s 4 GB RAM virtual server benchmark performed best with IOP of 161.14. This was over 50% faster than Amazon’s equivalent server which had an IOP of 104.36, and it was almost twice as fast as RackSpace’s equivalent virtual server which had an IOP of 86.75. And this performance came at a far lower cost. In fact, the entry level 1GB cloud server offering from GoGrid outperformed all of the Amazon and Rackspace server offerings.

We’re extremely pleased to give cloud computing customers a neutral, third-party, data-driven analysis to make choosing the right provider easier,” said Jason Read, Founder of CloudHarmony. “There are a lot of providers and a lot of claims; our goal is to provide independent, objective and un-biased performance metrics using transparent criteria.”

CloudHarmony’s IOP is calculated using 7 disk I/O performance benchmarks, including Blogbench, Bonnie++, Dbench, Flexible IO Tester, hdparm, IOzone and Threaded I/O Tester. Thereafter, the baseline aggregate scores are used to calculate the IOP.

Three of the four GoGrid server configurations utilized GoGrid’s new Intel Nehalem processor nodes which produced well above the baseline established by CloudHarmony, including the 4GB cloud server which was the #2 performer in the entire test with a benchmark that was 60% better than baseline. However, all four configurations tested performed markedly above the baseline. GoGrid’s pricing is based on the amount of RAM utilized by a Cloud server, with pricing as low as $0.05/GB/hr.

We are pleased cloud infrastructure users can finally get third party benchmarking results” said John Keagy, CEO of GoGrid, “The CloudHarmony benchmarks show some unfortunate variability among vendors and we hope that new users of cloud infrastructure will consult with these benchmarks so that their first experiences are strongly positive.”

About GoGrid
GoGrid makes complex infrastructure easy. GoGrid’s Cloud and Hybrid infrastructure hosting enables sysadmins, developers, and IT professionals to create, deploy, and control free f5 load balanced cloud infrastructures and complex hosted virtual server networks with full root access/administrative server control. GoGrid physical and virtual server instances maintain industry standard specifications with no requirement to learn proprietary standards. Deploying GoGrid infrastructure using a Standard or Partner Server Image takes minutes via a web control panel or GoGrid’s API. GoGrid gives users the control of a familiar datacenter environment with the flexibility and immediate scalability of the cloud.

As we hear about other benchmarking studies, we will be sure to notify GoGrid users of them. They are an important way to compare various cloud providers side by side. Just remember that sometimes you need to look beyond benchmarks alone and look at features and services as well.

About Sentrigo

Sentrigo Hedgehog Enterprise Database Activity Monitoring and Compliance solutions, as well as the Hedgehog vPatch software for virtual patching are now available within the GoGrid Cloud. Hedgehog Enterprise and vPatch provide customers with the highest level of database security for compliance to protect sensitive information in Microsoft, Oracle, Sybase and shortly MySQL databases deployed within their GoGrid Cloud. Hedgehog Enterprise allows customers to monitor and log all database access to meet key compliance requirements, including PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and more.  Hedgehog vPatch protects databases that cannot have vendor patches installed in a timely manner (for example, because applications have not yet been tested), allowing customers to meet their IT governance policies, thus preventing exploits of known vulnerabilities.

Sentrigo on the GoGrid Exchange

There are currently 3 images on the GoGrid Exchange for Sentrigo:

Sentrigo mages are available on Windows 2008 Server and CentOS 5.3 currently.

Sentrigo Press Release

The following Press Release was issued by Sentrigo and is available below as well as online:

Sentrigo Partners with GoGrid to Provide Database Security on Cloud Computing Platform

Hedgehog Enterprise and vPatch compliance solutions available for immediate installation via GoGrid Exchange

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Sentrigo, Inc., the innovator in database security software, today announced that Sentrigo Hedgehog Enterprise and vPatch are now available for installation on GoGrid’s cloud computing infrastructure for database audit, protection and breach prevention. By leveraging Sentrigo’s database compliance and security solutions, organizations can implement cloud computing on GoGrid while addressing concerns regarding protection of sensitive data as well as issues related to compliance audits for key industry regulations.

As a greater number of applications move to cloud computing, organizations that manage their databases in virtual environments increase their risk of exposing highly-sensitive data to a broad base of internal and external attacks. Many organizations find it challenging to ensure compliance and protection when they have full control over the data within their own networks, let alone when deploying it in the cloud. Only Sentrigo’s host-based software approach monitors and audits data access from the inside of each database virtual server, allowing efficient operation in distributed, virtualized environments.

“The appeal of cloud computing is clear – with benefits that include reduced acquisition and operating costs for IT, greater flexibility and scalability of the infrastructure – it is not surprising that cloud technology deployments are increasing at a considerable rate,” said Slavik Markovich, CTO and co-founder of Sentrigo. “Yet, for many organizations, the critical applications that would potentially benefit most from a move to the cloud cannot be deployed without first overcoming a key obstacle – compliance with data privacy and security regulations.”

The combination of Sentrigo Hedgehog and GoGrid enables customers to deploy applications in the cloud environment, including those with sensitive data that may be subject to compliance standards – providing a layer of protection from external threats while also enabling a full audit of privileged insiders. Hedgehog provides canned compliance templates for SOX, PCI-DSS, SAS70, HIPAA, and more, that allow GoGrid users to quickly and easily satisfy regulatory requirements. As part of the combined solution, the monitoring and management console can be hosted either in the GoGrid cloud, or behind the customer’s firewall, where compliance and security events or audit reports can be sent securely over the WAN regardless of the physical location of the virtual infrastructure. By leveraging the pre-built Hedgehog images in the GoGrid Exchange, installation takes only a few minutes, and then Hedgehog begins auditing and protecting databases immediately.

“Sentrigo’s Hedgehog works well in the dynamic, distributed environment of our customer’s cloud computing infrastructure by providing full visibility into database activity regardless of where the data lies,” said John Keagy, GoGrid CEO and Co-Founder. “The combination of the Sentrigo and GoGrid technologies is a natural fit for our respective companies, and more importantly for customers looking to leverage the benefits of cloud computing technology with the assurance their data is protected by the best-in-breed database security solution currently available on the market.”

GoGrid customers can install a 14-day trial of Sentrigo’s Hedgehog Enterprise from the GoGrid Exchange Web site at: http://exchange.gogrid.com/. Hedgehog Enterprise is also available for purchase directly from Sentrigo.

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About GoGrid

GoGrid makes complex infrastructure easy. GoGrid’s Cloud and Hybrid infrastructure hosting enables sysadmins, developers, and IT professionals to create, deploy, and control free f5 load balanced cloud infrastructures and complex hosted virtual server networks with full root access/administrative server control. GoGrid physical and virtual server instances maintain industry standard specifications with no requirement to learn proprietary standards. Deploying GoGrid infrastructure using a Standard or Partner Server Image takes minutes via a web control panel or GoGrid’s API. GoGrid gives users the control of a familiar datacenter environment with the flexibility and immediate scalability of the cloud. For more information, please visit: http://www.GoGrid.com.

About Sentrigo

Sentrigo is a recognized innovator in database security solutions, offering a full suite of products for vulnerability assessment, virtual patching and database monitoring/auditing. The company’s flagship product, Hedgehog Enterprise, provides Database Activity Monitoring (DAM) and real-time Intrusion Prevention, protecting sensitive data from external threats and misuse by privileged insiders. Hedgehog can be quickly and easily deployed at small and midsize organizations, and scales to handle the largest enterprises, providing full visibility into all database activity and allowing enterprises to enforce security policy and comply with regulatory requirements, such as PCI DSS, Sarbanes-Oxley, and HIPAA. The company has won wide acclaim for its technology leadership from publications such as Network World and SC Magazine, and recently received the 2010 Global Product Excellence Award for Database Security from Info Security Products Guide. For additional information and to download Hedgehog, visit www.sentrigo.com.

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We encourage you to visit the GoGrid Exchange where you can find many other Partner Images available for other GoGrid Infrastructure solutions.

The ASCII Success Summit was attended by about 130 IT resellers that sell into the SME market and about 30 vendors. GoGrid announced our Premier channel program that provided the resellers the opportunity to get involved with an IaaS provider that really understands their reselling business. GoGrid offers a program that provides for a true partnership between the reseller and the vendor by helping evolve their business into a cloud services model versus asking them to make wholesale changes to their business strategy as most vendors do. Our lucrative discount strategy, joint marketing incentives and deal registration programs provide the business tools that resellers need in order to make this transition into IaaS business.

The main focus of the show was Cloud Services. Most resellers were highly interested in the space but, confused as to how to go about getting a piece of this growing market segment. The overall message was that up to 30% of their legacy infrastructure and software business was going to go away in place of as a service type business. Resellers wanted to know what role they had in this market and how they were going to make money by participating.

Reid Cooper, Sr. Channel Account Manager at GoGrid, represented GoGrid at the show and helped GoGrid secure the “Best Channel Incentives” award.

The Channel Incentive Award was given to GoGrid because of the consensus of the reseller community that GoGrid had the best overall channel program and sales incentives at the show. Our 50% discount for Premier Partners, joint marketing activities investment and deal registration program combined, provided the best in class and resonated well with the reseller community.

Reid also sat on a advisory panel at the event with three other vendors including Google titled, “Cloud Consulting… The Conversation You Need to Have Now With Your Clients” which was moderated by Gennifer Biggs, Managed Services Editor of Business Solutions.

About The ASCII Group

The ASCII Group, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is the world’s oldest and largest group of independent computer solution providers and integrators. Their members provide products and services to clients ranging from small and medium businesses, to Fortune 500 companies, as well as governments and educational institutions in the United States, Canada, the UK and other countries. The ASCII community members sales are over $9.5 Billion in the U.S. alone!

The ASCII Group’s focus remains the same — providing solution providers with the tools necessary to survive and grow in the competitive technology market. These tools include leveraged purchasing programs both through major computer products distributors and direct with manufacturers; education and training; knowledge sharing amongst peers; sizeable discounts on business services such as errors and omissions/business liability insurance; and a worldwide locator which allows customers to find a local independent solution provider.