GoGrid was a sponsor and exhibitor at the recent Structure 2010, a Cloud Computing industry event that took place on June 23 & 24 in San Francisco.

The event topics covered a wide range of Cloud subjects, with many industry leaders discussing their views on the subject matter at hand. Topic titles included:

• Dealing with the Data Tsunami: The Big Data Panel
• Cloudonomics: The Value of the Cloud
• Guru Panel: Web Infrastructure for Real Time and Critical
• Hitting Reset: Reinventing Core Internet Technologies
• Analytics and Management Layers
• What Comes After the Blade? Architectures for the Cloud
• Fatter and Faster: Reducing Latency and Increasing Capacity on Broadband

There were several panel sessions as well.

GoGrid’s CEO & Co-Founder, John Keagy, was interviewed by GigaOM Pro’s Derrick Harris. John answered the following questions:

• “GoGrid is a cloud provider, can you explain the GoGrid service?”
• “Cloud computing is a hot topic right now, how is GoGrid’s business?”
• “One of the keys to GoGrid’s success is your strong Partner program. Can you talk a a little bit about your Partner program and why it is important for Cloud providers to have one?”
• “Do you find that a lot of your Partners bring a lot of business to GoGrid?”
• “Another unique thing about GoGrid is your background in managed hosting and dedicated servers. Can you talk about how that enables GoGrid to offer a hybrid cloud option?”

You can also catch up on a variety of other sessions using the GigaOM/Structure widget below:

Do you have any questions for our CEO? If you do, feel free to leave a comment on this post or you can drop me an email to: michael[at]gogrid.com.

The ASCII Group held their ASCII Reseller Success Summit in Chicago, IL in June 2010 and GoGrid was there to spread the word about the GoGrid Reseller Program we have in place. And at the end of the Summit, GoGrid was awarded the “Best Channel Incentives” award!

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.

If you are local to the San Francisco Bay Area or Silicon Valley, there is a Cloud Computing event that you definitely shouldn’t miss: Under the Radar. At this event, sponsored by GoGrid, you will hear from 350 technology leaders about who is adopting and using the cloud, who is innovating and how they are doing so and why you should seriously be considering a Cloud Computing strategy for your IT infrastructure.

Before I get into the details, you can receive a $200 discount off the regular ticket price by following this Registration link.

A bit about Under the Radar:

Under the Radar is a catalyst for doing deals. Meet with 350 other tech leaders to hear about who’s adopting the cloud, who’s innovating and why it matters to you. From the new data center to SaaS, the ROI for leveraging the cloud has never been more clear or compelling.

Sessions include:

• “Data Debate: MySQL or NoSQL” – John Quinn (VP Engineering, Digg)
• “Data 2.0″ – presenting companies:
  • Cloudant
  • GenieDB
  • Neo Technology
  • NorthScale
  • Sones
• “Compliance” – presenting companies:
  • Aprigo
  • Conformity
  • Kinamik
  • SaaSure
• “Analytics” – presenting companies:
  • Crowdcast
  • GoodData
  • Indicee
• “Virtualization” – presenting companies:
  • CloudShare
  • Delphix
  • Layerboom Systems
  • VMTurbo
• “Communications” – presenting companies:
  • AwayFind
  • CubeTree
  • Fonolo
  • SendGrid
• “App Development & Management” – presenting companies:
  • AppDynamics
  • AppFirst
  • Makara
• “Infrastructure” – presenting companies:
  • CloudSwitch
  • MaxiScale
  • Puppet Lapbs
  • RiverMuse

Don’t recognize any of these names? You aren’t alone. This is because at this event, these Presenting Companies will be going into tech details of their startup, in order to show how they are adopting, using or leveraging Cloud Computing for their IT success. They may simply be fully implemented in the Cloud or have created a business strategy for managing Cloud Computing. These are emerging companies with smart, successful teams who a a little bit of traction (some are in seed state and have a handful of strategic beta customers while others have a Series A and a handful of recognizable enterprise customers). Regardless, there should be some very interesting and dynamic sessions at this conference.

Judges for the presenting companies include executives from: ING, Nokia, MTV Networks, Intuit, Verizon, Accel Partners, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, ZDNET, Norwest Venture Partners, Salesforce.com, Bank of America, Deloitte Consulting, AT&T, Hummer Winblad, Information Week, Virgin America and Battery Ventures. More information about the judging process:

• Leading up to Under the Radar, the Dealmaker Media team interviews approximately 150+ startups to identify trends and filter through applicants to select a small group of presenting companies to hit the stage. Approx 30 startups present at each Under the Radar.
• Both the audience and “judges” vote of their favorite company in each category. There are 7 categories.
• Criteria for “judges” choice are based on market opportunity, how compelling the startups solution/product is, team and business model.

Additionally, GoGrid will be awarding 2 Winners a $500 GoGrid Cloud Infrastructure Hosting credit (each)! Oh, and while you are at the event, please be sure to visit the GoGrid table to find out how our cloud can help your business succeed!

With the March 2010 GoGrid newsletter, we welcome and introduce a new name to our communications, that of Maria Gallegos who has joined us as a Product Marketing Coordinator for GoGrid. Maria comes from a marketing background (from financial services to non-profits) and will be producing the GoGrid newsletter as well as managing other customer experience programs. One of her first tasks has been the March 2010 Customer Update Newsletter.

For those who are not current GoGrid users, we provide the full newsletter on our blog, just so that you can see what you are missing out on! If any of the items that are mentioned here interest you, or if you want to get started on GoGrid right away (remember, we provide a full range of hosted infrastructure solutions ranging from Cloud Servers to Dedicated Servers to Cloud Storage, all within a Load Balanced network), I encourage you to speak with a GoGrid Sales Representative. They can provide you with answers to many of your infrastructure hosting questions. Just tell them that I sent you!

Here is the full March 2010 GoGrid Customer Update newsletter:

Hello,

As 2010 continues to progress, so does GoGrid. From system enhancements to new partners, you’ll find this edition of the newsletter full of information to better help you manage your cloud hosting infrastructure. Specific topics include:

1. New Features and System Enhancements
2. New Windows Minimum RAM Limits
3. New Partners GSIs
4. GoGrid and Microsoft WebsiteSpark Event
5. Other News

New Features and System Enhancements

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Coming April 1, 2010

GoGrid will offer two new hardware firewall services. The firewall services are great for ensuring your hosted servers are free from malicious threats. Plus, you can manage security for your GoGrid VLAN from a single device. The hardware firewall services are delivered via a custom hybrid network and require a GoGrid Prepaid Data Transfer Plan.
Here are the available options:
Option 1: Fortinet Firewall
Pricing

• $99.99/month
• Free setup
• Requires a monthly data transfer plan

Included features

• 100 Mbps throughput
• 100,000 concurrent sessions
• Includes one VPN (SSL, site-to-site, or IPSec)

Option 2: Cisco ASA Firewall
Pricing

• $349.99/mo
• Free setup
• Requires a monthly transfer plan

Included features

• Robust site-to-site and remote access IPSec VPN connectivity
• Multi-Vector Attack protection
• Layer 2 transparent firewall capability

To learn more about GoGrid firewall services, please contact your GoGrid account manager or call the GoGrid sales line 1-877-946-4743.

System Enhancements

On Thursday, March 25, we will release updated Windows Server 2003 and 2008 base operating system images. The new images will appear in the image selection widget located in the GoGrid portal and include the following enhancements:

• Updating the images with the latest (as of Feb. 2010) MS Windows Update HotFixes

New Windows Minimum RAM Limits

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On March 25, we will implement new minimum RAM limits for all Windows Server 2003 and 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server operating systems.
Here are the new minimum RAM limits:

• Windows Server 2003 – 1 GB minimum
• Windows Server 2008 – 2 GB minimum
• Microsoft SQL Server – 2 GB minimum

We are implementing these minimum RAM limits (based on Microsoft recommendations) in order to address server performance issues caused when Windows virtual servers are deployed without sufficient RAM. Existing virtual servers will not be affected by the new minimum RAM limits – the new RAM limits apply only to new server deployments.

New Partner GSIs

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The GoGrid Exchange allows our partners to offer their services to the GoGrid community. This month we have rolled out 3 new partners. The new partners offer services that should allow you to better manage, control and secure your GoGrid infrastructure. Here are the new partner details:

EVault Off Site Backups

This is a cost-effective off site backup and recovery service for businesses that are hosting critical data in the GoGrid cloud. Look for EVault SaaS in the image selection widget located in the GoGrid portal.
For price details, please contact your GoGrid account manager or visit the GoGrid Exchange for EVault service details.

art of defence: hyperguard® SaaS

Protect your web and cloud applications against known and unknown attacks at the application layer (such as SQL injection, cross site scripting or more general OWASP Top10) with art of defence’s firewall (dWAF), hyperguard.
Pricing: $39/month
Access hyperguard SaaS by simply using the image selection widget locate in the GoGrid portal.
More details on art of defence is on the GoGrid Exchange.

Gear6

Delivers higher memory efficiency and is the only Memcached service that can leverage cloud-based storage to increase cache depth by several orders of magnitude. Free and paid images are now available in the GoGrid portal.
Find out more about Gear6 on the GoGrid Exchange.

Upcoming Webinar: Learn about the pros and cons of implementing Memcached in a cloud environment, the basics and best practices of implementation and leveraging free and commercial Memcached GoGrid offerings.

Title : Memcached: Making the Cloud Scalable for Web 2.0 presented by Gear6 and GoGrid
Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PD
Reserve your webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/511484563

To get started with any of our featured PartnerGSIs or to learn more, visit the GoGrid Exchange or contact your GoGrid account manager.

GoGrid and Microsoft WebsiteSpark Event

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Win with GoGrid and Microsoft WebsiteSpark

Learn about this outstanding business opportunity that can save your startup or small business literally thousands of dollars in licensing and hosting costs.

Date : Tuesday, March 30, 2010 from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM PST
Location: Microsoft – Silicon Valley, Mountain View, CA
Click here to register: http://websitespark-gogrid-01.eventbrite.com/?ref=ecount
For more information about using GoGrid as your WebsiteSpark Hosting Partner visit: http://www.gogrid.com/microsoft_websitespark/

Cloud Connect 2010 Expo

GoGrid will be an exhibitor at the Cloud Connect Expo. Explore the benefits and opportunities of cloud computing, learn how to develop successful business models and build relationships and get in-depth technical information on cloud development.
Date: March 15th – 18th
Location: Santa Clara Convention Center
For a Free Expo Pass or to save 40% on the price of a Conference Pass, use priority code: CNJPCC01 when registering at: http://www.cloudconnectevent.com

Other News

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Watch the GoGrid New Feature Release Webinar

We recently hosted a webinar featuring recent updates to GoGrid. If you didn’t get a chance to attend, you can still view the video at GoGrid Feature Release Webinar.

GoGrid is HIRING!

We currently have over 10 open positions in Engineering, Sales, Marketing, Operations, Sales, Services and Administration. See: http://www.gogrid.com/company/careers.php for more details.

As always, you can find more information about GoGrid at:
GoGrid Product Site – http://www.gogrid.com
GoGrid Blog – http://blog.gogrid.com
GoGrid Wiki – http://wiki.gogrid.com
GoGrid Forums – http://forums.gogrid.com

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly at Maria[AT]GoGrid.com.

Thank you,
Maria Gallegos

Thanks for reading!

Don’t miss Cloud Connect Event 2010, the first event to bring together executives, IT professionals and developers to explore and define the cloud. See the latest cloud technologies and learn from thought leaders in Cloud Connect’s comprehensive conference and expo . March 15-18, 2010 http://cloudconnectevent.com/

GoGrid is a sponsor of this premier Cloud Computing event and will have a booth there. We hope that you will come and visit us to discuss your Cloud Computing plans. Our staff there will be available for infrastructure consultations, demos and general discussion about the Cloud.

Also, Justin Kitagawa, Senior Technical Lead at GoGrid, will be part of a panel called: “Writing Code for Many Clouds” which is on Tuesday, March 16 (1:30-2:30PM). The panel details are as follows:

Writing Code for Many Clouds

Tuesday, March 16 1:30 PM–2:30 PM

You may be developing an application that runs on a single cloud today, but you’ll want to keep your options open in case things change. Switching clouds isn’t always easy: cloud providers have differing resource models, constraints, and gotchas. All of these pose potential risks of lock-in, presenting challenges for developers who need to consider how their code can work with more than just one cloud provider.
This panel brings together developers who’ve dealt with some of these challenges and built to specific cloud APIs with the people who built those APIs. It’s a rare glimpse into the design decisions behind some of today’s most prominent cloud computing platforms — and perhaps even a glimpse into the future API feature plans of various cloud providers.

• Moderator – Shlomo Swidler, Founder, Orchestratus
• Speaker – Shashi Mysore, Product Specialist, Eucalyptus Systems
• Speaker – Adrian Cole, Founder, jClouds
• Speaker – George Reese, CTO, enStratus
• Speaker – Michael Mayo, Rackspace
• Speaker – Mitch Garnaat, President, CloudRight
• Speaker – Justin Kitagawa, GoGrid
• Speaker – Sam Ramji, Vice President of Strategy, Sonoa Systems

Special Offer

You can now register for a FREE EXPO PASS or save 40% on the price of Conference Passes by using the priority code: CNJPCC01 . Simply go to the Registration Page and enter in the priority code at checkout.

More about the Cloud Connect Event

The event is from Monday, March 15 through Thursday, March 18th at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Silicon Valley, CA.

Topics for the Conference include:

Cloud Futures and Roadmaps
The Impact of Clouds on Society – Thursday, March 18 8:15 AM–9:15 AM
What IT Couldn’t Do Before – Thursday, March 18 9:30 AM–10:30 AM
Ubicomp is Here: Pervasive Connections, Cloud Computing, and Universal Interfaces – Thursday, March 18 10:45 AM–11:45 AM

Cloud Risks, Challenges, and Governance
What to Worry About: Risks, Regulations, and Unknowns – Wednesday, March 17 1:30 PM–2:30 PM
Cloud Providers: Leveraging Risk and Compliance in Today’s Cloud Environments as a Competitive Advantage – Wednesday, March 17 2:45 PM–3:45 PM
Cloud Users: Compliance and Mitigating Risks to Hedge Against Uncertainty – Wednesday, March 17 4:00 PM–5:00 PM

Dealing with Big Data
Introduction to Big Data and Storage at Scale – Thursday, March 18 8:15 AM–9:15 AM
Processing Big Data – Thursday, March 18 9:30 AM–10:30 AM
Learning from Big Data with Scaleable Analytics – Thursday, March 18 10:45 AM–11:45 AM

Developing for the Cloud
Writing Code for Many Clouds – Tuesday, March 16 1:30 PM–2:30 PM
Design Patterns for Cloud Computing Applications – Tuesday, March 16 2:45 PM–3:45 PM
Deploying to the Cloud: The Care and Feeding of a Cloud Application – Tuesday, March 16 4:00 PM–5:00 PM
Orchestration: The Next Frontier for Cloud Applications – Wednesday, March 17 8:30 AM–9:30 AM

Migration Strategies
Moving to Clouds: It’s Not All or Nothing – Tuesday, March 16 1:30 PM–2:30 PM
Practical Migration to On-Demand Clouds – Tuesday, March 16 2:45 PM–3:45 PM
Building Infrastructure as a Service – Tuesday, March 16 4:00 PM–5:00 PM

New Infrastructure
Private and Hybrid Clouds – Wednesday, March 17 1:30 PM–5:00 PM
The New Role of Networks – Thursday, March 18 8:15 AM–9:15 AM
Infrastructure Interoperability in a Cloudy World – Thursday, March 18 9:30 AM–10:30 AM
Standardizing Infrastructure Interoperability: An Introduction to IF-MAP – Thursday, March 18 10:45 AM–11:45 AM

ROI, Cost and Economics
Cloudonomics: The Surprising Economics of the Cloud – Tuesday, March 16 1:30 PM–2:30 PM
Tools and Rules: How to Calculate ROI from the Cloud – Tuesday, March 16 2:45 PM–3:45 PM
New Pricing Models: How Will They Impact ROI? – Tuesday, March 16 4:00 PM–5:00 PM
Public, Private, or Hybrid: Where’s the Value Today and Where’s It Going? – Wednesday, March 17 8:30 AM–9:30 AM

Standards, Governments and Industry
Where We Are Today: State of the Standards – Wednesday, March 17 8:30 AM–9:30 AM
The Standards Real Users Need Now – Wednesday, March 17 1:30 PM–2:30 PM
Standardization from a Provider Perspective – Wednesday, March 17 2:45 PM–3:45 PM
Where Are Standards Going? – Wednesday, March 17 4:00 PM–5:00 PM

Case Studies and Lessons Learned
Startups Built on Clouds – Wednesday, March 17 1:30 PM–2:30 PM
Enterprise Cloud Adoption – Wednesday, March 17 2:45 PM–3:45 PM
Government and Open Clouds - Wednesday, March 17 4:00 PM–5:00 PM

We hope to see you at this event!