Last week, SmarterTools had the opportunity to present at PubCon, a technology conference hosted by Webmaster World.  I represented SmarterTools in a panel discussion on Cloud Computing--specifically to give our perspective as an independent software vender who is looking at writing software applications for the Cloud to be delivered as a service (SaaS).  For all the hyperbola and sales pitches, this is the essence of Web 2.0.

This concept has special importance for SmarterTools.  We have been developing hosted applications since we were founded in 2003 and more than 15 million end users access our software through hosting providers for their email/collaboration and Web site statistics every day.  In addition, we are building the infrastructure and preparing our SmarterTrack customer service software application for purchase and delivery over the Web as a service.  Is Cloud something for us to consider?

Cloud Computing Options and Alternatives

We looked at all of the major Cloud Computing initiatives coming online: Microsoft Azure, Amazon  Web Services, and Google Cloud Computing Service in addition to lesser-known initiatives by hosting providers such as Rackspace.  We heard all of their ideas, visited their Web sites, and attended their Webinars.  Then we dug deeper.  For the presentation we identified 12 basic arguments used by those who are advocates of the Cloud Computing model.  Then we spent time trying to determine which were real potential benefits of Cloud Computing in the near term, which were possible benefits going forward, and which were all hype.  The result was a 15-20 minute Power Point presentation for our part of the panel, followed by Q & A.

Presenting the Cloud

The presentation is called Seeing Through the Fog - The Current State of Cloud Computing from an Independent Development Perspective (PDF format) and I enjoyed sharing the stage with Mike Culver from the Amazon Web Services division.  My presentation covered all 12 points, but for the remainder of this post I will focus on what I think is an important misconception regarding Cloud Computing as it is constructed today.

The Biggest Misconception in Cloud Computing

In my view, the industry is fostering a misconception in the minds of the IT consumers who will ultimately be the customers of this potentially valuable service.  This Cloudy issue is the perception that hosting Web sites and applications "in the Cloud" means that those sites and apps are not tied to a structure--that they are free and loose in the nebulous Internet, unencumbered by restrictions of space and geography.  Even the term "Cloud"  reinforces this perception. 

While this may be true on a machine-to-machine level, it is not true from a broader perspective--meaning that it is important for us to remember that even Cloud Computing (as it is defined and constructed today) is tied to specific data centers operated by the Cloud vender.  An application may "appear" on any single or number of servers in a data center, but they are on a server--just not necessarily the same server(s).  In this way it is only a small step forward from conventional hosting environments (though rapid scalability--up and down--and reduced start-up costs are significant advantages).  The technology is moving to where applications and Web sites will potentially exist in/on multiple data centers in geographically disparate locations, but there will still be a finite number of locations.  This important concept changes the way we will think about true scalability, stability, performance, and security as Cloud Computing develops and gains adoption.

Cloud of Clouds

Make no mistake, Cloud Computing is a revolutionary concept that will--more than most other advances--bring us to Internet ubiquity where space and bandwidth are delivered like municipal water service or electricity.  But we are still a long way from there.  Remember that, in the early days of electricity, local utilities and even individual neighborhoods had vastly different ideas about how electricity should be delivered: different amperage, wattage, etc.  This is a pretty good analogy for where Cloud Computing is today.  Each Cloud under development is unique and incompatible.  Applications and sites will need to be developed for a specific Cloud platform (an important cost-basis to consider).  But this will change in the long term.  As I said in Seeing Through the Fog:

"Just as the OS is being subverted by the advent of browser-based/Web-based applications, independent Cloud platforms will be subverted by the need for cross-cloud compatibility. Efficiency will demand it if Cloud computing is to ultimately succeed. Therefore there will eventually be a ‘Cloud of Clouds’ delivering computing capacity seamlessly and transparently."

It took many years for the various competing ideas on electricity to be ironed out into one standard and for appliances and other uses to adapt to that standard (those who did not adapt perished).  Now, power companies share power and generating capacity without regard for geography or distance.  As I type this post, the electricity consumed by my computer may have been generated by my local Arizona utility (SRP), or it may just as well be excess electricity from Nevada, Washington, or any other utility on the grid--but it is still delivered to me by SRP.

One of the problems with most contemporary Cloud Computing providers is that they still see the creation of Cloud networks as a way to "lock in" customers for other products and services--not as the viable multi-billion user access model that it might more naturally be.  Amazon gets some credit in this regard because their "device-based" approach makes it a bit less complicated to migrate out of their Cloud into a more conventional hosting environment.  However, Cloud to Cloud migrations are still very complex or not available at all.  But I digress.

Conclusion

Cloud Computing holds a lot of promise and we believe that it is likely to be a major influence on hosting and application development.  SmarterTools is preparing all of our products for potential Cloud compatibility in the future because we have confidence that the incumbent issues will be satisfactorily resolved as this new technology matures.

Jeffrey J. Hardy

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  Microsoft Azure [MFST], Google [GOOG], Amazon [AMZN], Rackspace Hosting Inc. [RAX].

I just received a text message on my cell phone.  No big deal, right?  We each get perhaps a dozen or more text messages every day from family and friends about everything from one-line jokes to dinner plans.  But this text message is special because it was sent to me by the SmarterTrack customer service software installation we use internally to manage our Technical Support team.

I decided to blog about this today because whenever I talk about this unique feature--even with some of our most loyal and educated customers--the person I am talking to often responds with surprise and says, "It does that?  That's cool!"

It is cool--really cool, in fact.  Both our SmarterMail Windows mail server and SmarterTrack customer  service software have the events and notification system built right in.  This means that users, administrators, and managers can set all kinds of triggering events and the software will perform tasks, send notifications, or (in the case of SmarterMail) launch a command line executable.

Text Messages, Email, Reminders, and...SmarterNotify?

The notification can be via email and/or text message.  SmarterMail has the Reminders pop-up that works with it as well.  And--coming soon--the SmarterTools development team is ALPHA-testing a new (no additional charge) add-on to all of our products called SmarterNotify (you heard it here first!).  SmarterNotify will be a lightweight desktop application that can be pointed at all SmarterTools products to function as an alert system--even when the browser is closed and you are not actively using the product.  It will let you know when an email or ticket comes in or if one of your other alerts is being triggered.

The text message I just received is a Notification I set up called "Ticket Count" and it sends me a text message when the master queue in our customer service department--or for any individual agent for that matter--backs up beyond our Service Level Agreement (SLA) policy.  My text message alert just informed me how many support tickets are waiting to be assigned. 

Since I am writing this on a Sunday I am not concerned, but I know what the work load of our service team is going to be when they hit the door tomorrow morning--all without firing up my PC or spoiling the family Bar-B-Q.  I also know that there are no critical or emergency support tickets waiting--I have alerts set up for those too so I can enjoy what remains of my weekend without a nagging voice in the back of my head (a distracted Jeff equals burnt steaks).  I have additional alerts set up in case a ticket is sent from certain SmarterTools partners because we have a few important cooperative development projects going on (really good stuff--I'll tell you as soon as I can).  In a nut shell, the Events system means productivity and peace of mind--both are management brain candy.

Take Action, Now!

In the case of SmarterTrack, I can create an event so that if Agent Joe is falling behind, his tickets are automatically re-balanced to  the rest of his team.  An action can be created to automatically escalate any ticket with certain keywords to an internal specialist.  We can even let the Partnership and Sales team "know" about a support ticket from a particular customer while letting the support team handle it in the normal fashion.  There is really no limit and these Events/Notifications/Actions can be set up on the fly in the Web interface.  Turn one on, turn one off, create a new one--all through the browser with no coding, control panel, or third-party application involved.

Business-side managers like me will love this in SmarterTrack.  IT and Systems-side guys will love the same thing in SmarterMail because of the automated attack prevention and throttling (etc.) that can be achieved.  I know that using these features internally has made SmarterTools a lot more efficient as an organization, prevented issues form getting out of hand, made our customers happy, and saved us money.  Different types and levels of Events/Notifications/Actions are available for managers, administrators, and even individual users.

This blog post has only scratched the surface.  You can read more about the Events system and all of its features at both the SmarterTrack Events page and the SmarterMail Events page.

In the time it took me to write this post I received another message telling me that a specific email I have been waiting for has just arrived...you are going to love this thing!

Be well,

Jeff Hardy

I hope that you all saw our press release last week: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080911/20080911005193.html?.v=1

Yes, SmarterMail, SmarterTrack, and SmarterStats all look good and function well in Google's new Chrome browser.  Over the last year we took the time and investment to create the "STInterfaceFramework."  Basically, this means that all of our products are designed from the ground up with a common, solid Web design that is cross browser compatible and allows for common skinning to save time and money for our customers.  Another added benefit is that, since the foundation is streamlined and efficient, new browsers and other technologies are adapted and integrated with relative ease.  We do not have to reinvent the wheel when advances are rolled out.

We conducted tests with the new BETA version of Google's Chrome browser and everything works as it should and looks right.  A few tweaks here and there in the next minor release and we will be all set--arguably before Chrome is truly ready for market itself.

As our CEO said in the press release:

“We imagine a technological future not dominated by one or two controlling mega-technology companies. Web 2.0 (and later) is all about empowerment and choice. We see a world where consumers will be able to open virtually any browser on any computer in the world to access SmarterMail, and push email and collaboration to their Apple iPhone, BlackBerry, or other mobile device—and we think this is a good thing.”

Testing Google Chrome

I am running Chrome now as my primary browser and it is fast and has a good assortment of features--really not bad for a brand-spanking-new product still in BETA.  Pop-ups work great and the importing of favorites and common sites is very fast.  The address/search bar works very well indeed.  I also like how enterable fields are rendered and emphasized with a default butterscotch-colored trim--not perfect but it is very intuitive.

Google's Dark Side

There has been a lot of stress regarding the EULA and ownership/redistribution of information displayed and/or entered inside the interface.  Others have done a very good job of talking about this, so I will trust that the other bloggers and reporters will communicate market demand well enough so that I can pass on it for now (see the MarketWatch piece).  I have also noticed that the installation of Chrome seems to have fiddled with my java settings a little.  This has made me unable to post to my personal Google Blogger (Blogspot) account through IE--but it works very well in Chrome.  Hmmmm....

Reflections on Chrome

I do see some compatibility issues with some of my favorite sites, but I suspect that the Google development team is hard at work, pounding caffeine energy drinks to bring all of this into compliance.  Probably my favorite attribute of Chrome is the "cleanliness" of the interface--buttons and features are tucked away so that the Web site being viewed gets the limelight without distractions.  Time will tell if Google--with their predilection for ads and a monetize-every-link-possible philosophy--will be able to resist the temptation to crowd it up with wiz-bang colors and mouse-over annoyances.

All in all, it appears to be a solid effort that will likely shake up the FireFox's and IE's of the world in a  good way.  But I have to say that they might want to re-think the "Simon-esque" Chrome Logo.

Until next time,

Jeff

What a ride!  And what a great way to launch the official SmarterTools blog.

SmarterTools arrived in full force at HostingCon 2008.  When we attended last year, one of the most frequent requests from customers, partners, and friends was to be able to meet a few of our lead developers who had been with us since the beginning.  Mission accomplished--Grady Werner and Bryon Grosz helped man our booth this year with six other SmarterTools staffers.  Everyone was glad to see them.

We had literally dozens of our Authorized Resellers and Bundle Partners come by and we signed up several more.  Everyone seemed really excited about the new version releases.  We had a lot going on with a Major version of SmarterStats 4.x coming out just days prior to the event and with SmarterMail 5.5 (adding BlackBerry support among other things) and SmarterTrack 3.5 (adding WhosOn and more) coming out at the same time.

The list of Partners and Friends is so long that I hesitate to try and list them.  I would hate to leave anyone out accidentally, but we saw:

• Jess and Carlos from AppliedI
• Bob, Chandi, Derek, and Rene' from CrystalTech
• Alex and William from ActiveHost
• Lou, Brian, Rob, Derek, and many more from HostMySite
• Takeshi and Mark from DiscountASP
• Feodor from DotNetPanel
• J.T. from ViUX
• The entire Parallels crew
• Many, many more...

Tim Uzzanti, the SmarterTools CEO, hosted one of the meeting sessions title "Customer Support and Its Discontents."  He did a great job and we received a lot of positive feedback.  We will likely be presenting this topic again at other events throughout the year.  So if you missed it, you will probably have another chance to hear it and we will keep you informed.

As you can see, our booth was right up front--taking one of the three premier positions in the exhibit hall.  It turned out great (if I do say so myself) and we are very proud of the whole SmarterTools team that participated.  We gave away SmarterTools t-shirts and did product demos, but it seems that the most popular part of our booth was the free cans of Brawndo energy drink that we gave away. 

Big "thanks" go out to our promotional partner Redux Beverages--the makers of Brawndo--who shipped us all of those cans just so we could give them away.  For those of you "out-of-the-know,"  Brawndo stems from the movie "Idiocracy" from 2006--a futuristic dark comedy in which the previously fictitious drink plays a major part.  Seeing the movie makes tasting the drink all the more sweet!

The show was a big success for all.  Thanks to the good folks at Interjuncture for putting it all together.  iNet Interactive has purchased the show and will be producing it next year--we wish them continued success.

Until next time,
Jeff