Monitor the Health of Your Cloud – Not Just the Cost of the Cloud Cloud optimization and cost are on the mind of every AWS customer, and they are looking…
Blazemeter AWS re:Invent 2014 Self Service Load Testing for Website or Mobile App Enterprise customers must reach users and more importantly deliver a fast user experience. Bottlenecks in web design, coding…
The IOD team has generated over 500 articles for our customers over the past year, all of which have been original and unique in the world of cloud computing. Our technical writers and evangelists are measured by their efficiency and ability to maintain quality and accuracy. As a result, we are constantly on the lookout for ways to enhance our production capabilities, making sure to arm our staff with tools that make their jobs easier, including our own Ideation and Google docs to WordPress features. In this article, we would like to share an important tool with you that we feel every writer should know about.
The world’s maybe No. 1 CRM vendor and one of the cloud computing leaders, has launched a new program that focuses specifically on startups dubbed: Salesforce for Startups. The program was announced at Salesforce’s Dreamforce event this past October in San Francisco. The idea behind the program is to accompany startups through their customer journey from the very early stages of building apps, to the time they start to discover their first customers, and later scale and grow. To be able to do so effectively, Salesforce addresses both technical and business challenges that startups face.
Register to the next IGT Cloud meetup – Breakfast with Salesforce: Manage your Sales Teams to Win!
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First and foremost, it is important to define what AWS Activate is and what it is used for before we can take a deeper look. Exactly one year ago, Amazon created a program specifically designed for a particular group of customers that often times is in need of as much help as they can get (AKA startups). This program supports startups in their initial phase of building their businesses. This includes providing AWS credits, taking part in startup contests, and receiving benefits from third party solutions on the AWS cloud. Activate allows AWS partners that want to create a presence within the Activate community offer perks to member startups. Some of which include discounts and extended free tiers.
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With virtual companies on the rise, and an increasing amount of organizations that hire employees to work remotely, the term “meeting” has started to evolve. For numerous advantageous reasons, face-to-face meetings are often substituted with virtual alternatives and are becoming particularly more relevant in the cloud industry. Whether you’re a new startup that doesn’t yet have the funds for a physical office, or a stable company that’s finding it increasingly challenging to ensure that all of your meetings’ attendees are located in the same time zone, you may have encountered issues with how to brainstorm effectively. As a result, virtual brainstorming is rapidly becoming a contemporary method that is important to master in order to ensure that you and your team not only keep up, but stay ahead of the game.
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This article is cross-posted on TechTarget as part of my contribution during the AWS re:Invent show in Vegas this month. It is important to note, however, that this version is slightly different. In this article I will cover the evolution of the AWS ecosystem over the last 3 years, which, in my opinion, has been one of the most important indicators of the cloud industry’s growth.
Cloud vendors need an ecosystem. It is a vital part of their product’s and service’s maturity. In order to enable products to support more use cases, customers and revenues, you need a community of vendors that can link up to your API and extend your platform. By first developing your API and then creating a UI, you set the stage for companies that thrive off of your API and product. SalesForce, for example, holds data with their flexible platform that has quite possibly developed into the largest ecosystem in the cloud over the past few years. When external companies develop around your API, cloud vendor get 2 things: very rich services, above and beyond their core services, and a scalable business with revenues that are generated directly by ecosystem, itself.
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This is my third re:Invent, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to attend all of the major AWS events thus far. It is evident that Amazon is disrupting the IT industry, and some very experienced bloggers in the field have told me that it is just a matter of time before it takes over enterprise IT, as well. Maybe in another 10 years, though. Nonetheless, the change it has established in the industry is extreme, with the cloud’s agility and speed able to reach nearly every place on earth. There were 5K attendees at AWS’ first re:Invent and this year, Amazon is expecting over 12K. Vegas will be filled with geeks and big shot CIOs.
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These are exciting times for the world of cloud computing, and with the largest ever AWS conference just around the corner, we can’t wait to see what everyone has in store. Our successful video interviews at AWS re:Invent 2013, with leading cloud brands across the globe, has brought the popular enterprise technology channel, SDR News, and yours truly together again to see what re:Invent 2014 has to offer.
The technology and consulting partners that shared their knowledge at last year’s event have greatly benefitted from their exposure across our social channels. And with the 12,000 participants expected to show up next week, exhibitors need to be especially on top of their game in order to manifest valuable opportunities. Last year’s video interviews focused on assessments of the event and learning about the exhibitors’ positions in and contributions to the AWS ecosystem. However, this year, we’re turning the focus fully onto you.
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Marketing through knowledge has gained vast popularity for enterprises and startups, alike. Creating educational content for your community, otherwise known as content marketing, has become the preferred method of marketing for a number of reasons. Instead of enticing a potential customer for a few seconds with a witty tagline or flashy banner, cloud content marketing engages potential customers through news, industry awareness, expertise, and storytelling. Educational content’s purpose is to arouse an audience’s curiosity, leaving them with more knowledge and questions about the subject. Conversely, traditional marketing methods, like copywriting, have a specific and usually very direct call to action. As a result, the reader will either take action or not, leaving the company and potential customer with very little room for engagement. Promotional content has its purposes in marketing, but education is not one of them. Writing content that educates rather than promotes has proven to be an effective way for cloud computing vendors to build customer relationships resulting in more than just sales, but community, as well.
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