Our smart friends over at Gartner use the simple graphic you see above in order to plot the maturity and adoption of various technologies. It is broken down into 5 specific phases as follows: (more…)
It sounds totally bizarre, but it’s 100% true. Simply walk around our offices and ask anyone what they think of “Company x” or “Company y” and you will hear comments like:
“Those guys are awesome!”
“We love the way they work and hope they never change”
No doubt you are still a little confused, let me explain:
For so long developers have harbored a secret envy of anyone who was able to carry a slinky ultra-portable or one of the newer Ultra-Books. Having to resort to showing off with the extreme laptop specs.
I got to witness first hand as one of the Go2Cloud developers ended up in a spec showdown with another dev at a recent event. It started out like an old game of Trump Cards, except as it turned out, the Go2Cloud developer was holding the “Blackbird” card and calling “Speed”, a sure fire win!
How did he get this right? What dev machine does he use? It must cost a fortune! Well, it doesn’t cost a fortune but it does include Petabytes of storage, Terabytes of RAM and enough processor power to launch a space shuttle (if they still had any launches planned that is).
No prizes for guessing that the Go2Cloud developer in question does all his development work in the Cloud. Mentioning I was writing this post, he offered the following as the top reasons why he devs in the Cloud:
On Demand Instant on capability means dev machines are spun up only when required.
Dynamic scale Dynamically scale resources as and when required (e.g. increasing performance ahead of a customer demo or when compiling)
Multi server environment simulation The ability to simulate deployment of a solution across multiple servers, simulating a VLAN or across internet connection.
Server side processing on enterprise grade hardware Dramatically reducing the costs of developers primary hardware requirements since processing is done server side (FYI, our developers all run Macbook Air’s and iPads)
Current state cloning and replication Ability to rapidly clone an entire server configuration or state for reuse (e.g. future requirements of the same base set-up or cloning ahead of deploying a “fix” or a change)
Instant off Instantly shut down development environments (and therefore the cost) once they have served their purpose. Either delete the drives, or simply pay for storage per GB only (R1,32 per GB per month ex vat)
Accurate project job costing Accurate costing for development resources allocated to a specific developer, customer or project, allowing for granular project job costing. This may be passed on directly to the customers directly if required.
Capital cost redirection No capital outlay for large equipment which may not always be at capacity, freeing up capital for other key initiatives.
Software licensing management Accurate management of software licensing to ensure compliance as well as re-use once a development environment is complete
Location independence Allow developers to work from anywhere, anytime with just an internet connection and no additional security risks.
Client POC, Test and Prod environments Move from development to demo to POC for customers within the same environment (no need to rely on the customers internal infrastructure). Even move to test and prod environment within a single cloud solution. As above, staging and dev environments are easily created.
The list of reasons carried on for some time, with the developer highlighting other benefits such as not having to manage the infrastructure ongoing and summing up with …
“01000111 01101111 00110010 01000011 01101100 01101111 01110101 01100100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01010111 01001001 01001110 00100001” Which apparently means “Go2Cloud for the WIN”.
If you would like to experience dev in the Cloud, sign up for a free trial here.
(For the record – no members of the GetHelp team were harmed during the creation of the post)
Despite some customers insisting that the GetHelp team are actually bots, let me assure you that after many tests and scholarly debate, they are very much human. A fact that we were sure of until yesterday’s team meeting where an announcement was made that the GetHelp team were about to be “tagged”.
What ensued was at least 7 minutes of absolute mayhem.
The team once again settled down after it was clearly explained that “Tagging” had nothing to do with:
A paintball gun
A numbering system that invovled ear piercing and semi-permanent yellow plastic tags, or…
A numbering system that invovled a branding iron and antibiotic ointment application for a week or so
(Note to the Go2Cloud management team – Next time lead with that)
“Tagging” was simply the announcement that a “Get Help Tag” would be added to the control panel so that customers can circumvent having to send email to Get Help by simply clicking the “Tag” and submitting their request.
This enhancement is part of Go2Cloud’s ZenDesk roll-out designed to further improve our support process… which after yesterday’s mayhem , has thankfully brought an air of (I have to say it) inner peace to the GetHelp team.
If the GetHelp team has helped you out in the past, why not take the time to log into your account, click the “Get Help Tag” and tell them how you feel. While you are there, dont forget to review the new Control Panel (for info on this, see yesterdays post here).
Despite one last cold snap in parts, spring is most definitely in the air and our Southern Hemisphere customers are feeling it!
Our platform development team has been hunkering down during the cold months. Some of us were sure that they were plotting to take over the world, but we were wrong. They were actually working on something way bigger … a brand new Control Panel, aptly dubbed “Spring Release”.
As of 1 September 2012, here is what you will see when logging in to the Go2Cloud control panel:
While the official office poll to name the new menu structure continues, some of us are calling it the “Jump Bar”. There are a lot of enhancements in our Spring Release, but all of these follow three primary themes:
Fewer Clicks – Get your job done with substantially fewer clicks than our previous release.
Less Scrolling – Forget scrolling to the top of the screen to Add Servers, Drives, Private VLAN’s and Static IP’s, part of the Jump Bar now follows you down (and back up) as you work through your list of servers. We also ensure that your account utilisation remains in plain site.
Usability Efficiency – All through the Control Panel you will notice changes that are aimed at improving the overall user experience. Easier access to Documentation, Firewall management and Server Layout view are just a few examples of these improvements.
It was suggested that this release was somehow focused on being kinder to your mouse, but the development team swears it’s focused on being kinder to you, and we are sure you will agree!
Don’t take our word for it, log into your account today an let us have your feedback on the Spring Release Control Panel!
No account? Don’t despair, sign up for a free trial here … and then let us have your feedback.
We decided to create a few basic videos to help guide you through the creating of your first cloud service inside Go2Cloud.
Check it out here:
Update: As you likely already know, we have updated the Control Panel look and feel since this video, however the principles remain exactly the same. Spin up a free trial server today at www.Go2Cloud.co.za!
