Cloud Tech News

Ok, so it’s a few more than 300. What can I tell you? The segment is growing by leaps and bounds. The question remains, who is gaining mind share in the 1st quarter of 2012?

So lets take a look at the Top Cloud Enablers Gaining Mind Share, and The Leaderboard (Cloud Innovators, Movers and Shakers). Large enterprise IT companies continue their rapid restructuring to an on-demand cloud compute model enhancing their portfolios with Cloud acquisitions. Here is a snapshot of 2012 acquisitions and the most recent changes to the rankings since 3Q2011 (followed by 2011 and 2010 acquisitions).

• Akamai acquires Cotendo (Cloud platform / Web acceleration)
• Apigee acquires Usergrid (API, mobile)
• AMD acquires Seamicro (Microservers)
• Best Buy acquires mindSHIFT (Cloud Service Provider for SMB))
• BMC acquires Numara (IT Management Solutions)
• Dell acquires AppAssure (Cloud Backup)
• Dell acquires Wyse (Desktop Virtualization)
• IBM acquires DemandTec (Retail Collaborative Analytics Cloud)
• IBM acquires Emptoris (Strategic Sourcing, Contract Lifecycle Management)
• IBM acquires GreenHat (Cloud based App Testing, VIE)
• IBM acquires Worklight (Next Generation Middleware)
• Oracle acquires Taleo (Cloud-based Talent Management)
• SAP acquires SuccessFactors (Business Execution Software Solutions)
• Salesforce acquires Rypple (Social Employee Performance Management)
• Virtustream acquires Enomaly (Cloud Brokerage, ECP, SpotCloud)
• Wyse acquires Trellia (Cloud based Mobile Management)

Top Cloud Enablers Gaining Mind Share in 1Q 2012. [As is customary, the list below is a subjective impression of Cloud Service Providers (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), and Cloud enablers on my radar.]

1. Amazon Web Services (AWS),
2. Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
3. Simple Storage Service (S3)
4. Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
5. Elastic Beanstalk
6. Elastic Block Store (EBS)
7. CloudFront
8. Cloud Formation
9. CloudWatch
10. Salesforce.com* [Salesforce blog post], Navajo Systems
11. Sales Cloud 2 (CRM)
12. Service Cloud 2 (Support)
13. Force.com (Development Platform)
14. Chatter (Collaboration)
15. Heroku
16. Database.com
17. Jigsaw
18. RemedyForce
19. AppExchange
20. Radian6
21. ModelMetrics
22. Assistly (now Desk.com)
23. Rypple
24. Google Apps (Web based business applications suite)
25. EMC (Mozy, Atmos, VMWare (Virtualization management))
26. vCloud Director
27. vCenter
28. vSphere
29. Hyperic (Open Source Networking Software)
30. CloudFoundry
31. Citrix – XenServer (Virtualization), VMLogix, Cloud.com  [OpenStack]
32. Dell – Boomi (AtomSphere – Cloud Integration), Wyse (Desktop Virtualization)* [Dell blog post]  [OpenStack]
33. Microsoft Azure, Hyper-V, Skype * [Microsoft blog post]
34. IBM Smart Business, Cloudburst, DemandTec, Emptoris, GreenHat, Worklight  [OpenStack]
35. HP - 3PAR, Vertica (Data Analytics)  [OpenStack]
36. CA Technologies – 3Tera AppLogic, Nimsoft,* [Nimsoft review]
37. Intel* [Intel blog posts]  [OpenStack]
38. Equinix (Data Center Platform)  [OpenStack]
39. Oracle (Taleo, ClearTrial) - RightNow (Cloud based Social, Web, CRM and Contact Center Platform)
40. Cisco,  newScale (Data center services)
41. Verizon – Terremark, CloudSwitch * [Verizon blog post]
42. Apple – iCloud
43. AT&T Synaptic  [OpenStack]
44. OpenStack (Open Source Cloud)
45. Rackspace – Cloud Builders, CloudKick  [OpenStack]
46. Eucalyptus (Open source private cloud software)
47. BMC Software (ITSM, RemedyForce, Cloud Solutions)
48. Abiquo (Enterprise Cloud management)  [OpenStack]
49. ARM Holdings
50. NTT‘s Dimension Data / OpSource (Enterprise Cloud and managed hosting)  [OpenStack]
51. Rightscale (Cloud management platform)  [OpenStack]
52. CSC Cloud
53. NetSuite (Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning – ERP and financials suite)
54. Time Warner Cable -Navisite (Managed Cloud hosting services)
55. Joyent (Cloud software for service providers)
56. Zuora (Cloud based subscription billing and payment solutions)  [OpenStack]
57. GoGrid (Cloud infrastructure solutions – IaaS)
58. rPath (On demand IT systems automation)   [OpenStack]
59. SugarCRM (Customer Relationship Management)
60. CohesiveFT (Cloud container virtualization solutions)
61. SoftLayer (On demand data center and hosting services)  [OpenStack]
62. Red Hat (Openshift PaaS, Enterprise virtualization / Linux)
63. SAP (SuccessFactors (Analytics, Mobile, Social))
64. AppZero (Virtual application appliances)
65. F5 Networks (Cloud Infrastructure and Storage)  [OpenStack]
66. Akamai  Cloud (Performance Optimization) Cotendo (Acceleration Services)  [OpenStack]
67. Radware (Integrated application delivery solutions)
68. OpenNebula (Open source cloud computing toolkit, infrastructure as a service)
69. Appistry (CloudIQ storage management platform)
70. OpsCode Chef (Data Center Automation)  [OpenStack]
71. CloudFoundry (Open PaaS)
72. Puppet Labs (Open Source Data Center Automation)  [OpenStack]
73. Appirio – Cloud Connectors (Cloud solution provider)
74. Kaavo (Multi-Cloud Management)
75. LongJump (Platform as a Service provider)
76. Adaptive (Data Center automation)
77. Juniper Networks (Cloud-ready Data Center Infrastructure)
78. Nimbula (Enterprise Cloud operating system)
79. Symplified (Security – Unified access management for SaaS)
80. CenturyLink / Savvis (Cloud infrastructure as a service)
81. PistonCloud (Enterprise Private Cloud)  [OpenStack]
82. Gigaspaces (Cloudify Enterprise PaaS and ISV SaaS enablement)  [OpenStack]
83. Delphix (Database Virtualization)
84. Scalr (Dynamic server provisioning)
85. Box.net (Content Management)
86. Rollbase (Cloud platforms for business applications)
87. Parallels (Virtualization and automation software)
88. Nasuni (Cloud storage)  [OpenStack]
89. Egnyte (Hybrid Cloud storage)  [Egnyte blog post]
90. VirtuStream (Enterprise Cloud Solutions) Enomaly – Elastic Compute Platform (ECP) (Cloud service provider platform)
91. Crosscheck Networks (Service Oriented Architecture – SOA web services)
92. Caspio (Online database platform)
93. Netuitive (Predictive analytics platform)* [Netuitive blog post]
94. Zendesk (Web based Helpdesk software)
95. Hosting.com (Cloud  hosting and recovery services)
96. enStratus (Cloud governance)  [OpenStack]
97. CloudBees (Platform as a Service)  [OpenStack]
98. Canonical (Ubuntu)  [OpenStack]
99. Engine Yard (Ruby application development platform)
100. OrangeScape (Visual PaaS)
101. Cloudera (Open source data analysis)
102. TwinStrata (Cloud Array Storage Gateway) [OpenStack]
103. Hexagrid (Cloud Service Provider)
104. SOASTA (Cloud testing)  [OpenStack]
105. Nirvanix (Enterprise Cloud Storage, Storage Delivery Network)
106. Riverbed, Zeus Technology (Elastic Application Delivery)
107. Zoho (Business, Productivity, and Collaboration Applications)
108. GoodData (Sales and marketing collaborative analytics)
109. Ncomputing (Desktop virtualization)
110. Noliosoft (Application release automation)
111. ReliaCloud (Cloud servers and storage)
112. SnapLogic (Cloud Integration Platform)
113. RingCentral (Cloud based Phone System)
114. LayeredTech (Cloud hosting and managed services)
115. Flexiant (Utility computing on demand)
116. Workday (Human Resource Management Solutions)

The Leaderboard: Cloud Innovators, Movers & Shakers:

1. 10Gen (Open source document database)
2. 37Signals (Collaboration, project and contact management)
3. Actifio (Cloud Storage Data Management)
4. ActiveState (Platform as a Service – PaaS)  [ActiveState blog post]  [OpenStack]
5. Active Endpoints (Business Process Management)
6. Acumatica (Cloud ERP)
7. Acquia (Social Publishing)
8. AdaptivePlanning (SaaS based CPM)
9. Adeptol (Cloud Connect)
10. Aerohive Networks (Enterprise Management)
11. AlertLogic (Security as a Service)  [OpenStack]
12. Alfresco (Open Source ECM)
13. All Covered Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Business Continuity)
14. Allenport (Office on Demand)
15. Amplidata (Optimized Object Storage)* [Amplidata review]
16. Apprenda (.Net Open PaaS)
17. AppFog (PaaS)
18. AppNeta (formerly Apparent Networks – Network Performance Management)
19. Apptio (Technology Business Management)
20. Apica (Cloud Performance Testing)
21. Apigee (API Management)
22. Aprimo (Integrated Marketing)
23. Arjuna (Cloud consulting)
24. Aria Systems (Subscription Billing Management)
25. Aryaka (Enterprise Communications & Network Services)
26. AtTask (Project Management)
27. Asana (Collaborative Task Management)
28. Aspera (Software License Management)
29. AsperaSoft (File Transfer Software)
30. Astadia (Marketing automation, sales enablement)
31. Atlantis Computing (Virtual Desktops)
32. Atlassian (Software Development)
33. Backupify (Cloud backup)
34. Badgeville (Behavior Lifecycle Management PaaS)
35. Basic Gov (Software as a Service – SaaS for government)
36. Bill.com (Payment and Invoicing)
37. Birst (On Demand Business Intelligence)
38. Bitcasa (Secure Data Storage)
39. BitNami (Cloud Hosting Service)* [BitNami review]
40. BlueLock (Virtual Datacenter)
41. Bluewolf (Software as a Service – SaaS consulting)
42. Broadsoft (Cloud based communications)
43. Board Suite Corp (On Demand Governance)
44. Calxeda (formerly Smooth-Stone)  [OpenStack]
45. Carbonite (Cloud Storage)
46. Care Cloud (Healthcare – Medical Practice Management)
47. Cenzic (Security)
48. Certain Software (Event Management)
49. CGI (Cloud Services)
50. Chargify (Billing Management)
51. Clarizen (Project Management)
52. Cloud9Analytics (Sales forecasting and pipeline management)
53. Cloudability (Cloud cost monitoring)
54. CloudAlly (Cloud backup)
55. Cloudant (Integrated database, analytics, and search)
56. CloudCentral (Cloud servers and hosting)  [OpenStack]
57. CloudCruiser (Cloud migration solutions)  [OpenStack]
58. CloudLock (Cloud Security)
59. Cloud Passage (SaaS security)  [OpenStack]
60. CloudShare (Sharepoint)
61. CloudSigma (Cloud servers and hosting, Infrastructure as a Service – IaaS)
62. CloudScale (Real-time analytics)  [OpenStack]
63. CloudScaling (Open Cloud Infrastructure Solutions)  [OpenStack]
64. Cloud Sherpas (Google Apps CSP)
65. CloudSoftCorp (Multi-Cloud Application Management)
66. Cloudyn (Cloud Monitoring)  [Cloudyn blog post]
67. Cloudworks (Virtual desktop)
68. Concur (Expense Management)
69. Coraid (Cloud Storage)
70. Cordys (Cloud MashApp platform)
71. Corefino (SaaS Accounting)
72. Couchbase (NoSQL database)
73. Coupa (Spend Management)
74. CrowdFactory (Social CRM)
75. CumuLogic (Private Java PaaS)  [OpenStack]
76. daptiv (On demand PPM)
77. Datameer (Data analytics)
78. Datapipe (Managed Cloud services)
79. DocuSign (eSignature Platform)
80. Dome9 (Cloud Security)  [OpenStack]
81. DotCloud (Build and Deploy Cloud Applications)
82. Doxo (Cloud Storage)
83. Dropbox (File Synchronization)
84. DynamicOps (Cloud Automation and Management)
85. Elastic Hosts (Elastic Cloud servers)
86. Electric Cloud (Cloud based private software development)
87. Embotics (Private Cloud Management)
88. Embrane (Agile Network)
89. Eloqua (Cloud Marketing Platform)
90. ERPLY (Retail POS, Inventory and eCommerce)
91. eVapt (Billing solutions)
92. Evernote (Cloud based Note Management)
93. EvolveIP (Cloud based Technology Solutions)
94. Enki (Virtual IT)
95. Expensify (Expense Management)
96. FiberLink (Mobile Device Management as a Service)
97. Five9 (Cloud Call Center Software)
98. FluidInfo (MetaData Engine)
99. FreshBooks (Invoicing and Billing)
100. Fujitsu – Manufacturing “Engineering Cloud”
101. Fusion-IO / IOTurbine (VM I/O Performance Management)
102. Gale Technologies (Infrastructure Automation)
103. GetSatisfaction (Social Commerce)
104. Gigya (Social Infrastructure for Business)
105. Gladinet (Cloud Desktop Backup and Storage)
106. Grasshopper (Virtual Phone System for Entrepreneurs)
107. Green Revolution Cooling (Data Center Cooling)
108. GreenQloud (Green Public Cloud Compute)
109. Hitachi Data Systems (Cloud Infrastructure Solutions)
110. Host Analytics (Corporate Performance Management)
111. HubSpan (Business Process Integration)
112. HubSpot (Inbound Marketing)
113. Huddle (Enterprise Collaboration)
114. HyperOffice (Business collaboration software)
115. HyperStratus (Cloud Strategy and Advisory Services) [OpenStack]
116. iLand (Cloud infrastructure)
117. Imonggo (SaaS Point of Sale)
118. In2Clouds (Predictive Analytics)
119. Informatica (Data Integration, Management, Governance)
120. InsideView (Sales Intelligence)
121. Intacct (Cloud based Financial and Accounting software)
122. Intalio (Private Cloud computing solutions)  [OpenStack]
123. Integral Networks aka iNet (Managed Cloud)
124. IntelePeer (Unified Cloud Communications)
125. Internap (Enterprise Cloud Hosting Solutions) [OpenStack]
126. Interxion (Managed Services)
127. Intuit (Mint - Personal Financial Management, QuickBooks)
128. Involver (Social Markup Language – SML)
129. Iomart (MSP Cloud Solutions)   [OpenStack]
130. Jamcracker (Cloud Service Brokerage)
131. JitScale (Cloud Infrastructure Management)
132. Jive (Social Business)
133. Jobvite (Social CRM SaaS Recruiting)
134. JumpBox (Open source virtual appliance)
135. Kenandy (Cloud Manufacturing Management)
136. Keynote (SaaS Performance Test & Measurement)
137. Limelight Networks (Cloud Infrastructure Services)  [OpenStack]
138. LiveOps (On Demand Contact Center)
139. LivePerson (SaaS Customer Engagement)
140. MadeiraCloud (AWS Lab Manager)
141. Marin Software (Ad Management Solutions)
142. Marketo (Sales & Marketing Solutions)
143. Midokura (Network Virtualization)  [OpenStack]
144. Mezeo (Cloud storage)
145. Model Metrics (Cloud computing consulting)
146. MorphLabs (Private Cloud)  [OpenStack]
147. MuDynamics (Application Testing)
148. MuleSoft (Cloud Integration, iPaaS)
149. MyERP (Business Applications)
150. Nebula (Private Cloud Appliance)  [OpenStack]
151. Nicira (Network Virtualization)  [OpenStack]
152. NephoScale (IaaS Cloud Hosting)  [OpenStack]
153. NetDNA (Content delivery network)
154. NewRelic (SaaS based App Performance Management)  [OpenStack]
155. Nexenta (Cloud Storage)  [OpenStack]
156. Nimbus (Cloud computing for Science)
157. Nimble (Social CRM)
158. nPario (Big Data Insights)
159. Nubifer (Cloud Platform Integration Services)
160. Nutanix (Cloud Storage Architecture)
161. Okta (On demand identity and access management)
162. Opsview (Enterprise Infrastructure Monitoring)
163. Oxygen Cloud (Enterprise Cloud file storage)
164. Palantir Technologies (Data Analysis and Visualization Platform)
165. Pano Logic (Virtual Desktops)
166. PanTerra Networks (Cloud based Unified Communications)
167. Parature (Cloud based social and customer engagement)
168. Pardot (Marketing Automation)
169. Paremus (Service fabric)
170. Peer1 (Private Cloud hosting services)
171. PerimeterUSA (eSecurity Platform)
172. PiCloud (Platform as a Service)
173. PivotalTracker (Agile Project Management)
174. PivotLink (Business Intelligence)
175. PowerAssure (Data Center Power Optimization)
176. PowerReviews (Social Commerce)
177. Practice Fusion (Electronic Health / Medical Records)* [PracticeFusion blog post]
178. Producteev (Task Management)
179. Qlikview (Business Intelligence)
180. Quantivo (Behavioral analytics)
181. Quest (Cloud Management)
182. QuorumLabs (Hybrid Cloud Disaster Recovery Solutions)  [OpenStack]
183. Recurly (Recurrent Billing Management)
184. RightSignature (Electronic Signature)
185. RainStor (Big Data Analytics on Hadoop)
186. RPost (Legal electronic messaging platform, registered email)
187. RunMyProcess (Cloud Workflow Management)* [RunMyProcess review]
188. ScaleXtreme (Cloud based Server Automation)  [OpenStack]
189. ScienceLogic (Data Center and Cloud Management)
190. ServiceMesh (Cloud Governance)* [ServiceMesh review]  [OpenStack]
191. SkyTap (Cloud automation solutions for enterprise)
192. SendGrid (Cloud based email)
193. Sentilla (Energy management platform)
194. Service-now (IT management Software as a Service)
195. Simple (Financial Management)
196. SolidFire (Storage for Cloud Service Providers)  [OpenStack]
197. Sonian (Cloud powered email archiving)  [OpenStack]
198. Soonr (Secure Cloud file access)
199. Spiceworks (Free IT Management)  [OpenStack]
200. StackIQ (formerly Clustercorp – Cluster computing)
201. StorSimple (Cloud-Integrated Enterprise Storage)
202. Symform (Cloud Storage Network)
203. Syncplicity (Virtual Private Cloud)
204. SumTotal Systems (Human Capital Management)
205. Sungard (Cloud infrastructure services)
206. SynapSense (Energy Management)
207. Tableau Software (Data Analytics)
208. Talend (Hybrid Cloud Integration, Big Data)
209. ThinkGrid (Cloud enablement platform)
210. Tibco (Platform as a Service)
211. Twilio (Cloud communications – web services)
212. Unisys (Cloud managed services provider)
213. Uptime Cloud (Cloud Cost Monitoring)
214. Veeva (Life Sciences Pharma + Biotech CRM)
215. Venda (SaaS Commerce)
216. Veracode (Security as a Service)
217. Virsto (Cloud Storage Hypervisor)
218. Virtual Ark (Application managed services, SaaS)
219. Vyatta (Private and Public Cloud Networking)   [OpenStack]
220. Wildfire (Social Media Marketing)
221. Workbooks (Web-based CRM and Business Applications for SMB)
222. Xactly (Sales Compensation Management in the Cloud)
223. Xeround (Cloud Database)  [OpenStack]
224. Yammer (Free Enterprise Social Network)
225. Zetta (Cloud storage)
226. Zenoss (Unified Service Assurance for Hybrid DataCenter ) [OpenStack]

Who’s on your cloud computing radar?

Additional Cloud computing lists you may enjoy:

• The 20 Coolest Cloud Infrastructure Vendors
• The 20 Coolest Cloud Software Vendors
• The Top 100 Cloud Computing Private Companies
• The Talkin’ Cloud 50: Top 50 Cloud Computing VARs & MSPs
• Top 15 Cloud Service Providers – Ranked by Global Performance
• 50 of The Biggest and Best Cloud Computing Companies
• 85 Cloud Computing Vendors Shaping the Emerging Cloud
• The 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors of 2011
• The Top 150 Players in Cloud Computing
• The VAR Guy’s SaaS 20 Index
• The Top 250 Players in the Cloud Computing Ecosystem
• Top Ten Cloud Companies in 2Q10 Report
• 10 Cloud Computing Companies to Watch
• 15 Cloud Companies to Watch

2011 Acquisitions (Updated):

• ARM Holdings buys Obsidian (RAVEN)
• Black Duck Software acquires Olliance (Open Source Strategy Consulting)
• BMC acquires Aeroprise (Mobile)
• CA acquires Torokina Networks (Service Assurance Management)
• CA Technologies buys ITKO (Application Development)
• CA Technologies buys Watchmouse (SaaS Monitoring)
• CenturyLink acquires Savvis (Managed Hosting Services)
• Cisco picks up Pari Networks (Network / Change Management)
• Cisco acquires Versly (Collaboration)
• Cisco acquires newScale (Data Center Services)
• Citrix closes Netviewer acquisition (Software-as-a-Service -SaaS)
• Citrix acquires Cloud.com (CloudStack)
• CoreLogic acquires Dorado (Transaction Management – PaaS)
• CSC acquires AppLabs (Software Testing)
• CSC acquires Maricom (BI and DM)
• Dell to acquire InSite One (Healthcare/ Medical Storage, DR)
• Dell SecureWorks acquisition (Security)
• Dell acquires Force10 (Networking)
• Google acquires SayNow (Social Voice Platform)
• Google acquires Zagat (Content / Reviews)
• Google buys Motorola Mobility (Mobile)
• HP Buys Vertica (Real-Time Analytics)
• HP acquires Autonomy (Information Management Software)
• IBM acquires Platform Computing (HPC / Private Cloud)
• Infor Launches Bid For Lawson (Enterprise Resource Planning – ERP)
• Intel to acquire Fulcrum Microsystems (Ethernet Switch)
• Intel to acquire Infineon’s Wireless Unit (Mobile)
• Microsoft acquires Skype (Communications)
• NetApp acquires Akorri (Infrastructure Optimization)
• NTT’s Dimension Data buys OpSource (Cloud Managed Services)
• Oracle acquires RightNow (Customer Relationship Management)
• Qualcomm acquires Atheros (Chips – Smartphones, Tablets)
• Rackspace acquires Anso Labs (OpenStack)
• Salesforce buys Heroku (Ruby Development platform)
• Salesforce buys Radian6 (Real-time monitoring)
• Salesforce buys DimDim (Communications platform)
• Salesforce acquires Navajo Systems (Security)
• Salesforce acquires ModelMetrics (Consulting)
• Salesforce buys Assistly (Real-time customer service)
• Skype acquires Qik (Mobile video – Android, iOS, BlackBerry)
• Sourcefire acquires Immunet (Cloud based anti-malware)
• Teradata buys Aster Data (Data analytics)
• Time Warner Cable buys Navisite (Cloud Managed Services)
• Verizon acquires Terremark (Managed Hosting Services)
• Verizon acquires CloudSwitch (Cloud Software)
• VMware acquires Socialcast (Enterprise blogging)
• VMware acquires PacketMotion (Security)

Disclosure: The opinions expressed here are my own. I have no direct stock holdings in any company mentioned. I am a member of the Ulitzer Blog Network serving as Founder and Editor of several Journals and am not an employee of Ulitzer, SYS-CON, CloudTweaks, Cloudbook, CloudTech, Focus Expert network, or any other website where this blog post may appear.