In a hybrid world, in which any combination of cloud services may be consumed by a single customer, rigid definitions of cloud deployment models may serve to hinder rather than promote innovation, Claranet warns today.

Michel Robert, Claranet’s UK managing director, says:

Definitions such as PaaS or IaaS have been useful in a rapidly evolving market in differentiating between cloud services and the attributes of each. However, the reality is customer requirements tend to be best addressed by combining different elements of these services together. The result is that while many organisations want a to take advantage of cloud services, the categories of cloud can create a false sense of inflexibility and confusion as to the best way forward.

“IaaS and PaaS as stand alone services may not be suitable, particularly for the mid-market, where many customers are looking for managed services to remove the burden of application and infrastructure management. In many cases, it will be a mix of services which will be required – satisfying their need for both control and ease of management” he continued.

Robert went on to suggest that with the predicted hybridisation of the cloud industry, deployment terms will become increasingly unhelpful, and that businesses would need to take a more holistic view of their IT requirements:

“The relevance of these discrete terms is diminishing. Analysts and technology firms are predicting a hybrid world, mixing on-premise IT with off, mixing dedicated with shared hosting, and mixing public and private cloud.

“The new realities of cloud adoption mean that businesses need help in making the move to cloud and plotting their migration paths. MSPs should be looking to leverage the range of cloud services as components of a service rather than the service itself. In doing so, there will be greater innovation and customer requirements will be better served,” Robert concluded.

Find out more:

• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit Claranet’s hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s Award-winning Virtual Data Centre service, visit Virtual Data Centre.
• To see a demonstration of Claranet’s Award-winning service, visit Virtual Data Centre.

While the news that the Kremlin is going to spend £10,000 on a number of electronic typewriters in an attempt to eliminate the risk of damaging data leaks might raise a chuckle, it does show the level of concern over how best to safeguard sensitive data in an increasingly complex IT world, says Claranet Managing Director Michel Robert.

Increasing the creation of paper documentation is probably not a great idea,” Robert said. “Not only can it be difficult and time-consuming to identify valuable information in paper documents, but they can also represent a security risk themselves, especially from internal threats. And that’s before even considering the threats posed by fire, flood, or other natural disaster that might destroy those documents.”

As the vast majority of data is created by business systems, the primary focus remains on securing IT systems, Robert said: “If you are concerned about safeguarding your data, your first step should be to evaluate how much of your data is actually sensitive, how long it needs to be retained for, and how often it will be accessed. In taking this approach there is the opportunity to reduce complexity and the volumes of data stored securely.

“Having completed this audit, IT decision-makers can focus on building the right mix of internal and external services to meet their requirements. It is important to carefully consider network security and resilience, including private MPLS networks, encryption, and integrated 3G services to address mobile working,” he continued.

“Not all managed service providers are born equal, however. Organisations need to identify a provider with the capacity to supply integrated hosting, communication, and network services, providing a solution that is bespoke to their needs. Transparency over how and where data is stored is also crucial, with in-country data centres providing assurances as to sovereignty,” Robert concluded.

Find out more:

• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

Gartner announces latest Magic Quadrant for European Managed Hosting

Managed services provider Claranet has been positioned in the “Leaders” quadrant in Gartner’s latest European Magic Quadrant for European Managed Hosting, published June 19, 2013 by Tiny Haynes et al.

Gartner stated that vendors in the Leaders Quadrant have proved they have staying power in this market, can frequently innovate on their existing products and can be relied on for enterprise-class needs. They have proved their technical competence and ability to deliver services to a wide range of customers. They address multiple use cases with stand-alone or integrated solutions.

Charles Nasser, CEO of Claranet, states that:

Claranet has a strong history of networking and hosting provision, which means that customers have a single line of accountability and that we have a broad understanding across our customers’ IT spectrum.

Secondly, as one of the few European-headquartered providers with a pan-European presence, Claranet is in a strong position as the market continues to mature. Our acquisitions of Star in the UK and Typhon in France have consolidated our position in Europe while maintaining our financial and corporate stability – both enormously important trust factors when storing data with a provider.”

The Gartner Magic Quadrant assessment offers snapshots of markets and their participants. It enables users to map vendor strengths against their current and future needs. Gartner evaluated Claranet’s hosting portfolio on both its completeness of vision and its ability to execute using 15 weighted criteria.

Charles continues:

Our hosting and network solutions offer significant operational cost-savings, enhanced flexibility and scalability, and immediate return on investment (ROI) We believe it is this integrated portfolio, matched with our ability to operate across multiple borders, that has enabled us to enter this Magic Quadrant in the Leaders category at our first attempt. Claranet believes this to be a strong affirmation of our hosting solutions.”

Find out more

• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

Gartner announces latest Magic Quadrant for European Managed Hosting

Managed services provider Claranet has been placed in the “Leaders” category in Gartner’s latest European Magic Quadrant research paper.

The report includes Claranet for the first time, citing key factors: the MSP’s agility in meeting customer demand for more flexible hosting, its strong hosting portfolio combined with network experience, and its investment in creating multiple standard platforms for running families of applications.

Charles Nasser, CEO of Claranet, states that a number of points can be taken from the report’s findings:

“The impact of a well-organised account team on the quality of customer service is highlighted as a key differentiator. Gartner’s praise for Claranet in putting agile process teams in place is a testament to our flexibility to meet customer demands and our ability to proactively anticipate requirements. We also have strong history of networking and hosting provision, which means that customers have a single line of accountability and that we have a broad understanding across our customers’ IT spectrum.

“Secondly, as one of the few European-headquartered providers with a pan-European presence, Claranet is in a strong position as the market continues to mature. Our acquisitions of Star in the UK and Typhon in France have consolidated our position in Europe while maintaining our financial and corporate stability – both enormously important trust factors when storing data with a provider.”

The Gartner Magic Quadrant assessment offers snapshots of markets and their participants. It enables users to map vendor strengths against their current and future needs. Gartner assessed Claranet’s hosting portfolio on both its completeness of vision and its ability to execute using 15 weighted criteria.

Charles continues:

Our hosting and network solutions offer significant operational cost-savings, enhanced flexibility and scalability, and immediate return on investment (ROI) It is this integrated portfolio, matched with our ability to operate across multiple borders, that has enabled us to enter this Magic Quadrant in the Leaders category at our first attempt – a strong affirmation of our hosting solutions.”

Find out more:

• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

Datacentre and Cloud Awards recognise Claranet founder

Claranet Chief Executive Charles Nasser was named Entrepreneur of the Year (international category) last night, taking the title at the sixth annual Datacentre and Cloud Awards in a ceremony at London’s One Whitehall Place.

Nasser, who founded Claranet in 1996 aged 26, has seen the company evolve and grow into the largest provider of cloud services to the European mid-market, with annual revenues of £124 million. In November 2012 Claranet acquired Star. The acquisition saw Claranet expand on its expertise in providing managed networks and hosting services and capitalise on Star’s track record in unified communications, remote desktops, and security, as well as giving it a strong regional network of offices across the UK.

Over the last 17 years, the nature of Claranet’s business has evolved to take advantage of technological developments and the changing demands of its customers, Nasser explained:

When I set up Claranet in 1996, we were providing connectivity to home consumers and small businesses who were looking to get online in their droves in the early days of the Internet. By the turn of the millennium, we had annual revenues of £11 million from a standing start. But I knew we were at risk of being crowded out of the market by bigger players, and so I took the decision to transform the company into a corporate ISP, focusing on business customers. Several years of organic growth, and a number of key acquisitions in the UK and on the Continent, brought revenues of £70 million. Then in 2006 we evolved again into a managed services provider, making an early play on mid-sized corporate customers’ need for secure and reliable cloud services.”

Throughout Claranet’s 17-year history, Nasser has maintained the company’s financial independence, pursuing a policy of organic growth and acquisitions without bringing in funding from institutional investors. Explaining his entrepreneurial approach, Nasser said: “My view has always been that investment cycles and the shorter-term returns demanded by institutional investors and shareholders can inhibit long-term strategy for profitability, product development, and meeting customer needs. Claranet’s growth has been achieved by reinvesting profits or, as in the case of the recent acquisition of Star, through the use of institutional lenders,” he said.

For further information about Claranet and its integrated network, hosting, and communications managed services provision, visit www.claranet.co.uk.

To find out more about the Datacentre and Cloud Awards and the 2013 award winners, visit www.datacentreawards.com.

Find out more:

• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

Migration of mission-critical IT infrastructure and business applications to the cloud is occurring at slower rates than that of other IT functions, according to new independent research from managed services provider Claranet. This highlights the ongoing complexity that many IT decision-makers are having with cloud adoption as they try to reach the right balance of multi-tenanted cloud, dedicated cloud and in-house solutions.

The research found that one in five organisations (22 per cent) will have migrated their IT infrastructure to a cloud service by the end of Q1 2014. The figures concerning other critical operations were similar: 26 per cent will have migrated the management of their IT operations, while IT asset management services (30 per cent) and accounting and finance applications (32 per cent) are set to remain predominantly in-house.

Our research has already shown that organisations have significant concerns about the security of their data should they adopt cloud services. This is a major factor in the differing rates of migration between business-critical operations and other applications. Many organisations are finding that hybrid solutions that combine dedicated and multi-tenanted cloud services with traditional IT hosting are the best fit for their needs, so addressing such concerns will be crucial,” said Michel Robert, Managing Director at Claranet.

By the end of Q1 2014, half of organisations (51 per cent) will have moved their email to the cloud, 59 per cent will have migrated advertising and online marketing services to the cloud, and 61 per cent will have migrated their e-commerce web apps, while web portals will be cloud-based at two thirds (67 per cent) of organisations.

Robert said that cloud service providers must do more to gain the trust of business decision-makers, and to build confidence in the use of cloud for hosting for IT infrastructure and applications.

“The fact that only 22 per cent of respondents will have moved their IT infrastructure over to a public or private cloud by this time next year is a sign that vendors need to do more to build trust. As cloud service providers, we need to recognise that moving infrastructure to the cloud is a complex process, and that we must reassure customers by demonstrating our capabilities to support migration and integration. We must also acknowledge that mixed private and public cloud services, or hybrid cloud, are essential to meeting diverse business needs.

“The business benefits of adopting cloud services – not only in terms of cost-savings, but also with respect to business efficiency, operational flexibility and staff productivity – are substantial and measurable. For IT decision-makers to have enough trust in cloud providers, those providers will have to get better at conveying the message that a properly designed and managed cloud migration can be effective and secure,” he said.

The report, part of Claranet’s ongoing research programme, is based on a survey of 250 senior IT decision-makers across a range of small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises and public sector organisations.

The survey – conducted by Vanson Bourne, an independent market research firm – also found that the security concerns arising from the complexity of migrating mission-critical services to the cloud is a major concern for businesses, with these being cited by 66 per cent of respondents.

These findings are supported by statistics published last year (June 2012) by the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), an association promoting best practice for cloud service providers of which Claranet is a member. CIF found that complexity was the most common difficulty encountered by organisations migrating to the cloud (45 per cent), and that IT decision-makers wanted their providers to help make the migration process easier (35 per cent believing this) and quicker (38 per cent supporting this).

Find out more:

• For more information about Claranet’s cloud services, visit cloud services.
• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

Shortage of sales and support skills and perceived immaturity of cloud market main factors in inhibiting channel

Resellers are sensing an opportunity to grow their revenues by selling cloud services, but concerns over the immaturity of the market and staff skills to sell and support cloud solutions are standing in the way of their ambitions. Vendors must do more to educate and support resellers to bolster their confidence in the cloud services market, Claranet warns today.

The latest statistics from the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) reveal that almost a third (32 per cent) of resellers expect cloud services to constitute more than 20 per cent of their revenue by 2015, up from 13 per cent in 2012. But while the channel clearly anticipates increasing demand for cloud services over in the coming years, there are signs that resellers do not feel entirely able to take advantage. Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of resellers are concerned that their staff lack the skills required to support cloud solutions, and 19 per cent think they are missing the skills to sell those same solutions.

Simon Bearne, Sales Director at Claranet, said that unless Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) can up their game and offer the channel the support that it needs, resellers will struggle to address the opportunity:

It’s clear that resellers are keen to take advantage of the cloud, sensing the obvious market opportunities it presents. But the cloud remains a new and relatively unknown frontier for a large contingent within the channel and, while their concerns are by no means insurmountable, they will only be overcome with the help of vendors. CSPs must work with resellers to instil trust in their products and give them full confidence in the skills of their staff to sell and support cloud solutions.

“Cloud providers must do all they can to educate resellers and enable them to overcome the skills shortages that they feel are holding them back from adopting cloud services,” Bearne continued. “But this needs to extend beyond simply providing ‘classroom’ training. The best CSPs will provide channel partners with direct access to their expertise, ‘loaning out’ staff to help with initial sales and to establish the reseller’s knowledge base. Only if resellers understand exactly what they are offering will they be able to smooth out the sales process, support end-user experience of migration and integration, and realise the predicted revenue boom.

“The popularity of hybrid solutions, combining traditional IT hosting with cloud services, can present challenges for resellers who saw the cloud as a good way into the hosting market but who may have little or no experience of traditional hosting. Reselling the cloud is about more than simply providing a well-packaged product – expertise, support, and trust are just as important, and this is where CSPs must step in,” Bearne added. “End-users should look for resellers with established long-term relationships with both vendors and customers – a sure sign of a strong understanding of the technology they are selling and the needs of the organisations they are selling to.”

Cloud services are also perceived as unproven, with 18 per cent of resellers voicing concerns over the immaturity of the market. In response, Bearne suggested that independent accreditation can provide much-needed endorsement of providers’ promises and point to market maturity:

“In an industry such as ours where “cloudwash” is commonplace, it’s easy to bamboozle customers with unfounded claims over security and data protection. The knowledge that an organisation has taken time to ensure its technology is up to scratch and put itself through rigorous auditing and certification processes – such as those for ISO:27000 or PCI DSS – will build up resellers’ trust, giving them confidence that they are looking at a mature market that takes their security concerns seriously,” he concluded.

Find out more:

• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

Providers need to continue to focus on building trust amongst end-users

Cloud providers must do more to earn the trust of end-users regarding the security of their platforms and services, according to managed services provider Claranet, as it reveals in a recent survey that half of organisations fear exposure of their confidential data.

The research found that 50 per cent of organisations are concerned by the threat posed to well-known cloud providers by hackers. A similar number cited the exposure of confidential customer data (48 per cent), while the release of sensitive data to the general public as a result of a major security breach was also a major worry (45 per cent).

The report, part of Claranet’s annual research programme, is based on a poll of 250 senior IT decision-makers across a range of small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises, and public sector organisations.

However, the survey also found that while security remains a significant concern, organisations do understand the importance and potential of cloud services. Only ten per cent of respondents believe that the cloud is not yet a proven technology, while just four percent labelled it mere marketing hype.

Claranet’s UK Managing Director, Michel Robert, said that the findings point to low levels of confidence in service providers over data handling and storage in the cloud.

It is encouraging to see that more than ninety percent of organisations recognise that cloud-based services are a proven approach to technology and more than just a marketing buzzword,” Robert said.

“However, the fact that half of organisations still harbour concerns about the security of their data in a cloud environment is a clear sign that more work needs to be done. Cloud service providers need to be completely transparent over where and how they store customers’ data, ideally offering in-country data centres to allay sovereignty concerns. They also need to take responsibility for overall service availability, including network uptime. Cloud providers that lack their own network will need to work far more closely with network operators so that they can provide a completely integrated service that is secure and reliable.”

Find out more:

• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

Press coverage:

• BCW – Hacking and data leaks still top Cloud fears
• Computer Weekly – Cloud security still top concern for UK CIOs, survey shows
• The Data Chain – Hacking and data leaks still top concern for UK CIOs
• National Computing Centre –