What you missed in Cloud : Old meets new in the enterprise
Major changes are afoot in the enterprise as decision makers come to recognize the inevitability of cloud computing, but it’s still a long and bumpy road to modernization, with existing technology investments to sustain and new projects to embark on. It’s a multi-billion dollar challenge and an equally large opportunity, so big in fact that it has spurred legacy vendors like ASG Software Solutions to abandon traditional business models and try to make the journey smoother.
The Naples, Florida-based mainframe software firm last week introduced CloudFactory, a hosted service that allows customers to operate big iron without learning the ins and out of their systems. At its core, the offering is a collection of scripts that automates routine management tasks and provides increased status transparency, making it possible for non-technical users to perform tasks that would otherwise require specialized skills and take much longer to fulfill. It also packs a workflow execution engine called CloudRobot and an easy to use natural language frontend that provides self-service access to apps and data.
While ASG is helping customers make the most out of their legacy infrastructure, MuleSoft is enabling IT organizations to move forward with new initiatives by simplifying the process of plugging cloud apps into existing processes. The company’s flagship API management suite has captured the attention of enterprises and VCs both, and this week it announced that it has raised $50 million in funding from NEA, Lightspeed Venture Partners and new investor Meritech Capital Partners. Cisco also joined as an investor, while existing backers Salesforce, SAP Ventures, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures and Bay Partners participated as well.
Over in the cloud locker space, Box announced that its ecosystem had passed 1,000 applications mark. The milestone comes two years after the launch of the company’s OneCloud framework for unifying business information across devices and applications, and represents a symbolic step towards the firm’s vision for comprehensive vertical integration.
photo credit: Pro-Zak via photopin cc
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