It was an open-ended vision of two students at the Stanford University, back in 1995, which
translated into the global powerhouse company named Google.Working from their dorm rooms, theycalledthesearchenginebackthenBackrub.Theirmissionwassimpleto“Organizetheworld’s informationandmakeituniversallyaccessibleanduseful.”Soon,theychangedthenameintoGoogle, whichhadanaptlyhiddenmathematicalexpressionforthenumber1followedby100zeros.
LarryPageandSergeyBrin,thetwofounders,wantedtofindasolutiontomapthenumberoftimesaweb pagewaslinkedacrosstheWorldWideWeb.Forthis,theyhadtodownloadtheentireinternettodevelop amappingalgorithm.Nottomention,theyfoundaradicallybetteralternativetosearchtheinternetthen anyofthepreviouslyexistingones.Sincethen,manysearchengineslikeYahooandBinghaveemerged intothescenebutnonecameevenclosetotoppleGooglefromthetopofthefoodchain.
Today,Googlealongwithitsinnovativeandadvancedtechnologieshascaptivatedtheworldwithinits grip,tohelpbusinessesattainunrivalledprofitabilityandsuccess.Transformingthewaythewebworks, from Search Engine Optimization to Shopping Carts, Google has brought-forward a revolution in the businessworldunlikeanyseenbefore.EnterprisesarethereinpartneringwithGooglesolutionstofurther advance their digital transformation motive and help ameliorate the business outcomes of their customers.
WithstatisticsshowcasingoveronemillionbusinessesemployingGooglesolutions,theinclination israpidlygainingmomentumovertraditionalmeansofmarketing.
Enterprises are seeking its paramount expertise to jumpstart their heightened revenue generating marketing campaigning. The recent overall investment in the sector amounts to several billion dollarsandthenumbersaresurgingaheadeverypassingday.Thisgrowthtrajectoryhasattracted sectorslikehealthcare,bankingandotherstoresorttoGooglesolutions,therebyproliferatingthem acrossanexpansiveaudiencebasewithawiderreach.
TakingintoconsiderationtherisingadoptionofGoogleSolutions,InsightsSuccesshascritically evaluatedandcuratedalistof“The10MostInnovativeGoogleSolutionProviderCompanies, 2017,” which are transforming the industry landscape with its effective and adept solutions and boaststhepotentialtoensureenhancedreturns.
FeaturingintheissueastheCoverStoryisReblazeTechnologies,whichprovidesproprietaryweb securitytechnologiesinasingle,unifiedplatform,shieldingcustomerwebassets(sites,apps,data, andservices)withinprivate,securecloudenvironments.
Also featured in the issue are A.Y. Technologies, which is a web application and mobile app development agency, providing SaaS integrations, UX Research and User Experience Design; Cloud With Me, a cloud computing platform that simplifies cloud adoption; iClick Interactive AsiaLimited,whichisanonlinemarketingfirmwhichreliesonadvanceddatadrivenautomated solutionswhichprovidesmultiomnichannelstotheirclientstoreachChineseusers;Push,whichis adigitalmarketingagencyprovidingmarketingtechniquesandprocessesforclients;TIEKinetix, acompanythathelpsintransformingthedigitalsupplychainbyprovidingTotalIntegrated E-Commercesolutions;andTOPGATEInc.,atechnologyspecializedcloudintegratorofGoogle andatrainingpartnerofGoogleCloudPlatformandPremierServicePartner.
Inadditiontothese,don’tforgettoflipthroughthepagesofourEditorialArticles; Why should You haveMultiplePaymentOptionsinYourBusiness? InOpinion;andGoogleCloudPlatform:The WisestInvestmentOpportunityForEnterprises IndustryPerspective.
Also, expand your knowledge base and expertise through our CXO Standpoint, Using AI to AutomaticallyOptimizeCloudCostsbyAmiramShachar CloudInsights. Let’sGetStarted!
Sourav Mukherjee
Hackingandbreaches,denial-of-serviceattacks, dataleaks…itseemsthathardlyaweekgoesby withoutsomemajorsecurityincidentbeing reported.
In2017alone,hackersstoletheprivateinformationoftens ofmillionsofpeople:143millionconsumersintheEquifax breach,57millionUbercustomers,14millionVerizon customers…thelistgoeson.Otherhigh-profileevents includedahackoftheNationalSecurityAgency(thefifth reportedbreachinasmanyyears),theWannaCry ransomwareinfestationwiththousandsofvictims,the months-long“Cloudbleed”problemwhereCloudflarewas exposingitscustomers’encryptedinformation,andmore.
Meanwhile,DDoS(DistributedDenialofService)attacks alsogotworse.AccordingtoareportfromKasperskyLab, 33percentoforganizationsexperiencedaDDoSattackin 2017.Thisisdoubletherateseenin2016.
Inthisenvironment,howcanorganizationssuccessfully defendthemselves?Cancloudcomputinghelpwiththis?
WeaskedthisquestiontoTzuryBarYochay,CTOof ReblazeTechnologies:aPCIDSScertifiedservice provider,whichofferscomprehensivewebsecurity (includinghackingandbreachprevention,DoS/DDoS protection,botmitigation,scrapingprevention,andmore) inacloud-basedplatform.
Tzurysaid,“Thesecuritylandscapehaschanged significantlyoverthelastfewyears.Web-basedattacks havebecomeverycommon,andoften,verysophisticated.
“Butmanyorganizationsarestillusinglegacytechnologies suchasappliances.Thesehavemanydisadvantages,and traditionalsecuritystrategiescannotdefeatmanyofthe attacktechniquesthatwenowsee.
“Thegoodnewsisthateffectiveprotectionisstillpossible. Moderncloudtechnologiesgiveustremendouspower. Amongmanyotherapplications,wecanusethecloudto getrobustwebsecurity
Whatnewcapabilitiesareprovidedbycloud computing?
Heexplained,“Therearemany.Forexample,there’sthe abilitytorunanapplicationsuiteinthecloud,suchasour Reblazeplatform.Anorganizationthatdecidestouse Reblazedoesn’tneedtobuyanyhardware,orinstallany software—asimpleDNSchangeisallthat’srequired.
“ThisroutesincomingwebtrafficthroughReblaze.Our platformscrubsthetraffic,blockinghostilerequestswhile allowinglegitimatetrafficthroughtotheprotectedsites, apps,etc.Andthankstothecomputationalpoweravailable inthecloud,wecanperformverysophisticatedtraffic analysisandaccuratelydetectthreatswithnegligible latency—generallytwomillisecondsorless.
“Also,becauseReblazerunsinthecloud,wecanmanageit forourcustomers.Ourplatformdoesmostofitswork automatically,andwedotheremainingadministration remotely Thisincludesupdatestoo.Soourcustomersdon’t needtodoanything—theirReblazedeploymentsarefully managed,andalwaysup-to-date.
Whatotherbenefitsdoesthecloudprovide?
Tzurysaid,“Thecloudobviouslyprovidesmassive bandwidth.Weusethisinseveralways,forexampleto defeatvolumetricDDoSattacks.Ifathreatactortriesto DDoSoneofourcustomers,theReblazeplatformhasnearinfinitebandwidthatitsdisposaltoabsorbthehostiletraffic andpreventitfromreachingourcustomer’snetworks. Bandwidthandotherresourcesscaleautomaticallyas needed.Basically,whenanattackertriestooverwhelma targetwithahigh-volumeDDoS,wehavetheresourcesof theentireglobalcloudatourdisposal,whicharedeployed andload-balancedautomatically
Tzurysaid,“Fromtheearliestdaysof thepubliccloud,weunderstoodits potential.Infact,Reblazewasfounded specificallytotakeadvantageofthe manybenefitsofcloudcomputing.But ittookafewyearsformostindustries tocatchup—formostexecutivesto understandwhatthecloudcandofor them.
“Today,wehavetheoppositeproblem. Thecloudhasbecomesopopular,that variouscompaniesareclaimingto havepubliccloudsolutionsevenwhen theyreallydon’t.Forexample, Reblazerunsonthetop-tierpublic cloudproviders(AWS,Microsoft Azure,andGoogleCloudPlatform), whichhaveinvestedacombined$65 billionintotheirinfrastructures.But almostallofourcompetitorsuseselfownedcloudinfrastructure.Clearly, theseself-ownedcloudscan’tcompete withthetop-tierswhenitcomesto reliabilityandperformance.
Arethereotherfactorsthatshould beconsideredwhencomparingcloud securitysolutions?
Tzurysaidyes.“Averyimportant issueiswhetherornotprivateclouds areprovided.AtReblaze,wedeploya unique,separatecloudenvironmentfor eachaccount.Itisdeliveredasaselfcontained,scalableandelasticVPC (VirtualPrivateCloud).EachReblaze deploymenthasanentirededicated stack(includingDNSservers,load balancers,logs,database,etc.)forthat customer’susealone.
“Incontrasttothis,ourcompetitors requiretheircustomerstosharecloud resources.Thisexposesthose customerstomulti-tenancy vulnerabilities,anditalsomeansany givencustomercanbeaffectedbyan attackonsomeoneelse.ButReblaze, bysettingupeachcustomerwitha uniqueVPC,ensuresthatourclients canneverbeaffectedbyattacksthathit others.Andtherearemanyother advantagestothisapproachbesides these.
“Anotherimportantfactoris technology.Reblazeisattheforefront ofseveraltechnologicaltrends,suchas applyingbigdataandmachinelearning towebsecurity.Meanwhile,someof
ourcompetitorsaren’tusingtheseat all.
Doesthecloudmakeiteasiertouse theselatestadvancements?
Tzuryanswered,“Yes,inseveralways. Firstofall,thetop-tiercloudproviders haveBigDatacapabilities.Weuse theseservicestocollectandstore massivevolumesofanonymizedtraffic datafromReblazedeploymentsall overtheworld.Wereceiveandprocess over3.5billiontrafficrequestsperday, andwestoreeverysingleone.
“ThenweuseGoogleCloudMachine Learningtoidentifyglobaltrendsin webtraffic.Wedetectandobservenew attacktechniquesasthey’reused,and
WhatchallengeshasReblaze Technologiesfacedinusingthe cloud?
wegetmanyotherinsightsthatare thenfedbackintoourdeployments worldwide.
“Basically,we’reharnessingthe computingcapacityoftheglobalcloud andusingitagainsthostileactors. Evenasnewwebthreatsarise,the Reblazeplatformisalwayslearning andadapting,toremaineffective againstthem.
SpeakingofGoogle,Reblaze TechnologiesisaGoogleSecurity Partner:hasthisrelationshiphelpedin enhancingbusinessoutcomesforits customers?Tzurysaid,“Our partnershipwithGooglehasgonevery well.Firstofall,GCP(GoogleCloud Platform)hasaweb-basedLauncher whereGCPuserscandeployvarious
softwarepackageswithjustoneclick. We’vesetupReblazewithinLauncher sothatpotentialcustomerscantryour platformforamonth,withnofurther obligation.
“Sowithjustasingleclick,peoplecan getrobustprotectionfortheirwebsites andotheronlineassets,andcanalso seealltheotherbenefitsthatReblaze provides(suchasfulltraffic transparency,real-timetrafficcontrol, andsoon),allwithnocostor obligation.
“Ofcourse,thisone-month-trial-withno-obligationofferisnotonlyforGCP users—it’savailabletoeverybody.But GoogleCloudhasmadeitveryfast andsimpletogetstartedusingour platform.
“Googlehasalsobeenverysupportive ofwhatReblazeisdoingintheareaof websecurity.Overthelastyearorso, I’vebeeninvitedtospeaknumerous timesatvariousGoogleevents.Our partnershiphashadotherpositive outcomesaswell.
Whatcanweexpectfromcloud computinginthefuture,especially whenitcomestowebsecurity?
Tzurysaid,“Ascloudtechnologies continuetoadvance,we’relooking forwardtoagreatfuture.There’sstill somuchuntappedpotentialinwhatthe cloudcouldconceivablydo.
“Forexample,thecloudmakes DevOpspossible,whichhasmany advantages.So,we’vemadeReblaze intoafullyDevOps-compatible platform.Mostwebsecuritysolutions getinthewayofcontinuousdelivery, butReblazesupportsit.Whenevera newapporserviceisintroduced,our platformadaptsandadjustsitself,and immediatelystartsprotectingthenew appsandservicesjustaswellasthe existingones.Fororganizationsusing Reblaze,websecurityhasbecome integratedwithDevOps,insteadof hinderingit.
“HereatReblazeTechnologies,we’re veryexcitedaboutthisandother innovations.Ourcontinuingmissionis tomakerobust,effectivewebsecurity accessibletoanybodywithanInternet presence—sothatthewebisasafer placeforeveryone.”
A.Y.Technologies aytech.ca
CloudWithMe cloudwith.me
AminYazdani Director
GiladSomjen CEO, AsafZamir CTO
Finch finch.com
iClickInteractive AsiaLimited i-click.com
Push pushgroup.co.uk
BjornEspenes Co-founder&CEO
A.Y Technologiesisawebapplicationandmobileapp developmentagency,providingSaaSintegrations,UXResearch andUserExperienceDesign.
CloudWithMeisacloudcomputingplatformthatsimplifies cloudadoption.
FinchmanagesAdWordscampaignsforadvertiserswiththe purposeofgrowingrevenuesandoptimizingforprofitina SaaS+model.
SammyHsieh CEO&Co-founder
StevenHyde& RickySolanki Co-Founders
ReblazeTechnologies reblaze.com
Spotinst spotinst.com
TzuryBarYochay CTO
iClickInteractiveisanonlinemarketingfirmwhichrelieson advanceddatadrivenautomatedsolutionswhichprovidesmulti omnichannelstotheirclientstoreachChineseusers.
Pushisadigitalmarketingagencyprovidingmarketing techniquesandprocessesforclients.
ReblazeTechnologiesprovidesproprietarywebsecurity technologiesinasingle,unifiedplatform,shieldingcustomer webassets(sites,apps,data,andservices)withinprivate,secure cloudenvironments.
AmiramShachar Founder&CEO
TIEKinetix tiekinetix.com
TOPGATEInc. topgate.co.jp
Veeam veeam.com
JanSundelin CEO
Spotinstprovidestheoptimalframeworkforcompute provisioningandcost-effectiveutilization.
TIEKinetixhelpsintransformingthedigitalsupplychainby providingTotalIntegratedE-Commercesolutions.
MasakiKato CEO
PeterMcKay Co-CEO&President
TOPGATEInc.isatechnologyspecializedcloudintegratorof GoogleandatrainingpartnerofGoogleCloudPlatformand PremierServicePartner
Veeamthrivestodelivernon-stopbusinesscontinuity,digital transformationagilitywithmulti-cloudmanagementand migration,andanalyticsandvisibilitywithactionableinsights fordatamanagement,operationalperformanceandcompliance.
Leadingasimplelifemeansconstantlybeingin touchwithourcoreelements.Similarly,whena projectisbeingapproachedwithcertainnotions, protocolsandstandards,thereisahighprobabilitythatit wouldgetcomplicatedwithcorrespondingimpulsive tweaks.Inessence,simplicityaidsefficiency,harborsclose tothecoreessentialsandhence,makesprolongationand resurgenceahassle-freedeal.
Bearingthisconscienceineach ofitsprojects,A.Y. Technologieshasbecomeoneofthemostfavoredsoftware solutionprovidersintheindustry Theyhavehelped conceptualizeandconsummatevarioussoftwareprojectsby assistingthedevelopersinsimplifyingeveryconcept, systematicallystructuringtheprocesstogetaclearer insightandconsequentlyreducingtheriskfactorofthe project.
A.Y.Technologieshasauniqueapproachtosoftware developmentthatinvolvesamixtureofleansoftware developmentandagileprocesses.Theybuildmobileapps andcustomwebapplicationsfortheirclientswhilehelping themwiththearchitectureanddevelopmentofascalable backendfortheirapplicationsonthecloud.
A.Y Technologieshasearnedquiteareputeacrossthe globewithitsexpertiseinthefieldofmobileapp development,customwebapplicationdevelopmentand scalablebackend&APIdevelopment.
Theyhavealsotastedsuccesswiththeirexclusiveproduct fortherestaurantindustry.Theappwasprimarily developedwiththe ‘Quick Service Restaurants’ inmind, consideringtheboomingpopularityofcafesandpizza
shops.It’saSaaSbasedmobileappplatformforbuilding customappsforeachrestaurant.Theprimepurposeofthe appistohelptheclientsestablishtheirbranding,while reducingthelaborcostsbyprovidingtheirclients’ customerswithmoreconveniencewithouttheexpensesof buildingacompletelycustomizedmobileapp.
AnotherpointthatcomestotheforeisthatA.Y. Technologiesshowcasesthesamelevelofvigorwhile collaboratingwithatechstartupasitshowswithawellestablishedorgrowingbusinessenterprise.
Abigportionofsoftwaredevelopmentfailurescouldbe preventedbyproperlyplanningattheinitialstageitself. A.Y Technologieshasconsistentlyprovedthatmanyofthe superfluousinefficienciesandsurprisescouldbereducedif decisionsaremadewithabetterunderstandingofthe softwaredevelopmentprocessandtheirimpactonthe project.Thisformstheverymottooftheirworkshopcalled, “TheRoadmapWorkshop,”whereitstandsbythetop executivesofaprojectandhelpsthemtomakebetter decisions.Throughthisworkshop,A.Y.Technologiesaims tocreateefficientandmaintainablesoftwarethatwouldalso beinexpensivetorunandmaintain.
GoogleCloudisaplatformthathasahugepotentialto scalesoftwaresystems.ThisisthemainreasonbehindA.Y Technologies’preferredpartnershipwithGoogle.This partnershiphasenabledA.Y Technologies’customerswith bettercloudinfrastructureoptionsandGoogle’scustomers withaneruditemobileappandwebappsolutionprovider. Obviously,skyisthelimitforsystemsthatarebuiltwith A.Y.Technologies’deepknowledgeofsoftware architectureandGoogle’sInfrastructure.
A.Y Technologiesorganizesregional Google Cloud Platform Meetups wherethefocusisoncreatinga communityaroundGoogleCloudservicesinVancouver Thesemeetupsarearrangedonamonthlybasisandthis communityliterallyactsasamentortoallthosewhoare involvedwithGoogleCloudPlatform.
AnEntrepreneurwiththeHeartofaMentor
AstheDirectorofTechnologyatA.Y.Technologies,Amin Yazdanishouldersquiteafewresponsibilitiesapartfrom takingdecisionsonhighlevelsoftwarearchitectureand design.Heinvestsafairamountoftimeinmentoringhis teamandtheentrepreneursoutsidehisteam.Beingthe Founderofthecompany,hedoesn’tshyawayfromgoing througheverylineofcodethathisteamwrites.Heisdeeply involvedwiththeRoadmapworkshopandmakessurethat hisclientsgetthebestvaluethattheyaskfor
BuildingtheFuturewithaDeftFeature
Itgoesbeyonddoubtthattostayrelevantinthisfast-paced technologydrivenindustry,everyorganizationneedstobe adroitandshouldadapttothenewtechnologiesthatwould boosttheoverallefficiency A.Y Technologieswillcontinue toevolveandadoptnewknowledgetocontinueitsjourney
Amincameto Simon Fraser University inCanadato completehisMaster’sDegreeinComputerScienceand lateronstartedworkingforalocaltechstartup.After gainingsomevaluableexperiences,heattainedhislifelong dreamofrunninghisowncompany.However,initially, whenhestartedA.Y.Technologiesbyhimself,thebiggest obstaclethathecameacrosswasfindingtherighttalent. Aminspentthenexttwoyearslookingforthetalentthat notonlyfitwiththeirculture,butalsowiththerightlevelof knowledgeandexpertise.AsaproudDirector,Amin happilyflauntsthetalentandskillsofhisemployeesandis constantlyinsearchofmorelike-mindedpeopletowork with.
inmakingsoftwaredevelopmentuncomplicatedand subsequentlyimprovetheirclient’schancesofsuccess.
Aminplanstoexpandtheirmobileapptootherindustries suchas Full Service Restaurants andexpandtheirfootprint inthemarket.Aminandhisteamwillcontinuetofocuson newtechnologiesforbetterandmoreefficientwaysof buildingsoftware,andatthesametime,pledgetokeepthe leveloftheircustomerserviceandsupportashighas possible.
We will continue our journey in making software Development uncomplicated and help our Clients increase their chance of success
AminYazdani Director
Whatifbusinessescouldeliminatethe complexitiesofinternetbasedservicesto improveperformance?Whatifitwaspossible foryouremployeestoworkfromanywhere,atanytime, fromanydevice,andstillhaveasinglecontrolpointon proceedings?Theseillustriousif’saresurreallyexecutedin thefieldofcloudcomputing.
Cloudtechnologydeliverssuchservicesindependently,and flawlessly.Serverscanbedeployedprivately,publicly,and eveninHybridmanner.Expertsbelievethatcloud technologyhastheabilitytoreshapetheentireInformation andCommunicationTechindustryasarevolution.Forthe firsttimeinhistory,internetbasedtechgiantsare employingcloudtechnologyasamajorpartoftheir offerings.
Theprimefocusofthesecompanieshasbeentoprovidea plausibleamountofservicesbyutilizingasingleOmnichannel.Cloudcomputingcharacteristicallyoffers Platformsasaservice(PaaS),InfrastructureasaService (IaaS),andSoftwareasaService(SaaS).PaaSallows customerstodevelop,run,andmanageapplications.IaaS providesvirtualizedcomputingresourcesovertheinternet, andSaaSofferssoftwarelicensinganddeliverymodelin whichthesoftwareislicensedonasubscriptionbasis However,themultitaskingabilityofmanyavailablecloud basedsolutionsgeneratescomplexityinprocesses.Asa resultcustomer’sfrequentlyfacedifficultieswhileinstalling andutilizingthethreebaseservices.
CloudWithMeistheuniquesolutionprovider,enabling customerstoinstallGoogleCloud,AmazonWebServices (AWS),andMicrosoftAzurecloudserversinminutes.It hasbeentheprimarymarketdominatorsinceitsinception in2016.CloudWithMeisthefirst(andcurrently,theonly) partnerofGoogleCloudPlatform.
Asmentionedearlier,CloudWithMeofferscloudservices throughGoogleCloud,AWS,andMicrosoftAzure.Popular ContentManagementSystemslikeWordPress,Drupal, Joomla,andMagentoareamongthemajoradd-onsthat CloudWithMeoffers.Theinstallationoftheseextrasare stress-free,andcompletewithjustafewclicks.The companydashboardprovidesassistancewithfreeaccessto apre-configuredemailserver,HTML,FTP,Analytics,and MySQL.TheofferedPaaS,IaaS,andSaaSaccountsforits flexibilityandefficiency
CloudWithMehasearnedwidespreadpraiseforitspocket friendlyestimating.Thepricestructureofservicesis transparentwithnohiddencosts.Majorcost-effective featuresincludenothavingtopayforwebdev,andno downtimeareforemostinmarket.TheCLOUDtoken cryptocurrencywithunequivocalfeatureswasreleasedby thecompanyinJuly2017,andisbeingpurchasedpromptly Thepublicindividualsinparticularhavebeeninvesting attentively TheCEOofthecompanystates: “It’s the most beneficial way of paying for cloud services. When CLOUD tokens are added to a Cloud With Me account, your balance is automatically doubled.”
Cloudcomputingalsodealswithperiodicconcerns,Cloud conveyanceisoneofthem.Manyorganizationshirea
specializeddeveloperintheperiodoftransition.The companyhascreatedawell-equippedandhighlysecure serviceforuncertaintimeswhichcanreducethe expenditureregardingtransition.
Howoftendoyouseebusinessdiscussionsinbarsthat makewayforaninnovativecompany?
GiladSomjen(CEO)andAsafZamir(CTO)ofCloud
WithMe,twooftheformertechindustryveterans,metata barinDublin,Ireland.Duringtheirdiscussiontheyhitona seriousnoteanddiscussedthecomplexitiesofdeploying cloudservers.Theindividualswerecognizantaboutthe needofsimplifiedcloudadoption.Ultimately,the conversationledtoanextraordinarycloudsolution formationandtheirentrepreneurialexperienceintheonline marketingbusinessandinnovativeinsightsfurtherpedaled CloudWithMetowardsimmensesuccess.
DrivingGrowthbyaPremierPartnershipwithGoogle
ThepartnershipwithGoogleCloudhassignificantly differentiatedthecompanyfromitscompetitors.The magnanimousglobalnetworkofGooglereducesthethreat ofdowntimeasdatacanberoutedtoanothercenterifone datacenterwitnessesfailure.Thisismadepossiblebythe Googleinfrastructure,whichisprotectedwithover700 expertsworkingoninformation,application,andnetwork security.Itstimepreciosityandcredibilityintermsof securityisunmatchableforonsiteserversinthemarket.
TheplatformfacedmanyinitialhurdlesasaService-based industry,asithadfarfetcheddemands. Tocaterwiththe qualitativesolutionsincost-effectivewayisatoughask. However,CloudWithMehasmadecloudadoptionacake walkthroughitssynergy.Ithassuccessfullyautomatedthe allinonecloudservice,whichcanbeutilizedwithafew clickswithlittleexpenditure. AccordingtoGilad,
Asanindustryleader,GoogleClouddrivesbusinesses forwardwithmeaningfuldataanalytics,project managementtools.Thecollaborationcreatesflexibilityin servicing.Bysimplifyingtheonboardingprocess,Cloud WithMefacilitateseasyaccesstoGoogleCloud’sfeatures andbenefitsinmatterofminutes.
Cloudcomputingcompaniesaroundtheworldprimarily hoststheirservicestothetechnicalelite,i.e.thoseservices aregearedtowardscorporateuse.CloudWithMeservices arequiteuniqueintheirofferinginthisregard.Itsservices arealsoaccessibleforthegeneralpublicandindividuals.
employingambitiousindividualsandsustainingthequality ofproductwasthehard-hittingtask.
Bestowingaprofitableinventiontoitsclientsisthekey motivationforthecompany Thecompanybelievesthatthe skyisthelimitintermsofcloudadoption.Ithascontinued tolowerallbarriersforcloudadoption.Itaimstoprovide supremecloudservicewithgreaterefficiency,cost effectiveness,andproductivity
We’re condent that the future brings mass adoption to cloud services, with Cloud With Me as the main bridge
Asaf Zamir CTO
Gilad Somjen CEO
Asperarecentstudy,morethan50percentofcustomercancelstheirpurchaseiftheirpreferred
paymentmethodisunavailable.Additionally,morethan40percentofshoppersfeel comfortableifanonlinemerchantoffersmultiplepaymentoptions.AseCommercewebsites startedtogainpopularity,theneedformultiplealternativepaymentchannelsincreasedsomuchthatit overtookcardpaymentmethodrecently Withallthesereasons,there’sahostofotherreasonswhya retailershouldoffertheircustomersmultiplepaymentmethods.So,let’shavealookatthereasons below
Providingacustomer,aBrilliantExperienceisoneofthemaintargetsofallbusinesshouses.As paymentmethodscomeatthetimeofcheckout,itcanimpactacustomer’sfeelingabouttheoverall experienceso,POSsystemsthatacceptmultiplepaymentmethodsareaveryimportanttoolinorderto providecustomersabetterexperience.Withthewholeworldshiftingtowardelectronicpayment methods,there’sahugenumberofpeoplewhoarestillstickingwithachequeastheirpaymentmethod.
So,toaccommodatetheirneedaretailershouldstartusingelectronicchequeprocessingequipment, whichwilleventuallysatisfythosecustomerswhoarestillunwillingtolettheircheque-bookgo.Onthe otherhand,recently,paymentmethodshaveseenatremendousshiftascustomersareturningtowards theinternetfortheirneeds.Withmostofthepurchasehappeninginmobile,devicesneedquickpayment systemsforbetteruserexperience.Inadditiontoallthese,socialpaymentsplatformsthatinclude TwitterandSnapchatarequicklygainingalotofpopularityandinterestwhichneedstobeaddressed quickly.BrandslikeSamsung,GoogleandApplehavebroughttheirpaymentsystemsandtheseare gainingpopularityveryfast.
Someofthepaymentgetawaysonlyworkinfewspecificcountries.Havingdifferentpaymentoptions alwaysincreaseGlobalReachandhelpstodealwithdifferentcurrencies.Multiplepaymentoptions helptoincreasecustomerbaseacrossdifferentcountriesandevenacrosscontinents.
Mostofthemerchantknow,howanonlinetransactioncanbefrustrating.Failedtransactionsareoneof themainreasonsthatleadtolossofsalesandwastedtimeforbothcustomersandthemerchant.Not offeringthepreferredmodeoftransactionleadstoabandoningoftheshoppingcart.Accordingto statistics,providingnewerandfastermodeoftransactionleadstoCustomerRetention,thatcanresult to95percentofincreasedprofit.
AmerchantshouldincludepaymentoptionswithModernAppeal.Morethan90percentofthe consumershaveexpressedtheirconcernaboutusingoutdatedpaymentmethodsandtechnologyand theyalsowouldconsidermovingtoanyotherbusinesswithbetterandmodernpaymentmethods.
Offeringmultiplepaymentoptionsalsohelpsastorelookprofessionalandmorereliable.Consumers alwayswanttofeelsecureashe/sheisspendinghardearnedmoney.So,withaSafeandSecured Merchantcustomersfeelmoresecurewhilepurchasing.
So,addingmultiplepaymentmethodsisaboldstepforanyorganization,withallotheradvantagesofits own,italsohelpstomakeyourrelationshipwithourcustomersevenbetter.However,integrating multiplepaymentchannelscomeswithitsownnumberofchallenges,sometimesitmakesdifficultto calculatekeymetricsandtrackbusinessgrowth.Still,byaddingmultiplepaymentoptionsmostofthe businesshouseshaveseenasurgeofsalesandprofits.
Backintheearlydaysofcloudcomputing,ifwewould tellyouthateverybusinessandconsumerwould eventuallyberunningtheirentirecomputeandstorage infrastructuredigitally,wewouldsoundcrazy.Butjust 17yearslater,itseemsinevitablethattheoldworldof datacentersandon-premiseserverswillgothewayof thephysicalnewspaperandradio.
Indeed,evenAndyJassy,CEOofAWS,didn’tenvision thisfuturebackin2000.Atthetime,Amazonwas simplystrugglingtoscaledespitehiringalotofnew developers.Jassy,whowasAmazon’sChiefofStaffat thetime,doveintotheproblemtodiscoverthatthe hardwareandinfrastructuralneedssimplywerenot beingmetfastenough.Jassysetouttospeedupthis processinternally,allowingtheinternalR&Dteamto accessapoolofcommoncomputeandstorageresources, makingiteasierforeachtolaunchtheirownprojects withoutneedingtodealwiththeunderlying infrastructure.Eventually,atateamsummitin2003, theyrealizedthiswasaneedforeveryothercompanyon theplanet,andsoAWSwasborn.
Today,thereisasimilarrevolutionbeginninginthe worldofcloudcomputing.Onestillinitsearlystages, butseeminglydestinedtogrowjustasquicklyasAWS. “Spotinstaimstobethelargestproviderofcloud infrastructurewithoutrunninganyservers,”says AmiramShachar,CEO&FounderofSpotinst.The statementisboldonitsown,butwhenyoudiveabit deeper,notmuchbolderaclaimthanhadyouasked AndyJassythesamebackin2003.
JustasJassyfoundaninternalstruggletoday,Spotinst beganwithShachar’sidentificationofaproblemathis company,thenLycosGlobalGroup.AsDirectorof DevOps,Shacharwaspressedwiththetaskofmigrating allLycos’serverstothecloud,butcostsquicklyjumped. “Withinacoupleofmonthsofmovingtothecloud,our costshadactuallyrisendramatically,waybeyondany calculatorthatweusedtopredictit”continuedShachar. “Tothepointwherewewereactuallyplanningtomove everythingbacktoon-premise.”
Justaroundthattime,Shacharencounteredtherelatively unusedofferingatAWS,calledSpotInstances.Spot
Amiram Shachar is the CEO & Founder of Spotinst, which leverages excess cloud capacity to help customers save ~80% on cloud costs. Before Spotinst, he was Director of DevOps at Ybrant Media and led the Israeli Defense Forces migration to the cloud.
Amiram Shachar Chief Executive Officer
InstanceswerespareservercapacityatAWS,cleverly packagedtoenablemonetizationoftheseservers.AWS offeredtheseidleserversformassive90%discounts withonemajorcaveat-they’llkickyouoffoncea customerwantstopayfullpriceforthoseservers.
Shacharsmelledopportunity.“Bybuildingalgorithms thatcouldpredictthesparecapacityterminationsin advance,wecouldthenmigratetoanotherspareserver beforehand,savingus80%onourcloudcosts.”Aftera fewmonths,Shacharandhisteamwererunningnearly 75%oftheircomputepoweronAWSsparecapacity.Just likeJassybackin2003,thelightbulbeventuallywentoff -therewasafarlargeropportunityathandhere.
Thevirtualcloud:runcodewithoutdealingwith cloudproviders
“Allcompaniesrunningoncloudstruggletokeepcosts down,”Shacharsays.“Butwithalonglistofpriorities includingsecurityandmaintainingsitereliability, DevOpsteamsoftendon’thavethetimetodoallofthe workrequiredtooptimizecost.”ButwhileSpotinst’s firstproductwasaimedathelpingcompaniesreliably leveragesparecapacitytoreducecosts,Shacharandhis co-founders,LiranPolakandAharonTwizer,hada biggervision.
Today,managingcloudinfrastructurehasbecomejustas complexasrunningon-premises.Withaplethoraofnew AWS,Google,andAzureofferingslaunchingevery month,alongwithanincreasinglyvastlistofcompanies thatbuildofftheseofferings,figuringoutthebalance betweencostandperformanceisamajorchallenge. But, Shacharenvisionsaworldwhereyoudon’thaveto.
Thepromiseofthevirtualcloud
ThepromiseofShachar’svisionissimpleatheart-a virtualcloud.Spotinstwillleveragemachinelearningto
ensurethatyourapplicationsarealwaysrunningonthe mostcost-effectiveservers,givenyourperformance requirements.Insteadofexploringthelonglistof alternativeswithinandacrossthedifferentcloud providers,Spotinstwilltakecareofitallunderthehood. Today,theirplatformrecognizesanyworkloadthatcould berunonacheaperserver.Justputthoseworkloads underSpotinst’scontrolandtheiralgorithmswilltake careoftherest-thoseworkloadswillforeverrunonthe cheapestserversavailable.Allwithoutcompromising performanceoravailability.
UsinganewServerlessoffering,wheredeveloperscan simplywritecodewithoutdealingwithanyofthe underlyinginfrastructure,Spotinstaimstodeliveronthis promiseinamajorway.“Allyoushouldeverhavetodo iswritecode,”saysShachar.“Ouralgorithmswillmake sureitisalwaysrunningonthemostcost-effective infrastructure,acrossallcloudproviders,foryour performanceandavailabilityneeds.”Inotherwords,just writethecode,andSpotinstwillmakesureitalways runsatthelowestcostpossibleforyourperformance needs.
AsShacharsays,“in10years,justaseveryoneis makingtheshifttocloudtoday,theywillbemakingthe shifttoServerlesscomputing.OnlywithSpotinst,they’ll beabletoalsoensuretheyarepayingthebestpossible price,allwithoutdoinganything.”Thepromiseof companiesallrunningaperfectlyoptimizedcloud withouteverdealingwiththeinfrastructureseemsbold. ButaswelearnedfromJassyandAWS,inanother10-15 years,itmayjustbeaninevitability.
Chinaisoftenreferredtoasthemanufacturinghub oftheworld.Somepeoplealsobelievethatitis nextsuperpowerinmaking.However,thereisalot moretoChinathenwhatmeetstheeye.Forexample,China isalsohometoabillionconsumerswhoarebecoming increasinglywealthy;makingthecountryasuperattractive marketformultinationalcompanies.However,thereare somehurdlesalongthewaytoo.TheChineseonline commerceisledbyChinesecompanies.Chinesecitizenuse theirownversionofGoogle,Facebook,WhatsApp,etc., makingitdifficultformultinationalcompaniestoplanand executeasingledigitalmarketingstrategyacrosstheboard. Additionally,manyChinesecitizensdonotspeakEnglish. HenceenteringtheChinesemarketthroughonground investmentsisstilladifficulttask.Thus,itisimperativefor multinationalcompaniestofindalliesinChinatoenterthe marketandnavigatethechallengingandrewardingreality intheupcomingfuture.
Onecompanywhichhashelpedseveralnationaland multinationalcompaniestodrawbigpaychecksinChinais iClickInteractiveAsiaLimited Thecompanyisan independentonlinemarketingtechnologyplatformthat connectsworldwidemarketerswithaudiencesinChina. iClickprovidesseveraloptionstomarketersincluding nativeads,videomarketing,socialads,campaigns,etc.The valueofreachingtheChineseaudienceonapersonallevel isimportantandmoreandmorecompaniesarestartingto seethevalueinit.Forexample,iClickrecently collaboratedwithseveralmultinationalstohelpthemmeet therightaudienceonlineandconsequently,boosttheir sales.
iClickwasestablishedin2009andiscurrently headquarteredinHongKong.Afteritssuccessfulstart,the companyhasexpandedoperationsacrosseightlocationsin AsiaaswellasinLondon.iClickpridesitselfinbuilding cutting-edgetechnologies,whichdeliveromni-channel marketingcapabilities.Thesetechnologiesareinlinewith thebestmarketingpracticesinChinaastheyhelpfulfill variousmarketingobjectivesinadata-drivenand automatedmanner.
Oneuniqueandadvancedaccesssolutiondevelopedby iClickis iAudience. Thissolutionallowsmarketersto search,identify,andcustomizetomeettherightenduser Theapplicationofthissolutionallowsmarketerstoharvest thepowerofthemostimportantsearchtoolusedinChina. Companiescanreachtheircoreaudienceusingappropriate keywordsintherelevantcontext. iClickalsousesanother advancedtoolnamed‘iAccess,’whichallowsmarketersto identifytargetaudiencebasedontheirgender,age,income levels,geographiclocations,interest,device,anddevice
operatingsystem.Byusinganalytictoolstoidentifyright keywordsandrelyingoncompleteinformationofthe audience,iClickprovidesunimaginablepowertothe marketers.
iClickrecentlyworkedwithAudiandHuaweitohelpthem achieveagreatershareoftheChinesemarket.While workingwithAudi,iClickwasexpectedtoprovideagrand openingforthenewA6Lintheheartsofyounger,techsavvycrowd.ThisaudienceisnottheusualAuditarget marketwhichoftenreliesonhigh-endcustomerstoboost itssales.Inresponse,iClickhelpedAudiidentifytheircore audiencethroughdatadrivensolutions.Afteridentifying thecoreaudience,iClickcampaigndeliveredamixofOpen SplashandIn-Feedsadformatstoenhanceuser engagement.Asaresultofthiscampaign,Audiwasableto reachover43millionuniquemobileusersinjust14days. Thecampaignwasahugesuccessasitreached70%core autospendingconsumersonapersonallevel.iClickwith theirvideoengagementforAudiwasabletoholdthe attentionofover43%ofusersthroughtheirfeedforthe entiredurationofthevideo.Similarly,whenthecompany workedwithLandRoveronamarketingcampaign,they wereabletoconvincemorethan2500consumerstooptfor atestdrive.
Sammy Hsieh CEO & Co-founder
bachelor’sdegreeineconomicsfromtheprestigious UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles.Sammycontinuesto takethecompanytogreaterheightswithavisionthatis originalandmeaningfultoiClick’sclients.Underhis leadership,iClickhasdugdeepintoonlinechannels coveringmillionsofmobileappsandwebsitestohelp marketers,especiallymultinationalmarketers,navigate
SammyHsiehistheCEOandoneoftheco-foundersof iClick.Hefoundedthecompanywithavisiontoredefine thedigitalmarketplacewithdata,insights,andinnovation. PriortofoundingiClick,Sammyheldtoppositionsat severallargetechnologycompanies.Sammywasthe directorofSearchMarketingat Yahoo Hong Kong during 2000to2008,duringwhichheoversawitsbusiness operations,includingsales,marketing,business development,andproductmanagement.Hereceivedhis
throughthefragmentedlandscapesoftheChinesedigital arena.SammybelievesthatthefutureofiClickisextremely brightasitsmarketingplatformisbuiltonhighlyscalable andreliablecloud-basedinfrastructure.Suchinfrastructure allowsthecompanytoservefarmoreclientsthantheir competitorsandofferstheclientwithcomplexmarketing solutionswhicharetheneedofthehourinthedigital world.
We can help you reach +720 million Chinese internet users today. Are you ready?
Googleandthedigitalmediumhasbecomeacentral hubforconnectingwithotherpeopleandforming realbonds,contrarytothetraditionalmainstream media.In2016itself,Googlereportedadvertisingrevenues totalingmorethan$79billionandisnowthesecondmost valuedbrandintheworld,aheadofCoca-Colaandjust behindApple.Companieswhofindawaytobreakoutof theonlinemazecanrulethevirtualworld,whichoffersnew opportunitieseveryday.Hence,advertisersonlineareonly facedwithoneoption: Chase down their consumers at lightning speed.
Onecompanywhohelpsadvertisersachievethisgoalis, Push.Thecompanyisaleadingdigitalmarketingagency basedacrossUK,Romania,andDenmark.Thefieldof digitalmarketingallowsmanytocompeteasthefieldisstill wideopenforuniqueopportunities.However,theactof keepingupwithnewtrendsandaligningyourcompany withthebestonesiswhatsetsPushapartfromits competitors.PushadoptedGoogleAdwordsbackin2007, recommendinganeasywayforthemarketerstoreach clientsonline,withanextremelycost-effectivesolution. Currently,thecompanyisamemberoftheeliteclubof agenciesthatworkcloselywithGoogleasaPremier Partner.PushhasrecentlywontheGoogleGlobal&EMEA awardformobileinnovationandwasnamedamongstthe TopThreepartnersfortwootherawards–Growing BusinessesOnlineandShoppingInnovation.
Asmentionedearlier,digitalmediumisnew,andoffers excitingopportunitiesforadvertisers.However,itisalsoa channelwhichhasnotbeenfullyexploredyet.Thereisa
lottolearnforeveryoneandthemediumkeepschanging formstobecomemorecomplexeveryday.Forexample, Orkutwasreallypopularamongteenagersafewyearsago andtheplatformjustvanishedallofasudden.Hence,itis importantformarketerstounderstandhowtodiveinthese mysteriousdigitalwaterswiththeirclient’sreputationand largecostsatstake.Pushdistinguishesitselfwithsometopof-thelineservicesthatguaranteesuccessfortheclients.
Theseservicesincludepaidsearch,paidsocialcampaigns, conversion,analytics,etc.Theseserviceshelpcompanies accessthecreamofthecropdigitalplatformslikeGoogle andFacebook,tomakethemostoutoftheiradvertising dollars.Forexample,workingwithGooglethroughpaid searchcangiveacompanyinstantvisibilityinrankings unlikeanythingelse.Ontheotherhand,Pushisalso workingwithFacebooktohelpitsclientsreachmorethana billionpeopleonapersonallevel.Itisimportantfor companiestousethesetwoplatformsastheyaredriving therealconversiononline.Additionally,Pushalsooffers servicestoincreasedirectconversionsthroughwebsite.
Pushhasestablisheditselfinasolidmannerbyoffering innovativeandeffectivemarketingservices.Thecompany hasalsobeenrewardedwithtophonorsforitscontribution totheirclientsaswellastogiantonlineplatformslike Google.Itwasawardedthe ‘Highest Customer Satisfaction’ awardbyGooglerecently.Theirexpertiseisnotonlybest showcasedbyawardsbutextendstotheirclientsreaching newcustomersandaccessingnewmarkets.Theirpassion hasresultedinseveralhighpay-outsfortheircustomers. Somesuchexamplesincludeacottagecompany,which
expandedtheiroperationfrom50cottagesto500cottages andwaslaterpurchasedbyabiggercompanyforan attractiveprice.Theirclientsalsoincludeahairclinic, whichstartedoutwithasinglebranchlocaloperation.The clinicnowisaglobalfranchisewithover38locations worldwide.
TheleadershipatPushhasalwaysbelievedin“Staying Ahead”ofthedigitalrace.Thedigitalraceischanging rapidlyandevenwebgiantscannotputastoptothese evolvinginnovationsthatconstantlydisruptonline platforms.Hence,itisonlyknowledgeandinnovationthat helpsdigitalmarketingcompaniestosurviveandexcel. Additionally,leadershipatPushalsobelievesinsome fundamentalsthathelptheirclientsshineontheonline platforminauniquemanner.
Thesefundamentalsincludeofferinglightningquickspeed forwebsitestomaximizeresponseandretentions. Consumersonlineareincreasinglyaccessingwebsites throughtheirsmartphoneswhichmakesthemmore impatientaboutaccessingaspecificwebsite.Hence, consistentonlinestudiesrevealthatitisimportanttooffer greatspeedsforwebsitestoappealtousers.
Pushalsobelievesintheclimateoftesting,hiringyoung peoplewhoareinconstanttouchwithtechnologyanddepth ofknowledgeaheadofbreadth.Thesefundamental principlesappliedatPushmakesthemstandoutandwork
Thefutureisoneofthemostmysteriousandexciting prospectofthedigitalmedium.Thefutureofdigital marketingagenciescouldbelifechangingforthebusiness worldasweknowit.Thereareexcitinginventionsbuilt everydaytoconnectourphysicalworldtothevirtual world.LeadersatPushrealizethatitisanexcitingaswell asachallengingworldforthemtobeapartof.Pushis helpingbusinessesharvestthepowerofstrategicthinking
sidebysidewithsuccessfulbrandslikeGoogle.Ricky SolankiandStevenHyde,thetwoFoundersofPushhave instilledconstantlearningasavirtueatPush.Theyhold learningsessionseveryFridaytokeepemployeesupdated aboutlatesttrendsandfindnewwaystopushtheirteam intothefuture.
tomakebetterbusinessdecisions.Thisisinlinewiththe latestArtificialIntelligencetrendsthataresweeping traditionalbusinessesandforcingeveryonetoadaptin toughconditions.Pushwouldcontinuetoreinventitself withemphasisonmobileplatformswhichhasseen explosivegrowthinrecentyears.
Push is a great Mobile-rst company, who use great tech, great people and innovation to do the right and ethical thing for the customer.Steven Hyde & Ricky Solanki Push CollectsThe GlobalAward For Mobile Innovation from Google’s Worldwide MD
TIEKinetix,foundedin1987,hasbeen transformingthedigitalsupplychainfor30years byprovidingsolutionstoautomatebusiness processesforsales,marketingandfulfillment.Thesedaysa lotofcompaniesstillstruggleinoptimizingtheirbusiness processesinternally,withtheirdifferentITsystemsor differentorganizationsacrosstheglobe.Externally,and especiallywiththeirbusinesspartners,ifthesearesuppliers orchannelpartners,thesechallengesareevengreaterwith newandevolvingtechnologiesanda24/7business dynamic.Alltheirexperienceandsolutionshavebeen combinedthroughavarietyofdifferentmodulesinone centralizedplatformforcustomerstocontroltheirindirect businessprocesses: FLOW Partner Automation TheFLOW platformwaslaunchedbackinMarch2016,andsincethen variousnewmodulesandcapabilitieshavebeenadded monthly.
JanSundelin,CEOofTIEKinetix,hasbeenleadingthe innovativeteamof140since2008.Withofficesacrossthe globe,hebringsover15yearsofexecutivemanagement withhim.Withthevastknowledgeofmanagement, software,andimplementationunderhisbelt,hehas providedTIEKinetixwiththesupportitneeds.
Asamulti-levelGooglePartnerwithpartnershipsfor GoogleAdWords,GoogleCloud,GoogleAnalytics360 SuiteandGoogleforWork,theyarenotjustaGoogle partneroranagencybutcoverthecompleteGoogle portfolio.
“We have been working with Google for many years now. As a multi-level Google Partner we can provide help to a
variety of vendor-partner companies. We started as partners to resell and implement their Search solutions, but we have developed into partnerships where we do jointdevelopments to become more successful and add value to our customers business together About 2 years ago, we started talking with the Google AdWords team for the indirect channel,” assertsJanSundelin.
GoogleAdWordsforChannel:AUniqueSolutionfor ChannelPartners
TIEKinetix’sGoogleAdWordsforChannelsolutionisa uniquesolutionforchannelpartnerslookingtouseGoogle AdWordsasadigitalmarketingtoolatalocallevel. Enablingmanufacturers/vendorstorunGoogleAdWords togetherwiththeirchannelpartnersinacentralized,local andautomatedway.WithGoogleAdWordsforChannel, AdWordscampaignsandlandingpagesarepersonalizedper partnerandanalyticscanbeseenforagroupofpartners andatindividualpartnerlevel,whileallbeingautomated.
Google’sRoleinCreatingGoogleAdWordsforChannel “As you all know, Google’s goal via search is to provide the most relevant search results, both organic and paid. Currently, there is an overwhelming growth in search with mobile, creating a need for more locally relevant searches. Those using search on their mobile are often looking for “near me” searches, creating a challenge for Google to
provide the most relevant item. However, most of the time, the search is often relevant for a SME company, but only a small amount of SME companies are using Google AdWords. The lack of SME’s using Google AdWords as a marketing solution is often due to the lack of knowledge, people, time, and budget these particular companies have when it comes to using Google AdWords. There is often a lack of visibility of the customer journey and insight is often difficult to gain, even though 75% of goods are delivered to partners. Scalable tech will help bring SME companies onboard with Google AdWords.”
TounderstandhowTIEKinetixfitsinhere,it’simportantto understandthatTIEKinetixhasbeenenabling manufacturers/vendorstoruncampaignswiththeirchannel (partner)communityforalmost20years.Thisiscalled through-partnermarketingautomation.
“Manufacturers/vendors enable their channel partners by providing various tactics like email campaigns, promotions, landing pages, micro sites, social media messaging, online events, assets, marketing collateral and sales collateral. These tools generate demand for the channel partners and the manufacturers/vendors get control over their brand. Over the last couple of years, getting control over search results, especially in the indirect channel, has become more important. The Google AdWords for Channel module gives the vendor the ability to automate AdWords campaigns and to use analytics that allow the vendor to see the customer
Jan Sundelin CEO
expandFLOWPartnerAutomationplatform,while adaptingGoogleAdWordsforChanneltotheconstant changingvendor-partnerrelationship. “We recently started working with agencies to help them onboard SME companies and to support them through the creation of Google AdWords campaigns and strategies. By working with agencies, we are able to help a wide range of vendorpartner focused companies have the capabilities to run a
journey, making business easier for both vendors and partners. With a centralized tech solution, vendors and partners will no longer compete against each other for ad placement on Google. Google AdWords for Channel removes the risk of bid inflation and expensive keywords. We allow strategy alignment with no hassle to either the vendor or partner,” addsSundelin.
AsatechpartnerofGoogle,TIEKinetixwillcontinueto
centralized AdWords campaign, while reaching the partner’s customers at a local level, providing a full followthrough of the sales funnel.”
We enable manufacturers/vendors to run Google AdWords together with channel partners in a centralized, local, and automated way
Earlyin1999,thefoundersofGooglewerelooking forinvestorsintheiridea.Google,likemanyother greatcompanies,wasanideainceptingfrom humblebeginnings.Googlesearchenginewasinventedby LarryPageandSergeyBrininadormroom,andtheyhad investedtheirowncashbymaxingouttheircreditcards. Hence,whentheyranoutoffundstosupporttheirventure, theydecidedtoselltheirideatoExcite.Theymetwiththen ExciteCEO,GeorgeBell,andmadeanofferof$1million. Thepricewasfurtherreducedto$750,000butBellrejected theproposal.Afewyearslater,whenGoogleIPOtook place,Googlewasvaluedatastaggering$23billion.Today, thecompanyisoneofthebiggestconglomeratesinthe worldandpridesitselfasaninnovativeandcreative enterprise. ThisshorthistoryofGooglehasalessonforus all.Perhaps,thereisagreatopportunityknockingonthe doorofeveryinvestortoday;perhapsitisthenextbigthing inthebusinessworld.
JustlikeGoogle,searchenginetooktheworldbystormand madeinstantmillionairesinnotime;similarlyGoogle cloudplatformoffersawiseandsoundinvestment opportunityforbusinessesallacrosstheworld.Cloud servicesandtheirbusinessfunctionsareontherise.Many companiessimplycannotaffordtokeepupwiththe physicaldatastoragefacilitiesandinvestinsafestorage solutionstokeeptheirdatasecure.Ontheotherhand,cloud servicesoffernewandrichopportunitiesforbusinesses. Usingcloudsolutions,companiescaninvestinanalyzing datatounderstandtheirsystemobjectively.Additionally, companiescanprovideaccesstoemployeesatanygiven timeandatanylocation.Thishelpscompaniesprovide freedomtoemployees,cutdownoncapitalcostsand increaseproductivityaswell.Hence,investingincloud
solutionsisessentialforcompanies.Moreover,investingin Googlecloudplatformwouldbethewisestdecisionofall whenwetakethefollowingpointsintoconsideration.
TheCoststhatareEasytoForget Currently,thereisafiercecompetitioninthe cloudspacebetweenmanygiant technologycompanies.Recently, Googleannouncedapricecut of20%onitsstandardcloud storagesolution.Its competitorAmazon, respondedwitha25% discountwhichseemedto beatoughfightbackfora while.However, Googlemadeitclear thattheirsteep discountwasasign thatthecompany wasintherace foryearsto come.Google further increasedthe oddsby announcinga 10%discountfor customers.Googleis simplyoneofthemost cost-effectivecloudsolution providerstoday.Forexample,businesses canpurchaseaterabyteofdatapermonth foraslowas$10.
AReallyWideRangeofServices
Cloudservicesolutionsaregrowingfast,andthe competitiontoprovidecheaper,morereliableandmore valueladensolutionsisgettingmoreintense.Thisis goodnewsforthecustomersandGooglecloud platformisdefinitelymakingacasefor itselfasthetopcontenderonthis front.GoogleprovidesGoogle CloudHostingaswellasApp Engine,storage,DNS,CDN andmanymore.Google alsostoresdataon severalphysical serversaswellas virtualdatacenters aroundtheworld. Additionally, customerscan chooseadifferent datacenterfortheir webpagesandother requirements.
Manyenterprises arelookingfora safeandsecure solutionforstoring theirsensitivebusiness information.Googlecloud platformandothercompetitorsareall wellreputedinthebusinessandhencetheir solutionsshouldnotposeamajorconcernforanyone.
However,Googlehasbeenfavoredbyglobal conglomeratesasthego-to-solutionfortheirneeds.Some ofthemostwell-knownbrandsintheworldlikeSpotify, HSBC,HomeDepot,Snapchat,HTC,BestBuy,Philips, CocaCola,Domino’s,Feedly,ShareThis,SonyMusic,and UbisoftworkwithGoogleCloudPlatformonaneveryday basis.TheirrelationshipwithGooglemaynotprovideclear guidancetoothers,howevercoupledwithcost-effective solutionsGoogleCloudPlatformmakesastrongcasefor itselfforenterprisesofallsize.
ThePowerofGoogle Googleisaglobaltechgiant.Fromnetworkstomobile hardware,Googlehastrieditshandsinseveraltechnical venturesverysuccessfully.Forexample,inordertoprovide cloudstoragesolutions,itisimportantforacompanyto haveexperienceinstoringlargeamountsofdatacosteffectivelyandinasecuremanner.Googlealreadyowns YouTube,whichsawanuploadofaround1PBofdataper dayin2015itselfanditsdemandformorestorageis growingexponentially Additionally,whatseparatesGoogle apartfromitscompetitorsisalsoitstopofthelinenetwork. Googlecloudhostingapartfromotheradvantages,is backedbyoneofthebiggestnetworksintheworld.In 2016,Googlehadannouncedtheirinvestmentinthe FASTERCableSystem,whichhasallowedGoogletosend andreceivedataat10Tbps.
Itisnothardtounderstandandappreciatewhycloud solutionsareconsideredbymanytobethenextbig technologyrevolution.GoogleCloudPlatformpromisesto bethewisestopportunityforenterprisesthatarelookingto fallinlinewiththenextbigthingonthehorizon.
By Pa y McManus
TeammembersatGooglearechallengedinmuchthe samewayasnearlyeveryoneelseincorporatelife.
Togetthingsdone,theyneedtocometogetherfast andtacklecomplextasksthathavenoeasysolutions.But Googlelovestotakeonhugechallenges(driverlesscar, anyone?)andateamofGoogleresearchersrecentlysetout tofindtheworkplaceequivalentofTheHolyGrail:a perfectteam.
GooglecalledtheeffortProjectAristotleandthe researchers’primaryfocuswastousedatatouncover meaningfulpatternsforwhatmakesagreatteam.Project Aristotleisafascinatingundertakingthatwasdetailed recentlyinTheNewYorkTimes.
Ironically,theProjectAristotleteamgotnowherefast.They hitonebrickwallafteranotherastheirhypotheseskept provingwrong,despiterobustteamobservations,surveys, andanalysis.JustbecauseateamwasmadeupofhighIQs, bigachievers,orniceguysdidn’tmeantheycouldcome togethertoproducegoodwork.Eventheclassicsuspectsstructure,roles,andgoals-provednecessarybut insufficienttopredictthehighestlevelsofsuccess.
Buttheyknewsomethingwasthereandtheykeptdigging untiltheyuncoveredonefactorthatstoodoutaboveall others,despitenumerousothervariations-aculture characterizedbypsychologicalsafetyasakeydeterminant ofthemosteffectiveteams.Psychologicalsafety,according toHarvardprofessorAmyEdmondson,is“thesharedbelief thatateamissafeforpersonalrisk-taking…thattheteam
willnotembarrass,rejectorpunish someoneforspeakingup.”
TheresearchersatGoogledescribetwo factorsthatseemtomakethebiggest differenceincreatingpsychologicallysafe environmentsforcollaboration:
1.Relativelyequivalentairtimeamongall teammembersintheirdiscussions
2.Ahighoveralllevelofsocialsensitivity
Translation:Everybodyonahighlyperforming teamcouldexpectthattheywouldbeheardifthey hadsomethingtosayandthattheirconcerns,positiveor otherwise,wouldbeattendedtobytheteam.Thesefindings wereborneoutconsistentlydespitevariablessuchasa team’sgoals,process,oreventhestyleofitsleader
Inarecentblogpost,Iexploredtheapproachthat animationgiantPixartakestocreatingasafeenvironment forbreak-throughstorytelling.Inhis2014bookCreativity Inc,Pixar’sCEOEdCatmulldemonstrateshisbeliefthata bigpartofhisjobisfosteringthatcondition.
Inonetellingexample,Catmulldescribesadealhemade withhisco-founderSteveJobs:Catmullwouldcommitto stayatPixarifJobswouldagreetoforegoattendingthe meetingswhereunfetteredtruth-tellingwasessentialtothe successoftheirfilms.Despitehisbrilliance,Jobswas knownasthelastleaderonearthyou’dlooktoforcreating asafeenvironment.Catmullknewhehadtoprotectagainst theriskofJobs’larger-than-lifestyleoverwhelming people’sneedtospeakthehardtruths.
WhileCatmulldidn’tusetheterm,hewasdescribing psychologicalsafetyasanessentialingredientofsuccess forPixar’sfilmmakers.Ifyou’realeaderlikeCatmull lookingtoadoptthesamepracticeforyourteams,special careandattentionarerequired.
Herearethreeessentialsforleadershipthatmakea difference:
Developcleargoalsandground rules.
Peopleinteamsneedenoughcommon focustofeelcompetenttodothework athand-hardtofindinaworldthatis alwaysshiftingundertheirfeet. Whetherit’sstatedoutcomesforalastminutemeeting,short-termmilestones onaprojectpath,orhighlevel objectivesinacharter,effectiveteams shareacommonviewofwhattheyare tryingtoaccomplish.Period.
Psychologicalsafetycannotexistinan on-goingstateofambiguity While theymaynotknowwhatthefuturewill looklikeinamonthorayear, theycan beclearaboutthenatureand scopeofwhattheyare workingonrightnow.If itneedstochange,so
beitandthatrequiresadiscussion, somedecision-making,andacollective reset.
Settingtheteamupwithgroundrules, asclearlystatednorms,goesalong waytocreatingmindfulnessabout individualactions.Despiteourbest intentions,noteveryoneisnaturally inclinedtosetasidetheirpositionsto hearwhatothersarethinking.Pressure, timelines,andpoliticsjustcompound thechallenge.Gettingateam’s agreementonsimplegroundrules, suchas“Equalaccesstotheairwaves” or“Listenbeforeyougiveanopinion” canshiftteammembers’inclinations. Keepgroundrulesspareandspecific, revisitthemoften.And,most especiallyastheleader:Holdtheline whensomeonecrossesit.
subtleorevenblatantbarriersto people’sexperienceofsafetyona team.Themostcommon:Members gettingshutdownwithoutahearingon acontroversialopinion,orbeing marginalizedbecauseofstylistic differences.Theseandotherissueslike themneedtobenoticed,named,and resolvedassoonastheyappear-andif theleaderdoesn’tstart,whowill?
Butitdoesn’tstopthereforleaders. In herresearchonteams,Stanford ProfessorMaggieNeale(2)has demonstratedthepotentialofdiversity whenandifateamcantakeadvantage ofeachmember’sperspective.Neale emphasizestheimportanceofactually managingdiversitysothattheteam createsaninclusiveculturethat enableshealthydynamicsandsolid results.
SeniorConsultantPattyMcManusdevelopsleaderswhoare equippedtoembraceboththeresponsibilitiesandthepotentialof theirroles.Sheworksatthelevelsofvalues,skilldevelopment, andmotivationtosupportleaders’andorganizations’success.
Pattyisafrequentbloggerandpodcasteron interactionassociates.comandauthorofthepopular ebook, “The Little Book of Big Change”.
Sheisalsoasought-afterpresenter,speakingmost recentlyattheAmericanLibraryAssociation’s NationalConference.
Activelycommittocreating psychologicalsafety.
Googleishardlypackedwithtouchyfeelytypeswhoexpecttobetalking aboutemotionsatwork.However,one leaderdescribedthevalueofhaving actualdatathatdemonstratedthe importanceofpayingattentiontothe
Evenifnooneelsedoes,leadersneed tokeeptheimportanceof psychologicalsafetyfrontandcenter, especiallyabouttheirownactions. Ifa teamhasgroundrulesaboutequal accesstoairtime,yettheleader repeatedlydoesmostofthetalkingor letsthetwohighstatusmemberstake
About Patty
over,theteamfacesnotonlyalossofsafetybutthe cynicismthatresultswhenaleadersaysonethinganddoes another Whichbringsmetothethirdessentialforteam leaders…
Ifyoutalktoafewpeoplewhoaren’tafraidtotellyouthe truth,you'llprobablystarttohearathemeortwo.Thentake ononechangeandonechangeonly—andmakeitconcrete andspecific.“Beabetterlistener”iswaytoovague.Try somethingasspecificas“askingtwoquestionsbefore
Takeahardlookinagoodmirror. Havingtheabilitytoseetheirimpactonothersistheplace tostart.Aleadermaytrulybelieveinthepowerof collaboration,understandtheimportanceofpsychological safetyonateam,ANDcontinuetoactinwaysthatcreate theoppositeeffect.Iamcontinuallyastoundedbyhowhard itcanbeforwell-intentionedpeopletochangetheirhabits andpatterns.
Oneofmyfavoriteinsightsinthelastyearcamefroma bookentitledImmunitytoChangebyKeganandLahey (2009).Theauthorsdescribemanyofthebarrierstochange thatresideinbothorganizationsandindividuals.Giventhe
givingmyopinion”or“lookingaroundtoseewhohasn’t hadachancetoweighin.”
AstheProjectAristotlefindingsbeganmakingtheirway intothepopularpress,theworldaroundGoogle-up,down, andaroundSiliconValley-seemedtoletoutacollective “duh!”Ormaybeitwasasighofrelief. Somanyofus haveknowntheagonyofbeingonateamthatnotonlyfelt unsafebutcouldn’tdeliveronitspromise. Thehardpartis knowingwhattodoaboutit. Fortunately,eventhough leaderscan’tcreatepsychologicalsafetyontheirown,small butintentionalshiftsintheirmindsetandactionscansetthe toneforbetterthings.
complexpsychologicalchallengeswhentakingoneventhe mostobviouschanges,theyrecommendthatindividuals focusononearea,andstartbyaskingafewindividualsthe followingquestion: “WhatisonebigthingIcoulddoto improve…?”
Google—thebiggestgiantintheworldofinternet, fromitshumblecommencementwithGoogleApp Enginebackin2008—hasgrownits Google Cloud Platform intooneofthepremiercloudcomputing platformsintheglobalmarkettoday.Google,whilestill followingitstoprivals,AWSandMicrosoftAzure,has continuedmakinginvestmentsinGoogleCloudPlatform thatmakestheproductmoreattractivetobigcustomers.
Asthenameimplies,GoogleCloudPlatformisacloud computingplatformthatprovidesinfrastructureservices andtoolsforuserstobuildontopof.Itisregardedasthe thirdbiggestcloudproviderintermsofrevenuebehind AmazonWebServicesinthefirstplaceandMicrosoft Azureinsecond.Anyorganizationinneedofcloud computingconsidersGoogleCloudPlatformfortheir needs—especiallySMBs,whichtheplatformwasinitially inclinedtowards.
AJapanesetrainingpartnerofGoogleCloudPlatformand PremierServicePartner,TOPGATEisonesuchleading technologygroupthatperformsconsultingand developmentinthecoretechnologyofGoogle.Boasting experience,confidenceandhightechnologytothehighest prideinJapan,TOPGATEsupportscompaniesthatwantto takeadvantageofthetechnologyofGoogle.TOPGATEnot onlyofferssystemdevelopment,butalsoseminarsand consulting,andengineeringeducation.
Asatrainingpartner,TOPGATEhasconductedGCP trainingformorethan1000peopleacrossJapanfrom OctobertoDecember2016.Additionally,inMarch2017, TOPGATEwasselectedasatrainingpartneroffive premiersworldwide,fromGoogle’shomecountry
Whilecloudtechnologydemandisrising,thereissurging needforcloudtechnicians.Weareinanerawherelarge companiesandfreelanceengineersaredemandingmore technologyandknowledge.TOPGATErecognizesthe same.AtTOPGATE,asanofficialtrainingpartnerofGCP, alevelengineerisenrolledasalecturer Thecompanyuses thatknowledgeandknow-howfordevelopmentand consulting.Italsoprovidesitscustomerswithsystem integrationandconsultingwithGoogletechnology.
TOPGATEbelievesitcanoffersolutionsbypresentingthe correctGoogleCloudPlatformdesignmethodstoits
customers.Thefirmcanalsoproposecorrectlyfor customer’srequestaboutmachinelearningaswell.With overwhelmingtechnicalcapabilitieswithwhichthe companyworksintheindustry,customerswithawiderangeofjobsinvariousindustriescometoTOPGATE. Thankstoitsextensivesupportservices,Paymentonbehalf ofdollarconversionisafee-freepayment.TOPGATEalso offersconsultingservicesthroughcommunicationtoolsto overcometechnicalconcernsanddoubts.
Goingbeyondtheconventionalthinking,TOPGATE respectsfreedom,considersitselfasacompanionthathas thesamegoalawareness,objectives,contributestoclients andtheworld,andgrowstogether.Inadditiontospending timetogether,thefirmbelieves,asateam,theysharethe thoughtswitheachother.
Withamanagementphilosophythatsays, “Always keep growing and challenging, raising the level of consciousness, contributing to society and people,” TOPGATEvisionstocontinuecreatinganewsocial infrastructureandsupportspeoplewhowishtoattainthe same.TOPGATEisonamissiontocreatecompanionsof thespecializedtypeofengineeringgroupinJapan,grow together,andprovidevaluableservicestotheworld.
increasethesizeofthecompanytomeettheneedsofmany customers.Thus,hewillcontinuetoworkasaCEOand strivetodojusticetothepositionheshoulders.
GCP,accordingtoMasakiisoflowprofile.Andthus,he andtheteamhaddifficultyinmanyactivitiessuchassales activitiesandadvertisementsontheweb.Buteventuallyhe
Manyusers,especiallyusersofothercompanyclouds,are buildingsystemswithIaaS.ThecorrectwaytouseGoogle CloudPlatform(#1)istobuildasystemwithPaaS.
MasakiKatoistheCEOofTOPGATE.However,since Masakiisanengineer,heconsidershimselftobeina positiontoprovideoptimalsolutionstocustomersbasedon experienceatthattime.Masakibelievesitisabouttimethat therecognitionofGCPalsoincreasesandwehaveto
reachedtheconclusionashegotthefamiliarityofGCP itselfandmadeacommunity.ItisacommunitycalledGCP UserGroup(GCPUG).Thiscommunityisspreadingin otherAsiancountriessuchasSingaporeandVietnam.
“We will continue to develop many innovations to companies by offering solutions by GCP to many customers in the future. Especially machine learning is an important element for future companies, so we will provide solutions to many companies,” concludesMasaki.
We are not selling products forcibly, but we can offer what customers are really looking for
Masaki Kato CEO
