Verizon Introduces Pay-As-You-Go Cloud Computing

Boosting bandwidth, adding more servers and turning up additional storage capacity to meet changing business needs quickly are among the many things small and medium-sized businesses now can do with Verizon Communications Inc.‘s new cloud computing offering, Computing as a Service, SMB.

The new offering joins Verizon’s Computing as a Service (CaaS) portfolio of cloud computing services.

Verizon’s new offering is tailored to companies that have limited IT resources and do not want to own or manage their IT infrastructure. Delivering a flexible, high-performance, pay-as-you-go, on-demand offering, CaaS SMB is suited to smaller businesses such as retailers, manufacturers and professional services firms as well as independent departments within larger organizations.  It also appeals to online businesses and application developers who want to code, test and stage in a reliable and scalable cloud environment. All that’s needed to get started is a credit card.  

With Verizon CaaS SMB, customers can customize the server, storage and network resources required to manage a Web presence or enable company applications.  Unlike many other available cloud offerings, Verizon CaaS SMB offers built-in security including virtual private networks while allowing companies to add more security features.  CaaS SMB also lets companies retain previous computing configurations of their data and servers so data can be easily accessed in the future.

"We are bringing the power of a high-performance, secure cloud environment to our small-business customers to meet their specific need for on-demand computing resources," said Carrie Gray, Verizon Business executive director of medium business.  "This new offering will help SMBs tap cloud technology to be more agile, productive and cost effective so they can better compete in today’s global economy without having to build and maintain a high-capital, high-maintenance infrastructure to meet their IT needs."  

CaaS SMB Service Set to Shake Up the Market
Available in the U.S., the new offering offers a host of features, including:

• Simple, Web-based Console – The Web-based console is easy to use and does not require an IT or technical background.  
• No Minimum Commitment, No Term Contract Required – Businesses can start today and only pay for the resources utilized.  Server pricing starts at less than 4 cents per hour.
• Redundant Architecture – The cloud computing service is designed for full backup, ensuring high performance and availability.
• Server Cloning – Server cloning lets organizations make a carbon copy of any server for backup protection, development version control or rapid deployment of additional capacity into load-balanced virtual Web farms.
• Hardware Load Balancing – Enterprise-class integrated service load balancing is available in the cloud, allowing capacity to be shared among a company’s virtual server farm.  
• Comprehensive Choice of Operating Systems – CaaS SMB is adaptable to almost any operating system and comes complete with templates for a broad range of systems.
• Compatible with Existing Apps – Verizon’s VMware vCloud Express-based platform doesn’t lock an organization into specific programming language. Windows and Linux apps will run on CaaS SMB, right off the shelf and without modification.
• Built-in Security – With Verizon’s built-in security, SMBs can quickly lock down their network and create or delete firewall rule sets on demand. In addition, companies can work with Verizon to tailor a specific security program to meet their individual needs. 

"On-demand, pay-as-you-go cloud computing solutions offer SMBs much-needed flexibility, cost-effectiveness and control for their IT operations," said Melanie Posey, research vice president at IDC. "Services such as Verizon’s CaaS SMB deliver these benefits from a business-grade platform that features embedded security, redundancy and compatibility with existing systems."

Verizon’s Newly Expanded Cloud Computing Portfolio
CaaS SMB joins Verizon’s flagship cloud computing portfolio, known for its built-in security and high performance. Tailored to meet the needs of small-business customers, this service reflects continued and growing relationships with VMware and Terremark that, together with Verizon, are creating cloud offerings that provide customers with more freedom, control, reliability and security over IT resources.

CaaS SMB is available to purchase after registration. 

Converged IT Services Via a Cloud Model
"Verizon Business is evolving to an ‘Everything-as-a-Service’ (EaaS) model in which cloud-based, converged solutions are delivered with built-in security via managed and professional services over our global IP network," said Gray.  "The launch of Computing as a Service, SMB is another step in that evolution.

"The EaaS platform – with Verizon’s global IP network and data centers as its foundation – will enable enterprises to do business better by getting what they need, when they need it, where they need it," said Gray.