Cloud News: GoDaddy, IBM, NaviSite

Here’s a roundup of some of this week’s headlines from the cloud computing sector:

Go Daddy's Data Center On Demand. Web hosting giant Go Daddy is now in the cloud computing business with a new service called Data Center On Demand, in a limited-release phase, GigaOm's Derrick Harris reports. Go Daddy will use Cloud.com’s CloudStack private-cloud software for the resource-orchestration layer, and machine management will initially be via shell commands or self-installed control panels. Taking aim at Amazon and Rackspace, they offer plans and pricing for 1 to 6 servers, ranging from $49.99/month to $279.99/month.  Product launch is expected in July.

IBM launches Smart Cloud for DR. IBM announced new cloud services that enable clients to protect, store and retrieve their most critical data in minutes versus days in the event of a disaster. SmartCloud Resilience services allow customers to protect their data and applications faster, cheaper and in a more flexible manner than they could before within a traditional data center environment. New services include the SmartCloud Virtualized Server Recovery, which provides a portal for remote access to bring back a business, and SmartCloud Archive to meet stringent privacy and regulatory compliance. These services compliment the existing SmartCloud Managed Backup service from IBM which has been used by hundreds of clients for the past two years. "Now more than ever, companies are relying on a massive amount of data to run their businesses, storing it longer and retrieving it as needed," said Rick Ruiz, general manager of IBM's Business Continuity and Resiliency Services. "This creates a need for a business resilience strategy that will ensure continuous operation and create a competitive advantage to enable growth opportunities. Our new cloud services bring flexibility, scalability, and rapid provisioning to help accomplish that."

NaviSite launches UK Cloud node. NaviSite announced the launch of its first European cloud node, located in Woking, UK. The new UK cloud infrastructure will provide European enterprises access to NaviSite’s Managed Cloud Services (MCS) – helping them comply with local regulations while eliminating network performance issues caused by long-distance broadband connections to offshore data centers. “We are excited to announce our new UK cloud node,” said Philip Cheek, UK Managing Director, NaviSite Europe Ltd. “We are now well-positioned to meet the growing demand for enterprise-class managed cloud services in the UK and Europe, and are thrilled that we can offer our award-winning Managed Cloud Services to enterprises that require a local European cloud presence.” It was announced earlier this year that NaviSite will be acquired by Time Warner Cable.