STRATEGIES

October 21, 2000

Profile by Lisa Phifer,
VP Core Competence, Inc.

In industries where time-to-market will make you, and inability to scale will break you, getting the most out of every resource is essential. Launched early this year as an expert eServices infrastructure provider, Loudcloud Inc focuses on high-growth companies that need to get connected easily, quickly, and reliably — specifically, dot-coms and ASPs. Its value proposition is simple: Focus in-house talent on building your business, and leave the driving to us.

For ASPs, establishing a robust on-line presence is not a sideline — it is the foundation on which the entire business rests. Choosing an ASP infrastructure provider is a huge decision with tremendous consequences. So, why trust a third-party like Loudcloud?

Best-of-breed pedigree

Start with Loudcloud's impeccable pedigree. Founded in September 1999 by top talent from Netscape via AOL, Loudcloud is led by chairman Marc Andreessen and CEO Ben Horowitz. Board members include Intuit chairman Bill Campbell and former Disney president Michael Ovitz. With deep-pocket equity funding by Benchmark Capital and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Loudcloud hired nearly 400 staffers with "deep expertise", including those responsible for high-volume sites like InfoSeek and Netscape. Its research group alone is said to possess 100 years of collective industry experience.

Expert staff are critically important, but an infrastructure is ultimately the sum of its parts. Loudcloud assembles best-of-breed platforms by leveraging strategic alliances with Akamai, EMC, Exodus, GlobalCenter, HP, iPlanet, Microsoft, Network Appliance, Sun, and others. For example, the platform Loudcloud created for SkillsVillage.com is based on three redundant pairs of Sun 4xx servers. These web, application, and database servers run Netscape Enterprise Server, Netscape Application Server, and Oracle8i, respectively. This site is hosted at GlobalCenter for robust network connectivity, front-ended by Cisco PIX firewalls and Alteon load balancers.

Loudcloud supports a variety of platforms, as required to meet diverse customer needs. During its first year of operation, Loudcloud says it evaluated the performance, stability, security, and interoperability of nearly 200 infrastructure technologies. "[Our] mission is to constantly evaluate advancements across the stack of networks, systems, and applications with an eye towards helping build out Loudcloud's environment," said Loudcloud VP David Posey. "This helps a customer more quickly build its custom application that runs on top of Loudcloud's software infrastructure services."

Tiered infrastructure

Loudcloud is a soup-to-nuts infrastructure provider. It supplies the floorspace, high-availability hardware and software, and load-balanced network facilities, all backed by a 100% scheduled uptime guarantee. Loudcloud's operational environment includes 24x7 multi-level monitoring, storage management, and network and host security.

Managing a complex infrastructure can be incredibly resource-intensive. Even when this burden is outsourced, it can be tough to add services and capacity quickly. Loudcloud addresses this challenge with OpsWare, a proprietary technology that automates capacity management, configuration, provisioning, and versioning. Customers can also monitor and tune their own sites through my.Loudcloud, a self-service management interface. Loudcloud provides capacity on demand; each customer's monthly fee is based on usage.

These core technologies support a suite of "Smart Cloud" services, assembled to meet each customer's needs. Start with Web Cloud and/or Application Server Cloud. These services provide a ready foundation for Internet business applications that operate in Linux, Solaris, or Windows NT/2000 AS environments. Web Cloud supports Apache, Microsoft IIS, and iPlanet Enterprise servers. Application Cloud alternatives include Allaire JRUN, ATG Dynamo, BEA WebLogic, Microsoft COM+, Netscape Application Server, and Vignette Story Server. Need another web or application server? Loudcloud claims to support nearly any application architecture, including custom systems.

Sites that require back-end systems integration can add Database Cloud: managed, high-availability database solutions based on Oracle8i or Microsoft SQL Server. Those that need inbound/outbound messaging or an open information repository can subscribe to Mail Cloud or Directory Cloud. All of these services are architected to avoid single point-of-failure, and are accompanied by storage and backup management. Loudcloud lets you deploy applications that require these services without having to worry about platform design or administration.

Tools:

Add aspnews.com to your favorites Add aspnews.com to your browser search box IE 7 | Firefox 2.0 | Firefox 1.5.x

Back to Companies