TMCnet News
Sprint's (business) head is in the cloudAug 10, 2011 (The Kansas City Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The technology news website Cnet is reporting today that Sprint will begin selling Internet cloud services, or remote computer hosting, by year's end. The story says the carrier "will offer small and medium-size businesses and large corporations 'hosted collaboration services' such as software, security applications and Internet hosting." Cnet cited Paget Alves, the head of Sprint's business markets, as its source. The website said Alves thinks Sprint will first offer access to publicly available resources through the Internet, but might also sell service accessible only through private channels. "The (telecommunication companies) are in a unique position because our business is centered around the cloud," Alves said in an interview. Cloud computing has been a fast growing trend for both businesses and consumers. A company using cloud services essentially outsources the purchase and maintenance of computer servers to run websites or store data. By pooling with other clients, they gain far more efficient use of those servers and gain backup capabilities. Cnet noted that it's a different strategy than the one taken by AT&T, which has been reserved specific space at its data centers for specific customers. That approach gives a large business customer greater control over its services, but it doesn't offer the same efficiency of shared cloud space. For the full Cnet story, click here. To see more of The Kansas City Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansascity.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |