May 17th is Norway’s National Day of celebration, where Norwegians worldwide commemorate the signing of Norway’s written constitution back in 1814. Fast forward 198 years and Maildistiller are sharing in the celebrations with the signing of their first and onl,y key strategic distributor partnership in Norway.

 As a former Webroot partner, SaaS Security were on the lookout for a suitable replacement for their extensive email security user base and Maildistiller seemed to tick all the right boxes. 

“We were looking for a multi-operational platform which allowed us to manage both our reseller channel and all our end-users from one interface. After Webroot announced their departure from the email security market we engaged with 5-6 potential vendors, but Maildistiller suited are needs best by far. We firmly believe that Maildistiller is the best solution for our Norwegian market.” - CEO Egil Løseth.

SaaS security have a current partner base of over 600 resellers from across Norway, Sweden and Iceland. The distributor’s new partnership with cloud security vendor Maildistiller, will grant them the exclusive position of being Maildistiller’s sole representative and strategic partner for the Norwegian channel.

 With a mature network of both enterprise consultancies and SMEs, SaaS security have a very varied but focussed customer-base, and CEO  Egil Løseth is keen to expand their email security offerings and user experience with the plethora of additional features that the Maildistiller platform offers. 

“With Maildistiller on our side we are confident of winning 9 out of 10 deals. The unique Instant Replay function and Emergency Inbox feature ensures that our clients will never lose an email and always have their email service up and running.” – Egil Løseth, CEO, SaaS Security.

The exclusive partnership between SaaS Security and Maildistiller for the Norwegian channel, further expands Maildistiller’s global reach, which has been rapidly increasing from the introduction of their utility pricing model for MSPs. By operating through a trusted distributor such as SaaS Security, Maildistiller are able to confidently deploy their purpose-built solutions to yet another market whilst ensuring that the highest levels of service and provision are always adhered to. 

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome SaaS security on board as our first and exclusive Norwegian partner. Building strong strategic partnerships is key to us here at Maildistiller as we operate a 100% channel focussed business, and we are confident that Egil and his team are exactly the type of partner representation that we pride ourselves on.” Colm McGoldrick – Maildistiller CEO.

 With the Maildistiller platform enabling distributors such as SaaS Security and large MSPs to build and manage their own channel of resellers and end-users from a single secure login, plus the introduction of monthly utility billing – it seems Maildistiller have the commercial and management needs of their partners firmly in focus. 

What do I mean by this. Well people are not going out looking for cloud-based solutions (“I want some cloud”), instead they are looking for a solution to a real problem. Some users are unknowingly using a cloud-based solution (either in their business or personal lives) and are quickly seeing the benefits. Take for example Dropbox, a free tool for sharing (large) files across devices seamlessly, easily and from anywhere, where users adopt it from a need that it solves and not because of the technology factor behind it or because of any cloud hype.

Cloud computing is expected to enjoy an adoption rate and growth of between 30 to 40 percent per year, every year for the next five years and its promise of substantial benefits will drive this adoption. . A 2012 customer study from Rise indicating that 94% of IT departments expect to expand their use of cloud in the next 12 months.

“Enterprises that embrace cloud computing reduce the amount of IT time and budget devoted to legacy systems and routine upgrades, which then increases the time and budget they have for more innovative projects. When IT innovation happens, business innovation is reached, which then supports job creation.” IDC Chief Research Officer John F. Gantz

The key benefits of cloud Include:

• Easier more flexible access in a world of consumerisation and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device),
• Increased resilience,
• Easier migration/implementation,
• Simplicity of use,
• Consistency across platforms ,
• Reduced cost of both implementation and on-going usage, and
• Innovation acceleration.

We still hear the downers on cloud – the news stories of gloom, fear and disdain. It was not so long ago that Internet shopping was placed in the same bucket, and yet this has become the norm and is continuing to enjoy compound growth and affect the traditional bricks-and-mortar retail arena.

There is plenty of hype on the ‘cloud’ and certainly plenty of discussion and content, and yet reports and audiences still show a need for education on the terms, benefits and realities of this growing form factor.  Top concerns of businesses in survey after survey on the cloud, continue to be security, data sovereignty and reliability. In a recent end user study from the Cloud Industry Forum 62% of companies using or planning to use cloud indicated Data Security was their prime concern. When it comes to individuals the top concern in the IT arena is job loss and reduction of individual value.

There is no doubt cloud is bringing change. With the Internet and technology, we have a generation of users demanding access to their applications from their iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or Android devices. We have entered an era where infinite IT power and information is available to a user on the smallest of devices, on the move and at an affordable price. As devices get more powerful, the Internet faster, the demand and supply of cloud applications will skyrocket and the power in the hands of the user will be greater than we have ever delivered before. Expect the marriage between mobility and the cloud to continue to grow.

So with this growth of cloud comes a change in skill requirements and job opportunities. One of CRN’s top 10 cloud predictions for 2012 is a growth in demand for cloud jobs as validated by an article in CIO magazine in early 2012. Cloud computing is and will have a major impact on skills across business, with IT being the most logically effected it will also impose itself onto roles in marketing, support and business roles in general. The demand for cloud-based skills already is showing signs of exploding. A recent report from Wanted Analytics, reported that hiring for cloud computing expertise showed a growth of 61 percent year over year. The cloud market is growing at such a pace that the number of job postings is accelerating and yet the talent qualifying for these roles is marginal.

Cloud isn’t all overcast and according to IDC ‘Spending on public and private cloud services is predicted to generate almost 14 million jobs worldwide between 2011 and 2015. More than one-third of cloud-enabled jobs will occur in the communications and media, banking, and discrete manufacturing industries.’  “For most organizations, cloud computing should be a no-brainer, given its ability to increase IT innovation and flexibility, lower capital costs, and help generate revenues that are multiples of spending,” said John F. Gantz, chief research officer and senior vice president at IDC. The top three industries expected to generate the most jobs from cloud computing are communications and media (2.4 million), banking (1.4 million) and discrete manufacturing (1.3million).

Cloud offers opportunities for those that embrace the new form factor and self-educate and certify themselves for the needs of employers today and tomorrow. More education is needed in cloud across all sectors to enable businesses to understand and utilize this important new technology to its advantage.

CompTIA’s Cloud Essentials certification is an example option that enables employees of varying roles to validate their cloud knowledge, take online training and exam condition testing, and differentiate themselves in the competitive job market. John McGlinchey,Vice President, Europe & Middle East, CompTIA commented “We have had a demand from the user market for a training curriculum with testing to support this rapidly growing new form factor. The demand and adoption is outstripping the skill base and it is key that individuals and businesses recognise and address this shortfall, before it becomes a serious issue for all concerned.”

More education is needed in cloud across all sectors to enable businesses to understand and utilize this important new technology option to its advantage and this need for understanding stretches past simply the border of the IT department. Expect to see more cloud courses and exams providing the market with the required validations in this new cloudy world. Ignoring cloud is no longer an option, utilizing it to your advantage is!

At Maildistiller, knowing how difficult the situation is, we’ve tried to be as accommodating as possible and make things really easy for any partners making the move. By devoting a dedicated migration team to make the transition super smooth and relatively effortless, we have become the preferred migration choice by over 7000 users to date, with 1000s more in the migration pipeline.

“What impressed me foremost about the Maildistiller team was their excellent, prompt response to my enquiries. The guys realised that ex-Webroot partners, such as myself, would be particularly keen to get on the ball and ensure an easy transition so they devoted resources to ensure that all such enquiries were responded to almost immediately. This worked for me.” David Banes, Director, Cleartext.

Staying Power

Rather than simply offering a short-term solution to loose-ended partners at this time, at Maildistiller we want to ensure that the relationships we build make sense for all involved because we’re in it for the long haul! What has made moving to Maildistiller a particularly easy choice for many ex-Webroot customers is the striking similarities between the two services. Maildistiller and Webroot, previously Email Systems, enjoyed a very healthy competition for many years, with our cloud-based email security services having been repeatedly benchmarked closely against each other by resellers and customers alike. On top of this, Maildistiller’s recent introduction of the first Utility billing model into this market, allowing partners to simply pay for actual usage on a per monthly basis, have made us a particularly competitive option for many MSPs.

“After Webroots exit from the market we were keen to find a worthy replacement.  We trialled Maildistiller for ourselves and were pleased with the easy to use interface and excellent tech support. We were especially impressed with the Emergency Inbox and Instant Replay features which kept us up and running whilst performing maintenance on our exchange server. We have now started rolling it out to clients.” Chris Penhaligon, Tanist.

Migrating to Maildistiller

To date, more than 7000 Webroot customers have successfully migrated to the Maildistiller service with many other interested parties being treated to 1-1 demos, free trials, expert advice, a listening ear and competitive migration options to make the move not only smooth but right. As a 100% channel focussed vendor, at Maildistiller our partners are our number 1 priority and at a time when some partners may have lost faith in the channel we’re here to restore it!

If you’d like more info on migrating to Maildistiller, our partner program, a free trial or even just to bend the ear of one of our team, don’t hesitate to get in touch! We’d love to hear from you

The MSP business model

The MSP business model is significantly different to that of the standard reseller which most vendors are used to dealing with and many fail to differentiate accordingly between the two. It’s crucial that as vendors we take the time to understand the very different business models that many MSP operators bring to the industry.

It is important that vendors develop their MSP offerings in collaboration with their existing partners and focused market research with providers in different geographical locations and markets. This allows for appropriate consideration of the different factors which may implicate proceedings and to assure your customers and partners are fully prepared for different scenarios and as such don’t isolate particular markets.

 Our Research has indicated very clearly, that with the exception of only a few, the majority of software and SaaS vendors in the market just do not understand the MSP business model and need. In order to rectify this as a vendor, the best approach is to work with IT Resellers and VARs who are making the move to a more MSP approach, listen to their concerns, understand their need and address any current limitations as best possible. This knowledge alongside a reliable and intuitive service should enable vendors to deliver a fit for purpose platform, specifically designed for how MSP’s operate their business.

Stability of the hosted security industry

Maildistiller’s regular contact with software IT resellers and distributors over recent years has provided a trusted relationship and a detailed picture of trends and stresses in the industry. As such we can say with some confidence that;

The email management, security & archive markets as a whole remain secure due to the exponential growth in email, which consequently has resulted in an even faster growing threat of spam, malware and viruses.

However, the traditional revenue model for solutions to these growing security problems is being assailed by the increase in SaaS provision, direct sales and decreasing customer loyalty, all compounded by the global economic crisis.

What do MSPs want?

Obviously this is difficult to sum up in a few bullet points but these 7 features I believe are key to addressing the needs of MSPs.

• Ease of Entry to Market.
• Customer Retention.
• Scalability.
• Low Hanging fruit.
• Ease of Distribution, Management and Billing.
• Software as a Service (SaaS) Provision.
• Customer Retention.

Colm McGoldrick, founder and CEO of email security company Maildistiller, was last night awarded for his outstanding achievements, influence and on-going success in the IT industry, by being named IT Professional of the year!

This fantastic accolade was awarded to Fermanagh-born Colm, by British Computer Society (BCS) representative Adam Thilthorpe, at the impressive Titanic signature building, during yet another successful ‘IT Events Network Belfast’ program.  The event itself was the second in a series of events for the Northern Ireland IT industry organised by Brightwater Recruitment in association with SyncNI and the BCS. Aptly entitled ‘The Titans Are Coming’, there were keynote speeches on the night from Simon Ritter, technology evangelist at Oracle and Dr Mark Little CTO of JBoss at Red Hat along, with the prestigious IT Professional of the year presentation.

Winning the award was no mean feat considering the wealth of IT talent clearly evident in Northern Ireland and each of the four nominees were unquestionably worthy opponents. Colm’s influence and contribution to the growth of the NI IT industry however clearly shone for the judges.

Paul Hanna, chair of BCS Belfast Branch commented: “Colm is great winner for this year’s IT Professional of the Year award presented by the BCS Belfast Branch; having helped to put Northern Ireland on the IT industry’s map. The judges felt that Colm was an excellent choice for ‘IT Professional of the Year’; with his entrepreneurial spirit and extensive knowledge and expertise in the IT industry.”

The award is given by the BCS Belfast Branch to an individual member of the IT profession for a contribution of major significance in the advancement of information systems or of the information systems profession or industry or which adds significantly to the understanding of the development of information systems.

With over 13 years’ experience in the IT industry, undeniably making his mark wherever he went with significant projects at BT and Microsoft, Colm’s expertise, enthusiasm and professionalism for the growth and success of IT in NI is clearly evident.  As founder and CEO of Northern Irelands first and to date only home grown Cloud email security business, Colm has lead Maildistiller from the front with clear vision and purpose, and it now enjoys a market-leading position, servicing users in 20+ countries worldwide and creating huge export success for NI, all from their office in Belfast.

Colm was accompanied at the event by a very proud Maildistiller team and was absolutely thrilled to receive the award.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to be acknowledged with such a prestigious award for doing what you love. I was delighted to be nominated given the huge pool of IT talent we have here in NI, but to be selected as the winner is an absolute honour. IT offers huge potential for any economy, but here in Northern Ireland we have the skills, resources and undoubted passion to make a real difference and I for one am very excited to be in the mix.”

- Colm McGoldrick, CEO Maildistiller

Software licensing and maintenance is a feat in itself: costly, complex and administrative. No matter which of the many different licensing mechanisms and approaches you take, be it volume, site, or concurrent licensing, the path is not always straightforward. In today’s challenged times businesses are looking to simplify process and minimise cost. One area where savings can be made, license-numbers minimised and the responsibility of licensing shared with the vendor, is that of Software as a Service (SaaS).

In a nutshell, SaaS minimises the technical burden for businesses and maximises budget. It removes the need for software installation and maintenance, enabling shorter deployment time alongside the ability to deliver not just a local, but a global, solution.  SaaS allows businesses to focus their technology investment on delivering competitive advantage rather than maintaining infrastructure.

 Whilst SaaS will not completely replace traditional licensing models, its presence will grow across the business environment as its role in simplifying licensing complexity and reducing the costs and overheads associated with managing traditional licenses becomes more widely understood.

So what are the differences between software and service licensing – and how can gains be made?

 Software licensing is undergoing change. The days of businesses purchasing a licensed copy on CD ROM are becoming a distant memory. With the majority of today’s computers connected to the web, it has become simpler for software vendors to distribute and update software (and perhaps even keep an eye on how often their software is used).

 First came the ability to download software from the internet, followed by the capability to subscribe to automatic software and signature updates. SaaS takes the model a step further.

The core licensing difference of SaaS is that it is provided as a subscription-based model (per user per month licensing contracted over a set license period) rather than the traditional single up-front license fee with software sold for perpetual use. Many SaaS vendors are already starting to introduce interesting new models of licensing depending on their technology sector and ability to measure usage. These include features and function models, time-based subscription models, usage-based transaction models,  transaction numbers (based on the number of events) – or, even more creatively, advertising-funded revenue models.

Another advantage is that SaaS vendors can also allow customers to administer and monitor their licensing centrally, removing the burden of managing software usage.  Finally, SaaS delivers the business with an additional financial proposition.  By treating the service as ongoing cost to the business, the customer is able to migrate costs from their Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) budget to Operating Expenditure (OPEX), an attractive benefit in today’s pressured environmental climate.

This “break/fix” relationship between client and IT provider is no longer a good fit though. IT systems don’t need a bit of TLC every now and again, they need on-going maintenance.

The whole Break/Fix system also does little to encourage the IT provider to resolve problems permanently. If they fix something so that the problem never re-occurs, why is the client going to ‘phone them again? I’m not suggesting for a minute that IT companies don’t fix things properly for want of killing future revenue opportunities, but if the clock is ticking and the client wants to minimise the bill – then often a “good enough for now” attitude prevails.

So from the clients perspective, break/fix is not a good model, and from the IT providers perspective, the notion of selling their time for money has one huge flaw – there is only so many hours in each day, and so only so much money to be made.

Managed Services

The alternative to break/fix is the “Managed Services” model. A Managed Service Provider (MSP) builds a long term relationship with a client, who pays a flat monthly fee for an “all you can eat” support and consultancy service. This model works because to maintain profitability, an MSP has to work to reduce (or eliminate) the problems a client experiences rather than selling their time for money, and from the clients perspective they are paying a fixed, budgeted cost to enable their IT systems to keep running and leave them to do what they need to be doing – running their business.

The benefits of recurring revenue

For the MSP, this stream of recurring revenue means their business becomes scalable and valuable.

• Tools for remote management and automation can be brought in to build efficiency in service delivery.
• Fewer technicians are required to support more clients. MSP’s can make decisions about staffing levels based on a predictable level of income and expenditure.
• Recurring revenue builds a sustainable business that has value – a prospective buyer of such a business isn’t just buying goodwill and a break/fix client base, they are buying a ready built income stream.

Additional streams of recurring revenue

But as any growing MSP knows, providing IT Support and Consultancy is just one of the solutions and services they provide to their clients.

Every client has Broadband, and often this Broadband is managed by the MSP but paid for by the client to an ISP on a monthly basis. By re-selling your own Broadband service from your own trusted ISP, an MSP creates a new monthly recurring revenue stream and reduces support costs as they are working with an ISP they’ve hand picked to deliver great service and support.

Other examples for building new monthly recurring revenue streams include off-site backup of clients data, content filtering, anti-virus and email continuity.

There are also opportunities to build fixed-term recurring revenue streams. Disaster Recovery solutions are typically provided on an annual or multi-year  contract, but billed to the client on a monthly basis, and similarly e-mail archiving is increasingly becoming important to clients over a longer term.

The benefits of recurring revenue

The benefit to the MSP’s with all of these recurring revenue sources is that they are enabling their clients to budget for services, the solutions are flexible – and can be increased or decreased as demand requires – and, importantly, they are build a “stickiness” factor with their clients. By providing not just IT Support, but a raft of value added services, a client is much more likely to remain with their current MSP than move to another provider.

For IT companies looking to build these recurring revenue streams, it’s important to seek out a vendor who not only provides the services you want, but understands this recurring revenue model. The vendor should bill you monthly, in arrears, for the services you re-sell to your client. In turn the MSP should be looking to bill monthly, in advance, to their clients for the services they will use. This minimises the risk for the MSP’s considerably, as does the ability for MSP’s to scale up or down on a per monthly basis, ensuring the MSP is always in control.

Other vendors take the concept of recurring revenue even further and offer discounts on services to MSP’s based on their entire user base. So as an MSP builds and increase their user numbers, so their profit margin will increase for all their users each month.

Conclusion

The days of IT companies selling their time for money in the Break/Fix model are at an end. Modern, forward-thinking IT companies understand that providing solutions and services that their clients want will build a number of streams of recurring revenue, and in turn, that will help the IT company build a scalable and valuable business that can thrive and grow.

Cloud email security vendor Maildistiller are disrupting the ‘sameness’ of the market and forcing other vendors to play catch-up, with their introduction of the very first utility billing model to hit the channel.

Utility billing – the ability for partners to simply pay for what they actually use on a per monthly basis, is one of the greatest benefits that cloud computing promised. However, to date, Maildistiller are the first and only email security vendor to actually bring this option to market for their partners.

Maildistiller CEO Colm McGoldrick explains the motivation behind this new shake up,

“We sat back and took a closer look at the email security market and the concerns of many resellers looking at cloud services. These included a fear of vendors selling direct and the lack of a utility style pricing model. In short, we want to alleviate any current barriers to a cloud delivery model and help the channel migrate and win customers in a cloud world.  We are very proud to be the first vendor to be able to offer partners a flexible utility model unique to the market and to publicly reaffirm our continued commitment to being 100% channel focussed!”

Maildistiller clearly understand that the channel is struggling somewhat with the transition to the cloud and the financial model that goes with it. The interjection of a true utility billing model which allows partners to scale up and down on a monthly basis and only charges for actual usage, will undoubtedly cause a welcomed stir in the market. Additionally it’s testimony to Maildistiller’s own innovativeness and perhaps braveness in being the first vendor willing to step up to the plate and deliver true cloud computing.

Adrian Scaife, IT Account Manager at the Ministry of Justice further cements the importance of such a delivery model in true cloud offerings. Writing on the UK  Government blog on March 23rd Adrian states,

“Just remember that cloud is not about computers or technologies, it is about ICT services or ICT enabled business services supplied on a utility basis, just like electricity, water or telephony.”(Source HM Government G-Cloud Blog)

On top of an innovative licensing model, Maildistiller also offers all their partners the ability to co-brand the platform completely free of charge. This allows partners to stamp their brand on the Maildistiller technology and confidently own the customer relationship, again testimony to Maildistiller’s sole focus on partner relationships and channel success.

The fact that Maildistiller, unlike many of their competitors, remain a 100% channel focused vendor is yet another feather in the Maildistiller cap. This on-going commitment to the channel has served them particularly well following Webroot’s recent impromptu departure from the market. A high volume of ex-Webroot resellers have already migrated across to Maildistiller, fully appreciating this maverick vendor’s unwavering channel loyalty and utility billing options, with hundreds of others currently in the evaluation stage.

“What impressed me foremost about the Maildistiller team was their excellent, prompt response to my enquiries. The guys realised that ex-webroot partners, such as myself, would be particularly keen to get on the ball and ensure an easy transition so they devoted resources to ensure that all such enquiries were responded to almost immediately. This worked for me.” -David Banes, Director, Cleartext.

Maildistiller’s purpose-built services have always served them well in the busy email security market due to the level of flexibility, quality of solutions, customer satisfaction and better margins that only comes with building your own technology. However, introducing the first utility billing model to the market puts them in a league of their own in the vendor stakes and challenges resellers to step up to true cloud computing and the full range of functionality that it promises.

“We want to give our partners a better way of buying and make delivering email security in the cloud as easy, profitable and partner focused as possible. With our new utility billing model we hope to match the channel’s original expectations of the true capabilities of the cloud, which to date have not been fully exploited in the market. True cloud computing is what the channel has been waiting for and at Maildistiller we’re extremely excited to be the first email security vendor to be able to deliver on it.” - Danielle Campbell, Marketing Executive, Maildistiller

There is no question that Maildistiller’s utility billing model is going to be extremely disruptive for other vendors in the market who simply can’t match such an offering. As Maildistiller partners clamber to make the move to this exciting new model, there is a very real feeling that traditional commercial models alone will no longer cut it for ambitious MSPs doggedly focused on growth, profits and channel loyalty.

We seem to take phishing attacks for granted these days, in much the same way that we’ve accepted spam as a natural, and inevitable, by-product of email. Some experts believe that one of the best solutions to thwart phishing attacks is end-user training, but I doubt training alone can be a viable solution. Can we really train every computer user to be sufficiently security literate, such that anyone can distinguish a phishing message from a genuine bank email? I doubt that it is possible, especially given how specific the details in spear phishing (phishing targeted at specific people and/or companies) attacks have become.

It used to be that thieves could satiate their hunger for evil (and money) merely through the emulation of a consumer bank or a PayPal login screen. While those low-hanging-fruit scams show no signs of abating, even following some major busts of phishing rings, we’ve seen new types of phishing attacks that wear the mask of a Web security product, persuading users to follow through on fake spam quarantine messages, or security update alerts, sometimes using the name of real vendors. It’s all very plausible.

Unfortunately, the average user is not a trained security expert—and why should he or she be? Criminals lure us into phishing and email scams in much the same way that street cons lure some people into losing their wallet at Three-card Monte. We let our curiosity get the best of us, and at times can be gullible. Like street hustlers, cybercriminals aren’t afraid to experiment with hacking our inclinations (or, as many security experts call it, social engineering). The volume of phishing attacks has increased, as have their variety and sophistication. Even security experts struggle to identify some of the fakes.

The phishers cast their rods farther and with more efficiency than ever before. They can easily download phishing site creation tools (yes they exist) and produce convincing messages and pages. Expecting an average PC user to beat these guys without any help is tantamount to pitting an average golfer against Tiger Woods (albeit a few years ago; no offense, Tiger). The criminal’s job is to create online scams that work, and the returns on their investments are huge. Why would we expect non-criminally-minded users to be more adept at spotting scams, than scammers are at reeling in the users?

Technology has to step up its game. We need to continue to make it harder and less lucrative for online scammers to do their “jobs.” That’s really the most effective way to stop phishers from attacking our end users.

I’m holding my hands up; my metrics are very basic and not particularly scientific, so no need to bring that to my attention! I’ve simply based this top tweeters, quick fire list on four things:

1. Use of the #cloudcomputing hashtag.
2. Interesting tweets on #cloud
3. Regularity of tweets/no. of followers.
4. They have appeared on the @Maildistiller twitter stream.

#Cloud tweeters to follow

Commensus CTO – Alex @WhatistheCloud

What’s going on in the world of Cloud Computing? I’m the CTO of Commensus PLC.

We help companies to save money with innovative Cloud IT solutions.

London, UK · http://www.commensus.com

DavidLinthicum @DavidLinthicum

Cloud computing and SOA expert, CTO, blogger, speaker, thought leader, and founder of Blue Mountain Labs.

Reston, VA · http://www.davidlinthicum.com

Jeff Kaplan @thinkstrategies

Cloud Computing, SaaS, and Managed Services Guru Serving IT/Business Decision-Makers, IT Solution Providers and Investors Since 2001.

Wellesley, MA · http://www.thinkstrategies.com

Maureen O’Gara @MaureenOGara

Maureen, the most read technology reporter for the past two decades, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media.

Long Island, New York · http://MaureenOGara.Ulitzer.com

Max Büchler @MaxBuchler

Cloud & ITaaS evangelist. Provocateur, criticizer & advisor – honest & trusted w/ a special touch & always with a smile. Tweets are my own.

Stockholm · http://inmaxmind.com

Stefan Ried @StefanRied

Forrester Analyst for Cloud, SaaS and Middleware/ERP platforms. http://blogs.forrester.com/stefan_ried

San Francisco or Heidelberg · http://www.stefan-ried.de

Dana Gardner @Dana_Gardner

Gardner is a creative thought leader on enterprise software, SOA, cloud-based strategies, and IT transformation. He is a prolific blogger and podcaster.

Gilford, NH · http://briefingsdirectblog.blogspot.com/

Bernard Golden @bernardgolden

CEO of cloud computing consultancy HyperStratus. Cloud blogger for CIO.com

Silicon Valley, California · http://www.hyperstratus.com

Heather McLaughlin @MostHeather

Helping the #healthcare industry with #HIPAA #HITECH and Email #encryption services.

Greater Cleveland Area · https://www.facebook.com/MostHost

Larry Carvalho @larrycincy

Cloud Computing Analyst & Advisory Services, STEM Advocate, Dad, Runner

Mason, Ohio · http://www.linkedin.com/in/lcarvalho

Ian Moyse @imoyse

Board member of Eurocloud UK, Governance board member of the Cloud Industry Forum. Advisory board member SaaSMax.

UK · http://www.ianmoyse.co.uk

Daniel Thomas (Compare the cloud) @comparethecloud

Daniel heads up Compare The Cloud.net – a website that extols the virtues and value of Cloud Computing to businesses and helps companies select services and providers.

United Kingdom · http://www.comparethecloud.net

Who’s missing?

So that’s my quick list of top  #cloudcomputing tweeters worth keeping an eye on (using my less-than scientific metrics yes but it’s good to start somewhere). I know myself there are many others out there who are noteworthy but I’d be interested in finding out who you would add to the mix?

Leave your suggestions below of who you consider a  top #cloud tweeter worth following and why, then let’s watch the list grow! Oh and if you’d be so good as to follow us @maildistiller that would be much appreciated and we’ll try and do our bit for #cloud.