The Planet Blog

At the 2009 Cloud Computing Conference in Santa Clara, Calif., The Planet Director of Product Management Rob Walters was one of five experts invited to participate in a panel discussion about enterprise-level cloud computing – whether it’s a far-off dream or a present-day reality. Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan covered everything from whether the term “cloud” was too broad to be useful to whether private clouds and public clouds can coexist.

I caught up with Rob in the expo hall to have him weigh in on each of the questions for our loyal blog readers (you!):

I love the analogy he uses to explain why “the cloud” is such a difficult concept to explain. It seems to be a paradigm shift unlike any we’ve seen in recent memory, so the transition from hype and confusion to understanding and adoption should prove to be an interesting adventure over the next few years.

One of the most interesting questions asked of the panel was whether or not we’d be talking about cloud computing in 10 years. The unanimous answer: No. Why? The resounding sentiment is that shift toward “the cloud” will be so pervasive that a given platform’s “cloudiness” will be implied. This opinion is shared by a group of experts at a “cloud computing conference,” so there may be a little bias here … What do you think? Will the cloud take over and become the de facto standard or will demand for traditional IT remain in the midst of the cloud’s surge?

-Kevin

The Planet’s Network Operations Center, although located in a prominent spot here at our Houston headquarters, is shrouded in a bit of mystery. Not exactly a “whodunit”-type mystery, but enough that when I walk past the blue-lighted, mission control-type room during my daily jaunts around the office I wonder, “Why do the NOC technicians get to watch CNN all day?” (Hint: Not because of Anderson Cooper’s smoldering good looks.) “What’s the purpose of all those monitors at the front of the room, exactly? Can I pull up the same information on my desktop?” (Spoiler alert: I can!) And, “Why is the room blue?”

To provide the answers to all of my burning NOC questions, I asked Vice President of Network Operations Stan Barber to lead me (and by default you, oh faithful blog readers) on a tour of The Planet’s NOC.

Take a look at the video below for the inside scoop on this cerulean wonder, and its role in providing great service to our customers.

The mystery of its blue lighting? Still under investigation.

Continuing The Planet’s feature coverage on WHIRtv, Anastasia Tubanos of The WHIR sat down with our vice president of Customer Care Jim Picone.

Jim explains the major improvements we’ve executed in our customer care organization within the past two years and focuses on the benefits of our new phone, chat and ticketing systems. With these new systems, we can now track critical metrics to create best practices and monitor operational efficiencies.

Watch the video below to get additional insight into our call center and our vision for the continuous improvements we’re making in our customer care organization.

When Anastasia Tubanos of The WHIR came down to Houston, she had a chance to meet with several people on our team to get a sense of where the company has been, where the company is, and where it is going.

Last week, we posted Anastasia’s interview with Urvish Vashi, which covered the recent launch of Planet Alpha, Planet Northstar and our Advanced Services. In the video below, she speaks with The Planet’s Chairman and CEO Doug Erwin about our company culture, building a solid business foundation through the merging of two successful companies, and his vision for The Planet over the next two years.

For a bit more insight on Planet Alpha and Planet Northstar, check out the video below by Anastasia Tubanos of The WHIR and The Planet’s Director of Product Management Urvish Vashi.

Sometimes inspiration can come from the strangest of places. Thoreau found his muse on Walden Pond in Concord, MA. Rosa Parks helped spark the civil rights movement on a crowded bus in Montgomery, AL. The catalyst for this post was far more ordinary: the vending machine area in our Houston headquarters.

We wanted to host a series of interviews on the blog to let you meet some of the people behind the scenes here at The Planet, but we needed a hook … A subject that was both intriguing enough to capture interest and fun enough to make the series worth watching. Our first interviewee, Todd Mitchell, came up with the idea of “This Month in Vending” after I adventurously chose a florescent-colored Blue Cream Soda from our vending machines and subsequently shared the product’s ridiculousness with all of my coworkers. Upon further investigation, we found several questionable products that were begging for taste-tests. So, we plunked down some coin for a package of Riblets, and the rest is history:

-Kevin

The YouTube link: This Week in Vending: Todd Mitchell