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1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation came to life when…
I was determined to solve a problem faced by the ever growing number of cloud users.
I looked around the Australian and global cloud space and discovered that although some aspects of cloud performance are guaranteed, there wasn’t a single cloud provider worldwide that could offer guaranteed storage performance.
The ultimate goal of the Blaze platform was to reduce cost, add flexibility and offer the ability to bring more applications to the cloud.
2. WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
Enable guaranteed performance so users can bring performance-sensitive applications into the cloud. By guaranteeing a minimum level of disk performance (IOPS) for cloud users we have opened up massive potential as their platform becomes more predictable.
It does this by…
Utilising the latest in all-SSD storage technologies from SolidFire and an advanced cloud software platform called OnApp. Through this unique partnership, we have developed a cloud service that allows customers to select not only their cloud server performance and storage, but also their storage performance.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
Blaze enables possibilities for our customers. Storage performance can now be selected, allowing businesses to run more efficiently. On top of this, we are pioneering new technologies that drive the standard of cloud hosting up and at the end of the day, it’s simple and easy to use — which is always key to an excellent service.
The benefits to the customer/end-user include…
- Guaranteed performance for their web or cloud applications
- Enables more computations on a single cloud instance
- Massive performance increases
- Increased reliability and higher up-time
- Cloud scalability and greater flexibility
- Cost savings
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
Nothing unfortunately. Disk capacity could previously be tailored on a cloud service, but never performance. Guaranteeing the level of minimum IOPS you receive from your cloud instance means you will have complete control over the stability, quality of service and expected performance.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
Previously, guaranteed disk performance could be measured on a dedicated/physical server. However dedicated servers are not cloud-based nor do they come with the many redundancy features of a cloud instance. Beneficially, cloud is also an on-demand service.
5. TARGET MARKET
This innovation is made for…
All companies seeking for a more stable cloud platform that offers the highest in cloud performance, all whilst adapting to their site or application’s traffic or needs. Blaze enables greater cost savings as performance can be matched to current demand.
Companies that benefit range from eCommerce stores, through to hosted software applications and finally large corporates. We have seen a broad take up of the Blaze platform which proves the benefits are identified by many different individuals.
6. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
It is available for sale through…
Our website, www.crucial.com.au. Blaze is available at any time, on demand, from anywhere you might be.
Our marketing strategy is to…
Target the greater hosting sector and get the word out about Blaze. Word of mouth has been key to our success.
We’re seen in online ads, Adwords, community engagements, forums, events and more.
We engaged with a PR firm in early 2013 to increase the media exposure of the Blaze and featured in ARNnet and other global news sources.
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FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
