Follow Friday: Five Cloud Computing Channel Experts to Track

I like to close each week on a high note — signing off with something that clearly signals the week is over and it’s time to recharge. So, today TalkinCloud is introducing Follow Friday: Five Cloud Computing Channel Experts that you can follow on Twitter. We’ll update the list every Friday because, um, I like lists. Really big lists. So here we go.

Our inaugural Follow Friday list includes:

1. Amrita Chandra, senior director of corporate marketing, Asigra. Twitter ID: @asigra

Asigra has been in the backup game since 1986. More recently, the company has focused extensively on cloud backup and recovery software. That channel effort, with Chandra heavily involved, includes closer working relationships with VARs and MSPs that want recurring storage revenue… from the cloud. Asigra has partnered with a range of channel-centric cloud companies — including 6fusion, the infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platform provider.

2. Christopher Furey, Managing Partner and CTO, Virtual Density. Twitter ID: @chrisfurey

Furey is just getting started on Twitter. And Virtual Density is a small but rapidly growing solutions provider in the cloud. The company is working on multiple cloud and virtualization platforms — including Amazon Simple Storage Service, Rackspace, Vembu StoreGrid, VMware and Zenith Infotech. Virtual Density is a four-person company but keep an eye on their efforts: Cloud-related revenues essentially tripled from 2009 to 2010.

3. Dan Holt, CEO, HEIT. Twitter ID: @goheit

Sure, Dan Holt and the HEIT team are best known for managed services in the financial vertical. But HEIT was one of the first companies to fill out the Talkin’ Cloud 50 Survey — which tracks the world’s top VARs and MSPs within the cloud. For 2009, roughly 2,000 end-users leveraged HEIT’s cloud services. By the end of 2010, that figure skyrocketed to 8,000 end-users, HEIT says. Some of the growth surely comes from HEIT’s merger with Simply-Webb. But the growth is nonetheless impressive.

4. Julia Rivard, CEO, SheepDogInc.ca Twitter ID: @sheepdoginc

Rivard is one of the top executives at this Halifax, NS-based solutions provider. The company focuses on Google Apps Engine, Amazon Simple Storage Service, and custom SaaS application development. So far, those efforts are going well. Cloud-related revenues doubled from 2009 to 2010.

5. Tony Safoian, CEO, SADA Systems Inc. Twitter ID: @sadasystems

Plenty of VARs and MSPs continue to fear Google Apps, Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite and the forthcoming Microsoft Office 365. Instead of running for shelter, SADA Systems jumped directly into the cloud. The 35-person company now has about 2 million end users under contract to leverage cloud services. And while we can’t reveal company revenues, SADA’s total sales more than tripled in 2010.

Who’s Next?

TalkinCloud will return each Friday with a new #FollowFriday list. To potentially qualify brief us about your cloud efforts or please complete the Talkin’ Cloud 50 survey — which tracks VARs and MSPs working in the cloud. The survey closes March 31, 2011. And results will be unveiled in Q2 2011.

Thanks for reading.

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