Zynga is a leading example of how to wield cloud infrastructure to achieve scale. The company uses RightScale to help match demand of its incredibly successful game franchise with appropriate resources. Zynga seems to be a master of understanding how to model customer demand and underlying resources. As even virtual goods have COGS (cost of goods sold) server resources are part of the bill when conjuring up virtual goods for tens of millions of users.
Although we can’t all be as smart (or cute) as Zynga, many of us are catching on that scaling into the cloud is a smart choice. This brief analysis of RightScale looks at its offerings and the momentum the company is gaining in the market.
What Does RightScale Offer?
RightScale is a platform that abstracts cloud offerings from Amazon and a host of other cloud providers to help orchestrate the management and provisioning of cloud assets.
In the case of social games, this may be algorithms that help spin up services during a dramatic swing of usage. Or, in the reverse case, it maybe scaling infrastructure across the life cycle of a property as it is launched, goes viral, and eventually is replaced with the next thing.
The company also offers resource portability, where it can deploy servers with Amazon, or other cloud providers that compete in providing cloud workload services and the ability to spin up new services through APIs. RightScale has tuned its tools to both learn and to react to changes required in the infrastructure for applications using the platform.
New customer announcements include Hitachi Systems and Services in Japan and ProKarma in the United States.
Both are strong systems integrators that have chosen RightScale as the platform to bring the cloud to their customers. RightScale has announced over one million servers launched using its platform.
Maybe Zynga is the next Zynga
The company certainly has the viral pattern down, and delivery nailed. And, one thing that we’ve learned in watching the excitement of social games is that demand can be like a roller-coaster.
In addition to all of the natural benefits of cloud infrastructure in cost and timing, we think being ready for wild success is just good practice – it can much less expensive than failing to scale. More importantly, have a platform that scales can open up new doors to business that may have not existed without it.
RightScale: For All Shapes and Sizes
At RightScale, it doesn’t matter if your application is an addictive game, or monthly billing application. The company knows that in the next years, it is likely that hosting in the cloud makes sense for internet infrastructure and it is well positioned to be a piece of a lot of solutions that want to scale with demand.
If the momentum with heavy-hitting system integrators continues, RightScale will be coming to you through its partners. Of course, you can also try it for free and get started in managing the cloud. The company is targeting companies that have more than a handful of servers and has a compelling offering to get started and to grow from there.
Does RightScale fit into your scaling plans?
Photo Credit: jurvetson