Topic: CXO

Start your company with a credit card and a cloud

Summary: Despite the bad economy there's never been a better time to start a company. Why?

By Robin Harris for Storage Bits | March 3, 2009 -- 12:19 GMT (04:19 PST)

Despite the bad economy there's never been a better time to start a company. Why? Because you don't have to buy a single server or application. Whip out your credit card, load and go - on a cloud-powered data center.

But this isn't just for startups: any do-more-with-a-lot-less IT group can use this.

Download now, run anywhere I visited the guys at JumpBox and came away impressed. They've packaged up over 40 open source apps as virtual appliances that will run on most virtual machines - VMWare, Parallels, Hyper-V, VirtualBox (free & lightweight), Xen and Amazon's EC2 - out of the box.

You can try it with a free download of any of 10 apps - heavy on Wikis for some reason - and see for yourself. As the JumpBox web site puts it:

JumpBox simplifies server software deployment with pre-built, pre-configured software applications packaged for deployment on virtualization platforms. [We've] packaged the application's software, dependencies, and application data into a single ready to deploy virtual computer. . . . [E]ach one captures years of system administration experience and best practices in a format that requires minimal technical knowledge to deploy.

I'll drink to that.

The JumpBox comes configured to run on all the supported vmachines - you don't even have to choose. Makes it easy to change platforms too.

Cloud support Used to be that starting a company meant ordering a bunch of new gear. With cloud support you can skip that costly step by setting up your apps on Amazon's EC2. Pay by the hour and gigabytes stored.

Jumpbox makes their money selling you subscriptions to JumpBoxes. They support and update 'em and you use the apps. The cloud support option is available on their $42/mo and above plans.

The Storage Bits take This is open source and virtualization for the rest of us. My little notebook computer has enough power to run a business - if I could just get the support and the apps to do it.

With JumpBox it looks like I can. Try it and share your experiences in the comments.

Comments welcome, of course. Disclosure: I didn't take any money for this - not even a lunch. I just like what they're doing.

Topics: CXO, Apps, Virtualization, Storage, Software, Servers, Open Source, Hardware, Cloud, IT Employment

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10 comments

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This is a joke, right?

"Whip out your credit card, load and go - on a cloud-powered data center."

Do you have [b]any idea[/b] what's happening with the economy right now?

You'll be lucky if the credit card company allows you to put $0.02 on your card.

Not to mention that credit cards are half the reason we're in this mess right now. The whole "buy now, pay later" attitude is a recipe for disaster. Especially if you find out you can't pay later. Which is the pickle a lot of both companies and individuals are in right now.

Surely this is a joke.

CobraA1
4 March, 2009 05:50

Reply Vote
- You can pay the bill immediately
  
  and not pay interest and for practical purposes not be borrowing. Purchasing with a credit card is safer than using a debit card.
  
  If you have a good idea for a business that will pay in the long run, now is actually probably a good time to start one if you have the funds to do so. Because the economy is bad, people are more anxious for your business and startup costs may be lower as a result.
  
  sullivanjc
  4 March, 2009 06:57
  
  Reply Vote
  - Myth of the unsafe debit card
    
    Why do people still think that debit cards are not safe? Debit cards with VISA or MASTERCARD logos are protected. If your debit card is not one of these check with the issuer. Some institutions offer their own protection.
    
    kdjkdj@...
    4 March, 2009 09:05
    
    Reply Vote
- I tend to concur...
  
  Starting a business in good times is risky -- but in bad times you're really rolling the dice.
  
  While new business failure rates are heavily debated, some resaarch has been done:
  
  Small Business Openings & Closings in 2007:
  
  * There were 637,100 new businesses, 560,300 business closures and 28,322 bankruptcies.
  
  * Two-thirds of new employer firms survive at least two years, 44 percent survive at least four years, and 31 percent survive at least seven years.
  
  * Findings do not differ greatly across industry sectors.
  
  Sources: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, September 2008
  Survival and Longevity in the Business Employment Dynamics Database, Monthly Labor Review, May 2005. Redefining Business Success: Distinguishing Between Closure and Failure, Small Business Economics, August 2003.
  
  --------------------------------
  
  Add to this that the cloud hasn't reached maturity either in terms of applications, security and reliability -- it seems the risk far outweighs potential rewards.
  
  There are a million Internet-based business ideas bounced around -- but only a handful of real successes and even those after only a heavy investment in time and money.
  
  Marty R. Milette
  4 March, 2009 07:45
  
  Reply Vote
- Not at all
  
  Starting a business is not for the faint of heart - even in good times.
  
  But JumpBox and EC2 mean that for very little capital investment you can
  do something that just 3 years ago would have cost you thousands of
  dollars - for a tenth the cost.
  
  This is a Very Good Thing - especially when economic suckage is strong.
  
  Robin
  
  Robin Harris
  4 March, 2009 08:33
  
  Reply Vote
RE: Start your company with a credit card and a cloud

Not all of us are "victims" of fraud lender or irresponsible with finances the past 8 years. My credit cards work fine.

nphx
4 March, 2009 06:38

Reply Vote
This is NOT a joke. Robin is right.

Is your IT department making your programming requests a 'low priority'?

Get it done NOW in the cloud.

Dietrich T. Schmitz
http://www.dtschmitz.com

no_zd_user_name
6 March, 2009 09:04

Reply Vote
Bad Credit is for a lifetime.

It takes a customer list. Don't be fooled! And a good credit history; the world has become like today's Germany. Few will survive as it is globally. Now it is just a fist full of dollars; too bad.

rtirman37@...
17 March, 2009 14:34

Reply Vote
Repair your credit

It's good to repair your credit. Obviously, if you have good credit, then you don't have to repair your credit, but otherwise you might want to get going. High interest will compile over time. You don't want to be a slave to the credit cards and companies for the rest of your life. If you need quick credit, then you have other options. You could try a bad credit cash advance, or whatever else you want to call it, quick payday loans, short term loans, installment loans, whatever. You might want to get into debt consolidation sooner rather than later if you're trying to repair your credit.
Link to read: http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/04/27/repair-your-credit-apr-5-2/

ChandlerD
30 April, 2009 20:18

Reply Vote
RE: Start your company with a credit card and a cloud

Whatever business you have, you'll have a better chance at surviving today's highly competitive market if you adapt to new trends and technologies. One thing you can do is accept payments online. Although e-commerce is not exactly a new concept, many businessmen still continue to ignore some of its most important aspects and that is allowing customers to pay for their purchases online. Of course, to make any business accept credit cards, it has to find a good credit card processing company that can offer you various packages, savings on processing fees and even free equipment.

richelleM
18 June, 2010 02:04

Reply Vote