Ad spend on Facebook, Twitter grows 233pc year-over-year: report

By Caitlyn BohannonGraphs showing ad spend growth year-over-yearWith advertisers maintaining a significant focus on targeting the millennial demographic, Facebook’s and Twitter’s cost-per-thousand-impressions pricing trends increased to $4.90 in the third quarter of 2014.According to advertising solutions provider Ampush, an early adoption of video ad units drove an increase in CPMs, therefore causing a command for higher pricing. As competition for mobile ad inventory increases, a fight to hold the attentions of millennials can be best met on social in regards to mobile brands.“Ampush saw young consumers dominate mobile ad spend driven in part by mobile app and gaming advertisers, who continue to allocate significant budget towards reaching younger audiences,” said Jesse Pujji, co-founder and CEO at Ampush, San Francisco. “Moreover, the 13-17 age group was the least expensive to reach with a CPM of $2.87 in Q3 2014.“Rapid growth in ad spend is due to advertisers increasingly reaching people where they spend the most of their time; U.S. consumers use an average of three devices daily, and 60 percent of all Internet consumption is happening on mobile,” he said. “Advertisers are spending more on platforms that have the ability to reach consumers effectively, and require targeting, measurement, and content creation capabilities that span multiple screens.“These platforms consistently outperform those that do not have these unique attributes or targeting capabilities.”Ad spend growthWhile 60 percent of all Internet consumption now happens on mobile, and U.S. consumers using an average of three devices, reaching consumers effectively now requires targeting, measurement and content creation capabilities that span multiple screen.According to the report, CPM pricing, or cost per thousand impressions, on Facebook and Twitter increased 23 percent year-over-year to $4.90 driven by a continued adoption of high-performing mobile ad units. Also, mobile app install CPIs grew 29 percent to $3.48 year-over-year alongside increased competition for new users.Cost per clicks increased 53 percent year-over-year in Q3 in 2014. Broader adoption of optimized CPM bidding drove CPCs higher on Facebook, offset by improved conversion-keeping overall acquisition costs in check.Advertisers saw mobile app install CPIs grow 16 percent from Q2 to Q3 in 2014, largely due to increased competition for new users, and 29 percent year-over-year.Ampush believes that Twitter is still maturing as a platform but has promising use cases for highly customizable real-time marketing, new device targeting, keyword targeting, handle targeting, TV targeting and complementary advertising for smaller, more engaged audiences. As advertisers continue to increase spend and test new products, there is a huge opportunity for growth on the platform.Part of the movementAmpush gets to personally see these numbers grow.The in-feed solutions provider aims to give advertisers a single point of access to platforms that enable them to reach the right people with the right message at the right time, helping push ROI.Advertisers using Ampush’s AMP platform through the third quarter of 2014 increasingly embraced cross-platform mobile advertising, including an increase in mobile ad budgets. Mobile ad budgets increased by 233 percent in Q3 of 2014 compared to the comparable year-over-year period.This Ampush report is comprised of data from both Facebook and Twitter advertising campaigns, which was aggregated across a portfolio of advertisers leveraging the AMP platform to manage and scale their marketing budgets through Q3 in 2014. Ampush customers include leading direct response advertisers across gaming, ecommerce, travel, financial services, CPG and others.With continued expansion planned, Ampush preps for 2015 and hopes for another year of strong growth as it expands to new channels and more advertisers.“We've seen leadership in growth with performance-oriented brands in the mobile app, gaming, and e-commerce sectors,” Mr. Pujji said. “Ampush customers HotelTonight, Dollar Shave Club, GREE, Hyatt, and JackThreads are leading the way.”Final TakeCaitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York

Gaming Advertisers Aren’t Playing Around On Facebook – CPMs Are Up More Than 500%

By Allison SchiffThe gaming/Facebook love affair is showing no signs of cooling off.CPMs among gaming advertisers on Facebook were up 548% year over year in Q3 2014, according to Facebook ad partner Nanigans in its most recent benchmark report. To put that into perspective, e-commerce advertisers saw a 255% year-over-year increase in CPMs.On average, CPMs on Facebook desktop and mobile increased by 80% between Q2 and Q3 among Nanigans customers – which include eBay, Rue La La, Rosetta Stone and gaming behemoth Zynga – to $2.98. That’s up from $1.95 last quarter.Mobile, as expected, is a major driver behind the growth, said Cheryl Morris, director of market development at Nanigans.“It’s no secret that consumer time spent is increasingly shifting to mobile,” Morris told AdExchanger. “Gaming companies have followed suit in investing more heavily in developing games [and] on user acquisition and reengagement for them.”But cost isn’t the only metric on the rise in the gaming industry. Nanigans also noted concurrent increases in click-through rate – a 298% year-over-year growth – and in cost-per-click, which rose slightly from last quarter to $0.55.In other words, costs are up, but engagement is there, too. That jibes with data from VivaKi’s most recent AOD benchmark report, which found that mobile is 2.3 times more engaging than desktop, resulting in lower cost-per-engagement on mobile (about $0.55) versus desktop ($1.09).Gaming companies are clearly pouring cash into the Facebook ecosystem. But Nanigans VP of west accounts Sambou Makalou, who heads up the company’s gaming division, said the CPM increase is partially a result of a simple law of economics – supply and demand.“Demand is outstripping supply growth right now, so prices are going up,” Makalou said. “Facebook has been pretty judicious about not going too crazy with ads in the news feed, so there are fairly limited ways to grow their inventory. Really, it’s just like trying to get tickets to a Giants game.”Makalou sees the current CPM as relatively affordable, all things considered. It’s logical to spend more on targeting customers with higher lifetime value (LTV) potential, and right now, Facebook is where those people play – literally. Gaming companies are more than willing to shell out cash up front if they know they’ll see a return down the line, Morris said.“[Gaming companies] represent some of the best-in-class performance advertising talent in the world, which makes sense when you think about how these companies monetize their games,” Morris said. “Most offer their games for free and monetize through in-app purchases, which means they live and die by the lifetime value of their users as compared to the cost of acquiring them. Online acquisition and remarketing is a top strategic imperative as a result, much like e-commerce and other Internet verticals, and Facebook continues to deliver great lifetime value and ROI for them.”It’s a trend that Jesse Pujji, CEO and co-founder of mobile ad buying platform and Facebook preferred marketing developer partner Ampush, has also observed.“In Q3, LTV and user quality increased, while CPIs [cost-per-install] were relatively steady, [which] drove a significant increase in spend for most of our gaming customers,” Pujji said. “We’re seeing most of our mobile gaming customers shift spend towards mobile native platforms like Facebook and away from the exchanges.”Although gaming companies are all about digging deep for high-performing mobile ads on Facebook, Facebook itself wants to show that its mobile ad revenue comes from more than just the gaming guys. During Facebook’s Q2 2014 earnings call, COO Sheryl Sandberg somewhat pointedly said, “Sometimes people think mobile app installs ads are the great majority of revenue. They’re not. Mobile ad revenue is broad-based. We have large-brand advertisers, small SMBs and developers.”Facebook’s Q3 2014 earnings call is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. ET. 

10 Things In Advertising You Need To Know Today

By LARA O'REILLY10. Mobile adtech company Ampush has just announced triple digit (185%) year on year growth to $200 million run rate spend on its in-feed advertising platform. Its Q3 mobile advertising trends report also revealed that its clients’ mobile advertising budgets increased 233% year on year and that CPM pricing is up nearly a quarter (23%) to $4.90, driven by continued adoption of mobile ad units.

REPORT: Mobile Ad Budgets for Facebook, Twitter Soar in 3Q

David CohenMobile ad budgets on Facebook and Twitter among the clients of Ampush, a Facebook Strategic Preferred Marketing Developer, were up 87 percent in the third quarter of 2014 compared with the second quarter of the year, and a whopping 233 percent versus the prior-year quarter, according to the social technology company’s latest study.Ampush examined data from third-quarter-2014 Facebook and Twitter campaigns across its portfolio of advertisers — which include brands involved in gaming, e-commerce, travel, financial services,consumer packaged goods and other verticals — and its other findings included:

• Cost per thousand impressions on Facebook and Twitter rose to $4.90 in the third quarter of 2014, and Ampush believes average CPMs were up due to early adoption of video ads, which are priced higher, and more competition for mobile ad inventory.
• Cost per click was up 53 percent in the third quarter of 2014 versus the third quarter of 2013, which Ampush attributed to broader adoption of optimized CPM bidding on Facebook, which was offset by improved conversions.
• Increased competition for new users caused the cost per install of mobile application install ads to jump 16 percent quarter over quarter and 29 percent year over year.

Readers: Did any of Ampush’s findings surprise you?

Ampush’s future of mobile ads: whopping growth of 233 percent year-over-year

By Richard Byrne ReillyAbove: Ampush CEO Jesse PujjiImage Credit: AmpushTo Ampush chief Jesse Pujji, the future of mobile advertising comes down to native ads running on Facebook and Twitter.Pujji’s company runs ad campaigns for big brands like MasterCard with his two biggest ad partners, Facebook and Twitter. Ampush will release a report early tomorrow that contains eye-opening data for brands and advertisers looking to maximize mobile ad campaigns with the two giants. The report provides a partial glimpse of what mobile advertising could soon look like.“The majority of ad inventory in a few years will come down to the big platforms like Twitter and Facebook,” Ampush told VentureBeat.While not a shocker, at least in the subjective sense of the word, Pujji will release data accrued by Ampush during 2013 up to the third quarter of 2014 from Twitter and Facebook mobile campaigns run during that timeframe.This includes Ampush customers in the gaming, e-commerce, travel, and entertainment sectors. Ampush clients spent $200 million on campaigns during this timeframe, of which Ampush takes a cut.Some of the highlights from the Ampush report, which will be released on its website tomorrow morning, include:

• Ad spend for the 13-17 age group grew the fastest it ever has over the duration of 2014. Pujji says this kernel of data debunks analyst claims that this age demographic is not effectively being served by Facebook
• Mobile growth spending will increase by a whopping 233 percent year-over-year.
• Cost per thousand and cost per click in mobile pricing trends will increase 23 and 53 percent respectively year-over-year.
• The mobile app index, or cost-per-install, will increase 20 percent year-over-year.
• Twitter is still maturing, but is showing serious, opportunistic growth in targeting smaller audiences engaged in the travel and lifestyle verticals.
• More advertisers allocated portions of their important user acquisition budgets outside the U.S. and into international markets for mobile campaigns.

Ampush finds itself ensconced inside a burgeoning mobile landscape that analysts expect will be worth around $35 billion by year’s end. That number is up from the $18 billion spent on mobile last year. As expected, Google occupies the No. 1 spot in terms of mobile ad revenue followed by Facebook and Twitter.The crafty Pujji also pointed out to VentureBeat that email-based mobile marketing, like Google Partner Connect and Facebook’s Custom Audience, for example, are leading the way in targeted mobile ad campaigns and that the technology continues to evolve to allow businesses to better target specific users with ads they may want to see.“It’s a whole new way for advertisers to target customers,” Pujji said.You can see an earlier interview I did with Pujji here.

The Future of IT Infrastructure: Hybrid and On-Demand

Posted by Emil SayeghWe have rapidly evolved into an on-demand society. People simply do not tolerate delays for goods and services. Just as consumers may opt to go through a drive-through instead of inside a restaurant, consumer behavior is forcing online businesses to rethink IT and how it’s delivered. Timelines are driving IT decision-makers to think “on-demand” and rapid provisioning of IT resources, rather than the stop-and-go of infrastructures built in-house.IT Stretched ThinThe rise of IT as Service (ITaaS) is result of the intense rate of change brought about by technologies such as cloud computing, social media, consumerization, mobility, analytics and big data. The pace of change is only increasing, and these emerging technologies need to be rapidly integrated into modern enterprise, almost in real-time. An EMC-Meritas report focused on the healthcare sector alone showed that 88 percent of healthcare organizations were planning to adopt ITaaS platforms. The end-users put immense pressures on IT to quickly integrate new technologies in the workplace – additional stress on IT departments already stretched-thin. Making the situation worse, CEOs and an ever-younger generation of knowledge workers find that it’s taking far too long for these complex problems to be solved. They want big data analytics, better collaboration tools, BYOD, security and a plethora of other requirements, and they want them now. Enter ITaaS, on-demand.In its various forms, ITaaS on-demand solves the myriad problems of modern IT resource consumption. When technology is restructured to be flexible, fast and ready, capabilities are provided based on usage. It meets the demands of CEOs who want IT to become an enablement sector in the enterprise and drive business objectives under fluid conditions without large Capex outlays.The Case for On-demand Hybrid CloudThe benefits of hybrid computing are tremendous. For example, it enables an agile IT organization such as SeriousPayroll to respond to changing market conditions by leveraging cloud hosting and traditional bare metal infrastructure at once. SeriousPayroll has found that its IT professionals can now leverage the power of bare metal dedicated hosting with the flexibility of cloud computing to connect all dedicated and cloud resources, depending on the application requirements. No more fitting a square peg in a round hole. The organization can build applications using the computing technology that best suits the needs of the application, all within one private network.The hybrid approach also improves customer service, with both internal and external benefits realized. IT is sufficiently empowered to manage regulatory requirements and compliance if it structures on-demand and within well-defined service descriptions like ITIL and ITSM. Additionally, speed to market is increased so IT can tackle that “shadow IT” phenomenon, plus significant reductions in IT operational expenses. Above all others features is the new business agility.Shift in MindsetIn order to fully realize the benefits of on-demand hybrid computing, there needs to be a paradigm shift – at least in terms of mindset – among IT executives in web-dependent businesses. The journey to on-demand hybrid IT can be summed up in five steps:

1. Run an internal assessment of business priorities to find gaps and opportunities in all applications. Ask the hard questions. What type of infrastructure is ideal for which applications?
2. Redefine IT architecture and how it will fit into an on-demand hybrid structure that leverages all the best technologies.
3. Pick tech partners with common priorities: rapid provisioning, reliability, affordability, on-demand, etc. Strategy should be developed and communicated based on these business priorities.
4. Lay out an appropriate plan for incorporating this new structure.

Transitioning to an on-demand hybrid infrastructure is a complete transformation that can support your future business goals, help fuel business innovation and turn IT from a cost center to a value center. This is the future of IT – on-demand, flexible, scalable and cost-efficient. The evolution from traditional IT to an on-demand environment is upon us. Hybrid computing is the ultimate resolution for the demands of IT today and in the future because it combines the best of performance, control and cloud flexibility into one platform that fits your IT model. Set the right foundation now to meet the needs of all things digital.Have you tried hybrid cloud yet? Why or why not? I would love to hear from you.Emil Sayegh is President and CEO of Codero Hosting.

GrowthCap: Veteran Growth Investor Brian Rich on How Catalyst Investors discovers and evaluates opportunities and where it is looking to next

Brian Rich, Managing Partner of Catalyst Investors, speaks with GrowthCap CEO, RJ Lumba. Brian oversees the investment policy and management of each fund portfolio.RJ: Brian, thanks again for taking the time here. Maybe we can start off with some background on your firm and then a little more background on you in particular.Brian: Sure. We are coming up on our 15th year. We started Catalyst in 2000 with our first Fund, Fund I. I was previously the founder and president of TD Capital (USA), which was Toronto Dominion Bank’s merchant banking operation in the United States. That was in the mid-1990’s prior to the formation of Catalyst. Several of my colleagues here at Catalyst also come from Toronto Dominion, and then others come from other spots. We were founded in the growth equity space, but it wasn’t really called that at the time. Our style of investing was the same then as it is now, by and large, which is being a growth equity manager. And we are now investing out of our Fund III, which is a vintage 2011 fund. We’re about halfway through that. We’ve had a good and consistent track record over the years. As growth equity investors, we do minority as well as majority ownership investments.RJ: Could you talk a little bit more about the team you have now and how long you’ve been together, and then as a follow-on to that, the sectors you focus on?Brian: Our partnership has had no turnover at the partner level. The firm was founded by myself, Ryan McNally, and Chris Shipman, and there are two additional partners, Tyler Newton and Todd Clapp, who actually grew up through the ranks, starting as associates and working themselves up to be full partners in the firm. And then our sixth partner, Gene Wolfson, joined us in 2008. Below the partner level we have analysts, associates, and now just recently appointed a Vice President, Susan Bihler. So the total firm has a head count of 15.In terms of sectors of interest, we would broadly say that we focus on technology-enabled services. That’s a big sweeping term that means a lot of different things to different people, but going back to our roots as media and telecommunications investors, we tend to focus on software businesses that are recurring revenues oriented, generally selling to SMB’s (small and medium-sized businesses). We also focus on technology businesses in the advertising ecosystem. The last leg to the stool would be going back to our roots in telecommunications where we have a distinctive knowledge, which includes things like cell towers, data centers, web hosting, and then also a little more unique is our background in wireless spectrum, where we’ve had a lot of experience and really strong returns in.RJ: One of the areas that the CEOs we speak with hone in on specifically is how a given private equity firm will interact with a management team. How do you approach partnering with CEOs and management teams?Brian: We’re a little different I think. First of all, if you look at all 32 deals that we’ve done since our inception, with a couple exceptions, they’ve all been done without an intermediary, just by us finding the investment opportunity through what I would call our Catalyst Network, which includes our Operating Partners, our Catalyst Entrepreneurs, and then a lot of fundamental industry research which turns into investment themes for us. We take that work, create market maps, and spend a lot of time on outbound calling efforts to meet these businesses, either directly, or through their existing investors which are typically venture capital firms. We’ll go to industry conferences, we’ll be speakers at those conferences, and we’ll post our research on our website and blog where we’re talking about our point of view on market maps of companies. And once we invest, in addition to our capital, we are active board members. We have a thing that we’ve been doing for some time, which we call the Catalyst Way. We try to be constructive with the businesses and partner with the management teams to help them through the growth stage of their companies by helping them think through their key hires and their expansions into other geographic markets as well as voice our thoughts at both the audit committee and compensation committees. All of the things that help management and owners, which are typically one and the same, really dramatically accelerate the growth of their business to the next stage.RJ: Thanks, that’s very helpful. Are there particular cases or portfolio companies with great outcomes that you would like to highlight?Brian: That’s a question that guys like me love to get, because we love to talk about our winners and what our value-add was.RJ: Yeah, I’m teeing it up for you.Brian: Teeing it up very brilliantly. Before I break into my stories about that, the other thing I’d like to say is that I like to tell CEOs when they ask us that question to go to our website where we list out all of our previous investments, for good or for bad. Call anyone that you like because what is equally as important as what we do to help the upside is how we behave when things get tough, and that’s what people generally don’t like to talk about. For a CEO who is deciding on where their capital is going to come from, I think it’s really important.So to answer your question, I can think of several examples. Probably a good recent one is a company called MINDBODY, which is in our Fund II, and we’ve been working on it for coming up on 5 years. We invested in them when they were relatively small, and today they’re poised to eventually go public. They are the leaders in their space, which is in the health and wellness space. They’re the leader in scheduling and management for yoga studios, Pilates, gyms, and anything in the health and wellness space. The company has experienced 5 year growth over 50%. It’s just a really nice company. My two colleagues, Tyler and Ryan, have been involved at the board level since the inception of our investment. If you were to ask Rick Stollmeyer, the CEO, or Bob Murphy, the co-founder, they would just go through all of the stuff that we’ve been helpful in partnering with them, including helping them raise additional capital, helping them make decisions regarding their key employees, areas of expansion, and helping them with their analysis on how best to spend their money and maximize the lifetime value of their customers.RJ: Excellent. As you meet with management teams, what are the qualities that you look for, or how do you evaluate management versus the business model versus market dynamics? Obviously, there’s a full mix of things you consider when you evaluate a business, but maybe you could spend a little more time on what you look for in management.Brian: Well, management is obviously critically important to our decision to invest and to the outcome of the business. We’re the kind of guys that like to go to an investment feeling this is the management team that can take a business from this point all the way to the finish line. I like to see a team that is thoughtful, that really has a good understanding of their strengths, but also their weaknesses, and one where they approach the introduction to guys like us and the whole fundraising process as the beginning of a partnership as opposed as another deal to do. We like to get to know our teams. We’ll sometimes meet teams a year or more in advance before they’re even thinking about fundraising just so that we can get to know them a little bit and they can get to know us, and we can hear what they have to say at the initial point of introduction, and then see how things really turn out over a period of time.It also happens, but it is rarer, that we get introduced to a company at the time of fundraising and then kind of make a split decision. And if we are making a split decision right after the introduction, it’s typically because we have already done the market map on the industry and we have a point of view about where that company sits within the market map. And so, I would say we look for nuances, because by the time companies find us in the growth stage, they’re all successful. They’ve been through previous rounds of financing with other venture guys, or have just organically grown their businesses. So they’re all successful companies, so you get into nuances about how a CEO presents him or herself: do they give members of their team opportunities to speak if they’re in the meeting? Are they presenting themselves in a thoughtful and rational way? If you get involved with negotiating a deal, how do they conduct themselves throughout the negotiation? I think it’s all of those things.RJ: That’s really insightful. Maybe just to close out, it would be helpful if you could share with us any particular niches or certain sectors that you’re paying close attention to or areas that really excite you.Brian: Right, so you’re asking for the secret sauce recipe.Well look, I think that the typical manager at this point says we like software-as-a-service or healthcare IT. That’s great, but everyone likes those verticals, because they’re great areas and companies have gone public with huge valuations and there’s tremendous market opportunity. The problem of course is that a) there is too much capital invested in those verticals now and b) prices have increased, responding to the level of interest in the space. So of course we’re interested in those kinds of things and we have a lot of those types of businesses in our portfolios, but we’ve been spending our time more on the verticals that are growing up, going from super high growth and a less definable market size, to going into the meatier part of the growth curve where we think we can pick up these companies maybe that are a little further away from the radar screen of other growth managers but where we feel like we’re increasingly comfortable and confident of the total market size.So I would talk about verticals like machine-to-machine, which we’ve been looking at for about five years and it hasn’t really been ready for prime time, but maybe now we’re on the cusp of it. Alternative energy businesses, where there have typically been a lot of venture investments, are starting to look interesting to guys like us. Solar distribution, for example, could be interesting. How do you actually put the panels on people’s homes, and turn it into a business? Verticals in the health and wellness space are also interesting because it’s visible to the consumer and to businesses who want their employees to be healthier. There’s a lot of sub verticals there, like wearable devices and things of that sort.RJ: Great. Thank you Brian, this has been very informative. I think our readers will really appreciate all the detail you went into and the time you shared with us here.Brian: Thanks for having me. And we’ll work harder to make your Top 25 list in the future.

Codero Launches Proactive Managed Hosting Service

By Nathan EddyThe platform can help businesses free up IT resources by having the hosting provider manage all IT infrastructure up to the application layer.Managed, cloud and hybrid hosting services provider Codero Hosting released its Proactive Managed Hosting service, which leverages an automation hosting layer, and augments it with a technical team of dedicated experts.Designed for use by e-commerce, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and Web-dependent businesses, the platform can help businesses free up IT resources by having the hosting provider manage all IT infrastructure up to the application layer.This includes the data center infrastructure, networks, networking devices, operating systems and applications subsystems for clients, Emil Sayegh, CEO of Codero Hosting, told eWEEK.Sayegh said the platform is ideal for high-trafficked Websites such as Vertamin, an online ad network specializing in food and travel e-commerce that is dependent on uptime and high performance, or SaaS vendors such as SeriousPayroll."The return on investment is phenomenal," Sayegh said. "The companies using this service level have reduced their spend on monitoring technology, buying servers, paying for co-location space and hiring system administrators."The company’s Proactive Managed experts are trained on Windows, Linux, VMware and networking, with certifications including Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), VMware professional certification for data center virtualization and a selection of Red Hat certifications."Most of our customers are startups, small and midsize business that are 100 percent dependent on the Web for their revenue," Sayegh said. "Web presence is mission critical for them. We cater to them. We give startups and SMBs the same reliability and scale that much larger Websites such as Target.com or Walmart.com have."There are no limitations on the services that can be managed, as coverage includes hybrid hosting, elastic block storage, public or private cloud, dedicated servers, network devices, storage area networks (SAN) and network area storage (NAS).The release also includes improved monitoring and provisioning tools leveraging Codero’s automation platform to help proactively support and protect its customers’ mission-critical Web presences and applications, as well as enterprise-level firewalls and hardware like Dell servers.Sayegh also pointed out security is only as good as the weakest link, which is why an automatic hosting layer is engineered from the ground up for top security and reliability."The breaches often happen at the end user side by compromised passwords, or other methods, and hackers use the weakest link," he said. "With this new Proactive Managed Service, end users actually have very limited access, and hence our experts are the ones handling all the critical changes."Codero currently has data centers in Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix and Ashburn, Va., with plans for expansion in Europe.All services and products are backed by SSAE 16 (previously known SAS 70 Type II) secure data centers and live around-the-clock U.S.-based support.    

To MBA or not MBA? That is the question

By Brian RichMuch has been written about the value of an MBA. I have one, I know many people with them, but should you spend two years and up to $125,000 in tuition alone to get one? It’s a tough question.The MBA degree, in all of its varieties (two-year, one-year, EMBA, etc.), is mature at best and arguably in decline, according to a Graduate Management Admission Council report from 2011. The decision to seek the degree is harder than ever, as the cost of an MBA has significantly outpaced inflation. Salaries of analysts and associates in venture capital and private equity have increased substantially and there is a greater willingness of employers to advance those without it.So consider: Is the MBA worth it? According to Forbes, it takes about four years for MBA graduates to get a return on their MBA investment. Forbes ranks business schools based upon the aggregate amount of money gained after five years of employment following the MBA, then calculates the number of years of payback. Payback tends to be about four years. The key assumption, based on surveys of pre- and post-MBAs, is that post-MBA pay is 50 percent higher than pre-MBA pay. So, if you earned $50,000 upon entering an MBA program, you would, on average, earn $75,000 after completion. This assumes a full-time MBA; part-time MBAs are less compelling.While this methodology seems entirely logical, I believe it to be flawed. The notion that a post-MBA earns 50 percent more than the non-MBA counterpart, ad infinitum, is illogical. I do not believe averages apply here, but rather that it is a bifurcated decision set in which certain candidates seek MBAs. Others, meanwhile, are just not going to be materially better off with the additional degree.How to DecideHere are the criteria the finance-oriented analyst or associate should consider:

• Motivation: What is driving you to consider an MBA? Is it career change? The need for new knowledge, skills and abilities (“KSAs”)?
• Non-MBA career path: If you do not wish to switch careers, what is your likely career path in your present industry without an MBA? Is it a requisite for the job you seek (investment banking, for example)?
• Reputation of school: This is the preeminent driver of which school candidates choose. There is undoubtedly a correlation of exit salary with school selectivity. The better the school—or the better the school’s reputation—the higher the salary of its graduates.

These criteria can be used to “score” whether or not an MBA makes sense. I’ll use myself as an example. I was an engineer who wanted to get into finance, venture capital in particular. I had a couple years of experience at Intel as an engineer, then a start-up that went well. However, I had no finance training whatsoever. Therefore, for me at the time, the considered criteria made the decision an easy one:

• Motivation: Both career change and KSAs.
• Non-MBA career path: Likely difficult to get into VC without the MBA.
• Reputation of school: Accepted at Columbia Business School.

Was it worth it?In my case, going for the MBA was the right choice. In addition to the criteria above, there are intangibles that many successful MBAs credit their time in business school for. People often talk about the benefits of the “network” of relationships garnered during and after business school and the exposure to different industries and business leaders. I have been the beneficiary of both of these, and they have been invaluable.Here again, I think it is critically important that one chooses the right business school program for them. What do I mean by that? While it is obviously fantastic if you have been admitted to a school with a national or international reputation, it could be equally as valuable to pick a strong regional school if your intention is to live and work within that region after graduation. Similarly, if you know you intend to graduate into a specific industry, then it makes good sense to attend a school with a strong reputation in that industry.While it was clear-cut and an easy choice for me, this is not the case for many MBA candidates and the decision is becoming increasingly difficult. There are a few factors causing the MBA to be less popular. First, universities are their own worst enemies in that the cost of attendance continues to rise faster than inflation. This increases the payback period. Second, analyst and associate pay has also risen faster than inflation, therefore making the opportunity cost greater—consider your two years out of the workforce at minimum, lost wages, missed promotions, etc. Finally, I believe it is more widely accepted within private equity and venture capital to advance without an MBA. This is not universal; however, there are those who believe (as we at Catalyst do) that our business is an apprenticeship learned over time.Getting an MBA involves many personal and professional sacrifices, but also yields great potential. An MBA candidate’s decision can be made easier with these criteria as a guide.Brian Rich is managing partner and a co-founder of Catalyst Investors, a growth equity firm. He started his career as an industrial engineer at Intel before attending Columbia Business School. Rich also founded and managed TD Capital (USA).  

9 Great Mobile Apps for Runners

Mix Master: PaceDJ

If your musical taste is all over the place, building a playlist that keeps you moving at a steady pace can be a challenge. PaceDJ scans your music archive, breaks down all the songs by beats per minute, and then creates a playlist to match the preferred tempo of your run. If you're not sure about your tempo, the app can measure your running or walking speed to determine your target bpm range. An interval training mode lets you switch things up to customize your own workout.$2.99; iOS, Android

Apptitude: PaceDJ sets your workout to a suitable beat

I am ornery when it comes to mobile technology, so I might have been skeptical about giving running app PaceDJ a try. Then, the first time I used it, I ran 30 seconds per mile faster than my average pace for my daily run.Maybe, I thought, this technology thing isn't so bad.PaceDJ uses beats-per-minute data to compile a playlist that matches your workout pace. First, it walks you through a setup process that prompts you to identify your workout (choices include running, walking or biking) and effort level (easy, moderate or fast). The app then recommends a BPM range (if you want to go faster or slower, it's simple to adjust) and pulls music at the appropriate tempo from your existing music library.PaceDJ also has a Web site that offers pre-programmed playlists geared toward a goal workout pace. The site provides links to purchase individual songs or full playlists on iTunes or Amazon, as well as an option to listen on Spotify. I don't spend much time or money on iTunes, so I'm not really the target audience for this feature. But I can see the appeal of purchasing a music collection organized into a workout-friendly tempo.Another slick feature in PaceDJ (available only in the iPhone version of the app) is the ability to correct BPM data by tapping out a beat to a song. The slow, meandering "Della Brown" by Queensrÿche was listed at 154 BPM and repeatedly queued up when I was running with the app set for a moderate 155 BPM pace. When I tapped out the beat to the song on my phone, it corrected to 135 BPM. This is a fun feature. (Play the drums on your phone!) But who wants to stop and do this mid-run, when a slower-than-advertised song has delivered a buzzkill? Not me.There were a few downsides, depending on your level of patience. I noticed that songs tend to repeat. PaceDJ's customer service recommended a setting change to resolve that (set the BPM Shifting Range to Wide). Though the app offers distance/speed tracking, it requires enabling Location Services, and it didn't work on the Lite version of the app. A "Measure Your Pace" function did not work the five times I attempted to use it. On the upside, the full version of the app offers three standard interval workouts.After using the app for a few weeks, my average pace edged back to normal, though that probably had more to do with hilly, 5:30 a.m. runs than the uptempo music I was listening to. All in all, it was an interesting diversion from the relatively limited Shuffle playlist that usually accompanies me.

Apptitude: PaceDJ sets your workout pace to a suitable beat

Danielle Newman

I am ornery when it comes to mobile technology, so I might have been skeptical about giving running app PaceDJ a try. Then, the first time I used it, I ran 30 seconds per mile faster than my average pace for my daily run.

Maybe, I thought, this technology thing isn’t so bad.PaceDJ uses beats-per-minute data to compile a playlist that matches your workout pace. First, it walks you through a setup process that prompts you to identify your workout (choices include running, walking or biking) and effort level (easy, moderate or fast). The app then recommends a BPM range (if you want to go faster or slower, it’s simple to adjust) and pulls music at the appropriate tempo from your existing music library.PaceDJ also has a Web site that offers pre-programmed playlists geared toward a goal workout pace. The site provides links to purchase individual songs or full playlists on iTunes or Amazon, as well as an option to listen on Spotify. I don’t spend much time or money on iTunes, so I’m not really the target audience for this feature. But I can see the appeal of purchasing a music collection organized into a workout-friendly tempo.Another slick feature in PaceDJ (available only in the iPhone version of the app) is the ability to correct BPM data by tapping out a beat to a song. The slow, meandering “Della Brown” by Queensrÿchewas listed at 154 BPM andrepeatedly queued up when I was running with the app set for a moderate 155 BPM pace. When I tapped out the beat to the song on my phone, it corrected to 135 BPM. This is a fun feature. (Play the drums on your phone!)But who wants to stop and do this mid-run, when a slower-than-advertised song has delivered a buzzkill? Not me.

(Apple, Inc.)

 There were a few downsides, depending on your level of patience. I noticed that songs tend to repeat. PaceDJ’s customer service recommended a setting change to resolve that (set the BPM Shifting Range to Wide). Though the app offers distance/speed tracking, it requires enabling Location Services, and it didn’t work on the Lite version of the app. A “Measure Your Pace” function did not work the five times I attempted to use it. On the upside, the full version of the app offers three standard interval workouts.After using the app for a few weeks, my average pace edged back to normal, though that probably had more to do with hilly, 5:30 a.m. runs than the uptempo music I was listening to. All in all, it was an interesting diversion from the relatively limited Shuffle playlist that usually accompanies me.

Stats

NAME:?PaceDJCOST:?Lite version, free. Full version, $2.99.OPERATING SYSTEM:?Android and iOSCREATOR:?Pacing Technologies LLCUSER RATINGS:?Apple,     (98 ratings, all versions); Google,     (50 ratings)REVIEW’S BOTTOM LINE:?An interesting alternative to a more traditional Shuffle setting.

Elevator Pitch: Keaton Row's Site for Fashion Stylists

By Katie RoofKeaton Row co-founder Cheryl Han will pitch her social commerce business to investors on Risk & Reward with Deirdre Bolton on Friday.The investors, who will include Deborah Farrington from Starvest Partners, John Frankel from ff Ventures and Brian Rich from Catalyst Investors, will then evaluate the startup’s potential.Keaton Row, which Han started in late 2012 with Harvard Business School classmate Elenor Mak, aims to connect stylists with clients and retailers. The ultimate goal is to make “the luxury and convenience of personal styling accessible to all women.”Their online platform offers curated styles from brands like Nordstrom and Shopbop. After filling out a profile, members are matched with a stylist that creates custom looks. Although the service is free for consumers, stylists get a cut of any purchases that are made, with an average order of $350. It currently has over 3,000 registered stylists and 10,000 registered clients.Keaton Row says that although “ecommerce has provided the convenience of shopping from home,” that leaves consumers with an “overwhelming amount of options.” The startup is hoping to mimic the traditional in-store experience where a salesperson provides suggestions.The startup is targeting the “busy working woman,” in an effort to make the online shopping experience more personalized.  “She loves clothes and cares about looking great, but who has the time to go shopping anymore?" Han asks.Keaton Row has already received over $4 million in funding from investors including Menlo Ventures, Rho Capital and Grape Arbor Venture. It is headquartered in New York, with offices in San Francisco and Montreal. 

Catalyst Investors managing partner Brian Rich on securing companies from cyber attacks

Risk & Reward with Deirdre Bolton  

Big Data Growth Calls for Big Data Center: Codero Opens New Flagship Data Center

Big Data Growth

- Emil Sayegh, CEO Codero, says:

With Codero Hosting’s customer base growing rapidly, the demand for high performance cloud, dedicated hosting and On-Demand Hybrid Cloud services has been growing along with it. To accommodate that big data growth, Codero recently opened a new flagship data center in the Dallas-Fort Worth area – the company’s fourth data center in the country.

The new Tier 3 state-of-the-art hybrid-ready facility provides Codero customers with better access to all of Codero’s hosting solutions. Its design and architecture enable full redundancy, high-performance, rapid provisioning and seamless scalability. Additionally, the data center’s DFW location is another perk. DFW is the hub of connectivity for U.S. bandwidth and offers all of the industry’s latest technology. The data center is getting everything from the best in power and cooling to density, as well as multiple bandwidth providers, flexibility in labor pool and unbeatable power costs.

Codero COO, Robert Autenrieth, was closely involved in both selecting and building out the DFW data center. According to Autenrieth, the new DFW data center is “all about customers who require world-class performance, reliability and scalability running on the most advanced networking technology infrastructure. Whether it’s bare metal dedicated servers, public cloud, private cloud or our patented On-Demand Hybrid Cloud technology – we’ve expanded our data center footprint to support it all.”

Some top features of the SSAE 16 data center include:

·       State-of-the-art networking design and architecture, fully redundant and high-performing to natively enable the industry’s only true hybrid hosting on-demand

·       10 gigabit/sec switches throughout, running to the rack and server for maximum performance and future upgradability

·       Access to on-site 138kV power substation delivering dual-feed 12.47kV utility power from two independent utility substations to guarantee strong uptime

·       24×7 Codero technical operations on-site to ensure network performance and rapid provisioning of servers with the help of Codero’s automation layer

·       6,900 kW of UPS power for continuity of operations in case of power outages

·       High quality power of 2500 kVA delivered by 480V service

·       Four 625 kVA UPS systems configured as 2N for maximum reliability

·       Sixteen 150-ton RTUs configured as N+1 for optimum cooling and reliability

·       Nine fiber providers located within data center campus

·       Double interlock pre-action sprinkler system and overhead and under-floor smoke detection for optimum fire protection

As of today, the Codero DFW data center has several anchor tenants with hundreds of servers and devices currently deployed. Discounts are available for the first 100 customers of Codero DFW. Visit www.Codero.com and chat with a hosting expert for more details.

FUJIFILM Gets Even Greener – Tape & Disk Markets Consolidate

I noted in a recent Storage Newsletter that the number of vendors of LTO tape cartridges has now consolidated into two:  FUJIFILM and SONY.  TDK, and Maxell, we’re told, have left that market.While JJM, the editor at Storage Newsletter, spins this news against the typical “tape is dead or dying” narrative preferred by most of his advertisers in the disk and flash worlds, he also grudgingly notes that the disk world now has only three suppliers to meet the capacity requirements of a much much bigger capacity demand.Why not just call it what it is:  improvements in automation and delivery, and the dynamics of a competitive market, means that fewer consolidated companies are better situated to provide supply than a crowded field of suppliers engaging in cutthroat marketing (see Flash market).  The latter scenario leads inevitably to implosion — and a lot of customers left high and dry with flash products that are no longer supported.Good reason, that, to deploy DataCore SANsymphony-V R10 to preserve the value of your flash investment!SONY has made some confusing claims this week about a new high capacity tape technology enabled by an entirely new kind of tape.  I say confusing because they have stated different capacity ratings at different times over the last week.  The Register has documented a claim that the new tape will deliver  148 Gb per square inch, but SONY has been using other numbers, both higher and lower than Lain Thompson reported, over the course of the week.  The question isn’t how much, but when.  Some observers say we are at least 10 years away from GA on a product, assuming that one is developed.Some may recall that Hitachi Maxell and Tokyo Institute of Technology demonstrated a nano-structured magnetic film using facing targets sputtering methods for media coating that they claimed would deliver 50TB per cartridge.  But no products were ever developed.So far, FUJIFILM has been the winner of the “put your money where your mouth is” award with its BaFe cartridge technology.  In 2010, they demonstrated with IBM a BaFe Type II LTO cartridge with 32 TB of capacity.  Thus far, the technology has only been implemented on Oracle/Sun/SDK tape cartridges, the T10KD, to provide 8.5 TB of storage uncompressed.  But BaFe has demonstrated its capabilities in tape products ranging from the Linear Tape Open (LTO-6 BaFe) and IBM 3492 JC/JY media, confirming that this coating is more stable and resilient and storage capable than prior metal particle tapes.  I am hearing that work is proceeding on BaFe Type III even as Type II media is being rolled out that will deliver even higher capacities.  Watch this space.As you know, I will be attending IBM Edge 2014 in a couple of days.  I hope to get with some of IBM’s tape guys to find out what the announce date will be for the new TS1150 and whether they will be able to beat Oracle on price, availability and capacity.  I also want to know what refinements have been made in Linear Tape File System (LTFS) and what IBM is seeing in terms of uptake in that technology.Part of the reason for my interest in tape, besides the practical challenge of bending the storage cost curve, is the green thing.  I am not a climate science denier and, living in Florida near the Gulf, I am concerned about the impact of rising sea levels and weather’s increasingly aggressive profile.  My view of the green stuff that folks talked about a couple of years ago was that it turned into a bit of a joke.  Every storage vendor who wanted to help you green your data center was actually trying to sell you something else to plug into the wall!From where I’m standing, the greenest piece of IT hardware is the delete key.  Storage is, after all, the biggest power pig in most data centers, so it makes sense that if we could utilize capacity more efficiently and host data where its access and retention requirements could be best served — code for moving a lot of static content off spinning rust and onto tape and optical — we could slow the acquisition of additional disk arrays and help reduce carbon footprint.I am not deceiving myself, however.  All storage media production processes are energy intensive and therefore NOT green.  But I was delighted by this bit of news that came across the transom a couple of days ago.  Seems like FUJIFILM is trying to green some of its manufacturing as well — installing solar panels on its FRMU facility in Bedford, Massachusetts.  Here are a couple of photos from that event.At the ribbon-cutting ceremony are FUJIFILM executives and politicians, including U.S. Congressman John F. Tierney (D) 6th District Massachusetts, Consulate-General of Japan in Boston, Akira Muto, and Bedford Town Manager, Richard Reed. Here is the complete info from FUJIFILM’s PR rep:Pictured (L-R): Suguru Enomoto, Vice President of Finance, General Affairs and Treasurer, HLUS; Toshi Yamamoto, Vice President Manufacturing, FRMU; Richard Reed, Bedford Town Manager; Chris McCarthy, Vice President, Columbia Construction Company; Peter Faulhaber, President, FRMU; Mike Ortolano, President, Absolute Green Energy Corporation; U.S. Congressman John F. Tierney (D-Massachusetts); Consulate-General of Japan in Boston, Akira Muto; Shig Sano, President, HLUS; and Yasufumi Nakai, Senior Manager, Environmental and Quality Management Department, CSR Division, FUJIFILM Corporation (Tokyo)Here is a shot of the solar panel farm. Neato! Now I have yet another reason to feel satisfied with myself for buying green storage solutions like magnetic tape.

Fujifilm Recording Media USA goes solar

Exciting news out of Massachusetts today.Fujifilm Recording Media USA has cut the ribbon on a big rooftop solar panel installation located at its Bedford, Massachusetts manufacturing facility. The solar array, made up of 1,870 modules, will generate an estimated 644,000 kWh of electricity each year, resulting in a yearly carbon offset of about 444 metric tons of CO². Columbia Construction Company out of North Reading and Absolute Green Energy Corporation out of Worcester were crucial in building the solar power plant.If you haven’t already guessed, Fujifilm Recording Media manufactures the tape drives that stores massive amounts of archival data for countless enterprises. Here’s what going solar means to Fujifilm and why green techies should care:

With this installation, Fujifilm will realize a substantial cost savings on its current energy usage. In addition, the company will be able to take advantage of the utilities net energy metering program that provides ongoing benefits. Globally, Fujifilm has a Greenhouse gas target set at 30 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions by Fiscal Year 2020, as compared to 2005.“This represents a great opportunity for Fujifilm to make significant progress, and help contribute to our global corporation’s overall mission of energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction,” said Peter Faulhaber, president, FUJIFILM Recording Media U.S.A., Inc.  “By collaborating locally at our Bedford facility with Absolute Green Energy and Columbia Construction, we will utilize an affordable, clean, and renewable energy solution and continue to make strides toward our energy goals.”

Now, when you backup to Fujifilm tape, think of how green it is.Image credit: Fujifilm Recording Media USA

Codero Announces Fourth Data Center Now Open in Dallas-Fort Worth

May 8, 2014Codero Hosting has announced the opening of its flagship data center in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX. The hybrid hosting services will allow customers unprecedented performance and provisioning and will provide full redundancy and enormous scalability.“The new data center is all about serving customers requiring world-class performance, reliability and scalability running on the most advanced networking technology infrastructure. Whether it’s bare metal dedicated servers, public cloud, private cloud, or our patented On-Demand Hybrid Cloud technology, our expanded data center footprint supports it all,” said Robert Autenrieth, COO of Codero Hosting. “DFW is the hub of connectivity for U.S. bandwidth and offers the industry’s latest technology – everything from power and cooling to density, as well as a variety of choices in bandwidth providers, flexibility in labor pool and unbeatable power costs. All these factors combined to make it a natural choice for our fourth data center in the U.S.”Read the Press Release.

Codero Hosting Opens New Data Center In DFW

May 6, 2014Austin-based Codero Hosting announced this morning that it has opened up a brand new data center in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which is says will serve as its flagship data center. Codero--which provides dedicated, managed, cloud, and hybrid cloud hosting services--said that the new data center is part of DFW's Digital Dallas Data Campus. Size of the new data center was not announced by Codero. Codero said it built out the data center in collaboration with Digital Realty. 

Codero Hosting Launches New Data Center in Dallas-Fort Worth Area

May 6, 2014CEO says company's next data center could possibly be launched in Western EuropeCodero Hosting has used recently raised funding to build a new data center located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Tuesday, Codero announced the opening of its new Tier 3 hybrid-ready data center.The new facility will provide the company's growing customer base with better access to its managed, cloud and hybrid hosting services, according to Codero.The hosting provider raised $8 million in January for the deployment of new data centers across the United States and Europe.This marks the fourth data center for Codero. It also has data centers located in Chicago, Phoenix and Ashburn, Va.Codero Hosting CEO Emil Sayegh told Talkin' Cloud that the company will most likely build its next data center in Western Europe."Our data centers are all next to major fiber hubs, away from areas prone to weather or seismic activity, and in areas of low power costs," he said.There's good news for channel partners interested in the new data center: It will be available immediately."Codero's Referrers and Reseller channel partners will receive the same industry leading benefits as they receive on the rest of our portfolio," Sayegh said.He said there will be several customers, both dedicated and cloud, leveraging the new facility."Our data center selections match our value proposition to our partners and customers: enterprise grade realiability, best of breed performance, and exceptional service and support," he said.