Sphere 3D Corp. (ANY): DD - Updated Collection Of Recent Articl...

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Re: JB3729 post# 7730

Tuesday, 07/08/2014 7:00:27 AM

Tuesday, July 08, 2014 7:00:27 AM

DD - Updated Collection Of Recent Articles With The Most Recent Articles First:

http://www.midasletter.com/midas-letter-financial-radio-podcast/sphere-3d-corp-vs-vmware-citrix-systems-microsoft/
Damian Wojcichowsky: I don’t think we’re talking about the same market per se at first. VMware and Sphere 3D right now are actually partners. So where VMware has a customer that requires the kind of functionality that Glassware 2.0 brings via Sphere 3D, they can partner there, so they can embed Glassware into the sale, and kick back a royalty or a license fee to Sphere 3D. I don’t see them competing for the same kind of customers. I think what you see is a lot smaller size of enterprise that you get Overland-Sphere approaching, versus the big enterprise deal that you see EMC-VMware do. So at first its not going to be that difficult. I think five years down the road you’re looking at more of a head-to head competition situation happening.

Shorter term though, you’re going to have a bunch of catalysts coming.

http://www.techzone360.com/topics/techzone/articles/2014/07/02/382802-want-slice-sphere3d-look-the-nasdaq-global-market.htm
Sphere3D has two key product offerings behind it: GLASSWARE 2.0 and the V3 Desktop Cloud Computing System. With GLASSWARE 2.0, users get access to the complete lineup of digital content found on most any desktop from most any Web-enabled device. This may not sound like much until the fullest implications of the idea are considered, as GLASSWARE 2.0 allows access to not only the full range of productivity software systems, but also to things like computer aided design (CAD) systems, proprietary systems, and even social media sites. Plus, at last report, all of the sites will both look and function the same way on mobile devices that said sites would on the desktop thanks to GLASSWARE 2.0.

http://cloud-computing-guru.newsvine.com/_news/2014/06/27/24521303-apple-and-microsofts-cloud-puzzles-are-missing-an-acquisition
Problems with the link? Here's the part of the article pertaining to Sphere 3D -

In other words, whatever acquisition strategies that apply to Microsoft probably apply to Apple as well because they both desperately need to catch up with their major rivals in cloud computing. So, what are good acquisition targets in cloud computing for Apple to consider? Here are two choices that come to the top of my mind:

The Small: Sphere 3D (OTC Symbol: SPIHF, Toronto Stock Exchange Symbol: ANY)

If Apple does not feel comfortable spending such a huge sum in its first attempt at cloud computing acquisition, a small company called Sphere 3D might be a good target on the other side of the scale. For the past year or so, this fast-rising new star has arguably been the hottest hit in cloud computing. The company invented and owns a unique technology called “Microvisor” that was dubbed by some analysts as the most disruptive innovation in cloud computing ever! According to the company’s own website and its executives’ words in interviews by MidasLetter and Brian Madden, the company’s centerpiece product, Glassware, makes legacy desktop-based applications such as AutoCAD, Photoshop, Corel Office, medical applications, etc. cloud-ready and accessible from client devices running on any operating systems and hardware.

More amazingly, its cloud solution is said to be much more “lightweight” than its major competitors, allowing its enterprise clients to deploy legacy applications to the cloud in an almost drag-and-drop, plug-n-play way without lengthy and cumbersome setups and configurations. With such powerful technology, the company has acquired endorsements from three highly-reputed analysts groups and signed cooperation agreements and/or commercial contracts with technology powerhouses and big organizations, including Apple, Corel, VMWare, UniPrint, Dell,Novarad, Ericsson, and CCPS (for a large quantity of Google Chrome Book cloud services).

The benefits for Apple, if it were to acquire Sphere 3D, are that the nature of its Microvisor technology (any application, any platform) should make the integration of its cloud solutions with Apple’s products easy and that it is already “Apple-friendly” with its Corel Office and Surf to Go for iPad. In addition, although it is small, Sphere 3D still offers a complete product line of cloud solutions – Glassware for enterprise cloud, Surf to Go for individual consumers, a V3 solutions suite for desktop virtualization, and Overland product lines for cloud storage and data protection (assuming that its acquisition of Overland is completed as announced).

Now, how much does Apple have to offer to get a nod from Sphere 3D’s board of directors? Well, it is really hard to estimate because it is such a young company; no one even knows if its founders are willing to sell the company anytime soon. Assuming that they are, my “wild guess” for the price tag is $1-$2 billion. Would the company be worth that much for Apple? I think it probably would. Assuming that Apple can push the sales of Sphere 3D’s products to just $2 billion through its distribution channels and huge customer base and expand the annual sales of Apple’s existing products by just 3%, or about $5 billion, by adding cloud functions/capabilities to its products, Apple will reap $7 billion in incremental annual revenue from an investment of $2 billion or less!

As for Sphere 3D, even more competitors could decide to swallow Sphere 3D in a swift acquisition as its publicity and visibility are expected to increase drastically after it completes up-listing to NASDAQ

http://www.virtualizationpractice.com/chesterfield-county-schools-turn-sphere-3d-windows-chromebooks-27278/
Chesterfield County Schools Turn to Sphere 3D for Windows on Chromebooks.

Taking on the complexity of managing a large Citrix XenApp environment was not something that CCPS wanted to have to address. At the same time, it wanted to ensure that any hosted Windows applications could be easily integrated into its own application portal. To overcome the challenges, CCPS has partnered with Mississauga, Ontario–based Sphere 3D, developers of Glassware 2.0, to provide Windows application hosting services. Sphere 3D provides Glassware 2.0 as an appliance-based hosting platform for installation either within a customer’s data center or as a cloud hosting solution offered by service providers. Sphere 3D company V3 Systems was one of the pioneers of high-performance VDI appliances, so it is to be expected that it knows how to make this approach work.

http://www.midasletter.com/2014/06/sphere-3d-overland-storage-merger-sets-emc-corporation-vmware-repetition/
There is little doubt that much of the velocity in Sphere 3D’s share price is driven by technology speculators who perceive the opportunity inherent in the timing of companies, managment and products converging within the Sphere 3D universe. My bet is that the combination of these elements under Sphere 3D’s managment will result in an exponential compounding of shareholder value quarter-on-quarter once the intergrations are complete and Overland Storage’s sales force is unleashed on its client base with the new offerings.

http://www.midasletter.com/midas-letter-financial-radio-podcast/sphere-3d-corp-tsx-vany-peter-tassiopoulos-podcast/
Peter Tassiopoulos: Absolutely. The transaction quickly transitions Sphere into a global enterprise. We will actually have operations in the U.S., Norway, Germany, Singapore, and Asia. In addition, we’ll have direct access to 17,000 resellers in 60 countries, and infrastructure that’s been built over thirty years to support them. As for the synergies, there’s quite a few.. it’s actually too numerous to go through all of them. But just a couple of highlights; you know Overland has providing storage for over thirty years as I mentioned, and because of this they’ve got a really large installed base. Actually over a million units have been deployed. Many of these are customers that run complex enterprise apps, and that’s specifically what Glassware is designed for. Now one of the largest purchasers of IT as well is the U.S. government, and Overland has a number of GSA’s [Government Service Agencies –ed] in place with them so that’s direct access into the government which we otherwise wouldn’t have.

http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/bglive/archive/2014/06/10/brianmadden-com-podcast-with-sphere3d-at-9-30pst-today-what-do-they-do-join-us-live.aspx
BrianMadden.com Podcast #57 (Special Edition): Sphere3D talks about their microvisor-like app virtualization solution.

"We have more demand than we can handle" …."We're winning these deals"…"chaos of success"…"we are having demand on all sides for all products"….quotes from Peter Bookman

http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2014/05/16/cloud-and-virtualization-a-magic-combination-for-entrepreneurs/?utm_source=followingimmediate&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20140516
“The future of cloud is in taking the concept of virtualization beyond the backing up of data or the incorporation of additional systems,” says Peter Bookman, founder of virtualization company V3, recently acquired by Sphere3D. (Disclosure: Peter Bookman is a friend and was a client in 2010 and 2011; however we have no current business relationship.) “In our product lines we bring virtual desktops, virtual applications, and data together in a single solution to let companies of any size use virtual resources to manage their physical desktops, rich applications, and business information.”

http://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=sup_n&sub=pac&pag=dis&ItemID=107377
Utilizing virtual application and desktop technology from Sphere 3D, NovaGlass delivers Novarad's Marz vendor-neutral archive software on a variety of computing devices, including PCs, Macs, iPads, laptop computers, Android tablets, and Google Chromebooks.

The new platform will give users access to several new features and ways of deploying images that were previously unavailable, Novarad said.

http://www.virtualizationpractice.com/happy-birthday-citrix-now-get-back-work-26248/
One possible opportunity here lies with Toronto-based Sphere 3D and Glassware. I had the opportunity for a brief look at Glassware last week, and I hope to be able to return for a more detailed assessment in the near future. In many respects, Glassware is to XenApp as VDI in a Box is to XenDesktop: a fresh approach to virtual applications, built from the ground up with an emphasis on the hypervisor as a means of achieving virtualization, rather than as a platform on which to run multiple operating system instances.

Glassware’s promise is not just that it is a legacy-free interpretation of conventional terminal services technology, but that it can take this approach to deliver more than just Windows applications. Demonstrating seamless delivery of Windows x86 applications alongside Android and Fortran apps on iPad is going to take more than one brief introduction to come to grips with. Nevertheless, if execution is as effective as the promise, this could be a technology to keep a close eye on.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2142003-sphere-3d-a-disruptive-cloud-technology-player
Sphere 3D Corporation (TSX: ANY.V) (OTCQX: OTCQX:SPIHF) is a unique virtualization technology solution provider that has described itself as a company that "solves the problems that previously were considered unsolvable". What problems are there in virtualization? Plenty! Sphere 3D allows most devices, independent of their size, resources or operating system, to access the full functionality of software programs and applications off from servers either in the cloud or on premise, absolutely independent of their operating system! A short video on Youtube presents Sphere 3d's solutions in a graphical way.

In fact, its Glassware 2.0(TM) technology makes it possible for today's devices to access yesterday's software; for today's software to run on tomorrow's devices all over the cloud, without sacrificing performance or security. The company has built their proprietary Glassware 2.0 platform from the ground up and specifically designed it to achieve application virtualization in the most demanding of circumstances. It can be deployed alone for application virtualization or utilized in conjunction with third party hypervisor-based virtualization deployments, for true end-to-end virtualization of physical infrastructure. For additional information visit sphere3d.com and have a look to the presentation made by Peter Tassiopoulos during the CANTECH Investment Conference held in Toronto last January.