<img alt="Jason Harris" src="http://m.c.lnkd.licdn.com/media/p/4/000/14a/236/0b647aa.jpg" />

It's been nearly one year since <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rok-global-applications-group-llc-selects-egroup-to-deliver-reliable-and-secure-data-visualizations-to-esri-users-2012-09-20" target="_blank">ROK Global Applications Group selected our eCloud to deliver the company's Esri ArcGIS product line</a>. Given the timing, we wanted to check in with ROK's chief technology officer, <a href="www.linkedin.com/pub/jason-harris/13/2b5/a84" target="_blank">Jason Harris</a>, to get an update on the business and the use of eCloud.
<strong>eGroup: </strong>Tell us a bit about ROK Global Applications Group and what you do?

<strong>Jason Harris (JH):</strong> In one sentence, ROK provides Cloud Based IT Infrastructure, Consulting, and Hosting for the ArcGIS Platform. ArcGIS is a family of mapping related products created by the world's leading Geographic Information Systems software company, Esri. Working as an Esri business partner since 1997, we offer a wide range products and services from GIS implementations, consulting and online mapping sites (think Google Maps!).

<strong>eGroup:</strong> What were your three biggest IT pain points that you thought the cloud model could help alleviate?

<strong>JH: </strong>Ability to scale rapidly. ROK is growing at a rapid pace! Therefor, we need to be able to scale our infrastructure quickly to support our expanding client base. Using the eCloud gives us that ability.

We also wanted to drive a competitive advantage through innovative use of technology and computing. Again, eCloud gives ROK a competitive edge.

Lastly, we wanted to simplify our IT infrastructure as remotely managing servers was becoming a challenge. Especially as we we expanded, more and more servers needed to come online and they, too, needed to be managed. The eCloud has cetainly helped allievate the pain of server monitoring and management.

<strong>eGroup:</strong> What was the ultimate deciding factor in transitioning to the eCloud?

<strong>JH:</strong> Our final decision was driven by eGroup themselves. We were impressed with their ability to understand our specific business model and expertise in designing a cloud based solution that would work for us. eGroup has become more like a valuable partner to ROK rather than just a vendor who handles our IT needs.

<strong>eGroup:</strong> Talk to us about what’s in the eCloud and the benefits you’ve received.

<strong>JH:</strong> This is an easy one. The ability to scale rapidly has been one of the greatest benefits for us at ROK. We are in the business of internet mapping applications. We have done some interesting projects over the years - and they have often been featured by major news organizations. Well, you can imagine the huge spike in traffic that comes with that attention. So, our ability to scale up and down as needed is a huge benefit for us.

<strong>eGroup:</strong> What have you learned about the cloud, in general, that you may not have before the implementation?

<strong>JH:</strong> To get our feet wet, we had tried other cloud solutions before working with eGroup. I don't think we realized how 'hands off' some systems
were. We have some pretty specific IT requirements, and we found that some things weren't too easy in the 'generic' cloud. We were happy to
find eGroup who could provide us that hands on technical assistance when implementing our system.

<strong>eGroup:</strong> What is one piece of advice would you give to an SMB looking to transition to the cloud?

<strong>JH:</strong> A little planning goes a long way.

<strong>eGroup:</strong> Thank you, Jason. This has been great for our readers - appreciate all the insight and wish you and ROK continued success!

<strong>JH: </strong>No problem!