Infinite Ops Inc., a cloud computing startup based in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., has released the first general availability edition of its Infinite Ops Console, a workspace-as-a-service solution aimed at giving IT service providers, telecommunications firms, and internal IT departments an automated point-and-click way to setup and manage complete IT environments, including apps and underlying infrastructure, without any prior knowledge of cloud platforms or design principles.
“The service provider does not have to have any understanding of what’s happening in the background,” says Michael Fraser, the CEO, founder, and chief architect of Infinite Ops. “They just know that they have the ability to get their customers the cloud solutions that they’re looking for.”
Engineered not only for simplicity but speed as well, the Infinite Ops Console features an intuitive deployment wizard that turns implementing a cloud workspace into a three-step process requiring approximately 60 minutes on average to complete, versus the hours or even days typically needed to perform the same tasks manually. Most of that process occurs in the background without any user involvement.
The system also employs what Fraser calls “military-grade encryption,” provides comprehensive administrative control over cloud deployments via a unified, Web-based management interface, and gives users the flexibility to choose among multiple cloud platforms, and then switch platforms later to take advantage of price drops or new functionality.
“They have the freedom to pick and choose what they want,” Fraser states.
Their options presently include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, as well as multiple pre-defined workspace templates and a host of software-as-a-service apps. Users pay a one-time setup charge plus recurring monthly fees that vary based on the type, size, and number of cloud workspaces they deploy, as well as the number of seats those deployments include.
“It looks pretty great,” says Scott Gorcester, CEO of Woodinville, Wash.-based managed and cloud service provider VirtualQube and a participant in Infinite Ops Console beta testing. “The ability to choose different backend providers, different data centers, is pretty valuable.”
Fellow beta tester Jeff Earls, a lead IT technician with Federal Resources, which provides equipment and services to military personnel and first responders from its headquarters in Stevensville, Md., has been similarly impressed.
“Three clicks and you’re deployed,” he says, noting that it took him 30 minutes on one occasion to stand up an entire Google Cloud Platform infrastructure. “I haven’t seen anything else that’s this fast.”
Conspicuously absent from the Infinite Ops Console app store at present is Microsoft Office 365. “It wasn’t a feature that we thought was necessary to go to release one,” Fraser says, noting that it’s been one of the most requested additional features among beta testers. Infinite Ops plans to add Office 365 support before the close of the current quarter.
Also on the company’s aggressive roadmap are integration with leading PSA solutions, including ConnectWise and Autotask, and disaster recovery solutions from StorageCraft Technology Corp., as well as support for both IBM’s SoftLayer cloud platform and VMware vSphere.
Infinite Ops Console reflects lessons Fraser has learned over the course of a wide-ranging career in IT that includes opening one of the first managed service practices in Las Vegas and building enterprise-scale clouds for telecommunications providers and other large businesses with demanding requirements. That background has familiarized him with the time-consuming, labor-intensive challenges of deploying cloud solutions manually, especially for time-pressed MSPs unfamiliar with the intricacies of different cloud solutions.
“This has been something I’ve been wanting to build for a long time,” Fraser says.
