The inspiration to launch Backbone was driven purely by customer need. Six years ago, I was frequently encountering small and medium business clients who wanted simple IT solutions such as calendar sharing for email, and remote access for mobile employees. I set out to find these services online, assuming that somewhere would be a bank of servers that businesses could pay for as they needed them. I was surprised to discover that there were very few providers who offered such solutions.

My vision was to deliver enterprise-grade technology solutions and services to small and medium-sized businesses via a rental model that offered products, storage, and users, as well as customized pieces such as data backup and user retention. This is the essence of cloud computing, and this is what Backbone does today.

It's hard to believe that we're now hearing about cloud computing at every turn given that it's still a relatively new way of delivering IT applications and services. Some businesses will always require costly on-premise hardware and software but for most companies, now is the time to leverage the power of the cloud and integrate enterprise systems, support teams and software to any device you choose. This means if you want to connect your corporate network with your MAC, your iPad, and your smartphone, you—and all the employees at your company—can do so with the confidence that the backend systems will provide all the necessary support.

Our commitment is to provide all the applications and systems that small and medium business owners need to run business on demand. We continually strive to deliver the best solutions, optimal ways for you to access those solutions, and exceptional customer support service so that our clients can leverage these valuable cloud computing tools so that running each and every one of their businesses is faster, easier, and therefore more lucrative. We are also focusing on privacy and compliancy and helping our clients meet their requirements in their markets.

I am proud of the progress Backbone has made in the last six years, the solutions we have developed, and the progress cloud computing is making in the market. As we move forward we will continue to add the tools and applications necessary for running effective businesses in order to ensure that our systems, which are also our clients' systems, are secure and available.