New Mexico Ranks as One of the Best States for Women Entrepreneurs

Successful entrepreneur Kimberly deCastro has been at the helm of IT and business solutions provider Wildflower, Inc., for over 25 years. CEO Kimberly deCastro leads the $250-million-dollar company based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a state noted for its ideal business climate for female entrepreneurs.

According to a survey conducted in early 2018, New Mexico ranks in the top 10 states for women-led businesses. The rankings were based on a variety of metrics, including the number of employees working in women-owned businesses, the number of new women-led enterprises established daily, and the percentage of a state’s economy that could be attributed to women-owned companies.

In New Mexico, nearly 40 percent of all business are owned by women, the third highest percentage in the nation. It also scores highly on the number of employees in women-run businesses, employing just under 10 percent of workers. Women-owned companies also generate 5.33 percent of the state’s revenue.

Three Common Types of Cloud Computing Services

Successful entrepreneur Kimberly deCastro leads Wildflower International, Ltd., as its president and CEO. She began the information technology (IT) company out of her house in New Mexico and has since grown it into a $250 million corporation employing over 150 people. Under the leadership of Kimberly deCastro, Wildflower International offers a wide range of professional services, including cloud computing.

There are three common types of cloud computing services: infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS). Each of these is briefly described below:

IaaS: The most basic of the three types of cloud computing services, IaaS grants users access to computing power and storage. Users rent IT infrastructure, such as storage, virtual machines, and operating systems, from cloud providers on a pay-as-you-go basis, thus making it easier for them to manage workloads.

PaaS: PaaS makes it easy for users to develop and maintain web applications on the Internet by providing them with the basic underlying infrastructure they need. With this type of cloud computing, users do not need to set up storage, servers, databases, or networks to develop applications. Nor do they have to worry about software maintenance and resource procurement.

SaaS: This type of cloud computing is also called “on-demand software” because it grants users access to various software without having to buy the full software license. Once users access this software, they can use it through their web browser. Google Docs, Gmail, and Freshbooks are all examples of SaaS, as are social networking sites.