Logo for the next generation of web hosting

Riotcloud

GridCentric (gridcentriclabs.com) is a leading systems and virtualization technology company. We have developed exciting and game-changing technology that allows web services to scale up and down on-demand.

Imagine a web server that automatically grows from one computer to hundreds, then back down to one over the course of a few hours. If Ashton Kutcher tweets about your website or your service, you'll be prepared to handle the millions of err... loyal followers.

As part of our strategy for bringing this technology to the world, we are building a hosting service. We've named it Riotcloud -- servers that are prepared to handle any outburst of traffic without breaking a sweat. We need a logo for the service.

There are a million hosting companies out there -- and the majority of them are in the business or re-branding their services as "cloud". This market is well-established but quickly becoming crowded and difficult to distinguish between all the players.

We are targeting developers, designers and technical decision makers. Our brand must excite and inspire these people, but it must also give the feeling of consistency, reliability and ease-of-use in order to be successful. We're packing an awesome new technology and unheard of capabilities, so we want to make sure that we stand out from the crowd.

If the brand (not speaking to logo here) were a car company -- think Porsche. Exciting, sporty and expensive -- but still practical and very comfortable. Alternately, think Ferrari or Bugatti. Leading edge, fast and cool as hell -- but still street legal.

The logo design is somewhat open-ended, as a result, I will provide feedback often.

Here are some starting guidelines:
We would prefer not to have a plain type-face logo.
We would prefer not to have an explicit cloud in the logo (as it is a bit trite).
We would prefer the logo not to be overly wacky or complex, but it does need to have a little edge to distinguish us from the crowd.
The logo (and later, web design) must stand-up well next to our current logo and design, which you can see at:
http://gridcentriclabs.com/

Here are some examples of logos in the same space that I think walk a nice line.
http://www.theplanet.com/
http://www.razorservers.com/
https://www.stormondemand.com/
http://www.gogrid.com/
http://www.100tb.com/
http://fatbox.ca/

I just randomly assembled this list now, so they shouldn't really be considered starting points or indicators of what we like. I'm sure that the name Riotcloud suggests many interesting themes and we're really excited to see the fresh concepts that people come up with.