In the world of information technology, 'The Cloud' is
undoubtedly a buzz term right now.
So, what exactly is it and can it help SMEs save money and
become more efficient?
Many commentators see The Cloud as representing nothing less
than a seismic change for business - and that's for business of all
sizes.
Within personal computing, the radical changes in the way many
people handle data are already fairly advanced - web-based email,
Google documents, calendars, photo sharing, video sharing and
instant messaging.
Now the Cloud is hitting the business arena.
As a recent report from the prestigious market research group
Forrester put it: 'It's the computing equivalent of the
evolution in electricity a century ago when farms and businesses
shut down their own generators and bought power instead from
efficient industrial utilities'.
That same lengthy and detailed Forrester report also reached a
conclusion that should make any SME boss sit up and take notice:
'Cloud-based email is always
cheaper for companies with fewer than 15,000
users.'
So, what is Cloud Computing?
In short, it's a virtual database. All business
applications and data are handled and hosted on the web - think of
googlemail, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Flickr and so on. These
are services anyone can access at any time from any computer.
Data is stored elsewhere and not on their hard drive.
It's a system in which many users share applications - just as
we share googlemail or Facebook apps at home with millions of other
users. But at the same time you are allocated your own private
space. Everyone shares, but they also customise for their
individual needs - like a giant office block where many companies
rent space, and each company creates different office layouts to
suit their needs.
There are no huge proprietorial databases, so no cost to set
them up; no need for network maintenance, no need for frequent down
time, no expensive application upgrades and costly fixes when those
upgrades cause network crashes or chaos.
Major corporations including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, IBM,
Sun, Cisco, Dell, HP, Intel, Novell and Oracle all offer
individuals and businesses cloud computing.
IT research analyst Gartner has cited Cloud Computing as a major
'Strategic Technology Area' in 2010.
Yet only some 2% of businesses with fewer than 100 staff are
using cloud computing, according to a May 2009 report from
Forrester Research.
A further 2% said they wanted to introduce cloud computing over
the next year, and 37% say they were interested in learning more
about it.
So, what are the big advantages for businesses - and what
are the potential drawbacks?
With the Cloud, businesses no longer have to run memory sapping
applications and software - instead they can access everything
through a browser. Applications are effectively rented rather
than owned.
This can make the Cloud considerably cheaper for many
SMEs. Spending on your business' technology also stops being
capital investment and turns into regular expenditure.
Another feature of the Cloud is that it is instantly
scaleable. It's possible to go from a two or three-seat
arrangement to 20, 50 or 100 seats, literally, with a few
keystrokes.
Smaller businesses may feel overwhelmed by both what is on offer
and the fairly radical change that it seems to represent.
One tip is to try experimenting with what is on offer - try, for
example, Google's word-processing apps in Documents. How do they
compare to Microsoft Office?
The main concerns that it seems sensible for any business to
associate with the Cloud are: security and reliability. Data,
after all, is stored elsewhere, virtually. And if you have no
internet, you have no access to apps or your data.
Both these seem like reasonable concerns, and yet, with all the
large players in this space, brand is everything. Reliability
is a fiercely guarded unique selling point for all the big
corporate providers. Security - or a breach of it - would be
disastrous for them. So, each of these providers has a very strong
incentive to ensure security and reliability are triple-A
rated.
Other factors to consider are:
What if the provider of apps and cloud space goes bust?
What happens to your company's data?
What happens if your business fails to keep up with payments for
the service? Could you potentially have all your business'
data wiped?
What about security? What standard of password strength is
applied?
Operating in the Cloud may well save your business money, but
what will be the cost of migrating all your company's data to the
Cloud?
Just as importantly, how much would it cost to do the whole
thing in reverse if, say, you find the Cloud does not work well for
your business?
Switching to cloud computing may seem like a daunting prospect
for many smaller businesses, and yet it could offer very
significant savings indeed - and leave those businesses free to
focus on the core aspects of their business.
Time then, perhaps, to at least run the numbers.
If you're looking for a business insurance provider who
works as hard as you do, then look no further than Premierline
Direct, a leading direct provider of business insurance in the UK.
