Is It Time For Your Business To Move To The Cloud?
Having your head in the clouds is never a good idea, but what about your IT infrastructure? Cloud Computing is a hot concept among Fortune 500 companies, SMEs, and even Mom and Pop shops. And it’s no wonder. When you compare the benefits of doing business “in the cloud”, as compared to traditional IT software and hardware methodologies, the results are eye-opening:
- Lower Operational Costs
- Increased (and Flexible) Storage Capacity
- Automated Upgrade Management
- Automated Redundancy and Scalability
- Unparalleled Workforce Mobility
- Reduced Strain on IT Staff Resources
But before these benefits can make sense, you need to understand what Cloud Computing is and why it’s the #1 IT subject at so many businesses and organizations.
Cloud Computing Defined
At it’s simplest level, Cloud Computing is the delivery of software services to end users via a remote network accessible via the Internet or VPN. Unlike tradition client/server solutions, it is not necessary for the users of cloud-delivered services to actually own the software they are accessing. In fact, very little software is required to exist on the desktop of cloud computing users. End users are able to access all their applications, such as e-mail, word processing, development and design tools, collaboration tools, etc., along with all required data files, via a customisable GUI. And, of course, users can access all of their software and services from anywhere there is Internet access.
Cloud Computing Examples
Let’s look at a typical SME. Someone in the organization is tasked with the responsibility of making sure that all employee are equipped with the hardware and software needed to do their jobs. Beyond simply buying PCs, the IT manager must also purchase software licenses for the various software packages the company uses. Often times multiple licenses must be purchased.
Of course, whenever a new employee is hired, a PC must be provisioned to support that person’s role in the company. Beyond all that, the IT manager also has to upgrade hardware and software as required, monitor and respond to server storage issues, server performance issues, and overall security of the organization’s IT infrastructure and assets. That’s a pretty busy person. And the business is certainly investing a great deal of money in hardware and software acquisition and maintenance costs.
How Cloud Computing Reinvents The Way SMEs Manage Their IT Costs And Responsibilities
When an organization moves to cloud computing, they trade the need for various software suites and tools for just one: The GUI that provides access to the cloud from the desktop. Practically everything else end users need to do their job is hosted on the cloud.
These remote cloud servers simply accept “tasks” sent in by the client computers and perform those tasks using their server resources delivered via software applications hosted remotely. And because cloud servers have built-in redundancy, the network is “self-healing”. This means that your data is never lost if a cloud server malfunctions. The network simply recognizes that a failure has occurred and immediately reroutes traffic to a clone server that is provisioned exactly the same as the one the user was connected to before the failure occurred. And, of course, the data is there as well and is current. That’s because data replication happens automatically and in real-time
And Speaking of Data Storage…
Storage capacity concerns are non-existent when you move to the cloud. In a typical non-cloud scenario, an organization needs to constantly monitor their available storage capacity. When established thresholds are met, new storage is purchased and added. This ongoing process is not only costly, it can be wasteful. Many organizations purchase more capacity than they actually expect to use, just to “hedge” against running out of space. Cloud users don’t worry about capacity. The servers simply spin up more storage capacity when it’s required, and spin it back down when it’s no longer needed. The same things happen when server capacity increases due to either temporary workload increase, or workforce growth. And since one of the best features of cloud computing is that you only pay for features you use, your storage and server costs are as flexible as your data storage and server capacity needs are.
You’re Probably Already Using Cloud Computing Without Knowing It
If your email is managed by Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or any of the other online email service providers, you’re a cloud computer user. Instead of running Microsoft® Outlook, or some other desktop email client, you access your email via your web browser and the Internet. That’s cloud computing!
Take The Cloud Computing Plunge, Or Just Dip Your Toe In
Is cloud computing right for your organization? Probably, but only an analysis of your IT and software requirements can tell for sure. And we’d like to give you that analysis for free. We’re Digital Armour, a Microsoft® partner with demonstrated experience deploying cloud computing services for businesses and organizations throughout Australia. So whether you’re interested in simply testing things out by moving your email services to the cloud, or you’re ready to go all in, we’ll get you there.
In fact, you can test cloud-based email services for just $8 per account, per month, billed directly by Microsoft®. That’s a great way to experience the power and benefits of cloud computing for a very small investment.
We invite you to explore our web site and review all of our cloud computing educational materials. Fill in the form on the right hand side and get a free report. This is written exclusively for the small to medium businesses in Australia. You will then be able to understand the risks and the benefits, clearly. When you are ready, pick up the phone and call ( 02 8197 9400 ) to arrange for a free consultation on how to move forward. That’s all it takes to keep your feet on the ground and your IT infrastructure in the clouds!
