Back To The Future With “Cloud Computing”
If you haven’t heard of Cloud Computing yet, you will soon. It’s the next new big thing in the world of technology. Some pundits are even saying that it’s as big a deal as the original invention of the PC. It’s certainly an important change to the way you will use your computers, but perhaps that’s a little bit too much hype. Small to medium sized businesses like yours are already the fastest adopters off this new computing approach so read on…
So what is Cloud Computing?
Essentially the concept is that you will get many of your computing resources including applications, and storage across the internet from a centrally located data centre. A good example is Hotmail – an email system that runs on Microsoft’s servers rather than your own computers and is accessed via the web. The theory is that you could get other applications for accounting, contact management, document sharing, etc. freeing you up from the need to purchase and install these applications yourself.
How does it work?
To use these applications all you need to do is sign up on the internet, pay on a monthly basis according to the number of users you have and then use application by going to a website.
Probably the most successful of these business applications in the Cloud is Salesforce.com. It’s a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) with over 40,000 clients costing £45 per seat per month. There’s no infrastructure for users to invest in and if you need an additional user it’s just an extra £45 per month.
There are a few downsides though. For a start reducing the number of users isn’t quite as simple as increasing them, but that’s a contractual matter not a technical one! Users are also totally dependent on an internet connection – slow internet, slow application – no internet, no application!
But probably the biggest issue harks back to the problems of the old centrally controlled mainframe run by an IT department remote, in every sense of the word, from users. Getting consultancy and support is sometimes difficult as they tend to use a one size fits all approach – good if you fit, but not so good if you need individual attention, or you need it quickly.
If you’ve put in a new application in the last few years you’ll know that the hardware and software is not the biggest cost facing you. The biggest cost is the setup and configuration of the application to do specifically what you want it to do. Online applications still need to be configured. In fact it can be more challenging as most on line application vendors are very bad at training and configuration consultancy. Most of them simply leave you to read the online manual, or if pushed give you some remote support.
Of course the big plus is that you don’t need to invest in a server and the application up front and guess how much capacity you need up front.
On balance there can be real convenience and cost benefits for small to medium sized businesses.
There is nothing new under the sun – its good old centralised IT!
I put the phrase “Back To The Future” in the headline of this newsletter because the concept of Cloud Computing has such similarities with the old centralised mainframe computing approach. It does make efficient use of resources by sharing them more effectively, but has all the restrictions of a one-size-fits-all centralised approach.
The irony is that the PC arose because businesses and users wanted to be freed from the constraints of centralised computing and the IBM mainframe computer. Not surprisingly IBM is pushing this hard and is doing so in conjunction with Google. Microsoft is hot on their heels and starting to offer online versions of its own applications.
Is it right for your business?
The benefits of this approach are compelling, so I have no doubt that you will start to use internet based applications during the next few years or perhaps host your own servers at a hosting centre for reasons of efficiency.
In fact with Ziptech you are already partially in the Cloud
We already run the preventative maintenance, security and remote support across the internet via the systems we have installed. Rather than having to put in this support infrastructure yourself we can provide it for you while you focus on running your business. And if you are one of those clients who we provide online backup for this is done via the internet to a secure server centre.
And all of this for a fraction of the cost of doing it yourself.
If you need any advice on online applications or services give me a call on 01932 233 962.
Best regards.
Jim Simpson
Managing Director
Ziptech Services
Regular Hints & Tips
If you’d like to register for our regular hints and tips on how IT can help drive your business please register here:
