By Timothy Reed
Cloud Computing is the label used by the technology industry to described how users can subscribe to software and hardware available through the Internet for a fee, instead of purchasing the hardware and software and installing it on the company”™s computers.
Why should a small- or medium-sized company be interested in the Cloud?
The Cloud helps a company avoid significant capital investments in computing infrastructure and gives a company the option of expanding computing capacity as the company grows. It reduces costs for software vendors in the support of their products and as a consequence reduces the fees paid by a company to use software by accessing a centrally managed copy, rather than a copy resident on a laptop or iPad.
What are some examples of how to apply Cloud technology?
Example 1
In place of buying a copy of Microsoft Word for each staff member in your company, your staff accesses this software via the Internet for a small monthly fee. The software would not be installed on any of the company”™s computers and can be accessed from whatever device is available for the staff. Once logged into the Internet, Word would be available to use by your staff.
Example 2
You decide to open a pet-grooming business and need all of the tools to schedule appointments, keep track of invoices and payments, and interface with the business bank accounts. You cannot afford to hire a dedicated IT staff to set up and maintain your systems. Instead you set up access for staff members to the software they need via the Internet, and the actual computing hardware and software that you use is run by a group of experts in Butte, Mont.
Example 3
You have developed a highly specialized software package that is needed by every regional bank in the country to comply with Dodd-Frank. The sales potential is substantial, but you need a way to effectively manage the ramp up of sales activity to complete the sales cycle. Rather than build an extensive sales tool and database to manage all of the potential sales, the company uses one of the established sales tools available via the Internet. As sales take off and more sales staff is needed, subscriptions for software for additional sales staff are negotiated at a nominal cost, allowing the company to scale up and down their capacity based on sales demand.
Is there a downside to Cloud Computing?
The downside with cloud computing relates directly to the capabilities and viability of the vendors who support companies using the Cloud. It is important to understand cloud vendor guarantees of service availability, security and data privacy, and make sure that these are documented in your contractual agreement.
Timothy Reed is CEO of ReedITC and can be reached at (917) 374 -6241 or via email at tim.reed@reeditc.com. ReedITC is a full-service IT and operations consulting firm focused on small to mid-size firms in Fairfield and Westchester counties.
