Nov 28, 2012 | SMB Technology
Can Cloud Computing Help your Business? Cloud computing has rapidly become mainstream technology for large and small businesses. From online backup to virtual servers to Software as a Service (SaaS) there are many benefits to using cloud computing. Here are some of the many benefits your business may receive from cloud computing: Capital Expense vs. Operating Expense Cloud computing provides businesses access to enterprise infrastructure, without having to make the upfront investment in data center, network and server infrastructure build-out. By using available cloud computing resources, businesses can subscribe to these services, instead of using precious working capital for an unnecessary up front investment. As a result, business owners may avoid making high capital expenses. Instead, the monthly subscription cost of cloud computing may be treated as an operating expense. As always, consult your tax professional for your business’s specific issues. Predictable IT Costs Cloud computing subscriptions enable the business owner visibility into predictable costs for IT Services. For example, online backup costs may be a function of the amount of data stored and bandwidth used each month. Software as a Service (SaaS) Email or Sales Force Automation (SFA) services may be charged based on number of users each month. Fixing these costs can be a huge advantage to small businesses. Improved Reliability Public cloud computing options may provide your business better IT Infrastructure than you can afford on your own. By taking advantage of economies of scale, your company can tap into enterprise class data centers that are monitored, managed and maintained by 7/24/365 support teams. What’s more, these facilities providing online backup, hosted exchange, SaaS CRM and...
Jul 26, 2012 | SMB Technology
Cloud Computing: Are you Ready for the Cloud? Most technology analysts agree Cloud Computing is a fast growing area of technology and is being widely adopted by small, medium and large businesses. According to Gartner Research 2012 forecast Cloud Computing spending will grow from $39.2 billion in 2011 to $45.9 billion in 2012. Gartner expects spending on Cloud Computing and related Cloud Services to reach $207 billion by 2016. Another technology research firm, IDC reported in 2012, that they expect sales of cloud storage to reach $11.7 billion by 2015. In fact, the Computer Technology Industry Association, CompTIA reported in their July 2012 “Third Annual Trends in Cloud Computing“ that 93% of companies report using some form of cloud solution. So why are companies moving to the cloud? According to CompTIA, survey respondents reported the following top three reasons for moving to the Cloud; the desire to cut costs, to reduce capital expense and the cloud is simply a better solution than their current one. With all of these benefits, your business should get ready to take advantage of the cloud. Here are a few things to consider: Network Reliability and Internet Bandwidth Cloud Applications and Cloud Services require high availability of internet connectivity. If your network is outdated or you have limited internet bandwidth outages, these may cause you to lose access to your cloud services. In particular, mission critical applications may require high internet and bandwidth availability. Make sure your firewall, gateway, routers and wifi are in tip top shape. Check your internet bandwidth to ensure it can handle the requirements to access your cloud applications. Compliance...
May 15, 2012 | SMB Technology
Cloud Computing: Your Pre Flight Checklist Cloud computing is more than a passing trend. Cloud computing is a way for small to medium businesses (SMBs) to tap enterprise class applications and infrastructure that once only large companies could afford. Cloud Computing allows SMBs to share the overhead for data center security, bandwidth, monitoring and management. Small to medium businesses share cloud based Software as a Service (SaaS) applications and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) without having to invest in capital intensive projects. If you are considering a move to the cloud, here is a pre flight checklist to consider. Public Cloud vs. Private Cloud With cloud computing you are moving your data and computer processing to a location other than your own. The cloud location may be shared (i.e. public cloud) or dedicated environment (private cloud). The trade off for private cloud versus public cloud is that the private cloud will be more expensive due to cost for additional security. In most cases the public cloud is more secure than your own office or business. What’s more, by sharing these resources with other companies you also may save money in the long run. While sensitive data, such as, financial records, may be more secure in the cloud, you may have regulatory requirements that prevent you from sharing common resources such as CPUs, racks or cages to store your data in a public cloud If you have compliance issues that require extra physical security, consider a private cloud solution. Cloud Migration Consideration To move to a cloud based application including SaaS, take the time to consider what data you need...
Mar 9, 2012 | SMB Technology
Moving your IT to the Cloud? It seems like everyone is doing it. According to a 2011 survey by IPED at least 50% of small businesses will adopt cloud computing within their business by the end of 2012. With all of the hype about cloud computing, here are some things to consider before you make the move. Let’s start off with what is Cloud Computing? The easiest way to explain the “Cloud” is think of it as using computer assets (software, servers, etc.) that are located somewhere off-site from your company’s location. Cloud computing is typically purchased on a subscription basis (i.e. a monthly service fee) avoiding some of the up front costs. Also, the Cloud may be a shared resource (i.e. Public Cloud) or dedicated resource (i.e. Private Cloud). The first thing your need to decide is: what do you want to gain by moving to the Cloud? Are you trying to avoiding making capital expenditures? Do you want to pay-as-you go for your IT infrastructure as an operating expense instead of a capital expense? Are you concerned about being able to recover from a backup in the event a disaster, such as, a fire, earthquake or hurricane that could destroys all your computers and data on site? If any of this appeals to you, then Cloud Computing might either augment or replace critical IT assets within your company today. However, these benefits do not come without risk. If you decide to replace your line of business application (e.g. Accounting Software) with a Cloud alternative commonly known as Software as a Service (SaaS) you won’t have to pay...
