Cloud computing - the business case
All of the technology and business people I regularly talk to keep mentioning cloud computing. But what is it, what is the impact on business and what are the financial and tangible benefits?
Cloud means Internet. The computing takes place on the Internet – in place of the software you use running on your computer, it runs somewhere on the Internet on a server located in a data centre commonly staffed by people who are proficient in managing technology. This type of “cloud” software is sometimes called “on demand” or Software as a Service (SaaS).
Some typical examples of popular Software as a Service are:
Web based CRM Software (Customer Relationship Management) – Salesforce.com pricing around $9 per user/month.
Small business management and accounting software (small business ERP) – Salesorder.com pricing $45 per user/month.
Medium sized business ERP software – NetSuite pricing about $99 per user/month.
There are three major benefits for every business here:
Time, cost savings and reliability
Businesses do not need a dedicated information technology professional to help them identify, bed in and monitor the hardware and software platform thus cutting operating costs and time to deploy. The burden of continuosly backing up data is removed as this is often an inherent feature of the “cloud” software. Cloud software “operators” almost always have redundant systems that can be switched on in minutes should a serious failure occur.
Easier selection and wider choice
Using a web browser, businesses now have 24/7 access to a big selection of software packages they can in most cases immediately try and effectively establish if the software suits their needs at zero expense. This makes it straightforward for managers in large concerns to get around the usual information technology procurement processes and easily test and justify their business proposal.
Superior user experience
The cloud provides instant feedback to software architects and has fuelled significant progress in user interface design resulting in easier to use software in turn improving learning times and improving user satisfaction. This of course means quicker adoption and better productivity.
