Cloud Computing
The Future of IT
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you're fully aware of the momentum behind Cloud Computing. Yet for all that's being talked about, it can be tough for even the most technological savvy business owners, CFO's and CIO's to really appreciate the implications of this shift towards The Cloud - and more importantly, how their business can fully leverage and take advantage of Cloud technology.
For starters, Cloud comes in a few flavors. To keep things simple, we'll separate them into two main groups - business applications and networking infrastructure.
Business Application in the Cloud
The traditional model of business software dealt with large upfront costs, typically associated with the one-time cost of owning a software license. This model required businesses to host their own software and manage their own hardware - that is, application and reporting servers and databases we're kept on site.
Today, things have changed. Instead of owning software licenses, businesses have been shifting towards a system in which they pay a monthly subscription fee, much like a magazine, to use an application that is hosted on someone else's server - this is known as Software as a Service or SaaS. This movement began with niche line of business applications that serve a single business function - like paid time off management - but this has expanded to include core business applications like CRM software and even ERP software. Not only does this lower the cost of entry for most small and midsized companies to utilize these powerful applications, it also removes the overhead associated with constantly installing updates and applying upgrades.
Microsoft Dynamics in the Cloud
Two very popular business applications that we have been providing services for since the early 2000's - Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft CRM - are now available in the cloud. These powerful business applications, which were once out of reach of many small and midsized businesses are now attainable because of the lower cost of entry associated with the pay-as-you-go model.
More information on Microsoft Cloud CRM Online
More information on Microsoft Dynamics GP - For specific information on a Cloud deployment of Microsoft Dynamics GP, we recommend speaking with one of our cloud consultants.
Microsoft Office & Exchange in the Cloud
Microsoft Office will soon be available In The Cloud with Microsoft Office 365.
Microsoft Exchange is now available In The Cloud for just $6 per user per month with Microsoft BPOS.
Networking Infrastructure In The Cloud
We briefly touched on this second flavor of Cloud Computing above when we mentioned Servers and Databases. To elaborate, in the old model of computing, businesses were responsible for their entire network and computer infrastructure - that is, they were required to keep everything on site. There were very high costs associated with this model - from purchasing and maintaining hardware, as well as the applications that ran on them, to staying on top of new software upgrades and bug fixes, to paying the high salaries of all the IT staff that maintained this technology.
In The Cloud, businesses no longer have to worry about these IT headaches. Instead, with affordable services like RackSpace, businesses can now place this entire burden on an off-site hosting company. Not only does this eliminate the cost of purchasing and maintaining hardware and servers but also, by leveraging economies of scale, the performance, speed, load balance and reliability of your infrastructure will be greater than it's on-site counterpart - allowing for business continuity and increased productivity from your employees.
Next Steps
As exciting as all of this sounds, this is just to tip of the iceberg! To find out how your business can leverage Cloud Computing to cut costs and increase productivity, take advantage of a FREE 1 Hour Consultation with one of our certified Cloud Consultants!