Every business executive and journalist I know is talking about the advantages of cloud computing. But what is it, what is the impact on business and what are the economic and tangible benefits?
Cloud means Internet. The computing is done on the Internet – in place of the software you use executing on your computer, it runs somewhere on the Internet on a server installed 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 good examples of popular Software as a Service are:
Web based CRM Software (Customer Relationship Management) – Salesforce.com pricing about $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 3 significant benefits for every business here:
Time, cost savings and reliability
Businesses do not need a permanent information technology professional to help them identify, commission and look after the technology infrastructure thus lowering operating costs and time to implement. The effort of continuosly backing up data is removed as this is normally an inherent feature of the “cloud” software. Cloud software “operators” normally have stand by systems that can be brought to bear in a very short amount of time should a catastrophic failure occur.
Easier selection and more choice
Through the ubiquitous web browser, businesses now have instant access to a huge range of business software they can in most cases immediately try and effectively establish if the software meets their needs at no expense. This makes it very easy for managers in large enterprises to circumvent the common information technology buying processes and easily test and justify their business case.
Superior user experience
The internet provides instant feedback to application developers and has driven amazing progress in user interface design resulting in easier to use software in turn lowering learning times and improving user satisfaction. This of course means quicker adoption and higher productivity.
