Cloud computing for business - the economic 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 obvious upsides?
Cloud means Internet. The computing takes place on the Internet – in place of the software you use being installed on your computer, it’s hosted on the Internet on a server located in a data centre usually staffed by people who are experts in managing technology. This type of “cloud” software is commonly known as “on demand” or Software as a Service (SaaS).
Some best of breed examples of well established 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 around $99 per user/month.
There are three key benefits for every business here:
Time, cost savings and reliability
Businesses no longer require a dedicated information technology expert to help them select, bed in and maintain the hardware and software platform thus reducing operating costs and time to get operational. The effort of constantly backing up data is eradicated as this is normally an inherent function of the “cloud” software. Cloud software “operators” almost always have fail over systems that can be brought to bear in seconds should a serious error occur.
Easier selection and more choice
With just a web browser, businesses now have immediate access to a big selection of business software they can in most cases immediately try and quickly work out if the software fulfils their needs at zero cost. This makes it very easy for people in large concerns to circumvent the common information technology procurement processes and easily assess and justify their business proposal.
Better user experience
The internet provides instant feedback to software vendors and has driven amazing progress in user interface design resulting in easier to use software in turn reducing learning times and improving user satisfaction. This of course means quicker adoption and higher productivity.
Tags:Cloud Computing
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