What was once just a new concept being talked about by those in the IT world has now turned into a technology that is being sought after by every business keen to improve its level of service to clients, and be at a point that enables it to compete with the best.
Cloud computing services, provided over the internet, are a form of outsourcing that enables you to conduct your business from any location as long as it has internet access and a web browser. It also offers a back-up service to your data that is activated 24 hours a day and proving to be much more secure than any other back-up system you may have in place currently.
However, the main aspect of cloud computing is that it can save your business a lot of money. Surprisingly there are virtually no startup costs - you don't even need your own computer, simply use a cloud-based application from a smartphone if you wish - end users are able to access their desktop from any internet connection. Think of the amount of money this could save you and then compare it with any hosted application where it's necessary to buy all the hardware to set up as well as software, pay for licenses, bills, and employees on top!
The monthly price you pay for the service also includes the administrative costs; cloud services take over all the admin for you and have their own technical staff to deal with any issues that might arise and deal with applications. If you decide to add a new application as business expands then there's no waiting around for it to be downloaded, just pay the fee for this extra service and it's installed in next to no time meaning you can get on with your business plans with no delay.
It makes a big difference to your monthly budget when you don't have to shell out for new infrastructure and extra hardware generally required as a business gets bigger, or have to take on new technical staff and train them how to use it. And as it's a fast and convenient service it's designed for all sizes and kinds of businesses, whether they are just setting up or have been established for some time and want to grow or update.
With cloud computing you just pay for what you need. Get infrastructure, software, security, and even collaboration platforms on a subscription or a pay-per-usage basis.
DaaS is an application that stands for Desktop as a Service and is designed to improve the efficiency of your business as well as making it a lot more reliable for you and your clients. Your organisation is given a lot more flexibility to cope with the day to day running of the business and you'll experience improved business continuity and a reduction in downtime. The ability to manage desktops from a datacentre in the cloud guarantees complete data security, vendor licensing compliance and optimises the performance with dynamic load balancing.
Software as a Service, SaaS, means there's no more need to purchase software to deal with your growing business as you can now run all applications from the cloud. Online services are simple and cost effective giving businesses a lot more options, a higher level of flexibility, increased functionality, and better methods for organization and manageability. Some of the software solutions available include Exchange, SharePoint, Dynamics CRM, Office Communicator and Office Live Meeting, in addition to all the Microsoft applications you need.
There are plenty of benefits with SaaS including access to the most recent features and updates and the capability to promptly and effortlessly add users and have access to new software. Outsourcing your IT allows you to concentrate on the main aspects of your business and spend that valuable time improving marketing techniques and increasing sales.
Take the time to research cloud computing services yourself before making any major decisions as there's a broad range of services available and each business needs something different to meet their requirements.
Michiel Van Kets writes articles for Amanda Beson about a company providing a range of pioneering high quality cloud computing services across Australia including daas and software as a service to name a few. Harbour IT is a team of software and hardware specialists, many with vendor accreditation and are trained in their own ITIL based best practices. This results in their ability to deliver the highest possible level of service and support to their customers.
