To Cloud Or Not To Cloud

If you are like many of our clients, you’ve probably heard some of the buzz about “The Cloud” — the IT version, that is — not one of those puffy white objects up in the sky.

You Already Use the Cloud

So, what exactly is “The Cloud”? Should your business go there? Cloud computing is simply a way to “rent” the computing you need — by getting it over the Internet — instead of buying your hardware and software. Many businesses like “The Cloud” because they only pay for what they need and they don’t have to worry that their IT investment is ever becoming obsolete.

The thing is that cloud computing has already been around for a while and became popularized ever since Amazon released its Elastic Compute Cloud in 2006. If you keep track of customers on Salesforce; if you bank online; or if you share photos with friends on Facebook, you are already using the cloud. Probably the most significant cloud application of them all is Google.

Some business owners are nervous about moving critical data or applications offsite to an outside vendor. On the other hand, the benefits can be tremendous and include:

Disaster protection. What is not stored at your place of business cannot be lost there if a disaster were to strike.
Pay as you go pricing. If you are like most businesses, you have to manage cash carefully, so not having to write big checks to pay for “forklift” equipment or software upgrades can be attractive.
Scalability. Cloud-based services can grow or shrink, depending on how much you need. So if demand in your type of business is cyclical or seasonal, you don’t pay for computing you don’t need during slower periods. Moreover, if you need more computing power during a busy period, it’s there when you need it.
Fewer distractions. Putting your services in the cloud means that owners and managers can spend more time focused on their core business.

Whether to cloud or not to cloud is also not typically an all-or-nothing decision. For example, you don’t have to store all your data there; you can use the cloud for backup. Some applications may make more sense running in the cloud — others maybe not so much.