Cloud Computing

In an increasingly competitive market environment, one of the biggest challenges small and medium businesses face is finding ways to compete with large enterprises on equal terms. One of the main hurdles they face is the limited resources available as compared to the larger players. But at least in the field of information technology (IT), the advent of cloud computing has leveled the playing field. The availability of software-as-a-service (SaaS), infrastructure-as-a- Service (IaaS) and easy accessibility means that large enterprise-class IT is now available to almost any business.

Software-as-a-Service

Software is a major cost center. It is not just a matter of the huge licensing fees that users have to pay. The constantly growing sophistication of programs means that upgrades and patches have to be regularly installed, which adds to the cost. Then there is the matter of software maintenance which requires employing qualified staff. With the crucial role that IT plays in business operations, this means that qualified and experienced personnel are needed and IT salaries are high. As business grows, new applications are needed, which once again involves major investment.

With SaaS all these problems and costs are removed. Cloud computing allows users to access software installed on the cloud service providers servers. Since multiple users have access to the software, the cost is shared among them and no capital investment is required. A small monthly fee gives users access to the software they need. Installation of upgrades and patches is the responsibility of the service provider and these costs are covered by the monthly charges. All software maintenance and upkeep is done by the service provider so cloud computing users do not need to employ a large number of IT staff. Since the service providers operate 24x7, help in regard to any problems that may arise is available round the clock so disruptions to work flow are minimized. The SaaS that cloud computing offers allows small and medium businesses to use world class enterprise level software.

Infrastructure-as-a-service

An on premises IT department is a major cost center. The investment in servers, storage arrays and other hardware can be huge. And as storage needs grow and applications become more sophisticated, better servers and increased storage become a recurring cost. Add to this the need to allocate costly floor area to house the equipment, the requirement of climate control, power backups, a stock of spare parts and a costly staff to maintain the equipment and enterprise level IT is out of the reach of many businesses. Cloud computing uses hardware that is located at the service provider's facility so no equipment purchase, climate controlled environment or stock of spare parts is required. The same monthly fee covers the use of the hardware, and its maintenance and upgrades. This means that no maintenance staff has to be employed. And once again, because of the 24x7 operation of the service provider, downtime is minimized. Additionally, the built in redundancies in the cloud computing environment mean that disaster recovery is much faster and also more reliable.

Accessibility

With the growth of mobile workforces, the accessibility that cloud computing offers is a major advantage. Staff can access data from any location at any time as long as they have internet access. The removal of the constraints that distance and different time zones can have on a company's operations results in a significant increase in efficiencies.