Small Business in the Cloud

In today's fast paced world it is often difficult to keep up with the latest technology. It seems like every day there is a new innovation or application being hyped and promoted ad nauseam. It would be a challenge to keep up with everything if that were all we had to do, but we have to fit it into the context of our busy daily lives. So keeping our personal radar and filter on a steady alert as to what is new, and most importantly how it can benefit us, is a constant backdrop in our daily routine.

One of the most recent ideas to trickle down the information highway is the term "cloud computing", a catchy phrase that the media and countless marketing folk have put out there for us, but many of us are more "in the fog" than "in the cloud" about what cloud computing is and what it can do for us.

Simply put, being in the cloud is taking your applications, your data, your computer's storage capability, and even the computers themselves, and throwing them up "in the cloud". Those things then live in an offsite, secure and protected location, and you gain the advantages of instant scalability, easy manageability, transparent upgrades, and access to equipment and manpower that you wouldn't otherwise be able to afford as a small business.

The opportunities this opens up for all of us is mind boggling. None of us have to be limited by the software and hardware we have in our homes and businesses. We can hook into the cloud and have unlimited access. It frees up the user to concentrate on what they do best and not worry about how much storage they have on their computer, whether their computer is out of date or not, and whether they have the latest versions of their productivity software. And what's even better, users are able to access their files anytime, anywhere, from any computer with an Internet connection and web browser. Of course, safety and security are primary concerns and "cloud" providers are acutely aware of this. They compete and constantly strive to improve their security, safety and dependability. The ability to save files into a safe, off-site database is comforting to anyone who has had their personal computer crash and lost everything they had stored in it. Small businesses can save money by not having to invest in computer hardware to store files, everything can be stored and accessed in the cloud.

So, now that we have the general idea and can see some of the benefits, the concern would be in choosing the right cloud provider. Naturally, you want a company that will keep your files safe, both in the virtual world from hackers and viruses, but also in the physical world, protected in case of power failure, flood, fire, and so forth. Cloud companies which offer software-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service, or platforms-as-a-service, are eager to get your business and compete to provide you with a safe, secure, off site database as well as a variety of packages and costs that are wide ranged depending on your specific requirements. Many of the packages begin at less than most people pay for their cable. The broad availability of VPS companies for example, allows you to provision an infinitely scalable server, without having to actually buy and maintain hardware. Combined with offsite cloud storage, and software-as-a-service, even the smallest business can enjoy an ultra-secure, state-of-the-art data center, and compete on a level playing field with much larger companies.