Cloud Computing

There is a lot of noise about cloud computing. It’s fairly new and new is exciting. So what exactly is cloud computing? More importantly, why should a small business owner care?

The cloud is a metaphor used to describe the Internet. Cloud computing is building on that metaphor to describe using the Internet to deliver computing resources as a service. Broadly, cloud computing is the convergence of three technologies: server virtualization, utility computing and software as a service.

1. Virtualization allows software to be separated from physical hardware.This in-turn, allows a single physical server to become 10, 50 or even 100 virtual servers.
2. Utility / grid computing allows server capacity to be accessed across a grid of systems.This in-turn allows computing capacity to increase or decrease depending on user or resource demands.
3. Software as a service allows on-demand software applications via the Internet to be purchased on a predictable monthly subscription basis.

This convergence allows a provider to aggregate many computing resources and profitably deliver those resources as a service for a fixed monthly fee.

The resulting delivery model is highly efficient, but it’s not the key reason for a small business to consider cloud computing. The key reason is best illustrated by looking back a century ago to the emergence of the national electricity grid.

Originally, if a business needed electricity it would have to build and fund the generating capacity on its own. Boilers, turbines and transformers were expensive and so only the largest firms could afford the new technology. The emergence of the grid allowed everyone access to electricity on a subscription basis. All one had to do was plug in. No more expensive capital projects.

In the modern era, mostly because of its size, a small business is inherently forced to either pay for more computer resources than it needs or to suffer with systems that won’t quite do the job. It’s an unwinnable contest that does not balance out.

Cloud computing gives a small business the ability to finally balance that equation by allowing them to pay for only the specific IT resources, service and support they need. Small businesses no longer have to lay out huge amounts of capital for servers, software and staff to build and maintain IT resources such as corporate email, shared files and accounting applications. Instead, they can plug into a computing cloud and access only the resources they need on a fixed fee subscription basis.

As with any new technology, there are a lot of options and providers to consider working with. If cloud computing is an option for your business, moving an on-premise computer network to the cloud needs to be thoroughly planned. For more information about cloud computing click here.

In addition to operating a private computing cloud, Endsight manages more than 100 on-premise computer networks. If you’d like to discuss your current situation and determine the cloud’s applicability to you’re business click here to schedule an in-person meeting.