The cloud has become a fashionable IT buzzword and the general public is already used to accessing IT services from within it.
In
fact, anyone who has a Gmail or Hotmail account, or uses services such
as Dropbox, is a cloud user – not that they are aware of it. Using cloud
simply means the programme you are running is not on your computer or
network, but is held elsewhere.
Cloud computing is powered by
large data storage centres with ultra-strong servers managed by IT
companies. These ‘bunkers’ are often protected with military-grade
encryption software and sit in fairly non-descript, quiet locations –
for good reason, as they are now the bedrock of so much modern IT. It
might seem a big risk for a business to hand over their files and data
to a company without knowing much about them. The public might be
prepared to place their personal files in the cloud, but are businesses
wise to follow suit?
POSSIBILITIES
Virtually all IT
services can be kept in the cloud and accessed via the internet.
Previously, much of what is now in the cloud used to be kept on an
individual’s PC or on a server. Thanks to cloud computing, businesses no
longer have to keep server rooms, can scale up more easily and can buy
the latest software upgrade as it comes online. These are attractive
benefits for growing businesses.
Andrew Atalla, founder of
digital marketing agency atom42, has all of his IT in the cloud and says
it is both easier and cheaper to handle. “We moved to Google Apps for
our email, Box.net for our files and a Gradwell solution for our VOIP
phones,” Atalla says. “We also use GQueues for our task management and
Evernote for note-taking. Together, these things allow us to work at 100
per cent capacity, even if we’re out of the office, which is
fantastic.”
COST CONTROLS
Using cloud computing can
be a cheaper option for some businesses than keeping IT in-house. The
reduced cost and easy access to high-quality services means that some in
the industry are buoyant about its prospects. “There can be little
doubt that the cloud is the future of computing,” argues Peter Groucutt,
managing director of Databarracks,
a company which provides data facilities for UK businesses. “The lack
of capital expenditure needed for the cloud means solutions that were
once only available to larger companies are now suitable for SMEs.”
Atalla
agrees that, on the whole, the cloud is a lot cheaper than
self-hosting, although competition has helped to reduce prices. “Costs
vary. At the time, Google Apps was significantly cheaper than the
Microsoft Exchange option we were on before. Although, with Office 365, I
think that has now been addressed by Microsoft,” says Atalla. “Box.net
wasn’t cheap, but felt like good value for the functionality you got.
Again, though, Microsoft has had a good stab at undercutting this with
their new product.”
LIFTING THE WEIGHT
For many
businesses, both large and small, IT has become a burden. Therefore a
low-cost, hassle-free solution is what many have been looking for. Dave
Green is the operations director at Walters Group, an electronics
manufacturing business with a staff of 55. Green says his company was
spending more and more time fixing its IT systems just to keep them
running, but has now outsourced this to cloud-based provider Parachute
IT. “The benefits of moving all this to the cloud have been massive for
us,” Green says. “Walters Group has been able to free up nearly three
days per week of our senior engineering manager’s time. Time which was
previously spent propping up five servers with associated hardware and
software licence upgrades and renewals is now channelled towards vital
product development work.”
GETTING IT RIGHT
If
you are going to move into the cloud you need to do the maths and make
sure it will be more cost-effective for your business. If you have
invested in infrastructure and have strong IT skills in-house, you may
be in a good position already. Some firms which move into cloud
computing choose to do it themselves, such as atom42. It depends on how
prepared you feel at the outset and if you are interested in overseeing
the transition. “I’m a bit of a geek at times, so I actually enjoyed the
transition,” says Atalla. “However, if you’re a normal person, you
might want to get someone in to help out with it all.” The Walters Group
opted to bring in a third party, as it had broader requirements and a
considerable legacy to maintain. “The whole process of migrating was
managed very carefully by Parachute IT, who drew up a three-month
project plan and specified our requirements very accurately. They worked
closely with us to ensure all data and applications were migrated
easily into the cloud.”
However, both firms needed stronger
internet connections to handle all the additional data. “There is
definitely a larger strain on our bandwidth, so I would only recommend
making such a change if you have a strong internet connection,” says
Atalla. “If you need a leased line put in to make this work, then you
should really consider the increased cost of the line as part of the
overall package – this can cost around £300 per month.”
RESPONSIBILITY
The
benefits of the cloud are obvious for many users. However, IT
professionals are asking serious questions about the security and
reliability of cloud technology. The main question is: “Who is
responsible if something goes wrong, such as a hack attack or systems
failure? Is it the business, the application provider or the cloud
service company?”
“If I’m the IT Director of a small business
and everything goes wrong, I can go back down through various levels of
resilience to recovery,” says Roger Keenan, managing director of City
Lifeline, a London-based data centre. “At the bottom level, if I have a
disc with my data on it, I can take it away to a specialist agency and
recover my data. But in the cloud, I have no disc and I am totally
reliant on someone who I’ve never met correctly operating procedures I
know nothing about and have never tested.”
SAFEGUARDS
Free
software generally doesn’t come with any guarantees or contingencies
attached. However, business owners signing up to packages online are
well advised to read the small print carefully before giving consent and
are advised to get legal advice, if necessary. Even if you are happy
with the terms and conditions, you can always take further precautions.
“There is no one more evangelical about backup than someone who’s just
lost a week’s work because they didn’t backup their PC or laptop. I’m
sure we’ll see the same sort of thing in the cloud,” says Mac Scott, an
IT consultant at Xantus. He says there is a danger that some business
owners, used to using social networks, will assume cloud computing is
more secure than it is.
“We are starting to see a generation of companies being set up by people familiar with social media and living and working in the cloud. One risk is their perception of the cloud, particularly regarding security
and backup, is somewhat rose-tinted because it worked for them
automatically on Twitter and Facebook – why shouldn’t it work for their
company applications?”
Businesses are well advised to make contingency
plans in the event of a systems failure, whether they are in the cloud
or not. “I’m definitely aware of the security issues, but after careful
consideration, I felt that working with a company that offered high
levels of security, as Box.net do, we were well covered,” says Atalla.
“After all, having your own files saved locally, in one place, has its
own security risks.”
PORTABILITY
There are lots of
great software deals out there for businesses and some will offer you
new advantages which are worth considering. However, there is so much
choice for businesses, it is worth considering all the options. Another
question to ask yourself is: “How will all of these separate programmes
work together?” Mac Scott says: “There is the challenge of integrating
elements of your cloud IT and internal systems, with all the partners
you need to wrap all that together. How many passwords and user logins
do you have to remember as you jump from one application to another?”
LOCKED IN
Handing
responsibility over to another firm, or even to a group of them, is a
big move. Therefore it is really important to check the terms and
conditions carefully before signing up. If you are going to take all
your applications from one source, this is even more important. It is
worth considering not just what your needs are today, but what they
might be in the next few years. The idea with cloud computing is that it
should be highly flexible – growing and developing with your company –
so you need to be sure this is the case with your provider. Finally, it
is always best practice to ensure you understand who is responsible for
what.
CONCLUSIONS
The cloud offers some great
opportunities for entrepreneurial businesses. The power to access the
latest software and technology on a scale which suits you makes it a
prospect worth considering. However, there are a number of points which
entrepreneurs must consider before making the leap. Security,
responsibility and portability of data are all big issues and need to be
addressed. There are also practical issues, such as bandwidth, which
are essential to invest in if you are to take full advantage of what is
available. Entrepreneurs need to consider what their own requirements
are and if their current system can be improved upon before moving into
the cloud. Without that core knowledge, it is just fluffy thinking.