Can Cloud Computing work for your business?
This short podcast on 'cloud computing for SMBs' might help you decide!
Cloud Computing explained
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing could be defined as software, data, or services which are hosted elsewhere and accessed or delivered on demand over the internet, usually for a monthly fee.
How you might use cloud computing applications in your business
Some examples of clooud computing applications you will find in the NOw Let's Get Started web pages:
KashFlow online accounting
online communcations and collaboration tools via hosted Microsoft Exchange
online HR and talent management tools via YouManage
What's good about cloud computing
Using Cloud Computing applications:
- Let’s you focus on your business not on IT
- Means you get to use business-grade software and applications without needing any specilaist IT equipment or IT staff
- Gives you access to services and applications that, until now, have only been available to large corporations
- Make it easy to deploy, as they're often available to use immediately or with very little delay
- Are initially less expensive as there's no up-front investment
- Means you wont have to continually invest in new hardware or update your software
- Let you easily scale up or down as required so is very cost effective
- Makes it easy to manage costs as you’ll have a fixed monthly outlay rather than a large and ongoing capital investment
- Gives your data added security as the supplier will have sophisticated responses to viral attacks and the ability to lock down access if necessary
- Often means software upgrades, hardware upgrades and support are included in the subscription fees
- Allows you to work from anywhere so you can be productive if you need to work out of the office, or if weather or transport problems are grinding everything to a halt.
What to watch out for
Using cloud computing services brings many advantages to a small business. However there are some things to bear in mind and check before you buy:
- Check your service provider(s) have good governance and security processes in place. Don’t take their word for it, ask to see it!
- The services are likely to be standardised with very little if any opportunity to make bespokde modifications. If you need them, find out!
- Check the viability of the supplier. This is a difficult one, especially in the current environment, but you need to do your best to pick a provider that is unlikely to go out of business
- As a precaution, make sure you have the ability to download your data for local storage, and make sure you use it! (this feature could be needed weekly/daily/hourly whichever is most appropriate for your business).
Can Cloud Computing work for your business?
This short podcast on 'cloud computing for SMBs' might help you decide!
Cloud Computing explained
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing could be defined as software, data, or services which are hosted elsewhere and accessed or delivered on demand over the internet, usually for a monthly fee.
How you might use cloud computing applications in your business
Some examples of clooud computing applications you will find in the NOw Let's Get Started web pages:
KashFlow online accounting
online communcations and collaboration tools via hosted Microsoft Exchange
online HR and talent management tools via YouManage
What's good about cloud computing
Using Cloud Computing applications:
- Let’s you focus on your business not on IT
- Means you get to use business-grade software and applications without needing any specilaist IT equipment or IT staff
- Gives you access to services and applications that, until now, have only been available to large corporations
- Make it easy to deploy, as they're often available to use immediately or with very little delay
- Are initially less expensive as there's no up-front investment
- Means you wont have to continually invest in new hardware or update your software
- Let you easily scale up or down as required so is very cost effective
- Makes it easy to manage costs as you’ll have a fixed monthly outlay rather than a large and ongoing capital investment
- Gives your data added security as the supplier will have sophisticated responses to viral attacks and the ability to lock down access if necessary
- Often means software upgrades, hardware upgrades and support are included in the subscription fees
- Allows you to work from anywhere so you can be productive if you need to work out of the office, or if weather or transport problems are grinding everything to a halt.
What to watch out for
Using cloud computing services brings many advantages to a small business. However there are some things to bear in mind and check before you buy:
- Check your service provider(s) have good governance and security processes in place. Don’t take their word for it, ask to see it!
- The services are likely to be standardised with very little if any opportunity to make bespokde modifications. If you need them, find out!
- Check the viability of the supplier. This is a difficult one, especially in the current environment, but you need to do your best to pick a provider that is unlikely to go out of business
- As a precaution, make sure you have the ability to download your data for local storage, and make sure you use it! (this feature could be needed weekly/daily/hourly whichever is most appropriate for your business).