Mark Shaw, StoredTech
By Mark Shaw
We have all seen the Microsoft commercial where the mom cannot get her kids to sit still for a photo and she says “to the cloud” suddenly the picture is perfect. Everyone is well behaved and all smiles for the camera. Grandma and Grandpa love the family photo and everyone is happy. I don’t know about you, but even as a technology geek, I had no idea what this was telling me. Does the cloud make kids behave? Does it fix my photos? What in the world is Microsoft trying to say. This is not how I understand the cloud to work and it did not show any real business value. I was lost at what concept it was trying to display. It did do one thing; it put the term cloud in the everyday vernacular for millions of people. But what is it?
What is this “cloud” thing and how does it help me the small business owner? Is it secure? Can I put everything I have in the cloud? Just bottom line it for me, do I need it or not?
These are questions we hear every day from many of our new and some of our long term clients who are just starting to take notice of this technology. Clients are wondering when they buy their next upgrade of hardware and software, how it will come in to play and will it impact them?
In essence, the cloud is letting businesses of all sizes and all geographies leverage technology that was once only available to large multi-national organizations. For example, this means the high powered Microsoft Exchange email system which was once limited to large companies with a technology department, is available directly from Microsoft for a fraction of the price, no IT skills needed, and can be licensed in a set as small as one user.
This is really a game changer for us small business owners! It means finally all our calendars, our emails and our contacts can be seen from any device anywhere. Ever wanted to have the calendar on your smartphone be in sync with the one on your desktop? “To the Cloud!” Have you been in a hotel center and wanted to read your emails and grab a client’s information to call them about a meeting? “To the Cloud!” Have you ever needed to connect with your employees and get their input on a project while meeting with that big client? “To the Cloud!” Finally the technology is starting to work like people do, not the old way of feeling like we are working for the machines. We are able to break free from the desk and enjoy a drink on the beach with all the tools we need to do business from anywhere at any time. Thank you, cloud.
This same cloud technology is being used by Microsoft, Amazon and thousands of other players in the technology arena. These providers are opening their datacenters to small businesses giving them access to technology that was out of their reach just a few years ago. Today a company can leverage the power of multiple datacenters spread out globally like never before. You can store data on the Amazon S3 cloud in the US, EU or Asia Pacific ring all redundant and all accessible from anywhere. This provides great data security and global accessibility to the small and medium businesses everywhere.
Is it secure? That is one of the top concerns for any company who wants to use cloud services, and if you think that is a concern for you, imagine the level to which your large providers like Microsoft and Amazon go to ensure the data is safe. A single breach for them would be devastating to their business model. But as with anything else, you want to make sure that any cloud provider you work with meets all the standards you would hold any other vendor to. Do your own due diligence here; everyone is jumping on the cloud bandwagon, and you need to do the proper research.
Be sure you always ask the following questions to anyone selling you cloud services that pertain to storing your data in case of a disaster: “Where is my data going? Where is it being stored? and How quickly can I retrieve it?” If you cannot get your hands on your data in a time effective manner, all the disaster recovery value fades very quickly. The best data vaulting puts your data within reach and in multiple locations using encryption before the data leaves your site. Taking a few moments upfront to understand the provider’s solution can save you frustration, time and money later. Having a disaster recovery plan that leverages the cloud and puts your data in multiple locations means your company is less likely to suffer a devastating blow if your location is hit with any major disaster like fire or water damage. Many insurance companies are asking clients about their “DR” or Disaster Recovery plan and will consider a lower premium if you can prove you have a plan in place. That plan is often one that uses the cloud to store your company`s most critical data.
The one thing people most often overlook in their leap to the cloud is bandwidth. Bandwidth is the speed at which you can connect from your office to the cloud to do everything cloud related. You will want to speak with your internet provider and be sure that anything you want to use in the cloud can be supported by your current internet speed. Sometimes the cloud will require so much bandwidth for a certain application that is it NOT cost effective to put that part of your business into the cloud. Other times you may find out that the internet provider in your area cannot provide you with enough speed to make the cloud a reality for you just yet. The key here again is to do all the research, or better yet partner with the right firm who can do it for you. Knowledge is the key here; understanding all the variables and how they work toward success can be tricky.
In conclusion, the cloud is here, it’s not going away, and it will continue to make everyone’s life easier. As a small business you can now use the cloud to compete with the big guys on a level playing field. Small startups are able to suddenly land on a global stage like never before. If you have an idea, there are resources in the cloud to make it a reality in a very short time. It is a great time to be in technology and even better for businesses to increase productivity and reduce costs by stepping into the cloud. There are some amazing ROI stats that show the cloud saving businesses thousands a year on computer and server hardware, not to speak of the monies spent to maintain these environments. Servers are disappearing from small businesses all over the area, and I for one have not heard anyone upset that the little box in the closet is missing!
Mark Shaw is president of StoredTech, 40 Dix Avenue, Glens Falls. He can be contacted at 793-1111 or via the website: www.storedtech.com.