There are hundreds of thousands of cloud solutions available today, and the number of tasks which can be completed in the cloud is growing exponentially all the time. However, if your business is seriously thinking about making the switch to cloud computing, it really should already have an idea of what cloud solutions are best suited to their needs. Many companies have made a tremendous mistake in their choice of cloud computing providers, by choosing solutions that they didn’t truly understand fully. This means that they have been forced to change their cloud solutions to keep up with cloud solutions trends that have evolved, and that cloud solutions vendors have quickly come to realize were a mistake. Here’s why cloud solutions for small business should only be chosen after careful consideration of the available options.
One thing about cloud solutions is that they can take care of a wide variety of things like email, documents, spreadsheets and even virtualization. However, some solutions only do one or two things well. This means that your IT department should have a very good understanding of the basic things like Microsoft Office and OpenOffice. It will also be very important to have an understanding of things like cloud-based image management, document format conversion services and document repository services. All these services will help to make life much easier for people who use your system.
Types of Clouds
On the other hand, when your business starts to make the switch to cloud computing there are lots of different things that need to be considered. For example, you will have to decide whether you would prefer to get your data storage and hosting done through public cloud providers, or private cloud providers. Private cloud providers will provide the infrastructure which is necessary for cloud computing applications, but they will not give you any of the software which is required to run these particular applications.
Another option that a company has when it comes to cloud computing is its in-house cloud computing infrastructure. Although this might seem to be a viable option, it will still be open to some risks. For example, if your company does not have a very strong IT department, then it may struggle to afford its cloud computing servers. Another risk is that you might struggle to manage the problems that come up with cloud computing. If you are the target company for cloud computing, then it will be very important to have a system in place which will allow you to easily track and trace the activities of your IT department.
The other option that you have is the combination of both cloud computing and traditional servers. With cloud computing, the actual physical hardware will be hosted on the cloud. This will mean that the software will not be on your desktop anymore but will be spread across the many different servers which are scattered around the globe. As well as this, the traditional servers will still be linked to your company’s mainframe. This solution is popular with many companies because it is relatively easy to track exactly what is going on with your server(s).
Finally, there is also what we call “social cloud computing”. This form of cloud computing allows users to access their files from any device, whether it is a laptop, smartphone, tablet, or even the cloud. What is nice about this option is that you can expect to save a good amount of money using this solution. Since no personal information is stored on your device, you will not incur the costs associated with employing a traditional network-based file storage system. As well as this, social networking sites such as Facebook can allow you to access your files without having to pay a high monthly fee.
Benefits
One of the key benefits of cloud computing is that it is flexible. This is something which most small businesses simply do not have. You can either purchase dedicated servers from the start, or you can use a variety of different solutions which can be found at any time. It is really up to you to decide what you feel is the best solution for your business. Ultimately, there are things like data storage, which are very important, but other things like communication and other types of productivity should not be ignored.
Ultimately, cloud computing can provide your business with the opportunity to save money and get more done. However, as with all technological developments, you will need to take some time to research the various cloud solutions available to you. Just remember that when it comes to these services, you never want to make any commitments which may become difficult or costly to change in future. Do your due diligence now, and in the future, you will be glad you took the time to do so!
