Keeping a business running smoothly requires layers of expensive hardware and software.  Add to this the fact that new adaptive technologies hit the market every day and you might begin to wonder if a second mortgage is in order.  Thankfully, we now have cloud based technologies to save the day.

 

Many businesses utilize file/print servers, email servers, workstations, a fleet of external hard drives for backups and elaborate phone systems.  Even though a fraction of the cost of what they used to be, today a company could still be looking at 10's of thousands just to keep up with the Joneses.  After this investment however, said company will also need to invest in a variety of software ranging from word processing, spreadsheets, databases, graphics, presentations and more.  Accounting is another area where a large amount of money can be spent on an application that keeps the books in order, saves you time, money and will help you stay organized.  An all-in-one solution for protecting your network will be needed along with some form of automated backup.

 

Today, we are seeing more and more companies turning to cloud based solutions, also known as web-based.  These services cover almost all of the above but with a more affordable and budget friendly price.  Licensing is much more simplified and assigned to specific users which means services can be accessed from any PC and not just set workstations.  There is also no need to pay for expensive software upgrades since enhancements occur on a regular basis.  Services, already active, need no cumbersome software to be installed and are maintained by cloud vendors at no additional cost.  Because these vendors could not afford for their customers to lose trust in them, the latest security features are in place which keeps your data clean with again no further investment.  Also, with the use of web-based file server services like Amazon S3 and Jungle Disk, the worry of automated off site backups and the maintenance involved is completely removed.

 

Even though some believe the pieces are not quite in place, there appears to be enough for most small businesses and especially start ups that don't have any legacy applications to convert.  Just think about how much less our PCs will cost since they have so much less to do.  Add to this fewer visits by your local IT solutions company and well, the Sky's the limit.  How about running your business in the Cloud?