Why you should move to the cloud – 5 good reasons

This week Inspiration Day Cloud 2012 is being held in Stockholm. The purpose is to inspire decision-makers to take the step into the cloud. The question is for whom the cloud is suited, when is the right time to take the step and, of course, what do we gain by going to the cloud?

We at ComAround have, for example, ever since 1999, worked with deliveries of software via the Internet (Software as a Service or SaaS) so the cloud as a concept is not a wholly new phenomenon. What is new, however, is that one now moves the whole operation and the entire IT environment to the Internet or to the cloud. Preconditions that enable this step include a considerably improved infrastructure with faster connection times, new more intelligent software and enhanced security.

Why move to the cloud? – Why not?

The simple answer why you should move to the cloud is quite simple: because you can. Or try to answer “why not?” Previously it has been possible to answer the question with the arguments mentioned above i.e. – we don’t have sufficiently good connection speed, the operation is too unstable and it is too unreliable. But today these arguments don’t stand up. In many respects an own operating environment is considerably more unreliable from the viewpoint of operating reliability, at least for small and medium-sized companies. The trend is also that it is just these small and medium-sized companies that have moved to the cloud most rapidly. Larger companies, on the other hand, have made substantial investments in their own operations which it has not been possible to replace as quickly. Frequently, moreover one is stuck with long service agreements with sub-contractors that over many years have done everything they can to become irreplaceable.

An educated guess is that we  shall see a rapid consolidation of the number of data centres and some experts believe that in just a few years we shall have ten or so large data centres in the world that will handle all operations. The reason is quite simply that there are such enormous  economies of scale in this activity; indeed it is the same trend which means that there are benefits for companies in placing all – or at least large parts – of their IT environment in the cloud instead of running it themselves. We shall also see solutions where the basic operation is handled in-house and then cloud services are utilised to handle peak loads.

5 reasons to go to the cloud:

1. Price (most self-evident for SME’s)
2. Can focus on core operations
3. Enables simple and rapid growth in line with operations
4. Enhanced accessibility
5. Because it can be done 

Many are competing to deliver cloud computing

Here are certain of the large cloud computing suppliers that expect to be involved in running our IT operations.

Desktop virtualisation leads straight to the cloud

Desktop virtualisation using PC’s as thin clients, which means that software lies on a server instead of a client computer, has also reduced the gap between the old traditional local PC and external clients operated in the cloud.

One thing is certain. The cloud affects us deeply and the younger generation now entering the workplace views accessibility via the Internet and thereby the cloud as something self-evident. There are clear advantages with shorter “get-started times”, the possibility of only paying for what one  uses and the prospect of having capacity expand as activities and needs change.

Cloud packaging services still immature?

The problem, at present, is still that there are too many different ways of presenting the cloud as an option. A consolidation is required where these are divided up more clearly on the basis of target group and demand and where it is possible to present the right solution for the right customer. Today, in my view, there is too much general talk from suppliers of advantages in general without demonstrating ready and practical solutions. One is pushing on an already open door! One conjecture is that cloud services will soon enter a more mature phase and thereby also the cloud computer offers available to small and medium-sized companies. When that day arrives I shall gladly choose to scrap our HP Server with Microsoft SBS!

Should you have examples of companies that actually have clear-cut packages for cloud services, I am hoping you will be able to share this information. Yes, I do look forward to the cloud but, in the meantime, I am happy to take things easy here in a cloudless environment.