Cloud Computing for SME’s: Busting the myths
Cloud Computing and SMBs
For SME’s the question of ‘should we, shouldn’t we?’ is a hot issue with business owners and those responsible for IT within SME’s. There are a lot of misconceptions around the cloud – good and bad – which can divert thinking in the wrong direction and have real impact on the business moving forward.
This week’s blog written by Steve Cobham, Managing Director of Stack Group, addresses the most common misconceptions we come across from SME’s and responds with the practical facts.
Pro-cloud Misconceptions
It is true that those SME’s who embrace Cloud computing tend to have a competitive advantage over their counterparts who don’t, for various reasons including efficiency, resilience and reliability. However, you need to take a balanced view, as blinkered over-dependency on Cloud could harm your businesses, severely. Here’s the most common myths that Stack Group come across on a regular basis when we discuss cloud with our SME’s.
1. You don’t get any technical issues when you are on Cloud. Wrong! Systems can fail for a whole host of reasons including fire, flood, and rogue employees with a grudge to name but a few. All have the ability to take down your data and a ffect your business. It is therefore essential that your Cloud services provider can negate this risk for you with robust back up, disaster recovery and business continuity. If these are solutions designed around your individual requirements you will experience the minimal of disruption and often will not even realise there has been an issue until after the event when you are notified.
2. Using personal devices is completely safe. Undoubtedly being able to use personal devices is an advantage for businesses, especially in the ‘always on’ environment we live in. Employees can access emails and potentially their company server anytime from anywhere. However, the use of personal devices can also make you most susceptible to attack and hacking. Even if you are on a private cloud (see What is Cloud for definitions of the various types), while the Cloud is well-secured at the Cloud providers end, you need to police and take responsibility for keeping security tight at your end.
3. Cloud is always the best option. On the whole I would agree with this, but this is not always the case. Different businesses have different aspects to be considered and not all of them should be expected to fit the Cloud Computing model. What’s more there are different types of Cloud and you need to understand what each type provides to know which, if any, the best solution for your business is. Do your research and get the advice of an expert who will advise what is best for your business (not for theirs) as there are some situations where working without Cloud can be better.
4. We don’t need an IT department if we have Cloud. Cloud service providers such as Stack Group provide 24/7 technical support, which reduces the requirement for large IT teams in-house. However, this is confined to Cloud support needs only. This support is not going to solve issues such as phone lines going down, printer problems, and problems with Wi-Fi. So, going Cloud will not completely eliminate the requirement for technical support.
Anti-Cloud Misconceptions
I’ll get straight to the point on this; if you are anti Cloud and opposed to using it you are disadvantaging your business in some way. There is a lot of nervousness and distrust about Cloud amongst many SME’s. Whenever I come across this response I always ask the person for their reasons behind the distrust and on the whole I get answers such as ‘it’s wide open for hacking’, ‘it’s not secure’ and similar reasons that are poorly substantiated.
The reality of the situation is that SME’s who embrace Cloud Computing benefit from enhanced efficiency and significant increases in productivity. Don’t let the following misconceptions hold your business back.
1. My data could be accessed by others. Wrong! All data held in the Cloud is encrypted so nobody including yourself or your Cloud vendor could make any sense of it. Only a small selection of authenticated users within your business will be able to decrypt the data by inputting a series of highly secure decryption keys. In fact Cloud security is far better than the security methods adopted by businesses.
Like many other cyber technologies, Cloud Computing too has its own highs and lows, its advocates and its critics. Wherever on the scale you are, believing any of these misconceptions could damage or stifle your business. So, while making any decision on Cloud computing, make sure of the facts.
Written by: Steve Cobham, Managing Director, Stack Group
A highly respected professional within the IT Services industry, Steve is a chartered engineer with over 20 years’ experience of advising on and building robust IT solutions for businesses across the UK.
About Stack Group
The Stack Group deliver solutions and support in the areas of IT Management and Cloud services, Telecoms, Infrastructure and Networks. If you would like any help and advice regarding any of our solutions please do not hesitate to get in touch and one of our experts will assist you.
Phone: +44 (0) 151 521 2202
Email: [email protected]
For SME’s the question of ‘should we, shouldn’t we?’ is a hot issue with business owners and those responsible for IT within SME’s. There are a lot of misconceptions around the cloud – good and bad – which can divert thinking in the wrong direction and have real impact on the business moving forward.
This week’s blog written by Steve Cobham, Managing Director of Stack Group, addresses the most common misconceptions we come across from SME’s and responds with the practical facts.
Pro-cloud Misconceptions
It is true that those SME’s who embrace Cloud computing tend to have a competitive advantage over their counterparts who don’t, for various reasons including efficiency, resilience and reliability. However, you need to take a balanced view, as blinkered over-dependency on Cloud could harm your businesses, severely. Here’s the most common myths that Stack Group come across on a regular basis when we discuss cloud with our SME’s.
1. You don’t get any technical issues when you are on Cloud. Wrong! Systems can fail for a whole host of reasons including fire, flood, and rogue employees with a grudge to name but a few. All have the ability to take down your data and a ffect your business. It is therefore essential that your Cloud services provider can negate this risk for you with robust back up, disaster recovery and business continuity. If these are solutions designed around your individual requirements you will experience the minimal of disruption and often will not even realise there has been an issue until after the event when you are notified.
2. Using personal devices is completely safe. Undoubtedly being able to use personal devices is an advantage for businesses, especially in the ‘always on’ environment we live in. Employees can access emails and potentially their company server anytime from anywhere. However, the use of personal devices can also make you most susceptible to attack and hacking. Even if you are on a private cloud (see What is Cloud for definitions of the various types), while the Cloud is well-secured at the Cloud providers end, you need to police and take responsibility for keeping security tight at your end.
3. Cloud is always the best option. On the whole I would agree with this, but this is not always the case. Different businesses have different aspects to be considered and not all of them should be expected to fit the Cloud Computing model. What’s more there are different types of Cloud and you need to understand what each type provides to know which, if any, the best solution for your business is. Do your research and get the advice of an expert who will advise what is best for your business (not for theirs) as there are some situations where working without Cloud can be better.
4. We don’t need an IT department if we have Cloud. Cloud service providers such as Stack Group provide 24/7 technical support, which reduces the requirement for large IT teams in-house. However, this is confined to Cloud support needs only. This support is not going to solve issues such as phone lines going down, printer problems, and problems with Wi-Fi. So, going Cloud will not completely eliminate the requirement for technical support.
Anti-Cloud Misconceptions
I’ll get straight to the point on this; if you are anti Cloud and opposed to using it you are disadvantaging your business in some way. There is a lot of nervousness and distrust about Cloud amongst many SME’s. Whenever I come across this response I always ask the person for their reasons behind the distrust and on the whole I get answers such as ‘it’s wide open for hacking’, ‘it’s not secure’ and similar reasons that are poorly substantiated.
The reality of the situation is that SME’s who embrace Cloud Computing benefit from enhanced efficiency and significant increases in productivity. Don’t let the following misconceptions hold your business back.
1. My data could be accessed by others. Wrong! All data held in the Cloud is encrypted so nobody including yourself or your Cloud vendor could make any sense of it. Only a small selection of authenticated users within your business will be able to decrypt the data by inputting a series of highly secure decryption keys. In fact Cloud security is far better than the security methods adopted by businesses.
- Cloud Computing is expensive. Like any service Cloud computing has a price attached to it however it usually works out cheaper than the cost of buying your own hardware and software and then maintaining it in-house. What’s more, depending on the solution you go for many Cloud packages include support.
- Cloud Computing is slow and inefficient. Nowhere close to true! Cloud Computing offers some amazing features, such as; remote access to services, flexibility in device sharing, real-time collaboration, change trackers, etc. All of these increase productivity and make working smoother and faster. Even if you are using the slowest of internet connections Cloud technology is never slow.
- We don’t like the thought of our data being held remotely. It may surprise you to realise that you are probably using Cloud computing in one guise or another at the moment. Do you have a hosted website? Or do you use Gmail, Outlook, Dropbox etc.? If so, you are already in the Cloud to some extent. Using, accessing and storing our data in the Cloud is a trend that is growing rapidly.
- Cloud is for big business not SME’s. Most definitely wrong! I am always amazed to hear that SME’s feel that that they are too small or cannot benefit from Cloud. Not only does it provide efficiency and productivity benefits but it allows SME’s to be fleet of foot in being able to scale their business seamlessly by increasing or decreasing capacity and support as and when it’s required. Cloud Computing is the easiest network to expand because of its flexible design. Furthermore, because it is an expense it is 100% tax deductible adding to your cost saving and delivering better productivity solution at a lower cost - so SMEs should seriously consider it.
Like many other cyber technologies, Cloud Computing too has its own highs and lows, its advocates and its critics. Wherever on the scale you are, believing any of these misconceptions could damage or stifle your business. So, while making any decision on Cloud computing, make sure of the facts.
Written by: Steve Cobham, Managing Director, Stack Group
A highly respected professional within the IT Services industry, Steve is a chartered engineer with over 20 years’ experience of advising on and building robust IT solutions for businesses across the UK.
About Stack Group
The Stack Group deliver solutions and support in the areas of IT Management and Cloud services, Telecoms, Infrastructure and Networks. If you would like any help and advice regarding any of our solutions please do not hesitate to get in touch and one of our experts will assist you.
Phone: +44 (0) 151 521 2202
Email: [email protected]