The cloud has rapidly evolved from a buzzword to a dominant model for storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet — securely, effectively and conveniently.
Rather than individual companies all buying, managing and maintaining their own IT, someone else – Stack Data – store and manage your data for you. This is cloud computing. Your data is usually in a large data centre (Stack have two secure data centres in the NW), but it will be in a building somewhere. So although we refer to it as ‘the cloud’ your data is held on physical hardware just not in your own offices.
Why more and more SME’s are migrating to the cloud
A recent report has revealed that almost half of Britain’s SMEs have now adopted Cloud services in order to make their businesses more flexible while reducing capital costs. Key findings from the Vistage July 2014 survey show:
Just under half (49%) of small and mid-sized businesses questioned are now using Cloud services, with 11 per cent planning to invest in the Cloud in the near future.
45% of respondents consider flexibility and easy access the main advantages of Cloud systems. The third most important benefit (28%) is its superiority over the traditional systems in case of disaster recovery.
36% say that the main reason for using or planning to move to the Cloud is to assist their mobile flexible workforce. For 21%, the Cloud is also a tool for accessing new systems. A fifth of respondents (20%) say that it enables access to new products and services and for 21% it is a tool for greater automation.
Almost a quarter (22%) of smaller businesses expect the Cloud to bring them cost savings, particularly capital expenditure savings in relation to IT function. In fact, Gartner, the world's leading information technology research analysts, report that companies are already allocating almost a third of existing IT budgets to Cloud services.
34% of SMEs use the Cloud for CRM or for contact management. Almost the same percentage (32%) utilise it for web hosting. A further 28 per cent use the Cloud for storing work documents and standard office systems.
This research shows the Cloud has clearly moved out of the realm of the mid-sized business sector. Britain's SME business owners have wholeheartedly adopted Cloud services and use them not only for web hosting but also for their CRM and contact management, and are now starting to use Cloud-based systems to enable a more mobile and flexible workforce.
What are the basic Cloud computing models?
Public cloud - where service providers make computing resources (processing, applications, storage, email etc.) available over the internet. In this scenario clients only need a smart device to access services.
Private cloud - is a network or data centre that uses cloud computing technologies to offer ‘cloud’ services within the organization it serves. Private clouds typically require on-premise IT infrastructure and are managed by the IT department. Private clouds overcome some of the objections to public cloud services such as control of data, regulatory compliance and security.
Hybrid cloud – In this scenario, the client manages some computing resources internally, but also buys in services from cloud providers. The hybrid approach allows a business to take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness that a public cloud computing environment offers without exposing mission-critical applications and data to third-party vulnerabilities. The hybrid approach is the most popular cloud model.
...and a number of common “as a service” options:
Infrastructure as a Service – where an organisation outsources its IT infrastructure and rents capacity (storage, hardware, servers, networking components) as required from a service provider.
Backup as a Service – where the client backs up its data to a cloud services provider, rather than relying on an on-premise solution
Disaster Recovery as a Service - is the replication and hosting of physical or virtual servers by a third-party to provide failover in the event of a man-made or natural catastrophe.
File sync’n’share – a service provider delivers the ability for users to easily and securely share and sync files wherever they are.
Software as a Service - a licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. For example, many organisations use a cloud provider to host their email (typically Microsoft Exchange) and other office applications.
So which solution of right for your business?
Knowing which cloud approach and cloud deployment priorities are right for your organization depends on a variety of factors — such as compliance, privacy needs and organizational tolerance for security risks. It’ll also depend on the level of satisfaction with on-premise solutions, and deciding which applications or data are so vital to your business that they will need additional customization.
Let’s review these factors in more depth.
- Compliance. This is a significant concern for companies in highly regulated industries such as legal, financial services and health care. The advice of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regarding using cloud providers who are ISO: 27001 certified is just one example impacting compliance of handling personal information and data. Companies in these sectors often opt for a hybrid environment simply to have complete control over regulated data.
- Tolerance to security risks. A company can choose to leverage a public cloud service without extra layers of security such as managed network security, but they should realise they don’t have that extra layer of access control before a hacker or intruder can get at corporate or customer data. Likewise, features such as two-factor authentication, managed firewalls and spam control, aren’t prerequisite for using a cloud-based office software solution, but they will it more secure. Managed services can make these extra measures — once feasible only for larger enterprises — practical for SMEs.
- Satisfaction factor with on premise solutions. The adage “if it not broken, don’t fix it” is relevant to cloud strategy. If an existing on-premise solution is working smoothly, has some unique features or customisations that suit your business, and has been delivering payback, why replace it for a cloud solution? However, if your on-premise solutions are difficult to use, have generic functionality and have fallen short on payback, perhaps it’s time for a cloud alternative.
- Flexibility. While public solutions typically have some degree of flexibility in the way you configure their look and feel, or in their reporting tools, some companies decide that for strategic reasons, they want complete flexibility and control over the solution they put in place.
Consideration is selecting your cloud services partner
As you can see, cloud has multiple facets. You can definitely do this yourself with internal IT resources. But that detracts from the core appeal of going to the cloud, which is off-loading IT burdens, and adopting a predictable pay-as-you-go model for IT expenditure.
A good starting point would be to hire the right technology services partner who can assess your existing IT environment, identify your business objectives and help you decide which cloud model would be right for your organization. After all, success with the cloud is about getting all your resources to work as a unified, secure whole.
As a leading IT Managed Services, Consulting and Cloud Computing Company, Stack can offer a comprehensive 360-degree infrastructure assessment, including identifying applications that should stay on-premise and those that should go to the cloud first.
Conclusions
For SMEs, what really matter is making the cloud work for then. Issues such as comprehensive security, no hidden costs, and a unified experience for users should be key to your decision.
While some SMEs will opt for public cloud solutions for nearly every purpose, a hybrid IT environment will be common place. Just be aware that the hybrid approach requires attention to securing and providing easy access to all company resources. Managed IT services and cloud technology professionals can facilitate these supporting needs, ensuring that the overall solution meets an organization’s key criteria without adding to IT overhead
Steve Cobham, Stack Data Managing Director says, "Ambitious and forward thinking SMEs are taking full advantage of the Cloud’s flexibility and its positive impact their bottom line. The safety benefits of the Cloud are also of great importance to SMEs and mid-sized businesses which unlike their larger counterparts are not able to afford expensive IT support systems.”