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The Past and Future of The "Cloud"
It seems that for some years, people have been trying to shove the concept of what is now called ‘Cloud Computing’ down our collective throats. Over 10 years ago Steve Jobs tried to herald the days where we would run applications on centralized computer mainframes that offered micro-leasing of software rather than outright purchase.
Then three years later in 2005, Bill Gates put the Microsoft slant on the future of centralized computing. Both times, these attempts to launch what would become ‘Cloud Computing’ were met with failure. Business-grade internet connections were not yet stable enough and psychologically people were not ready to put their data in into the hands of others.
But now in 2011, we seem finally ready to embrace the paradigm shift.
Cloud Computing is now heralded throughout the IT industry as being amongst the most important technical developments of recent years. The efficiencies both in terms of technology and minimizing capital expense are certainly a massive encouragement to the entrepreneur, allowing them the same infrastructure advantages, previously only enjoyed by large corporates. Productivity enhancements such as mobilised workforces, coupled with the efficiencies of remote collaboration, come at a time when “survival of the fittest” has become the mantra echoed through boardrooms and taprooms alike.
But what about those in the middle? What benefits does Cloud Computing bring to the SME? Sure, there are many whose business structure makes remote working a necessity, or indeed some businesses are taking advantage of the demise of competitors by growing so fast that new infrastructure is outgrown almost as quickly as budget is allocated for it.
But these examples are the exceptions, not the rule. A typical SME that has survived the economic climate of the ‘noughties’ has been able to refresh its IT infrastructure only every five years, despite the fact that the maximum useful life for IT equipment is recommended to be three years. This means that many SMEs are being encouraged to consider cloud computing when only perhaps 12 months ago, they invested in refreshing IT infrastructure that was beginning to “creak at the seams”.
Why would such a company write off the investment in favour of putting their servers ‘in the Cloud’ when they made that investment with the expectation of the IT infrastructure lasting at least another two to three years?
This is not to say however that the SME market cannot benefit from Cloud Computing. While such a seismic shift will take time for an SME to embrace, there are still important supplementary uses for the practice that will allow companies to benefit from such a significant change of tack. Disaster recovery and ensuring the health of email systems for example are two business functions that in practical terms lend themselves well to cloud computing.
It is simple common sense that dictates that data back-ups should be stored offsite. But cloud-based disaster recovery services are so space efficient and sensible that the transition away from tape backups being hauled via lorry to vast warehouses seems inevitable. And with the development of pragmatic managed service companies that link offsite disaster recovery to onsite business continuity for speedy recovery of full data systems, we have perhaps seen the perfect balance between holding onto existing infrastructure while bridging the gap into a business’s technical future.
Therefore, in the short term, Cloud Computing is best considered by SMEs as a tool for a given purpose, not necessarily as the be all and end all to IT infrastructure. It is often marketed as a panacea for all business problems, but if it is instead considered a useful adaptation for particular business requirements, then the SME is able to take advantage of the most appropriate solution for its specific objectives and the particular business need.
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