Should I Be Cloud Computing?

As you start hearing more and more about “The Cloud,” you might be wondering if you should also be exploring Cloud Computing for your business.  Even ASI’s product lines are venturing into the cloud (see the Product Update - SYSPRO and the Cloud).  There may be ways that your company can benefit from cloud-based computing solutions.

One of the most common uses of the cloud is for storage and backup purposes.  Using a cloud-based solution to store your company’s files can be very cost efficient.  It can be particularly useful for smaller companies that might not have the resources to spare to take care of such tasks.  Offloading tasks such as backup and data replication to a third party allows companies to focus on their core business.  Another added benefit to storing data in the cloud is that you are not responsible for the maintenance of the device on which you’re storing data.  Depending on how much data you have, that could mean that you don’t need to buy that extra server, or it could just save you the headache of figuring out how to prevent and recover from hardware failure. 

Storage in the cloud starts at about $0.25 per gigabyte, depending on the services provided in addition to basic storage.  Click here to check out the Top 20 Cloud Storage Vendors on 2011, named by CRN.  The list includes several cloud leaders, such as Amazon, Nirvanix, and CTERA.  Check out a few of these vendors to find out which options best fit your needs. 

In addition to storage, cloud computing also encompasses the use of applications hosted on networks within the cloud.  Companies are beginning to turn to cloud vendors to host many of the applications they use to manage their business, otherwise known as Software as a Service, SaaS.  For more information about SaaS and how SYSPRO is breaking into that method of deployment, see the article in our Product Updates Section.