27/11/2008

eLINIA Vision Article: Cloud Computing

The economic downturn is leading all of us to reassess our finances. Not least of all businesses, which are starting to question their traditional way of working.

The problem is that traditional often equates to outdated, especially when we’re talking about IT. Now, more than ever, it is necessary to look beyond long-established models to innovations, which can increase efficiency and minimise workloads. 

The current state of affairs is this: businesses are investing huge sums of money and extensive man-hours to roll-out and maintain costly IT infrastructure. This then means that they also have to oversee and secure IT applications and data on site. And why? Because this is the way it has always been done.

Today Cloud Computing, which can encompass Software-as-a-Service, is widely touted as having the potential to lift the burden off of the IT department by delivering IT services via the Internet.

But the belief that everything will move into the Cloud, is in fact a lot of hot air.

Unlike some vendors seem to suggest, it is not as simple as either being or not being in the Cloud. The Cloud should not be seen as the panacea that the media likes to portray, instead, it should be seen as another tool in your IT arsenal. The trick is to pick applications delivered using this method that are best suited for your business.

A decent managed service provider should act as a trusted guide, working with businesses to chose elements of Cloud Computing that can become a component of a much wider, bespoke managed service.

Every business is different, but most share common needs, and the bottom line is that one solution never fits all.

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