Cloud computing has changed – and will continue to change – the way businesses approach their IT needs. While there is never one-size-fits all solution for any company, there are many ways to solve the different problems that business computing runs into. The cloud is an amazing resource that continues to improve, especially in efficiency and cost effectiveness.
SMBs looking to create a professional presence can implement cloud-hosting bundles with a simple integration process that requires little to no help from IT, according to Bryan Goode, CEO of Infratel, a virtual phone service. By purchasing multiple SMB focused solutions through cloud hosting channels, small businesses are able to manage all of their services – including website building, phone presence, email, online marketing efforts, etc. -- with a single account. This effectively streamlines the billing, management, and execution process, therefore saving time and resources. Additionally, as an SMB matures and has more sophisticated needs, they are able to purchase additional capabilities from their cloud-hosting provider, which is an already trusted source.
For instance, Voices.com, an online marketplace connecting businesses with professional voice talent, decided to take advantage of cloud hosting because of the sheer amount of data the company stores.
"As a web application that hosts several terabytes of audio files, we needed a flexible, scalable web-hosting solution," said CEO David Ciccarelli. "Cloud hosting offered the ideal solution as we had previously filled up two 250GB dedicated web servers."
For the SMB market, the primary benefit is the cost savings over a dedicated web server. "At the time we evaluated the benefits of either adding another dedicated web server or moving to the cloud, and cost stood out as the primary driver of this decision," said Ciccarelli.
For raw file storage, especially large multimedia files, cloud storage is the right way to go. Cloud providers tend to be reliable and that they have a similar uptime as dedicated solutions. "I gain comfort from running our mission critical applications in a dedicated web hosting environment because of the support that is offered," said Ciccarelli. "If we need a hard reboot, a technician can literally access our servers and power down the system."
Social hacking and security is not the big issue it used to be because, when you are talking about a cloud computing infrastructure, you have whole companies dedicated to security, explained Rafferty Pendery, CEO of graphic design company Studio98. "Cloud computing is more and more secure, much more economical and certainly more reliable," he said.
Today, business and applications can be totally run on cloud servers, making them more accessible and reliable. For small and medium technology companies, the utilization of the cloud can be a great way to focus on their technology, building the programs, software and systems without having to manage the day-to-day physical hardware and infrastructure.
About the Author:
Sue Poremba blogs for Rackspace Hosting. Rackspace Hosting is the service leader in cloud computing, and a founder of OpenStack, an open source cloud operating system. The San Antonio-based company provides Fanatical Support to its customers and partners, across a portfolio of IT services, including Managed Hosting and Cloud Computing.
