businessinfomag.uk
magazine
32
Cloud Solutions
Bringing the cloud
down to earth
In the last decade, cloud computing has
been a game-changer for businesses
of all sizes and particularly SMEs. More
than 580,000 start-ups were registered
with Companies House last year, and
much of this growth can be put down
to the fact that cloud computing
technology allows new ventures to be
in business almost instantly, with an IT
infrastructure that would be far beyond
their reach if they were required to
buy and host it on-premise. Rapid
deployment allows new, innovative
SMEs to punch above their weight and
compete with larger, more established
peers almost immediately.
For existing SMEs, deploying cloud
services is not – or is not perceived to be
– quite so straightforward. Research from
the Federation of Small Businesses shows
that only a quarter of small firms are
actually investing in technology such as
cloud computing, even though there are
many benefits in going down this route.
It seems that new SMEs are more willing
to embrace new technologies than their
established competitors.
Barriers to entry
Major businesses across the globe have
already switched from on-premise IT
solutions to the cloud and are enjoying
the advantages doing so brings, so why
are SMEs slow to make the transition? A
survey conducted by Oxford Economics
1
shows that many SMEs, while accepting
the need to go global in order to
prosper within their own market, are
more interested in technologies such as
business intelligence and mobile solutions
than cloud technology.
Many SME business owners are
scared about the concept of cloud and
have concerns about the perceived cost,
complexity and risk involved. Indeed,
35%
2
of SMEs do not fully understand
the benefits that the cloud can bring
and are therefore choosing to ignore
it. Yet, cloud computing is changing
the way people do business, and by
ignoring the potential of this technology,
SMEs are missing out on its ability to
transform productivity and improve
competitiveness.
The benefits
For SMEs, the cloud has four stand-out
benefits:
1
Cost
Cloud technology has significant
cost advantages through a reduction
in infrastructure, upfront capital
requirements and on-going maintenance
costs. A recent report from the European
Commission
3
states that the adoption
of cloud computing could enable 80%
of organisations to reduce their costs by
10%-20%.
2
Pay-as-you-go
Many cloud computing services offer the
option to pay monthly – a significant
benefit for SMEs dependent on healthy
cash-flow. Pay-as-you-go options allow
businesses to access sophisticated
software with no upfront fees and no
lock-in period.
3
Business agility
With mobile technology, business can
be done anywhere there is an internet
connection. Cloud computing lets
businesses make the most of this by
enabling staff to access their applications
and files on the go. This can be extremely
beneficial for businesses that employ
freelancers or have a mobile workforce.
The flexibility the cloud brings is also
helpful when staff have trouble getting
into the office due to travel disruptions;
As InstaCloud launches a private cloud solution for smaller
businesses, co-founder Steve Belton argues it is time more
effort was made to explain the benefits of the cloud to SMEs
Steve Belton,
Head of Cloud
Engineering &
Co-Founder,
InstaCloud
[1]
[2]
/
[3]
/
[4]
because employees are not reliant on on-
premise technology or servers, a business
can be run from any location.
4
Security
Historically, one of the largest barriers
to the adoption of cloud computing has
been concern over data security, with
66%
4
of businesses citing this as their
main worry. However, research shows
that, contrary to public perception, cloud
providers typically offer increased security
at a much lower cost than SMEs could
achieve. Hosting data in a UK datacentre
can be much more secure than managing
it on-site.
With their capacity to adapt to an
ever-changing business environment,
SMEs are vital to the growth of the UK
economy. Innovative start-ups understand
the transformational potential of the
cloud. It is important now to extend this
awareness to all SMEs. The digital and
wider business community must continue
to encourage and support SME adoption
of innovative technologies, including the
cloud.
Steve Belton is Head of Cloud Engineering
& Co-Founder of InstaCloud. Previously
he was a senior partner technology
strategist at Microsoft. InstaCloud enables
small businesses to enjoy the advantages
of a mini private cloud, without the
expense and IT overhead of having to set
up and manage a platform themselves.
The InstaCloud solution is based on
Microsoft’s Cloud OS technology and
hosted in UK data centres in Slough and
London. Customers pay for RAM and
storage usage, with fixed monthly billing
for convenience and easy budgeting.
Capacity can be expanded at any time
to meet changing business needs. To find
out more or sign up for a free one-month
trial, please visit
.
By ignoring
the potential
of cloud
computing
SMEs are
missing out
on its abilities
