Cloud Computing Basics For Small Businesses

If there’s one thing that information technology (IT) types love more than technology, it’s got to be using buzzwords. Just spend a few minutes reading over the promotional literature for just about any corporate oriented software suite and you’ll know what we mean.

Between the constant use of buzzword-worthy phrases like, “across the enterprise,” “plug and play,” and, “turnkey systems,” you might feel like you’re buying a piece of steam-driven machinery, not a state-of-the-art computing system.

These days, tech watchers have noticed a marked increase of a new favorite set of buzzwords which include the very catchy phrase, “cloud computing.” Cloud computing sounds a lot more exotic than it is really is. In fact if you’ve ever used common Cloud Storage services like Google Docs and Dropbox.com, you’re already very familiar with the basics of cloud computing.

If you’re curious about how businesses can take advantage of cloud computing, read on.

Who Needs the Cloud?

For many small business owners, cloud computing sounds like something that’s a little on the grand side. After all, most of these operations already host their own servers either in climate controlled server rooms, or at off-site server farms. As you probably already know, the cost of renting these facilities and purchasing new hardware can be very steep.

Cloud computing does an end run around these costs by allowing businesses to host their back office operations on a shared server space that’s accessible via the web. This allows them to host only much data as they need to, and frees them from having to pay for extra server space they might never need.

How Hard is Cloud Implementation?

Implementing a cloud (or a more secure, private cloud) is probably easier than you might think. Thanks to products and services like Private Cloud with System Center 2012, business owners can take as much control of the cloud as they want, without having to over-commit their resources.

While no one is going to sit here and tell you that you’ll be able to migrate to the cloud in just a few hours, it’s definitely a project that most IT departments can handle. There are also a host of very useful tutorials and training videos for configuring and deploying a private cloud with system center 2012 available to help the process along.

Is Cloud Computing Secure?

One big concern business owners have about the cloud is that it’s not really all that secure. While there have been a few security issues with public cloud computing systems, that’s not the case when it comes to private clouds. A private cloud is exactly what it sounds like and offers all the flexibility of traditional cloud computing, but with a greatly enhanced level of security.

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Conclusions

Cloud computing offers some real benefits for business owners who are looking to reduce the amount of money they spend on IT expenses. If you’re looking for a flexible system that’s affordable and offers good security, the cloud is an option you might want to look closely at.

Featured images:
  • cloud License: Creative Commons image source

Ryan Sorge writes about information technology and its applications in small business.