Cloud computing firm reports 350 per cent rise

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Although Britain is technically out of recession, the pain is still being felt by SMEs trying to survive in extremely tough economic conditions. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that GDP has grown by just 0.2% between January and March.

The precarious state of the economy shows that cost management is just as critical for businesses as it was twelve months ago. The pressure to reduce costs remains intense as companies try to navigate through tough economic conditions. As firms struggle to achieve more with less capital expenditure, they are increasingly turning to technology to deliver cost-savings and operational efficiencies. Consequently, cloud and unified communications company Outsourcery has recently reported a massive 350% rise in enquiries related to cloud computing solutions.

Cloud computing is a simple principle. End users have a device, which is typically a PC in the office or a smartphone or laptop when they are mobile. Instead of connecting to software and hardware installed on the user’s business premises, they connect to software and applications over the Internet that are hosted at a secure data centre (the cloud) on an on-demand basis. There is no need to pay for an in-house server, own depreciating infrastructure or software or to enter in to maintenance contracts. Cloud computing allows businesses to ‘consume’ pooled resources of software and hardware and pay for it on a per month, per user basis.

Many organisations are now looking at integrating cloud computing technologies into their existing systems and daily business life, having discovered the cost efficiencies, reliability and flexibility cloud computing offers. Independent research analysts Gartner are predicting that by 2012, 20 per cent of businesses will own no IT assets, clearly demonstrating that cloud computing is set to radically change the way they conduct business, while reducing costs and improving efficiency.

“As the latest unemployment figures show, many sectors are not out of the woods yet and the decisions business leaders make are impacting their survival and growth. Cloud computing technologies have less inherent risks than in-house IT systems and are therefore a smarter way to conduct business.

"Not only have they demonstrated thousands of pounds of savings on travel costs for SMEs but they are also an efficient way to communicate regularly with important stakeholders such as customers, suppliers and staff. Many companies that have survived the recession have done so through cutting operational costs and becoming more technology-savvy. They are now realising that cloud computing delivers: improved responsiveness, productivity, scalability, as well as reduced ownership and energy costs,” explains Piers Linney, joint CEO at Outsourcery.

Leading cloud computing and unified communications provider Outsourcery has launched a cloud computing guide which uses real life business scenarios for the small business and looks at the five key considerations you need to think about. These include understanding how the cloud fits into your company’s existing IT structure, doing your ‘tech prep’ and choosing the right applications and provider.

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