there is another way

This has all changed now. Most people have heard someone talking about ‘the cloud’, so what is it?

In a nutshell it is the Internet which as we know is a network of computers connected up via communications lines so that they can talk together and make information available to it’s users. By definition ‘cloud computing’ is the act of placing certain computing functions on to the Internet for use by subscribers. One great example of this is ebay, this is an entirely cloud based business that has become a great success both in term of a business but also for it’s users.

so what

One of the more recent additions to ‘cloud services’ is the introduction of business services like Microsoft Exchange. There are a number of providers who are able to supply you with Microsoft Exchange in a hosted environment, these vary in terms of what you will typically get for your money. Some providers will supply a mailbox along with a copy of Microsoft Outlook which is good for users who do not have Microsoft Outlook and they will typically be able to supply them on a single mailbox basis. By contrast Microsoft Online Services can supply with a Microsoft Exchange Online Mailbox for the lowest cost I have seen but you must purchase a minimum of 5 mailboxes for 1 year.

what does it all mean

Well, this means that now micro business can have all of the features that you can get by having a server without the high investment cost or running cost. It also means that they can have features such as calendar sharing and, for some, synchronisation of email and calendar with their iPhone or other mobile device. All of these help those micro businesses become more efficient and streamline at what they do.

If you would like to know more about cloud services and see whether they are right for your business then give us a call on 0844 310 0040 or via out contact page.

One of our fellow BNI members has put together a 2 day Strategic Marketing Masterclass which is perfect for small businesses. The masterclass will cover a variety of topics such as tools and techniques for analysing their business environment, objective setting, evaluation of different marketing tools, implementation planning and measuring key performance indicators. The course is suitable for any team member that wants to have a structured approach to business growth or who may be relatively new to marketing. Upon completion of the course each learner will have an accurate and relevant marketing plan to implement within their business. The marketing plan will be an action plan to ensure their commercial objectives are met for 2009. By attending this course, businesses have a much more cost effective method of obtaining strategic focus than hiring in a 3rd party which can cost thousands of pounds in consultancy fees. There will be options for post-masterclass
support to ensure that the newly produced marketing plan is being implemented and remains relevant to their business. Masterclasses will be held across April, May and June 2009. The course will be delivered in a Nottingham training facility where refreshments and lunch will be served on both days. Specific details of location, times etc will be issued in the learner packs sent to you. All learning material will be provided. The course is priced at £650 per learner (excluding VAT) with the option of group discounts. If you have 2-249 employees and have not had previous Leaders First Training you might be eligible for Business Link support. If you are eligible for funding you will receive a £575 contribution towards the cost of the course. Kirsty will arrange for Business Link to call you and allocate the funding. If you are eligible for funding you will be reimbursed by Business Link for the amount that you are entitled to. You will be asked to pay the full amount up front then you will receive the £575 reimbursement from Business Link.

The means that if you are eligible the course will cost just £75 + VAT, if you would like to know more then please contact rob.franklin@jpt-solutions.co.uk.

So what does cloud computing bring that was not there before?
What cloud computing brings is the ability for small businesses to run applications which typically can only be afforded by larger businesses.  This is made possible by having low start-up costs.  For example we have started providing hosted Microsoft Exchange 2007 which gives 10GB of storage, ExchangeDefender spam filtering, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Forefront which costs £10 per mailbox per month.  For a small business of 3 users this would mean a monthly cost of £30, giving an annual cost of £360 for the three users.  If you compare this with the cost of a typical Microsoft Small Business server entry level cost of approx £1,000 plus installation of around £750 then hosted applications make more sense.

What other benefits are there?
With hosted application you are able to access your application regardless of location which means that any of the users can work so long as they have an internet connection, given the rapid growth of communications this means users can work from almost anywhere.  Also with hosted application the provider typically will take care of backups so it is no longer your worry.
Whether it is suitable for your business is an individual decision based on your needs.  If you would like to discuss this further please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

But with all of this technology available to ensure that you are never out of contact whether it be voice calls, SMS or even email the question remains; Do you need it? This is something we have been asked many times and the answer is always the same; “Do you need it? Only you can decide”. What is clear is that it’s now more affordable than ever for anyone to have this technology at their fingertips. No longer is it the reserve of the large corporate environments it’s something that the Owner/Manager’s and Small Businesses can enjoy which in turn can help them to become more streamlined and agile in a fragile marketplace where an instant response can make all the difference. If you would like to know more about mobile email solutions please contact our team for more information.

The fact is that you cannot afford not to put this in plan. So what does the plan consist of; well it should contain the contact names and numbers of all individuals involved in the recovery
process (i.e. Telephone company, IT vendor, software suppliers etc). It also needs to contain all relevant passwords relating to your computer systems, details relating to the setup of the network and software. It should detail the recovery process for data relating to the network this should include how the backups are performed and what software is required to perform the recovery. The plan needs to contain absolutely everything that is required to run the business and with the recent floods and other adverse weather conditions it has never been more important to plan for the worst. So take some time and think about how your business will be affected should the worst happen and start and plan how you will recover from such and event before it happens.

The down side to all of this is that by not having been on courses there is a great deal of functionality that people are missing out on, a classic example is being able to do mail merges in Word or graphs in Excel; so whats the answer?  I was speaking to one of our partners recently, Andy from F1rst I.T., about this and what they have created is surgeries.  The idea behind this is that a business does not but a course per delegate but instead they buy a “drop in” workshop where their employee’s can go to the surgery with a specific question or problem and spend 20 minutes or so with a certified Microsoft Office Trainer who is able to provide specific training on their particular issue.  Now this is a fantastic idea as this provides highly cost effective support (as little as £12.50 per person) but it is also specific training for a specific question.  So if anyone is interested in learning more then please contact us or alternately contact Andy on 0115 926 2078 or email him at andyhardy@f1rstit.co.uk

We help businesses to create a Disaster Recover plan that will help create a safety net should the worst happen to the business.  To find out more then please click here.