Traditional IT systems come in one of two flavours; Client-Server or peer-to-peer. The implementation of each model was dictated primarily by the size of business and it’s ability to invest, financially, in a formal IT structure. One of the best products that was made available for businesses with Client-Server networks was Microsoft Exchange. What this [...]
Traditional IT systems come in one of two flavours; Client-Server or peer-to-peer. The implementation of each model was dictated primarily by the size of business and it’s ability to invest, financially, in a formal IT structure. One of the best products that was made available for businesses with Client-Server networks was Microsoft Exchange. What this product did was to ‘groupware’ enable email, essentially speaking it took standard email and added to it things such as calendar sharing, contact sharing, public email enabled folders as well as many other features. As the years have gone by the product has evolved to provide more features including synchronisation with devices such as Windows Mobiles, iPhones and Blackberrys but the requirement to have a server has never really changed.
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.
There has been a great deal of talk recently about cloud computing and that it is the way that all computing is headed, but not many people understand what it is, read our guide….
There has been a great deal of talk recently about cloud computing and that it is the way that all computing is headed, but not many people understand what it is. Essentially speaking cloud computing is about putting certain software applications in the “cloud”. This is a phrase which is used to describe the internet based on how it is typically shown in network diagrams.
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.
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