'The cloud' is not new. The foundation for today's cloud computing platforms was developed way back in 1969, and the modern concept of cloud-based applications (sometimes also called SaaS, or Software as a Service) was laid out in 1999. The product Salesforce was among the very first cloud-based software applications to make it to mass market, rolling out an SaaS CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution. The enormously successful Amazon Web Services was introduced in 2002, and the stage was set for cloud computing and cloud-based software to become the phenomenon it is today.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing to sell cloud-based services to the enterprise. CFOs and other savvy executives weren't too keen on entrusting their valuable customer information, proprietary data, and top-secret financial information to a third-party cloud vendor. It took the better part of this decade to get the CFO sold on cloud software and services, but it finally happened. Here's why.
Cloud Services Save a Lot of Money, Time, and Trouble
On-premise software is expensive. Few people outside the enterprise realize just how expensive, time-consuming, and troublesome it is to roll out hundreds or thousands of licensed software packages in a single deployment. The licenses themselves usually cost hundreds of dollars each (depending on exactly what kind of software it is, of course). Add to this the downtime associated with installing the software on all of the different users' machines, and all of the time needed to troubleshoot and resolve any problems that pop up. Problems always pop up. There are compatibility issues to consider, as well as the cost of maintaining the software with regular updates, bug patches, security patches, etc. At some point, the vendor will end support for their product, and the process has to be done all over again. Onsite software is expensive and not at all easy to install and manage, and businesses were thrilled to find a solution in the cloud.
Cloud Services Don't Require Any IT Infrastructure
Onsite software comes with a list of hardware specifications -- the amount of memory and processing power, the video and audio cards, and other requirements that the software needs to install and run properly. This means that the business has to invest in and maintain that hardware. IT infrastructure is a huge investment. Cloud-based software eliminates the need for this. All users need is a machine to access the cloud and a solid network connection to get there.
Cloud Services Don't Require the Business to Support a Big IT Department
IT infrastructure's only cost isn't the hardware. The most significant expense is in hiring the tech talent to install, maintain, and occasionally repair it. For the small business and startup, cloud software means they might not even have to have an IT department. For the larger business, cloud software means that they don't have to add to their labor costs in order to leverage a new software solution, such as ERP software or finance software.
Cloud Services are Actually More Secure Than Most Businesses Can Provide for Themselves
Network security used to be the very reason CFO's resisted the cloud, so it is ironic that security is now one of the ways cloud vendors attract business. Unless your business is cyber security, you likely specialize in something very different -- such as manufacturing or business services or real estate. Cloud vendors, on the other hand, spend almost all of their time and effort keeping customer data and apps safe and secure. It is the hallmark and centerpiece of their business. The overwhelming majority of cloud vendors do it way better than their customers ever could do for themselves, especially in the era of the advanced persistent threat and data breach.
Are you ready to learn more about overcoming today's networking security challenges? Request a quote from Turn-key Technologies today.
