1970s fashion that can help your small Business’ bottom line

Cloud Computing

What was in vogue in the ’70s that has been making a resurgence in recent years? No, not bell-bottom pants, cloud computing! And unlike bell-bottoms, cloud computing can make you look good and help your business run more efficiently.

Cloud computing came to prominence in the 1970s when it was called commercial time-sharing. Companies like National CSS and Tymshare utilized vast data centers filled with massive mainframe computers. Customers connected to these mainframes from terminals utilizing phone lines equipped with modems.

The model was useful, but plagued by slow data transfer and reliability issues. It was expensive and hard to maintain, too. If you didn’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars, you couldn’t be a player.

Engineers continued to refine the technology, however, and—thanks largely to the rise of the Internet—it has evolved into to something practical for small businesses to use. In fact, cloud computing has become invaluable in driving business growth. Here are a few reasons why:

• Time and money savings.
  Your own IT staff is not required to install and manage applications when they are hosted in the cloud. Software upgrading is handled for you; licensing headaches vanish.
• Reduced software backup hassles.
  With cloud computing, you don’t need to come up with a backup strategy that incorporates local and off-site storage because your provider manages all of it for you.
• Smooth roll-outs and updates.
  Since your workstations and devices are connected to the cloud through the Internet, software updates can happen in your sleep without any attention from you.
• Universal access.
  With the cloud, you can access your data anywhere, anytime, thanks to the reach of the Internet.

As with anything, there are potential trade-offs with cloud computing—reliability of Internet connectivity and provider stability come to mind—but these are offset by cloud computing’s tremendous business benefits. So jump in that GTO, get on the CB radio with your good buddies and tell them it’s time to come up to the cloud. There’s no guest list and bell-bottoms are optional.

http://www.sscsinc.com/services/sunray-asp/

http://www.financialforce.com/resources/research/salesforce-platform/cloud-computing-advantages/