Understanding the “Cloud” in Today’s Business World

By Mark Stackpoole
CEO, Global Telecom Solutions

You may have seen a commercial or heard an ad recently advising your business to “take it to the cloud.” But, what does that really mean? The reality is that, due to the power of marketing, that phrase can mean different things to different people. What “cloud” means to you and your business may vary from the company down the hall or in the building across the street. However, it is probably worthwhile to at least have a high level understanding of how the cloud DOES affect your business. Yes, I said “DOES,” because at some level, either you (or your competition) is probably leveraging cloud based services to improve or enhance their business.

The “cloud,” in a general definition, is essentially a shared pool of configurable computing resources which could be applications, services, networks, servers or storage that many people could be using at the same time (think of electricity as a general example – we don’t make it ourselves, we access it over a shared transport system, and we only pay for what we use).

In the consumer world, cloud products (e.g., Google Mail, Google Docs, Amazon Cloud, etc.) have really exploded over the past decade. Due to security concerns, it took a little longer to find its stride in the business marketplace but over the past two years and as 2013 begins “cloud computing” and/or questions regarding the cloud seem to really be increasing dramatically.

So … back to the original question. How might the CLOUD already be impacting your business or industry? Let’s explore a few of the core components of the “cloud” and how businesses are harnessing them today.

Software as a Service (or SaaS)
This is probably the most common “cloud” service in use, and this refers back to the previous example of Gmail, or Yahoo Mail, or Google Docs. Simply put, SaaS is a software application hosted in a central location and delivered via a web browser or a thin client device. Rather than purchase and install the application on individual computers (and all the patches, updates, and licensing responsibilities down the road), the business simply pays a subscription fee to a provider. Users then just log on via the internet to access the application.

What is a thin client? A thin client is a computer (or software program) that can only work in a network/cloud environment, because it is relying on a smarter, more powerful computer to do most of the processing work (in the cloud). You may have also heard of remote desktop or desktop virtualization. Again, those services are going to be reliant on the SaaS services to some degree.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
In short, think of this as an outsourced data center with benefits. And limitless capacity, storage, hardware, servers, and networking are all owned by a third-party provider that is responsible for the maintenance, operation, and housing. Just as a utility company bills consumers based on usage, so does the IaaS provider. So, instead of buying another server that may run at 15 percent capacity for the next three years, you would only pay for the 15 percent that you actually use. This “pay as you go” model can provide a significant cost savings over time, as well as be a useful tool to your network administrator to be more efficient with their own time.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Platform as a Service is used to describe a software development platform that is stored in the cloud and can be accessed via a web browser. It allows for a variety of programming tools, operating systems, and version/languages available to programmers without having to purchase all of the components separately. While this may seem more narrow in scope, it is one of the most explosive components of cloud computing due to some of the advantages it can provide a business looking for these types of services. However, it is very important for businesses to perform their due diligence and find a vendor/partner that is not looking to “lock them in” to a proprietary platform before being absolutely certain it is right for them. In most instances, vendors that are using the major, open platform providers (such as VMWare) are the right decision since so many vendors/managed service providers are certified and proficient in the open platform technologies.

The cloud is certainly not something to rush into, and it certainly impacts specific industries more than others at this time. But, take a moment and think about how your business is using the Cloud today…as well as how it may need to use it in the future. Ask your IT department or network administrator if your company has reviewed their short and long term technology goals. How does the “cloud” fit in?  It is a question every business should ask itself every 1-2 years as all business processes are reviewed and evaluated to try and make each organization efficient and sustainable.

Mr. Stackpoole is the co-founder and CEO of Global Telecom Solutions a telecom master agency and consulting firm designed to help businesses find the best phone, data and internet solutions nationwide. He can be reached at Stackpoole@gtsdirect.com, or ask for a free cloud consultation by calling 313-371-9440.