Businesses looking to take advantage of advances in cloud computing should do so on their own terms, was the message put forward by Microsoft Office 365 expert Nick Caw at a seminar hosted by Channel Island IT consultancy C5 Alliance.
According to Mr Caw, business development manager at Microsoft, the future of cloud computing is in hybrid solutions, combining the best aspects of in-house infrastructure systems, locally hosted services and software provided via remote servers, commonly called ‘the cloud’.
This way, said Mr Caw, businesses could customise their systems to get the best out of technology, ensuring that it meets their specific business needs.
“Cloud computing offers great flexibility for businesses, but the key for us is to see consistency of experience across any platform. For example an end user’s email client should retain the same look, feel and functionality whether they are accessing it from their desktop, a laptop, via a web browser or via a mobile device,” he said.
“That does not mean to say that businesses should move everything to the cloud. Other issues, like data sovereignty, need to be considered. An ideal solution for many businesses is to retain sensitive data and systems locally, while moving more generic items to a cloud-based provider.”
Mr Caw highlighted many of the benefits of cloud computing to the seminar’s audience, made up of Channel Island IT professionals and other business managers.
“There are three main areas where cloud computing can add value to a business. On an economic level, hosted services can provide better value, with pay-per-user deals vastly more cost-effective than investing in infrastructure. Subscription models also allow for more predictable budgets. In addition a lack of infrastructure reduces management costs. There is no need for patching and maintenance to be paid for separately and cloud services offer good reliability and fault tolerance,” he said.
“On a green note, utilising servers at a remote location is also better from an energy management perspective, reducing the need for server rooms to operate 24 hours a day.
“Productivity is the other, and probably most compelling, reason to consider cloud services. With Office 365 users benefit from the latest Microsoft office and communication software, internet collaboration tools and access from anywhere in the world. All of this adds up to less business ‘down time’ and enables workers to maximise their potential within the business environment.”
Mark Loane, C5 Alliance’s managing director added that the set up cost was also a factor in favour of setting up cloud services.
“If you compare setting up a company with online services such as Office 365 with a comparable system built on site there is a big difference between the cost and timescales of a project. Our engineers are able to get businesses up and running on cloud-based services quickly, sometimes within hours, rather than needing to spend months building and configuring the systems,” he said.
Mr Caw also explained that Microsoft’s approach was now always attuned to cloud-based services.
“Our roadmap is for all applications to be available via the cloud. As our developers build new products this is one of their key considerations. This is also a big part of our strategy for our datacentres in Dublin and Amsterdam. We build these using server modules, containerised sections of hardware that can be plugged straight in. This reduces the need for large investment up front and means we can scale our facilities as the requirements of our users grow.”