Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Cloud Computing Essential for a Small Business

Why is Cloud Computing Essential for a Small Business

Author: ajax

The prospect of maintaining a small business in an unsteady economy can be difficult. The small business owners that are surviving successfully are the one who adjust and adapt to the new technologies. Businesses can optimize their technology in an optimized manner with cloud computing as it allows small business owners to take advantage of the best resources that technology offers without having to pay the overhead. Cloud Computing is a growing phenomenon, and many of the problems related with information technology like knowledge, capacity and integrity are removed when these services are used.


 Cloud Computing Basics : Why is Cloud Computing Essential for a Small Business


How does it help small Business owners?

With cloud computing, there is no need to buy, store, or maintain a physical infrastructure to serve or host software, it can be rented from a provider, thereby permitting the small business owner to steer clear of huge capital expenditure on hardware and software. Instead of owning and operating their own equipment and software, users of cloud computing systems utilize resources as a service and only pay for what they use.
Sans software and technology, the customer relationship management of a small business consists of a pen, a ledger, and plenty of white out. However with advanced customer relationship management software business owners are able to track and organize their contacts with a simple point and click. Cloud computing offers the small business owner with the most effective technological tools to enhance their companies without breaking the bank.

Why is cloud computing essential for small businesses?

As a business grows their data storage needs grow. Backups of business information for disaster recovery are essential and, storage of backups off site can be challenging for small business. When this type of storage is used, easy access is available to business data. A business owner can access their information from anywhere an internet connection is available. With easy access, information sharing is simplified and a user can allow others to access their information, although it is usually protected from improper access with security protocols and encryption.

Customer support is another important consideration that shows why a small business needs cloud computing. Many overlook customer support when considering the opportunity cost of any technological investment, but good technical support is essential. Cloud computing takes all the worry and hassle out of maintaining the technology of a small business as most cloud computing providers offer technical support twenty four hours a day. A large scale cloud computing provider employs only the best of IT professionals, there is a problem, there is no doubt that it will be solved quickly and efficiently.

For a small business to survive this bumpy and unstable economy, it is evident that it needs to be technologically relevant.Cloud computing providers in India offers the possibility of these entire great features at the most competitive price which can be an ideal solution for small business owners.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/why-is-cloud-computing-essential-for-a-small-business-5163426.html
About the Author
Click here for more onDedicated Hosting services

Cloud Computing Basics : Decade to go for actual Cloud adoption?

Is there still a decade to go

for actual Cloud adoption?

Author: ajax
In spite of witnessing sea change in the CIOs' attitudes about Cloud Computing, Nicholas Carr states that the actual adoption of Cloud Services remains in its infancy. Companies have diverse perceptions about Cloud advantage and have restricted views toward its adoption. Mostly, this decision gets influenced according to the CIOs' company size.

Two months after the InformationWeek conference, on December 9, 2010, the chief information officer of the United States, Vivek Kundra, released a sweeping plan for overhauling the way the federal government buys and manages information technology. The centerpiece of the plan was the adoption, effective immediately, of what Kundra termed a ―cloud first policy. Noting that the government had long been plagued by redundant and ineffective IT investments, which often ended up ―wasting taxpayer dollars, he argued that a shift to cloud computing would save a great deal of money while also improving the government‘s ability to roll out new and enhanced systems quickly.

 Cloud Computing Basics : Cloud Computing - Decade to go for actual Cloud adoption?

To speed the adoption of the plan, Kundra ordered the IT departments of every government agency to move three major systems into ―the cloud by the summer of 2012. At the same time, he announced that the government would use cloud technologies, such as virtualization, to reduce the number of data centers it runs from 2,100 to 1,300, that it would create a marketplace for sharing excess data-center capacity among agencies, and that it would establish performance, security, and contracting standards for the purchase of utility-computing services from outside providers.

Once fully in place, the ―cloud first policy, Kundra predicted, would transform the government‘s cumbersome and inefficient IT bureaucracy into a streamlined operation able to deliver valuable new services to the American public. ―The Federal Government, he wrote, ―will be able to provision services like nimble start-up companies, harness available cloud solutions instead of building systems from scratch, and leverage smarter technologies that require lower capital outlays. Citizens will be able to interact with government for services via simpler, more intuitive interfaces. IT will open government, providing deep visibility into all operations.

Kundra‘s plan was remarkable for its scope and ambition. But even more remarkable was the fact that the plan provoked little controversy. Indeed, its release was met with a collective shrug from both the public and the IT community. That reaction, or, more precisely, lack of reaction, testifies to the sea change in attitudes about cloud computing that has occurred over the last few years.

When The Big Switch was published in January 2008, awareness of the possibility of providing data processing and software applications as utility services over a public grid was limited to a fairly small set of IT specialists, and the term ―cloud computing was little known and rarely used. Many IT managers and suppliers, moreover, dismissed the entire idea of the cloud as a pie-in-the-sky dream. Cloud computing, they argued, would not be fast enough, reliable enough, or secure enough to fulfill the needs of large businesses and other organizations. Its adoption would be limited to only the most unsophisticated and undemanding users of information technology.

Today, just three years later, the skepticism has largely evaporated. There is still debate about how broadly the utility model will ultimately be adopted, but most IT vendors, computer engineers, CIOs, and technology pundits now accept, almost as a matter of faith, that the cloud will be a fundamental component of future IT systems. Even Microsoft‘s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, once a vocal critic of utility computing, has become a true believer. He said of the cloud in a 2010 speech, ―It‘s the next step, it‘s the next phase, it‘s the next transition. At Microsoft, he continued, ―for the cloud, we‘re all in. A few months later, the software giant put an exclamation point on its CEO‘s words when it announced it would spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a global ―cloud power advertising program, its largest ad campaign ever.

A recent survey of 250 big international companies found that more than half of them are already using cloud services, while another 30 percent are in the process of testing or introducing such services. Only 1 percent of the companies said that they had rejected the use of cloud computing outright. In addition to Microsoft, most other traditional IT suppliers, including hardware and software makers as well as outsourcers, systems integrators, and consultants, are rushing to roll out and promote cloud services, and leading pure-play cloud providers such as Salesforce.com, Amazon Web Services, Google, and Workday are rapidly expanding their offerings and ramping up their sales efforts. Many billions of dollars are being invested every year in the construction of cloud data centers and networks, a construction boom that echoes the one which accompanied the rise of electric utilities a hundred years ago.

But, truth be told, all this frenetic activity and marketing hype is a bit misleading. The business world, when it comes to the cloud, is far from ―all in. Outside the federal government, cloud-first policies remain rare. While most companies have embraced the theory of cloud computing, few have placed the cloud at the center of their IT strategy, and the actual adoption of cloud services remains in its infancy. Companies are, to be sure, using some cloud services and experimenting with others, but corporate investments in cloud computing, while growing at a healthy clip, still represent a small fraction of overall IT spending. And the investments that are being made tend to be narrowly focused on popular software-as-a-service applications. Only about 3 percent of big businesses are tapping into cloud data centers to run virtual servers, and fully 85 percent have no current plans to use such utility computing infrastructure, according to a 2009 survey. An equally high percentage say they have no existing plans to use the cloud for data storage.

Much of the wariness about moving too quickly into the cloud can be traced to the many uncertainties that continue to surround cloud computing, including issues related to security and privacy, capacity, reliability, liability, data portability, standards, pricing and metering, and laws and regulations. Such uncertainties are neither unusual nor unexpected; similar ones have accompanied the build-out of earlier utility networks as well as transport and communications systems. Another force slowing the adoption of cloud computing is inertia. Many companies have made huge investments in in-house data centers and complex software systems and have spent years fine-tuning them. They are not going to tear everything out and start from scratch.

For large businesses in particular, we are still at the beginning of what promises to be a long period of transition to cloud computing. The cloud is revolutionizing business computing, but this will not be an overnight revolution. It is one that will, as I argued in The Big Switch, play out over the course of at least a decade—and more likely two. That does not mean, though, that corporate executives and IT professionals should be complacent. The current transitional period will be marked by myriad advances and setbacks as well as many upheavals—not just technological but also commercial and social. Making the wrong choices about the cloud today could leave an organization at a disadvantage for years to come.

An Excerpt from the Afterword
To read entire Afterword, visit http://cloudsrollin.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/is-there-still-a-decade-to-go-for-actual-cloud-adoption-4928355.html
About the Author
About Nicholas G. Carr
Nicholas Carr (aka Nick) writes about technology, culture, and economics. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages. Nick has been a columnist for The Guardian in London and has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and other periodicals. Nick is a member of the Encyclopedia Britannica\'s editorial board of advisors, is on the steering board of the World Economic Forum\'s cloud computing project, and writes the popular blog Rough Type. He is a sought-after speaker for academic and corporate events. Earlier in his career, he was executive editor of the Harvard Business Review. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A., in English and American Literature and Language, from Harvard University.
For more information, please visit http://cloudsrollin.com/

About HCL ISD
HCL Technologies Infrastructure Services Division, also known as HCL ISD, falls in the category of the 4 percent American new public companies that have crossed, or are set to cross, the one billion revenue mark in the first 10 years of their inception. HCL ISD manages mission critical environments and handles over 3 million devices for over 1.7 million end users. The company\'s clientele includes 20 percent of Fortune 100 organizations and has over 250 customers, Fortune 1000 companies. The company\'s fast growth has attracted several bestselling authors to include the HCL ISD case study in their bestsellers.
For more information, please visit http://www.hclisd.com/

Friday, September 16, 2011

Guidelines To Evaluate Cloud Computing Service Providers

Guidelines To Evaluate Cloud Computing Service Providers & Choose The Best One

Author: vaishnavikna

With a lot of cloud computing service providers currently operating in the market, it signifies that selecting the proper one who comprehends your business framework continues to be challenging. Hence, it is critical that you understand what your accurate requisites are, so that you can do investigation and figure out who the most effective cloud provider is for you. When conducting your study, there will be specific criteria that you must glance at. Following are the four major factors for selecting a cloud computing company:


 Cloud Computing Basics : Guidelines To Evaluate Cloud Computing Service Providers

To be aware of a company's credibility and track record, it will be essential to figure out who the company is and just how long they've been operating in the industry. This will be practically vital to investigate what kind of cloud computing applications the company offers and what type of clients it has along with the business relationships they have formed. To completely recognize a provider's dependability and repute, it is really worthwhile conversing with some of their customers and partners to check out what their views are regarding the venture. This can be your best option to measure the status and trustworthiness of a service provider directly.

It is vital to thoroughly realize whether your business has the suitable attributes required to get into cloud or internet-based computing environment. You also need to determine what cloud computing application is ideal for you. If you\'re looking for a garment software solution, your aim will be to choose one that matches your business setup and needs. To figure out the competence of various cloud computing applications, it is best to look to companies providing no-obligation, no-cost trials. By doing so, you can look at whether your business is up to standard in a cloud setting and then determine how the chosen cloud service performs before you establish a long-term relationship.

Support and Service Level Agreements are crucial to help you against any downtime of the cloud. When considering the support service of a cloud provider, you have to make certain that they will work speedily if any downtime or problems arise and that problems are addressed in the contracted manner and within the contracted durations. It would be wise to search for cloud computing companies with specialized support that have the capability to handle issues as and when they will happen.

Any buying house, apparel manufacturing company or retail store that enters a cloud environment must ascertain the safeness of the environment as well as their business systems and operations. It is recommended to make sure that the chosen cloud service provider comes with a secure infrastructure at every level. The data centres that are offered must be grasped fully in order to ensure a uniform degree of security too.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/guidelines-to-evaluate-cloud-computing-service-providers-choose-the-best-one-4809511.html
About the Author
Cloud Computing Applications, Cloud Computing Service Providers, Cloud Computing Companies, garment software

Cloud Computing : Hosting QuickBooks Accounting Applications

Top Reasons for Hosting QuickBooks Accounting Applications

Author: Cloud vertex

QuickBooks hosting  proves to be an effective cloud solutions for small business if they wish not to invest heavily on the local IT infrastructure or engaged and resource heavy activities such as Technical support but at the same time have the benefits of always on Application access, secured backup and predictable IT costs.
 Cloud Computing Basics : Cloud Computing - Hosting QuickBooks Accounting Applications

QuickBooks hosting solutions can be resorted to in the following cases:
• The enterprise does not want to invest in the setting up or upgrading the network, local servers or IT equipments
• The technical resource investment is incommensurate with the actual benefits that may be derived from it.
• Secured backup and online monitoring is proving to be expensive and the task is desired to be outsourced to experts
• The company uses various other applications with different IT infrastructure requirements and it is hard to manage them all centrally.

Client interaction needs to be maintained through online interaction and real time file sharing.
QuickBooks Hosting Solutions: Brief description
Application accessed anywhere: QuickBooks hosting solution implies that the QuickBooks accounting application is hosted on a third party cloud server and accessed by the end user as local desktop interface. This means that the Data base is centrally located and accessible anytime anywhere through any online connection. So whether you are sitting with a client or demonstrating others the data is always available to you and the end user is not bound to the office premises.

On demand, Reliable and Cost effective: Another feature of Cloud Computing services such as QuickBooks hosting is that they are available on demand. Thus the IT infrastructure being available as a service means that the end user has to pay for the use of the IT infrastructure and do not have to invest in them. Thus QuickBooks Hosting services saves costs for the enterprises such as setting up servers, installation, upgrade and troubleshooting costs and other technical support costs.
Data security: One of the most easily seen benefits of QuickBooks Hosting is data security. With technical experts dedicated for online security of data and multiple data backup feature, QuickBooks hosting solutions prove to be more effective and cost effective than what can be implemented locally.
Easy to manage: Users management is always a hard task for IT administrators. Central database access can solve many of their problems as user management is not only easy bust also access to the database is more secured. Centralized QuickBooks hosting enable client management in more effective way than what desktop based access can provide.

Integration Issues: Many a time an enterprise may be using different versions of the Accounting applications and much other application also. Compatibility of the applications with existing IT infrastructure and integration is always an issue and needs a lot of troubleshooting and technical costs.  Cloud hosting makes these tasks easier. For example QuickBooks hosting can be done for all editions and versions of QuickBooks. Further QuickBooks accounting application integration with other applications such as ACT! CRM, Proseries tax software can be more effective in a hosted environment.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/top-reasons-for-hosting-quickbooks-accounting-applications-5009466.html
About the Author
Mark hanry is a cloud Computing Expert at Cloud Vertex, one of the major Cloud Computing and Cloud Hosting Companies . He has Expertise in cloud level deployments in both horizontal and vertical markets with specialization in Quickbooks hosting, Accounting Cloud, Cougar Mountain , Hosted CRM solutions, Peachtree Hosting, small business and Enterprise Cloud.

Cloud computing : QuickBooks Applications Hosting

QuickBooks Applications Hosting and Cloud computing

Author: Cloud vertex

Cloud computing is finding resonance in all aspects of enterprise functioning and   financial aspects of a business are no exceptions. QuickBooks hosting and other accounting and financial software hosting is one of those areas that cloud computing has been getting wide acceptance.  Hosted QuickBooks on cloud means that instead of having the entire IT infrastructure installed and arranged by the enterprise locally, the IT infrastructure is bought as a service and the service itself can be accessed from any place anytime in an always on mode rather than only from the office premises.


 Cloud Computing Basics : QuickBooks Applications Hosting and Cloud computing

What exactly is QuickBooks Hosting?
Consider the QuickBooks applications use without any cloud services being use as for many enterprise it  is done till now.  For running the QuickBooks in a multiuser environment what you need is local servers, backup facilities and most important comprehensive local IT infrastructure management staff such as administrators and Help desk staff.  This obviously involves lot of initial IT investment which could have been used elsewhere in enhancing the business competitive edge.  On the top of it you are tied to the office premises for accessing the QuickBooks application.

QuickBooks Hosting Benefits
Now consider what QuickBooks Hosting in the cloud does for you.  Cloud computing infrastructure is available as a service which means that complete IT infrastructure for running enterprise applications are available on demand at some subscription prices, which is managed and maintained by the QuickBooks hosting service provider. This also means that apart from the monthly subscription price at which the cloud infrastructure is rented, there are no other prices involved for the end user such as IT troubleshooting support, Network management and security. Besides this there is no need to have local IT support staff.
The top five benefits of QuickBooks Hosting Services
in the Cloud
Considering the above mentioned comparison between Desktop based and Cloud based QuickBooks application access following benefits of QuickBooks hosting services can readily be inferred.
  1. Cost saving: QuickBooks hosting obviously save cost and money for the enterprises as compared to the traditional desktop based access. Enterprise save cost on setting up  local network, maintaining IT support staff and investing in security and backup tools besides saving on software installation and maintenance costs.
  2. Collaboration: Application access to many simultaneous users allowing each of them to see  what others are doing and sharing files helps them save time, transportation costs and for financial practitioners it also enable better client management.
  3. Top class technical support: Technical support personnel are not only expensive but keeping dedicated technical staff who are not directly related to key business focus areas is also not warranted.  QuickBooks hosting essentially allows the enterprise to divest this function to the cloud hosting provider.
  4. Backup and security: one of the most important and critical business interest lies the security of its data, which at many time cannot be well managed locally, due to proactive technological resources needed and also costs involved. It is where the QuickBooks hosting experts helps you manage the security of the enterprise database effectively ion optimal conditions with their wide rand of expertise and resources. 
  5. Application access anytime: with QuickBooks hosting service you are not tied to the office premises for accessing the QuickBooks accounting  application. Hence wherever you go the database moves with you and the enterprise functions more efficiently.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/quickbooks-applications-hosting-and-cloud-computing-5026081.html

About the Author
Mark Hanry is the Cloud Computing expert at Cloud Vertex. His experience includes providing Cloud Computing solution, Hosted accounting solution such as QuickBooks Hosting solution, Peachtree Hosting services and Hosted CRM solutions.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Cloud Computing : Data Recovery Industry in the Age of the Cloud


The Future of the Data Recovery Industry
in the Age of the Cloud 


The Data Recovery sector services deal with hard drives so when looking at future trends away from hard drives to store your files and software there are many computer service companies that have cause for concern. There is a laptop out now with Google's own operating system rather than competitor Microsoft, it's a free operating system with Office Suite. Google Chromebooks is a new cloud computing system where almost no data is stored on the laptop and all the software loading and troubleshooting is somebody else's problem for $28 a month. You're given an ID number to log in from any computer; people will still think in terms of PC but total cloud computing is anything but personal.

 Cloud Computing Basics : Cloud Computing - Data Recovery Industry in the Age of the Cloud

There is a hastening trend toward centralization that is part of the social engineering we are currently undergoing; it has been planned out well ahead of time by a corporate and military hierarchy who are decades further advanced in technology than they reveal to the public. The Internet was originally used by the military and introduced to the public through academic institutions, as the Cloud is servicing universities in Europe today.


In his book "Between Two Ages" in 1970 former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski stated that they gave the Internet to the public to bring in global standardization. He states: "The technetronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite who are unrestrained by traditional values. Soon it will be possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal information about the citizen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities." It's like moving to an apartment that doesn't allow satellite dishes so now you're going to have to use cable and there's only one company that has a monopoly. On top of that, you will be offering voluntary self-surveillance since an audit of your books could be done without you knowing about it.


The current form of long-term social engineering brings new changes in gradually in stages so people accept it as normal. Business advantages will entice users to subscribe and consumers will voluntarily sign up for better gaming. Cloud computing will be ultimately be forced on business and society as new classes of applications will be shown to perform best in the Cloud; attractions like this will produce a sense of simply moving up in format much like iPods replaced portable CD players.


If Google Chromebooks become as common as the Blackberry then laptop data recovery won't be necessary. With other Cloud companies opening and marketing more users will go to the newest innovation out of habit. PCs will just become terminals to access the Cloud. Solid-State Drives (SSD) with no moving parts are another innovation in memory devices but may be too reliable to support an industry that relies on crashed drives. They use microchips so the nature of computer file recovery would be inherently different than it is today. Businesses that are data recovery experts will likely be able to add another service if and when the Cloud becomes impossible to avoid.


It may seem a natural evolution but there are ominous signs that it all could go very wrong and in fact the Cloud is designed to fulfill the goals of political controllers. Google may want to sell more Adwords clicks but it's not just about money. It will used as a means of social approval or disapproval since your life will be an open book, even more than it is now with people updating their thoughts all day on Facebook and Twitter. Google and Microsoft read everything in your e-mail and social media sites and that in turn is available to the corporate government to create personality profiles as Google does with your search history to recommend things of interest to your specific taste.


If the seductive promise of convenience and security sways you away from the good old hard drive remember that in the Cloud the government will have access to all of your data any time it wishes through the cooperation of the mega-corporations like Google and Microsoft. Dependency on a centralized system results in social control and the trend is certainly towards eliminating competition in software, data recovery, IT, and every other digital enterprise.


A very advanced microchip has been developed in Japan using nanotechnology that is right out of science fiction. It is designed to be injected and can affix itself to a certain area of the brain where a central computer would issue uploads that will be perceived as whispers to establish a beehive mentality in the workings of society. You know fads��soon everybody will want one.




Pat Boardman is an SEO consultant writing in respect to CBL hard disk recovery U.K. providing services in file recovery such as RAID data recovery UK with labs in Newcastle upon Tyne serving the British Isles and Ireland.


Article Source: eArticlesOnline.com



Sunday, September 11, 2011

Cloud Computing : SAP on the Cloud

SAP on the Cloud


Author: wftcloud

Previously we talked about the IT services model. We then talked about cloud computing and more importantly we talked about various cloud computing models.  As a key player in the organization that I represent currently, our key goal is to provide SAP on the cloud to customers.  You guessed it right, this blog is going to introduce our business, and less of technical detail compared to the previous blogs.
One of the first questions that hit us every time is, why SAP? Why you guys choose the complex one? Simple, SAP is another software in the large realm of things and secondly, yes we do love challenges.  Looking at this through a lens, SAP on the cloud is not so different from email on the cloud or a document on the cloud. Yes there are some different challenges, but at the end of the day this fits the perfect model of SaaS.

 Cloud Computing Basics : Cloud Computing - SAP on the Cloud

Perhaps the credit to setting this model goes to Salesforce.com who have aptly demonstrated how SaaS can be used for excellent service to end customers.  Before I start delving into the topic of discussion, the reader should bear in his/her mind that SaaS need not be cloud computing as cloud computing has to satisfy key criteria as mentioned in blog(2)

So what are we trying to convey?
simple

we integrate a complete SAP system on a cloud  immaterial of the type of the cloud.
What is required for this?
  • a cloud platform
  • SAP system
  • and tons of patience
So how do we set up a cloud platform?  Well the answer depends on where you want to locate your cloud. If you are choosing a public cloud platform, then Amazon is a best bet. Incidentally SAP itself uses Amazon for its test and development environments.  If you require a private cloud, VMWare has a suite of products that can help you get set up a private cloud.

SAP system, well if you have read this so far, I assume this is not missing anywhere.
What should one be concerned about?

Personally I am always spooked about production being on the cloud. But after the various performance tests and ease of usage, if someone told me that the production is on a cloud, I will definitely not lose sleep on this.

The next step is to make sure that the platform is all set right. There are a host of tools to connect and check and perform analysis and this should be a fairly straight forward task.

The final step is to set up the application and once this is done, tuning needs to be done. This is the most critical aspect of the cloud operation, and there are an immense number of checks to be done. I know most of you are looking for it here, but  due to intellectual property issues,  I can advise you to contact our sales team

Once you have completed this step, you are ready to spin off SAP images as required. Images are stored as templates in a repository and the host tools allow you to customize the basics and spin it.

We choose Amazon, and we created the base images directly on their servers. There is another way to do it, by creating your image and uploading / shipping to Amazon, however we avoided this route as we wanted our base templates to have the base Amazon image to conform to Amazon\'s requirements.  As our business is to provide these templates to the users, we do this on a daily basis and currently we have 100 and counting templates out there.

Before choosing your vendor, I strongly urge you to compute the costs of network bandwidth and storage as these costs can spiral very fast upwards.

Lastly, make sure that licensing is understood clearly. Enterprise licenses work best, however there are always different ways to get the logical optimal model.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/information-technology-articles/sap-on-the-cloud-5199289.html

About the Author
WFTCloud is an initiative from Wharfedale Technologies, Inc to provide SAP access to its customers on a pay per use model. WFTCloud provides SAP systems on the cloud to end users using state of the art solutions. The company is located at New Jersey USA, providing SAP services to North America.

The company began its operations in year 2000 with a seed capital of 2 MM dollars.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Navigating Cloud Computing & IT Service Management

Cloudy with a Chance of Clarity: Navigating Cloud Computing & IT Service Management   

by Aileen Axios


Introduction

 
In our latest thought leadership whitepaper, Sharon Taylor, Chief Architect of ITIL® V3, provides insight on the concept of cloud computing and its impact on ITSM.


In this paper, Taylor clarifies the facts about cloud computing and discusses whether or not 'the cloud'changes the need for IT Service Management.


 Cloud Computing Basics : Cloud Computing & IT Service Management



She also:
- Outlines how cloud-based ITSM tools can benefit your organization
- Distinguishes the difference between public and private clouds
- Proposes trends for the future of managing cloud services and SaaS ITSM
Information overcast!
"The Only Constant In Life Is Change." Heraclitus of Ephesus, the Greek philosopher said this back in the 5th century. This is exceptionally true when applied to IT. The next innovation is always just around the corner.

One of those innovations it seems is cloud computing. It ranks number 2 or 3 on most CIO agendas. Companies are lining up to use cloud services and, the more that gets written about it, the more confusion that sets in.


This thought leadership paper intends to help clarify some of the facts about 'the cloud' and to discuss whether or not cloud computing changes the need for IT Service Management.
What is cloud computing?
'Cloud' computing is nothing more than services hosted for the customer, usually delivered over an Internet connection. The term 'cloud' was inspired by the commonly used symbol to indicate a network connection that often represents the Internet in diagrams and illustrations.


Some things come back into fashion when they are reintroduced with a 'twist'.
The concept of cloud computing really isn't new to the IT industry. Virtualization,Software as a Service (SaaS), data hosting have been around for some time. Cloud computing offers the same basic service, but with some new innovations with regards to how it works and how customers can use it.


The commoditization of reliable, fast Internet access speeds has paved the way for a cloud-computing "coming of age" and great possibilities to externally host more network-intensive services at a reasonable cost.


As the IT industry begins to organize and commoditize cloud computing, the consuming public has begun to recognize a few basic types.


Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Using a multi-tenant model, SaaS delivers access to an application or a suite of applications through a web browser to many customers. Customers do not need to invest in servers or software licenses, and the provider maintains one application/ suite for multiple customers. Examples of this are Axios Systems' assystSaaS for ITSM, Salesforce.com for CRM and SFA, Google Apps, Zoho Office and Workday.

To receive this complimentary whitepaper in full please visit:
http://www.axiossystems.com/en/resources/detail.php?whitepaper=24&src=excerpt
If you are interested in SaaS ITSM, we are giving you the opportunity to evaluate assystSaaS for free.
Register now to gain access to your own self-paced 28 day trial:
http://www.axiossystems.com/assystSaaS

About Axios Systems
Axios Systems is one of the world's leading providers of IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions. Its customer-centric approach, combined with its award-winning software, enables customers to improve their Service Delivery and Support and deliver Continual Service Improvement by helping to align and realign IT services to changing business needs, supporting business processes and improving productivity.

 

For CIOs : What Is Cloud Computing and Is It Right For Your Business ?

What Is Cloud Computing and Is It Right For Your Business?


All of the business literature is abuzz these days about Cloud Computing. Many executives are not sure they completely understand what is meant by Cloud Computing and in many cases CIO's are not sure what is meant by the term. However, many feel that it is the answer to all of their information technology woes. Oh if it were only that simple!


Let's start by defining the term Cloud Computing. In its most general form it means any scenario in which computer resources outside the company are used to provide software and/or hardware systems for the company. So the ultimate in Cloud Computing would be a scenario in which the company engaged an information technology hosting company to provide all hardware and software needs for the company on a monthly or annual fee basis. This is the opposite end of the classic spectrum in which all computer hardware, software and technical expertise is owned by the company.

Cloud computing or hosting has been available in one form or another for 30 years. The big difference now is communications via the internet and the ease of current platforms that provides for multiple outsource options. In most cases the justification for the move to cloud computing is reduced cost. However, in the majority of situations the reduced cost is primarily a lower cost of entry. Over the long term the cost of outsourced hosting is often more expensive than in-house hosting. Having said that, there are excellent reasons for outsourcing or using cloud computing. What is important is to understand the various options for outsourcing and the advantages/disadvantages to the company for the option being considered.

Some of the key options for using cloud computing are the following:

1. Website Hosting - many don't think of this as cloud computing or outsourcing but it is the simplest form of cloud computing. There are still some companies that host their own websites. This results in significant bandwidth and server capacity requirements for the company. The infrastructure required to support hosted websites is very expensive and today web hosting is incredibly inexpensive. Most web hosting companies provide hosting services for less than $100 per month.

2. Microsoft Exchange Server hosting - the larger the company and the more email addresses, the more expensive this type of hosting. However, for smaller companies outsourcing Exchange Server is a very good option. The outsource company takes all the responsibility for maintaining the Exchange software and will provide bandwidth and server capacity on demand. The only gotcha in this cloud computing option is that the company must have bandwidth to support all email transactions.

3. Hosting particular applications such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management), ERP or other key operating applications. This use of cloud computing should be evaluated closely. Since the pricing for these types of applications are generally based on per user per month, this model can become expensive very rapidly especially as the number of users increases. In addition, operating applications generally need to integrate with other applications frequently in real time. This can create communication problems when the applications are hosted in different locations. Prior to making a decision to host operating applications in the cloud, key questions such as - who will be using the application, how it will be used and what options are available to move the system in-house - need to be evaluated.

4. Hosting of corporate owned applications on cloud servers - This option provides the ability for the company to own their applications and have technical support provided a professional IT infrastructure team. This is another excellent cloud computing option, which needs to be evaluated before a final decision is made. If all the applications for the company are hosted on the cloud servers then the primary area of concern is the communication bandwidth between the hosting location and the company. However, is limited applications are hosted on the outsourced servers and other applications are hosted internally or on other cloud servers, then the issues identified in option 3 come into play.

Cloud computing options definitely have a place and should always be evaluated as part of a system decision making process. However, it should not be seen as a panacea or a solution to every IT issue. Business executives should have professional IT evaluation either from internal IT personnel or external IT experts prior to making IT outsource decisions.

About Lynda J. Roth
With more than 20 years experience contributing to organizations as a Senior Technology Executive, Business Consultant and IT strategist, Lynda J. Roth has developed keen insight and a proven track record of solving business problems through technology, create a competitive advantage and accelerate business growth. As and outsourced CIO and IT advisor, Lynda has consulted with C-level executives and Corporate Boards to evaluate a company's business applications, IT infrastructure, busines process and outsource options. Contact Lynda at 818-709-6583 or email lynda.roth@ljrconsultingservices.com for a review of your IT structure. http://www.ljrconsultingservices.com/

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Cloud Computing : CIOs Are Learning That Clouds Aren't Free

CIOs Are Learning That Clouds Aren't Free



CIOs are currently being faced with making a decision that will impact their IT departments for years to come: should they move their IT operations into the cloud and if so, should it be a public cloud or a private cloud? There are a number of technical issues that can help drive this decision; however, the one factor that too many CIOs overlook is cost...

 Cloud Computing Basics : Cloud Computing - CIOs Are Learning That Clouds Aren't Free

The Difference Between Public & Private Clouds

I thought that the whole "cloud" thing was supposed to make IT simpler - why are CIOs now being faced with a decision? It turns out that all clouds are not created the same - there are two very different types of clouds.

Public clouds are what is getting all of the press right now. Cloud providers such as Amazon, IBM, Salesforce.com, etc. are offering IT shops a new way of doing business. Companies that move their applications off of their internal IT infrastructure and onto a 3ed party's boxes will see significant cost savings. No longer will they have to worry about paying for (or supporting) hardware, software or IT staff.
It turns out that there is another way to go about using clouds: private clouds. If the company invests in building out its internal server farm then it can take advantage of all that cloud computing offers: fast application setup, the ability to scale both up an down as conditions require, and an internal pay-as-you-go way of tracking costs.

The concept of private clouds is still relatively new. However, it is catching on fast. The folks over at Gartner are forecasting that through 2012 the top 1,000 global companies will end up spending more on developing their own private clouds than they will spend on buying public cloud services.

What's Cost Got To Do With It?

You might think that CIOs are going to have to knuckle down and so some serious technical investigations in order to determine if public or private clouds are the right solution for their company. You'd be half-right.
Certainly there is a technical side to this important decision. However, there is a much bigger question that needs to be answered first: how much is all of this going to cost?

All things being equal, it turns out that using a private cloud to serve as your IT infrastructure will provide you with about 60%-80% of the savings that your company can get if you went with using a public cloud. This should make making your decision easier, right?

As with all things in life, nothing is ever that easy. It turns out which type of cloud your company should go with may depend on how far along you are with your internal server virtualization program. A company that has already virtualized most of their servers won't see very much of a savings by moving their IT operations into a public cloud. However, a company that has barely started to virtualize their servers could see a significant savings and would avoid the cost and effort of building their own private cloud.

In the end, it comes down to doing a careful ROI analysis for the company. CIOs need to understand that the decision to change over to using a cloud based IT infrastructure involves more than just technical decision making.

What All Of This Means For You

It's all too easy for CIOs to get caught up in what everyone is talking about when it comes to cloud-based computing. However, it turns out that there is another decision that needs to be made regarding clouds: should I go public or should I go private? It turns out that on top of all of the technical issues that need to be considered, there is a very big financial one that may be even more important.

The choice between using a public cloud or building your own private cloud comes down to a question of costs. Companies that have already heavily invested in virtualizing their servers won't see much of a benefit to moving into a public cloud. Likewise, companies that have not yet made the move to virtualized servers may want to bypass building their own private cloud and instead use public cloud resources.

CIOs are responsible for making the best decisions for their IT departments. What makes the job of being a CIO so challenging is clearly shown in the current era of moving to cloud computing. Technical IT knowledge is required in order to decide what type of cloud a company should choose to use, but business savvy is also required. Now that you know what to look for, go out there and choose the right cloud for your company.

Dr. Jim Anderson
http://www.blueelephantconsulting.com/
Your Source For Real World IT Department Leadership Skills

Dr. Jim Anderson has spent over 20 years consulting with a wide variety of IT firms from the very big to the very small. He provides you with his insights into the leadership needed to combine the separate worlds of business and IT strategy. His guidance offers hope to firms everywhere who are struggling with this challenge.
Subscribe to the FREE Accidental Successful CIO newsletter to learn what you need to know to do the job and have a successful career. Go here to to get your free subscription: http://www.theaccidentalsuccessfulcio.com/newsletter-2

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Let's Go Shopping: What A CIO Needs From Cloud Computing

Let's Go Shopping : What A CIO Needs From Cloud Computing




Ok, admit it - cloud computing is here to stay. If you haven't already signed up for a cloud then you will be doing so shortly. However, before you start writing the check, you really should know what you are buying. Everyone likes to talk about how good / bad cloud computing is; however, before now nobody has ever taken the time to talk about what you should be looking for when you go cloud shopping...

 Cloud Computing Basics : Let's Go Shopping: What A CIO Needs From Cloud Computing

What Makes A Cloud A Cloud

At a high level, I suspect that we all understand what cloud computing is: somebody else maintains a collection of generic servers that you can pay to use as needed. Sure sounds simple enough - it's just basically IT outsourcing taken to its logical extreme. However, there's more to it than just that.
Dave Durkee has taken a look at cloud computing and he has identified what he calls the seven essential characteristics that make up cloud computing:
  • Access on-demand: one of the key features of cloud computing is that it provides a company with more and more computing power as their needs increase.
  • Grow / Shrink: unlike the days in which a company would purchase a server, install it, and then live with it forever, cloud computing allows companies to both add and shed computing power on an as-needed basis..
  • Pay-As-You-Grow: cloud computing allows a company to match its IT expenses more closely to its actual needs. Just like a gas, water, or electric utility, cloud computing is a subscription service that you get charged for based on how much you've used..
  • Lots Of Connections: although not discussed as much as it should, running your applications in the cloud assumes that you have reliable high-speed access to other servers and storage in the same cloud that you are using as well as high-speed access to the Internet..
  • Economies Of Scale: since a cloud provider is not only servicing your company, but also other companies at the same time, they should be able to buy in bulk and therefore keep costs lower than you would be able to do on your own..
  • Don't Ask, Don't Tell: when you use the cloud, you really don't know where your data or applications physically are. Despite not knowing this, the cloud provider can be expected to provide you with some level of service level agreement..
  • Dating, Not Marriage: just because you pick a particular cloud provider, doesn't mean that you have to stick with them forever. Instead, you should imagine a future where you move from cloud to cloud based on business needs..

Service Models & Things That Impact Price

The next thing that a CIO needs to understand when they go cloud shopping is just exactly what type of service model they are interested in. All clouds are not created equal.
Currently there are three different flavors of clouds for CIOs to choose from:
  1. IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service - this is a bare-bones cloud offering. You get an OS on a server with some storage and connectivity. That's it - you need to provide everything else..
  2. PaaS: Platform as a Service - this is one step up from IaaS. Instead of a raw server, this time out you're purchasing a complete development environment. This means that you'll get the server, OS, and some set of applications such as LAMP [Linux (operating system), Apache HTTP Server, MySQL (database software) and Perl/PHP/Python].
  3. SaaS: Software as a Service - this is the most sophisticated cloud offering currently available. Instead of worrying about servers or development stacks, you purchase access to an application that runs within the cloud. Salesforce.com is a great example of SaaS..

What All Of This Means For You

CIOs know that moving into a cloud is no longer an "if", but rather a "when". This means that they need to spend some time to learn what they need to look for when they go cloud shopping.
CIOs need to ensure that clouds that they are considering have a set of basic characteristics. These include on-demand access, elasticity, pay-per-use, connectivity, etc. CIOs will need to decide which of the three basic cloud service models will best meet the needs of their IT department.


All clouds are not created the same. Every CIO will eventually find himself / herself shopping for a cloud. Using the guidelines that we've discussed, CIOs can compare and contrast clouds so that they can end up selecting the cloud that works best for their company...
Dr. Jim Anderson
http://www.blueelephantconsulting.com/
Your Source For Real World IT Department Leadership Skills

Dr. Jim Anderson has spent over 20 years consulting with a wide variety of IT firms from the very big to the very small. He provides you with his insights into the leadership needed to combine the separate worlds of business and IT strategy. His guidance offers hope to firms everywhere who are struggling with this challenge.
Subscribe to the FREE Accidental Successful CIO newsletter to learn what you need to know to do the job and have a successful career. Go here to to get your free subscription: http://www.theaccidentalsuccessfulcio.com/newsletter-2

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Jim_Anderson


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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Nicholas Carr embraces Cloud Computing

Nicholas Carr embraces Cloud Computing in his Latest Publication

Author: liza252
In the end, the best way to understand the import of cloud computing is through the disruptive innovation framework laid out by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen in his 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma. Drawing on a breadth of research into technological advances, Christensen demonstrated that upheavals tend to follow a pattern. In its early stages, a disruptive technology is characterized by relatively weak performance, which restricts its adoption to companies or individuals with limited cash, low performance requirements, or both. But the performance of the disruptive technology advances quickly, making it attractive to an ever broader set of users. Eventually, the disruptive technology is able to fulfill the needs of even the most sophisticated and demanding users, at which point it becomes the dominant technology in the marketplace. Cloud computing is advancing up the performance curve just as Christensen‘s framework predicts, and it seems only a matter of time before it becomes the IT model of choice not only for individuals and small companies but for the largest corporations.

 Cloud Computing Basics : Nicholas Carr embraces Cloud Computing in his Latest Publication


Beyond the technological changes, the advance of the cloud will mean a realignment of the IT work force, with some jobs disappearing, some shifting from users to suppliers, and others becoming more prominent. On the supplier side, we‘ll likely see booming demand for the skills required to design and run reliable large scale, multi-tenant computing plants. Expertise in parallel processing, virtualization, energy management and cooling, security and encryption, high-speed networking and data caching, and related fields will be coveted and rewarded. Much software will also need to be written or rewritten to run efficiently on the new infrastructure. In a clear sign of the new labor requirements, Google and IBM have teamed up to spearhead a major education initiative aimed at training university students to write programs for cloud systems.

On the user side, as the transition to the utility model accelerates in the years to come, we‘ll likely to see a steady decline in jobs related to building and maintaining in-house computer systems, while skills in information management and process design and automation will remain highly valued. We may see as well the rise of a new kind of IT professional a services broker who serves as the interface between cloud services and business units, crafting a flexible portfolio of IT services to meet business needs. The most aggressive adopters of cloud computing have already experienced a change in the makeup of their IT departments. The size of those departments is shrinking, but the positions that remain tend to be the more senior, more strategic ones.

For years, the knock on corporate IT has been that it is out of sync with business needs that there is, as the cliché goes, a lack of alignment between the IT department and the business units. The weak alignment, it can now be seen, was a symptom of the isolation that up until recently served as the foundational assumption of corporate IT isolated infrastructure, isolated applications, isolated data, and, all too often, isolated users. This assumption of isolation conflicted with the assumption of sharing that underpins business itself. (The reason business organizations exist is to allow collaboration among employees.) By for the first time making sharing the underlying assumption of IT, the cloud promises to finally bring IT and business into alignment at least for those companies that embrace the cloud‘s promise.

CIOs recognize this opportunity, and they‘re embracing it. In fact, the single most surprising development in cloud computing over the past three years has been the 180 degree change in the attitudes of forward looking CIOs. Far from seeing the cloud as a threat, as many originally did, they now view utility style computing as an opportunity to strengthen their own roles in their companies by shedding or outsourcing non strategic activities and focusing their efforts on core business tasks. Early in 2011, I attended a panel discussion on cloud computing involving a group of prominent CIOs in Silicon Valley. They were unanimous in their sense that, as one of them put it, the cloud was making the CIO position more relevant than ever. CIOs aren‘t buying all the current hype about the cloud they‘re a skeptical bunch but they now view cloud computing as essential to the future of their companies and their careers.

We‘re at the dawn of a new era in business. Just as the last century‘s electric utilities spurred the development of thousands of new consumer appliances and services, so the new computing utilities will shake up many markets and open myriad opportunities for innovation. We see this transformation playing out not just in IT departments and the IT industry but across information intensive industries like media and entertainment. Harnessing the power of the electric grid was the great enterprise of the twentieth century. Harnessing the power of the cloud is shaping up to be the great enterprise of the twenty first century.



An Excerpt from the Afterword
To read entire Afterword, visit http://cloudsrollin.com

About Nicholas G. Carr

Nicholas Carr (aka Nick) writes about technology, culture, and economics. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages. For more information visit cloudsrollin
About HCL ISD

HCL Technologies Infrastructure Services Division, also known as HCL ISD, falls in the category of the 4 percent American new public companies that have crossed, or are set to cross, the one billion revenue mark in the first 10 years of their inception.

For more information, please visit HCLISD
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/http://liza252.articlealley.com/nicholas-carr-embraces-cloud-computing-in-his-latest-publication-2339644.html


Nicholas Carr’s Take on Cloud Computing

Nicholas Carr’s Take on Cloud Computing and Consumerism

Author: liza252

The cloud turns many old assumptions on their head. Up until recently, if you wanted to see the cutting edge in information technology, you‘d look at what big corporations were doing. They were the ones that had the money and the skills needed to build the most advanced data centers, procure the latest servers and other gear, and write or buy the most sophisticated software programs. Today, when it comes to the users of information technology, the cutting edge is found not inside big companies but rather in homes, schools, and startups those are the places where cloud computing is not only firmly in the mainstream but has already become, in many instances, the dominant form of computing.
 Cloud Computing Basics : Nicholas Carr’s Take on Cloud Computing and Consumerism

 Consider your own or, better yet, your kid's experience with personal computing. Five years ago, if you wanted to do something new with your PC, your first instinct was almost certainly to go out to a store and a purchase a packaged software application. You‘d bring home the box, slide the CD or DVD into your optical drive, and install the application onto your hard drive, making sure it was compatible with your operating system and other applications. Every couple of years you‘d pay for an upgrade and go through the same installation process. That‘s no longer the case. Now, when you want to do something new with a computer, you fire up your web browser, hop onto the Net, and find the data, applications, and services you need. Your first instinct, in other words, is to look to the cloud where, more likely than not, you‘ll find what you want, and probably for free.

The entire Web 2.0 and social networking phenomenon, which has transformed personal computing in the last few years, is an outgrowth of cloud computing. A social site like Facebook, which is now the Web‘s most popular destination as well as an increasingly attractive platform for online games and other applications, is unthinkable without the cloud. Facebook requires the kind of seamless, large scale sharing of data and applications that is only possible with centralized, multi tenant systems running on the Internet. Most of the popular apps used on iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and other smartphones and tablets also rely on cloud databases and services for at least part of their functionality, even if they also involve the installation of software code on an internal flash drive. Modern gaming consoles, too, now routinely integrate cloud services served up from distant data centers. For the first time in the history of personal computing, consumers are today purchasing computers that actually have smaller storage drives than the ones they are replacing. Local storage is becoming less important as the cloud becomes more versatile. It‘s no exaggeration to say that, when it comes to personal computing, the big switch has already happened.

Small companies, particularly entrepreneurial startups, have also often been aggressive adopters of cloud computing, as have schools, government agencies, and nonprofits. For these kinds of organizations, which often have limited capital and tightly constrained budgets, the cloud can be a great leveler. By tapping into cloud data centers and subscribing to Web based applications, cash strapped organizations can gain access to modern, sophisticated IT services that were once available only to big companies with deep pockets. Indeed, since cloud systems can be continuously updated, they often provide superior capabilities to expensive, installed systems, the upgrading of which is usually costly and time consuming. As many smaller organizations have found, simply replacing an in house email system with a cheap Web based alternative can free up considerable amounts of money and avoid maintenance headaches and expenses while also providing users with far more storage capacity and advanced features than they would otherwise have had.

The common theme here and it‘s one of the central messages of cloud computing is the democratization of data processing. By driving down the cost and increasing the accessibility of computing power, the cloud continues the long term trend of making ever more powerful computing resources available to individuals and small groups. If the arrival of the PC meant that everyone had access to a computer, the arrival of cloud computing means that everyone has access to an entire data center.

This trend also has important implications inside corporations. As the purchase of applications and other IT services becomes simpler, faster, and cheaper as, in other words, self service becomes a reality end users, such as business units, corporate functions, and even individual employees are increasingly purchasing IT services directly, without routing requests through the IT department. Historically, explains Kevin Parikh, CEO of Avasant, an outsourcing advisory firm, the buyer of IT services is the chief information officer of a company. And today the buyer with the advent of cloud computing can oftentimes be . . . someone more directly connected with the service. As the Facebook generation enters the workplace, the expectation of self service in IT will only grow. A core challenge for IT departments is to facilitate this self-service trend, and the innovation it promises to engender, while also ensuring the maintenance of the controls needed to safeguard corporate data and meet regulatory requirements. Eli Lilly‘s use of end-user templates for deploying cloud services will likely become a common practice in many companies, as will the use of unified interfaces that incorporate management controls.



An Excerpt from the Afterword
To read entire Afterword, visit http://cloudsrollin.com/
About Nicholas G. Carr
Nicholas Carr (aka Nick) writes about technology, culture, and economics. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages. Nick has been a columnist for The Guardian in London and has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, and other periodicals. Nick is a member of the Encyclopedia Britannica's editorial board of advisors, is on the steering board of the World Economic Forum's cloud computing project, and writes the popular blog Rough Type. He is a sought-after speaker for academic and corporate events. Earlier in his career, he was executive editor of the Harvard Business Review. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A., in English and American Literature and Language, from Harvard University.

For more information, please visit cloudsrollin

About HCL ISD
HCL Technologies Infrastructure Services Division, also known as HCL ISD, falls in the category of the 4 percent American new public companies that have crossed, or are set to cross, the one billion revenue mark in the first 10 years of their inception. HCL ISD manages mission critical environments and handles over 3 million devices for over 1.7 million end users. The company’s clientele includes 20 percent of Fortune 100 organizations and has over 250 customers, Fortune 1000 companies. The company's fast growth has attracted several bestselling authors to include the HCL ISD case study in their bestsellers.

For more information, please visit HCLISD

Sunday, September 4, 2011

The Basics of Cloud Computing Services

The Basics of Cloud Computing Services

Author:Ziptech

You've probably heard all sorts of buzz about cloud computing services without any real clear definition being supplied. So here it is – the unofficial A to Z of the cloud.

'The cloud' is an offsite network. From the point of view of the cloud user, everything that he or she is using to compute, except the actual workstation, is hosted elsewhere, on a net based server. This gives the end user access to all the programs, tools and technology without having to pay for each upgrade or purchase endless lists of licences.


 Cloud Computing Basics : The Basics of Cloud Computing Services

Cloud computing services charge a usage fee, which is often paralleled with the national power grid. You pay for the electricity you use without having to worry about installing your own generator: when you cloud compute, you pay for the computing power you use without having to host it yourself.

The instant advantages of the cloud are twofold. You can use better technology for a reduced cost; and you don\'t have to devote office space to server rooms and data storage facilities.

Because you are paying for the use of the cloud, you don't have to budget for IT upgrades anymore. Cloud computing services upgrade themselves – you just keep on using the end products.

Your computers become workstations, usage ports connected to the cloud no matter where you take them. That means no more issues with data storage – all your data can be stored in the cloud – and no more hardware problems. When you cloud compute your PCS and laptops are interface devices that get you in to a much more powerful and secure server than the ones you have traditionally used in your office environment.
Like any new technology, there's a transitional period associated with the cloud. Current wisdom suggests that you should move your business into cloud computing services one part at a time. Start with backup and support, then move your email and applications. Your final step is to shift your data from in house environments to the cloud.

Paying for only the computing power you need, when you need it; and getting access to the latest versions of all the tools you need to conduct your business; are powerful reasons for moving up into the cloud. Every transition will of course be dictated by the nature of your business and the concerns specific to it. You can have a cloud computing services provider conduct a full consultation with you to determine how best to utilise the cloud for your business: take advice first and start moving in once you have a clear idea of how the move is going to progress.

Finally: how does the cloud work? Very simply. It works like the Internet – you log onto a net based application, which gives you access to all of the software, hosting services and backup you need.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/information-technology-articles/the-basics-of-cloud-computing-services-4959196.html
About the Author
Ziptech Servicesis a cloud computing resource provider and consultant. The company website is designed to deliver all the information necessary to make an informed and useful set of choices about where to go to get cloud computing and how to troubleshoot it too. Cloud Computing Services