February 22, 2010
Software as a service (SaaS) is an on-demand solution that provides businesses an affordable way to use a software application without having to purchase it. This is done by leasing the program from a provider and either accessing it through the internet or accessing it after you’ve installed it locally. As an IT business solution, SaaS has become an increasingly popular choice since companies only rent the software, rather than committing to the purchase price of the application and user licensing.
Many popular applications are available as SaaS. Several well-known and free SaaS solutions are Hotmail, Google Docs and Yahoo Instant Messenger. Business-centric, on-demand solutions that include services such as payroll applications, CRM solutions, business-class email, online storage and more are also becoming increasingly popular.
Latest and greatest
Microsoft has recently entered the SaaS arena with their Windows Azure Platform. Currently offering a limited suite of SaaS solutions, Microsoft will eventually offer all of their applications as SaaS, while still offering all applications as local solutions.
Google has also joined the SaaS movement and is offering Google Apps Premier Edition. Unlike previous Google applications that were free and intended for individual consumers, the Premier Edition has business solutions that will offer a complete suite of business applications.
Key benefits
Regardless of what type of business you own, you will realize several benefits if you choose a SaaS solution. Benefits include the following:
- Affordable- With SaaS, you won’t have a large up-front capital expense as you would if you chose to purchase the software. A reasonable monthly fee is all you will pay to have the latest version of your favorite software. You won’t need to spend money purchasing and installing software. You won’t have to worry about the cost of upgrading it, either. Your SaaS provider will take care of it so you don’t have to.
- Flexible- Because SaaS is offered as an on-demand service, you can adjust your contract to fit your staffing needs.
- Stable- The SaaS applications are installed on more powerful, secure, and redundant hardware infrastructure than you could afford to own.
- Quick deployment- Because most SaaS solutions are web-based, deployment is instantaneous, giving you immediate access to the business solutions you need.
- Accessible- Regardless of where you do business, you will always have access to your SaaS applications as long as you have access to the internet.
- Compatible- Most SaaS applications are compatible with most systems and smart phones.
Learn more
To learn more about SaaS and how it might fit into your business plan, please call the IT consulting experts at All Covered at 866-446-1133.
February 15, 2010
In the previous articles in the cloud computing series, you learned about cloud computing in general and then took a more in depth look at the three different models of cloud currently available to businesses. Public, hybrid and private cloud computing models each offer unique benefits that fit different business IT needs. By the time you’ve read this article, you should be able to make some preliminary decisions about which cloud model will best serve your business’s IT needs.
Public cloud- This type of cloud computing model would be a good choice if your business needs to replace a service or application that you currently have and run on-site. Switching services to the public cloud will give you additional features that aren’t always available through a simple onsite upgrade. Other good reasons to consider the public cloud model include the following:
- Your software or hardware is approaching End of Life (EOL) and upgrading or replacement is too expensive.
- You need features that you can’t get from a local, onsite solution.
- Your IT resources such as servers and specialized applications are decentralized.
- You have multiple offices and remote users.
- You require high-availability for only one or two business solutions.
Hybrid cloud- Your business would benefit from the hybrid cloud solution if you already have investments in hardware, software and solutions in place but still needs to supplement your IT network. Consider the hybrid cloud computing model if you want to supplement only one or two components of your IT environment and have the following needs:
- You have centralized all of your IT resources but must add a critical feature to one of them.
- You need secure server backups or a data archiving solution.
- You need email and web content filtering and protection.
Private cloud- If your business needs require high availability and security, consider this cloud computing model. A private cloud will provide your business with an environment that is designed around redundancy, high availability, and secure remote access. Choose the private cloud model if your business needs include the following:
- You have multiple sites, especially “satellite” offices with all IT resources centralized at HQ.
- You have high-availability needs around data access, internet, email and other critical applications
- Your business has complex regulatory and legal requirements that require physical controls of data, physical access to sensitive data, enhanced logging or secure access to data using keys or tokens.
- Your business deals with high-risk data that is governed by PCI, HIPPA or FISMA regulatory controls.
Learn more
Many businesses can take advantage of public, hybrid or private cloud computing technology. To learn more about which model is right for your business, please contact the IT consulting experts at All Covered at 866-446-1133.
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February 10, 2010
T
he previous article in this cloud computing series explained the general definition of cloud computing and discussed some of the general features that all cloud computing vendors offer. Now that you have a basic idea of what cloud computing is, this article will take you beyond the basics that vendors offer and focus on the nature of cloud computing.
Types of clouds
Cloud computing can be divided into three different models: public, hybrid, and private. While the three models have common traits (as explained in the last article), they also have different key features that might make one model a better choice to meet your business’s IT needs. Below are the key features of each model.
Public cloud- This type of cloud computing is the traditional model that everyone thinks of when they envision cloud computing. In this model, vendors dynamically allocate resources (hard drive space, RAM, and processor power) on a per-user basis through web applications. Salesforce.com and ADP are two well-known vendors that offer public cloud computing services.
- Unlimited access- As long as you have internet access and a compatible device such as a smart phone or laptop computer, you can access your data anywhere.
- Unlimited data capacity- Public cloud computing is flexible to meet your business’s growing data storage and processing needs.
Hybrid cloud-This model combines your business’s hardware with cloud computing. Generally, one of your business applications such as Exchange Server 2007 or Microsoft Dynamics will interact with a vendor-hosted service. For example, Cisco, traditionally recognized for networking hardware, offers IronPort Email Security as their hybrid solution and Google, known for hosted solution, offers Postini email archiving.
- Hardware required- Hybrid cloud computing requires that you have or purchase hardware to interact with the hosted solution.
- Software required- In addition to hardware requirements, your business will need to have or purchase the software to manipulate and store data.
Private cloud- Also known as “internal cloud computing,” private cloud computing is the next generation of virtualization. While similar to virtualization at the server, workstation and application levels, private cloud computing has enhanced features that appeal to many businesses. Two examples of private cloud solutions are VMware vCloud and Citrix VDI.
- Increased data security- You and your business are in control of security since data never leaves your network.
- Simple compliance enforcement- Depending upon your vertical market, government regulations may prohibit your business from using traditional or hybrid cloud computing. Private cloud computing lets you take advantage of cloud computing features while keeping all regulated data onsite and secure.
- Customized IT network control- By keeping your cloud private, you are free to customize your network to meet your specific business needs.
Learn more
To learn more about which cloud computing model will best meet your business needs, please contact the IT consulting experts at All Covered at 866-446-1133.
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February 3, 2010
Cloud computing is a generic, catch-all term that many people use to explain many different IT concepts, solutions and services that might or might not be actually be cloud computing. Because cloud computing is constantly evolving, the IT industry has had a difficult time creating a concrete definition for the concept. This article will focus on defining the basic nature of cloud computing, which won’t change, regardless of how cloud computing evolves.
What it is
Cloud Computing is an IT service intended for business use that vendors such as Salesforce.com, Rackspace and WebSense offer “on-demand.” Vendors provide “on-demand” services such as CRM, off-site storage, hosted email solutions, secure web portals, etc. Instead of spending money on applications and hardware, businesses have access to the same resources without the commitment of ownership.
Where it’s located
Because services are provided over the internet, the vendor can be located anywhere in the world and it won’t impact quality of service. Businesses can access most purchased solutions through a secure device such as a workstation, laptop or smartphone and a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Key characteristics
While each cloud computing vendor will operate with a slightly different business plan, all vendors do share similarities.
- Affordable- As an “on-demand” service, vendors will only charge businesses for the resources used. Typically, you will sign a contract of some sort, but the terms are flexible and should meet your business needs.
- Scalable- Most vendors provide cloud computing services to organizations of any size. Your business will not be restricted by its number of users or amount of data.
- Self-service- While vendors will maintain the hardware and the solution, your business will be responsible for maintaining all data.
- Multi-tenancy- Vendors store data from multiple companies on the same hardware. Don’t worry; your business’s data will be kept separate and secure through application architecture, while sharing resources such as storage, memory and processing power.
- Redundant data storage- Most solutions provide multiple physical sites where they will store multiple copies of data, making cloud computing suitable for businesses that need high-availability.
Key Benefits
Every business that uses cloud computing solutions will realize many benefits. While some benefits will be particular to your individual business, two key benefits that all businesses realize are as follows:
- No out-of-pocket infrastructure costs- With cloud computing, your business won’t need to buy additional servers, hardware or networking equipment to take advantage of a solution.
- Simple to support- Vendors will service and support their solution, upgrading and patching your solution so you don’t have to.
Types of solutions
- Managed email- Many vendors offer solutions that will work well at your physical business site and on you mobile devices such as iPhones, Blackberries and other smartphones.
- Email Archiving- With cloud computing, your business can store an unlimited amount of email, providing your business with a clear audit trail.
- Secure Web Gateway- This cloud computing solution will babysit your network by limiting access to specific web pages and blocking access to others. This enhanced security will help protect your entire IT network from malware.
- CRM- Vendors such as Salesforce.com and Dynamics provide customizable customer management, sales, and marketing campaign tools for your business.
- Finance/Accounting- The vendor will host the software application, process the data, integrate it with taxes and also take care of payroll, expenses and other business needs.
To learn more
To learn more about cloud computing and how your business will benefit from one or more of the available solutions, please contact the outsource IT consulting experts at All Covered at 866-446-1133.
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