Cloud computing provides computation, software, data access and storage services that do not require the customer to know where the physical location of the data is. Think of internet banking, you can logon anywhere the internet is available and can access your personal account information. 

Obviously, your account information is not stored on every computer. You are effectively accessing information that is stored somewhere else (even though you don’t know where that is). 

Cloud computing is far from new, but has definitely picked up some steam in the last 12 months in both number of products available and the number of individuals and businesses using cloud products.

The most common type of Cloud computing we see being used successfully by our clients is SaaS (Software as a Service). This type of Cloud computing delivers a single application through the internet to customers using an individual login and password. On the customer side, it means there is no upfront investment in servers or software licensing, as well as the opportunity to be able to work on any computer anywhere.

The integration of SaaS providers is probably the fastest expanding part of Cloud software and definitely one of the most exciting. Salesforce.com is the most recognised SaaS on the market (used by Google and American Red Cross) and is a great example of these “partnerships” with other SaaS providers in different fields. 

Salesforce is for customer relationship management (CRM) and they have created partnerships for Xero (accounting), EBay (online shopping) as well as many more. What this means is that while businesses’ point of sale, financial reports and customer details are stored on different systems, they all integrate with each other which eliminates the need for double or triple entry.

 Where Cloud Computing and SaaS is going

Cloud computing is no doubt growing, recent studies in the US forecast that business spending on Cloud software will increase by over 100% each year from 2011 to 2014. 

With increased spending, comes increased investing, which brings more products and more competition. We believe Cloud computing is something that all businesses should be looking towards, as there is more money and time being invested in these compared to desktop solutions. As a consumer, this means continually improved functionality and ease of use.

If Cloud software is something you would like to explore, simply get on Google or alternatively contact Troy Marchant from our office on (02) 43 200 500 and he can discuss what options are available for you.