So, what is cloud computing, exactly?

SMEs might struggle to find the silver lining in cloud computing

Every time I speak to another IT support consultant, they tell me about the benefits of cloud computing. However, they rarely outline the drawbacks. And I do understand the advantages of the cloud; in fact I’m the first to champion its benefits for the right kind of company.

I would argue that small businesses and SMEs should think twice about the value they will get from having their information infrastructure, software and services hosted on the internet, rather than on their personal computers or network.

Business owners should ensure that they have the right IT infrastructure and broadband services in place to meet their information demands. Cost is clearly an issue, as is security. But the biggest problem is Internet access. If you don’t have sufficiently robust broadband, equipped with adequate bandwidth, it can limit your flexibility and even your creativity. Cloud computing can also restrict the software you can use on individual machines – and we can all agree that lack of flexibility is not an option for small businesses and SMEs for whom agility is often the key selling point.

Cloud computing can be revelatory for the right business, but failure to plan might make it difficult to find the silver lining in this particular cloud.

Posted by: Domininc Jones - IT Support at Barton Technology  12 May 2011