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The
sky's the limit with cloud computing
CLOUD computing provides
business services on demand via a secure
online environment, referred to as the
'cloud'. Customers enjoy services such as
hosted e-mail, Web publishing, office tools
and HR applications on a subscription basis,
without the need to install software, buy
licences or manage ICT infrastructure.
In challenging economic times, it is
imperative that businesses focus their
limited resources and capital on
revenue-generating activity. And
increasingly, they are turning to cloud
computing to avoid high upfront investments
in infrastructure and maintenance and
upgrade costs.
According to an August 2008 Springboard
Research paper - Software-as-a-Service in
Apac: The Momentum Continues - the
Asia-Pacific cloud computing services is
expected to register a compound annual
growth rate of around 60 per cent in 2011
Bill Chang, SingTel's executive
vice-president for business group, notes:
'Cloud computing allows businesses to
improve their productivity, yet cut their
ICT costs by up to 90 per cent.'
What is cloud computing?
Traditionally, companies have had to buy
software packages and licences by paying a
one-time fee. Software support and updates
are provided by the vendor or developer at
an additional cost from time to time.
Cloud computing, on the other hand, does not
require licences. Instead of paying a
one-time fee, companies pay only a low
monthly subscription to access and use the
software.
There is also the flexibility to increase or
decrease the number of users depending on
business needs. In addition, the software is
not downloaded and stored on company
computers. Users can access the software any
time, anywhere - as long as there is a
broadband Internet connection.
The benefits of
cloud computing are:
- No upfront
hardware/software costs
- Pay per user,
scalable according to business growth
- Fast to
implement, low risk
- No upgrade and
maintenance costs, so no need for
specially trained IT personnel to handle
maintenance, monitoring and software
updates
- Increase
productivity with better business
process
- Direct resources
to focus on core business
- Only low
recurring monthly subscription fees
- Access any time,
anywhere (24/7)
- No need for large
storage, as software or data are not
stored on computer
In other words,
companies can potentially enjoy higher
productivity at a lower cost with cloud
computing. Virtualisation technologies can
also allow users to pool disparate physical
computing resources, such as servers and
data storage, so they appear as one in a
virtual environment. This simplifies and
optimises the deployment and administration
of computing resources.
Mr Chang says: 'Cloud computing is gaining
momentum globally as broadband and smart
devices become more pervasive and
affordable, and virtualisation technologies
mature. We expect this market to grow even
faster with the launch of Singapore's
ultra-fast Next Generation National
Broadband Network in 2012.'
This article was contributed by SingTel, one
of the partners of Emerging Enterprise 2010
This article was first published in
The Business Times.
Source:
asianone tech sense. |
