A Cloud Explosion?

Today, Hexus published an article on SME adoption of the cloud. Apparently, it's going great guns and SMEs are gagging to use it and once they are using it they want to increase their use of it.

The research undertaken by CompTIA found that 18% of UK SMEs use cloud solutions with a further 30% planning implementations over the coming year. Those that had already adopted the cloud were very pleased with the experience and a whopping 81% planned to increase their usage.

Wow! I'm currently writing a white paper specifically for SMEs and whether they should join the cloud bang-wagon or not. It looks like it's well timed. It's not quite ready yet, so in the meantime, here's a few things to think about when you're considering the cloud for your company:

• Service: The internet is not a guaranteed service, there are no service levels associated with it. It could go down at any time and there'd be nothing you could do. Assuming that you're happy with this, you then need to understand and be happy with the service levels being offered by the hosting company, do they fit in with your company's own service requirements, and for that matter your customers?
• Where's my Data?: Knowing where your data is and who has access to it is something you should be absolutely certain of nailing down. In addition, what governmental data-protection legislation does it fall under? For instance, the US has far less stringent data protection requirements than the UK, particularly since the patriot act.
• Security: If you're accessing the service via the internet, it's only the security of the hosting company that stops anyone with internet access getting at your systems. Knowing this, you should be ensuring that the hosting company has security of your systems front and center.

Above all though, if you think the cloud is for you, investigate things first. Don't jump in and preferably use someone who has previous experience to make sure you get the service you require rather than one the hosting company decides you want. GreenBOLD can help with this through a part-time IT Project Manager with hosting/cloud experience.