Cloud
Hi again,
The Cloud!
It seems everyone is talking about it. Some say ignore it, some love it. But what is it really and how does it effect us SMB IT Consultants.
First thing is, we have all been using cloud computing for a decade. No we haven’t some say…Well their wrong. Where is their website based? I bet it’s not on a server in their ‘Server Room’ (broom cupboard!).
That’s right, it’s outsourced and hosted from the web to other web users. They use the admin control panel to upload etc just like we would with a hosted Exchange Server.
Right, that’s out the way. Now, what is the Cloud. I can’t be bothered going over old ground and political arguments about it. For real life views, and notice I didn’t say definitions, have a look at IT Weekly and other trade press or have a gander at Karl Palachuk’s excellent blog and punch in cloud. Remember to read and re-read all of the articles from this year!
There is no real definition as different people say it means different things. To me it means as Karl says ‘we don’t care where the server is’. It then becomes a true server, somewhere out there which servers a purpose, not a time and money draining expense for the client. I personally see it is a way of less stress for us. We don’t have to take care of the physical box unless we want to. Being a non-geek business technology consultant, I want to consult on ways to help business use their technology to make them more efficient, save them money and give me money for that service. I don’t want to be bogged down with remoting in to a server cause Microsofts latest patch has failed etc etc. I want to be thinking about real life technology and how small businesses can leverage corporate level stuff at an affordable cost in order to better their rivals. I am I suppose, an SMB technology evangelist.
Now sometimes, an inhouse private cloud or even an old fashioned SBS server in the corner is the best way to go. It’s horses for courses and our job is also to deflect the client from buzzword technolgy that they don’t need and that their grandson uses or saw at the end of a BBC news section. If they don’t need a technology or it won’t help them, I tell them so and am not interested if they ignore my advice.
I will still be doing old fashioned server installs and maintenance for the next couple of years but am gearing up for the cloud NOW!
As Karl P mentions, if you don’t have a plan now and think it won’t happen, you will follow the very crowded market and struggle. The same happened with ‘Managed Services’. That is so 2005. There are still people now talking about starting a managed service consultancy. Good luck to them and I really do mean that, but they should be looking more at the cloud than the old model.
Think about it, there are young companies out there who have grown up with nothing but web this and web that, it’s normal to them. They don’t have 10+ experience in the IT world so have no baggage concerning the old model of sell a server every three years, maintain it and repeat and repeat. They don’t even know what that model is. They go ahead, get services out there that people want and grow quickly whilst some of us dinosaurs say ‘it won’t happen because most of my clients want their data in their own server that they own’. Come on, I’ve used that line in the past, but how secure is that data when the office is in the high street, a mere break in away! Yeah it’s backed up offsite but really, if someone owns the computer hard disk, they own your data.
One thing to look at is the amount of clients who ask you about internet backup. I have been having more of mine do that. All the ‘it will take ages to restore or we will have to send them a seeded hard drive crap’ doesn’t wash. They use it at home, their grandson uses it and Google Docs etc. When things like that become the norm even if it is only in their heads, no amount of advice will stop that. People are looking for solutions that take away the human factor. Technology consulting till now has been based around some human looking after the clients technology. I don’t want to do that anymore, I’m bored of it and want a more lucrative and enjoyable way of working.
Remember: ‘It doesn’t matter where the ‘Server’ is. If it works, is said to be secure and doesn’t cause me or my client grief, then great. I love that idea and can’t wait to get going. I can then get on with what excites me and pass that excitement to my clients. People at the moment mostly hate technology cause they are too close to it and see the failures. I want them to LOVE it and see how it can help their bottom line.
Bring on the Cloud, get the engines going and leave the old guard behind!