Cloud

It�s not news that IT is an ever-changing industry. The skills that I learnt when I first started are now mostly irrelevant. I say �mostly� because some of the fundamentals of disks, files, networks etc still hold true (once we�d migrated off token ring anyway). And I still use the command prompt to search for files. But when I started, there was no Cloud, no social media, no phishing, no virtualization, no sector based backups and no ADSL. File storage was done on a Novell Netware server or three, with a bank of dial-in modems for remote access.

Monday in Queensland is a public holiday to observe�labour day, which is quite apt because yes, I�m working. Now before you�pity me that I don�t�get three whole days off (in a row!), I�m not that concerned actually.

Long weekends are the perfect structure for me. I�ve had time to spend with friends and family, time to catch up on housework and time to work while clients are away and I can�control their computers whenever suits, without interrupting them. It�s also the last weekend before school recommences for the kids so add in polishing shoes & gathering all required school items prior to the first morning back.

I�ve seen a few discussions amongst the Australian IT community recently from people who are very anti-Cloud. Aside from privacy concerns (NSA access to data centres not located in Australia) and Internet infrastructure concerns (yes, many businesses still have pitiful Internet speeds), the next favourite objection involves every time a Cloud service has ever has an outage.

Microsoft�s Office 365 service didn�t help my cause today with a 3hr�degradation in service, where emails couldn�t be sent or received for a number of customers. When the service was restored though, all the emails caught up.

I had the pleasure of showing a team the features of their new CRM software. Have I lost you yet with how boring that sentence is? Fortunately the reality was far from boring.

To me�� the CRM system is a plugin to a Joomla website. There are some bits I can configure & some bits I can�t (especially as I�m not the Joomla site admin nor do I ever ever want to be.
To the business owner�� the system means no more monthly fees to a Cloud CRM system. This one off purchase will last her for at least 3 years and will handle the growth she is expecting. It�s also one place to see how her sales pipeline is looking & to get instant access to the conversations had with & information that�s been provided to her customers & prospective customers.
To the team members�� this is a �central console�, one place to get a picture of what they have on the go and what others are working on too.

This isn�t intended as a comprehensive argument on how to evaluate if Cloud Computing is right for you or not. �I�ve written it to show where we use Cloud Computing in our own business, and where we don�t. �As most of my readers aren�t IT Providers, you may find something relevant in this, or you may not. �But I�m a firm believer in recommending the best solution to a client for their individual needs, so our own decision on Cloud Computing has been based on our current business needs.