You’ve probably heard about the cloud.  Someone has probably told you that you should be there.  What does that really mean and why is it a good thing?

The concept of moving to the cloud is simple: run your software from somewhere other than in your closet.  Instead of having a lot of hardware in your shop with the software, you rent processor time from another provider and access those resources over the internet.  Hosting comes in two flavors: companies that specialize in hosting one application and company that specialize in providing platforms like a virtual server. 

Before we explore the providers, what are the pros and cons?

Pros:

1. *No huge capital outlay for hardware
   

2. *Reduced expense with IT companies because there is less in the office to administer.
   

3. *Providers absorb the costs of maintenance and hardware upgrades.
   

4. *Providers provide hardware redundancy: you don’t worry about hardware going down.
   

5. *Access to applications from anywhere you have an internet connection.
   

6. *Scalable needs-if you need more resources temporarily, the provider can turn this on for a period and off again when you are done.
   

Cons:

1. *Ongoing monthly costs (although most are inexpensive).
   

2. *Dependency on the internet.  If you lose your connection to the internet, or if you don’t have enough speed, your application will not perform.
   

3. *Data and systems might be less accessible than they are if the servers and data are at your place of business.
   

In 2009, I would say the Pros far outweigh the Cons.  Generally, your only concern is maintaining a connection to the internet, it is the provider’s goal to deliver the service to you.

In tomorrow’s article, I’ll explore the different types of providers and some information about specific providers.

drm

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