IT as-a-Service Using Cloud Computing and How it is Changing Organizations Today
There are many challenges when building a reliable, flexible IT infrastructure that can manage unpredictable behaviors of today's internet-based business environment. But Cloud-based IT is changing the way organizations used to look at building and maintaining IT infrastructures. The digitally dynamic business world can no longer be served effectively using a static IT architecture. To be competitive, businesses need to re-think the IT as an on-demand sharing of resources using the Internet - a totally a web-based platform that provides IT services to employees anytime/anywhere in the world.
The idea of cloud computing is nothing new. There's a good chance you've already used some form of cloud computing. If you have an e-mail account with a Web-based e-mail service like Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail, then you've had some experience with cloud computing. Imagine taking your IT closet, including all that it hosts, and put on the cloud while virtualizing the desktops. That is what Cloud IT offers.Â
Think of cloud computing as the ability to provision computational resources on demand via a computer network. Take for example; when a user executes a task, such as launching Word processing application, or opening a contact management database, these tasks taking place without actually possessing the software using a local hardware (the user's PC). In fact, the end-user's computer may contain very little software or data, if any at all.  A display terminal connected to the Internet with a minimal operating system and a web browser. The cloud is the underlying delivery mechanism, the user's desktop and all the required business applications can be served on the cloud by the cloud on-demand. Â
In such an unstable economic environment, budgets are under scrutiny and companies are feeling increased pressure to reduce operating costs without sacrificing quality. At the same time, in order to remain successful and competitive, a business cannot forego investment in areas such as IT that has proven to be a major differentiator among competitors.
Let's face it; Information Technology is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity, for any business to succeed. Increasingly, more and more small businesses find technology to be more of a wear and tear than an enabling utility. Small to medium businesses have the particularly difficult challenge of having limited resources and infrastructure support, while still requiring high-quality IT services to remain competitive. It is simply too costly to maintain internal comprehensive IT infrastructure.
I doubt if there is any need to explain to a small business owner what IT is.  I am certain it is well understood and most are quite familiar with when a patch to the operating system is required, or the print spooler doesn't work right, or there is an incompatibility issue with files from three different versions of Microsoft Excel. IT resources are needed to resolve any of these issues. Many small business owners believe that IT is a necessary component for their business to run efficiently.
It may appear to be more cost effective to hire a consultant or dedicate an employee (full/part-time) to manage in-house IT needs. In reality however, this is often not the case. For my company, in the long run, having a full/part-time employee, and/or using an outside contractor on an as-needed basis, (usually when there is a crisis) actually costs a company much more than a fully managed cloud-based IT infrastructure.
Successful companies are committed to providing the best service to their clients, and having reliable Information Technology is a must-have to accomplish this. "For years, we were always in firefighting mode. We used to jump from one crisis to the next. Like many small companies our size, we were faced with many of the same challenges: aging IT platforms, on-going maintenance costs, compelling motivation to be more efficient and agile at the same time, while keeping the cost in mind," states Michael Gilmartin, President of Olympia Moving & Storage. "Our in-house IT infrastructure consisted of four servers running business & financial applications (some of which are legacy apps), e-mail, security systems, network, desktops, laptops, PDAs and a lot more. Keeping the IT closet operational was not only expensive, but also inefficient. Every few years servers had to be upgraded and/or re-built. Supporting some of our legacy software was becoming more and more difficult. "Building on top of a VoIP idea, which our company had adopted a couple of years ago, we finally decided to look into the future to the next generation of IT infrastructure - using Cloud Computing and IT-As-A-Service."
IT-As-A-Service is mostly about the provisioning and management of resources which includes both the operational services and business services. It is about who within an organization needs what kind of IT resources and when.
"Blue Robin, based in Waltham, MA introduced us to the concept of setting up IT environments on the Cloud and remotely managing the entire IT infrastructure, including desktops and PDAs from a remote location. Initially we were skeptical for we have a few legacy systems that are not web-based. Blue Robin was able to set up a prototype system and showed how it can help us reduce IT resources while providing the opportunity to leverage more sophisticated technologies at a much lower cost", says Michael. "We are very excited about this new technology path that Blue Robin has paved for us, making cloud computing a reality for Olympia Moving & Storage. The virtualization of IT infrastructure has improved the economics by using resources more efficiently and has provided a faster and more efficient platform to deliver quality service to our clients. It has helped us to focus on our customers' needs rather than technologies needed to support clients", says Gilmartin."
The bottom line cost savings, simplicity, and security are three major benefits of Cloud Computing and IT As-A-Service. With "always-on-and-ready" IT infrastructure, your company can save significant costs while helping you focus on what you know best - how to run your business and keep your clients and employees happy. Your business will gain technology peace of mind, and significantly reduce business risk in the process.
Michael Gilmartin, President, Olympia Moving & Storage
17 Bridge Street
Watertown, MA 02472
www.olympicmoving.com
The idea of cloud computing is nothing new. There's a good chance you've already used some form of cloud computing. If you have an e-mail account with a Web-based e-mail service like Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail, then you've had some experience with cloud computing. Imagine taking your IT closet, including all that it hosts, and put on the cloud while virtualizing the desktops. That is what Cloud IT offers.Â
Think of cloud computing as the ability to provision computational resources on demand via a computer network. Take for example; when a user executes a task, such as launching Word processing application, or opening a contact management database, these tasks taking place without actually possessing the software using a local hardware (the user's PC). In fact, the end-user's computer may contain very little software or data, if any at all.  A display terminal connected to the Internet with a minimal operating system and a web browser. The cloud is the underlying delivery mechanism, the user's desktop and all the required business applications can be served on the cloud by the cloud on-demand. Â
In such an unstable economic environment, budgets are under scrutiny and companies are feeling increased pressure to reduce operating costs without sacrificing quality. At the same time, in order to remain successful and competitive, a business cannot forego investment in areas such as IT that has proven to be a major differentiator among competitors.
Let's face it; Information Technology is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity, for any business to succeed. Increasingly, more and more small businesses find technology to be more of a wear and tear than an enabling utility. Small to medium businesses have the particularly difficult challenge of having limited resources and infrastructure support, while still requiring high-quality IT services to remain competitive. It is simply too costly to maintain internal comprehensive IT infrastructure.
I doubt if there is any need to explain to a small business owner what IT is.  I am certain it is well understood and most are quite familiar with when a patch to the operating system is required, or the print spooler doesn't work right, or there is an incompatibility issue with files from three different versions of Microsoft Excel. IT resources are needed to resolve any of these issues. Many small business owners believe that IT is a necessary component for their business to run efficiently.
It may appear to be more cost effective to hire a consultant or dedicate an employee (full/part-time) to manage in-house IT needs. In reality however, this is often not the case. For my company, in the long run, having a full/part-time employee, and/or using an outside contractor on an as-needed basis, (usually when there is a crisis) actually costs a company much more than a fully managed cloud-based IT infrastructure.
Successful companies are committed to providing the best service to their clients, and having reliable Information Technology is a must-have to accomplish this. "For years, we were always in firefighting mode. We used to jump from one crisis to the next. Like many small companies our size, we were faced with many of the same challenges: aging IT platforms, on-going maintenance costs, compelling motivation to be more efficient and agile at the same time, while keeping the cost in mind," states Michael Gilmartin, President of Olympia Moving & Storage. "Our in-house IT infrastructure consisted of four servers running business & financial applications (some of which are legacy apps), e-mail, security systems, network, desktops, laptops, PDAs and a lot more. Keeping the IT closet operational was not only expensive, but also inefficient. Every few years servers had to be upgraded and/or re-built. Supporting some of our legacy software was becoming more and more difficult. "Building on top of a VoIP idea, which our company had adopted a couple of years ago, we finally decided to look into the future to the next generation of IT infrastructure - using Cloud Computing and IT-As-A-Service."
IT-As-A-Service is mostly about the provisioning and management of resources which includes both the operational services and business services. It is about who within an organization needs what kind of IT resources and when.
"Blue Robin, based in Waltham, MA introduced us to the concept of setting up IT environments on the Cloud and remotely managing the entire IT infrastructure, including desktops and PDAs from a remote location. Initially we were skeptical for we have a few legacy systems that are not web-based. Blue Robin was able to set up a prototype system and showed how it can help us reduce IT resources while providing the opportunity to leverage more sophisticated technologies at a much lower cost", says Michael. "We are very excited about this new technology path that Blue Robin has paved for us, making cloud computing a reality for Olympia Moving & Storage. The virtualization of IT infrastructure has improved the economics by using resources more efficiently and has provided a faster and more efficient platform to deliver quality service to our clients. It has helped us to focus on our customers' needs rather than technologies needed to support clients", says Gilmartin."
The bottom line cost savings, simplicity, and security are three major benefits of Cloud Computing and IT As-A-Service. With "always-on-and-ready" IT infrastructure, your company can save significant costs while helping you focus on what you know best - how to run your business and keep your clients and employees happy. Your business will gain technology peace of mind, and significantly reduce business risk in the process.
Michael Gilmartin, President, Olympia Moving & Storage
17 Bridge Street
Watertown, MA 02472
www.olympicmoving.com