“The Cloud” seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, in a technology driven age we love concepts like the Internet of Things and The Cloud, but what does it mean for you and your business. We take a step back to earth and explore exactly what it means.
So, what is the Cloud?
It is very simply, another way to describe the internet. Although the concept appears to literally be a bit up in the clouds, it is simply a network of servers, yes physical servers on terra firma. Each with a different function, some store data, some enable services that allow you to work via the internet rather than locally on your computer. There are quite a few cloud applications available now which means that more than likely you come across the Cloud in your daily life, Google Drive, iCloud and Skydrive are but a few. Working on the Cloud requires less hardware allowing a business to be efficient and cost effective, it provides easy scalability.
Benefits of the Cloud
The big benefit is that you can access your information on any device with an internet connection and for us at Totalmobile that makes it the perfect companion to mobile workforce management.
For a business, it means you can make cost savings on hardware as you no longer need high end machines to manage your information. Software services, known as Software as a Service (SaaS) replaces the need for you to install software and or hardware. The company who provides you with the service, like us here at Totalmobile, host it, maintain it and update it regularly. As a customer you don’t have to download, install or run software on your devices, instead you can access it through the internet. Migrating services to the Cloud means you can no longer buy a bulk licence for example, but instead you pay a monthly subscription fee for a full package of service and support.
Security is important and with recent scares it’s understandable that people are nervous of their data being stored up there in the Cloud. But there are common standards to ensure companies are audited on their policies and procedures. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has security standards (ISO 27001) which ensures a company is following best practices for all security, including network scans and firewalls to physical access.
Here at Totalmobile, we’re making it easier than ever for you to deploy our solutions using the Cloud and our SaaS model. You’ll see some great benefits:
- Lower initial costs – being subscription based, makes it easier to manage costs. We’ll also manage the IT infrastructure, meaning this will lower your costs for hardware, software and the demands on your IT staff.
- Costs can be spread out over time – no more financial commitment for perpetual licences upfront or on site implementation.
- Get more value for money – licence costs and support are both included in the one subscription fee.
- Faster deployment – No need to install servers or go through painful manual set up – just download the app! Everything SaaS is pre-defined and easy to install.
- Right version every time – With SaaS you instantly get all upgrades, without requiring patch downloads or manual installs.
- Scales with your growth – our SaaS offering will scale to meet the demands of your business. Simply add more users to your monthly subscription, as and when you need them, and we’ll deal with the rest!
- Everything dealt with – With our SaaS offer you get a fully managed service, so you don’t need to worry about monitoring the service. It just works.
There you have it, a guide to what the Cloud means for you and your business, it’s not as scary as it may seem and here at Totalmobile we will definitely be using it to make it easier than ever to access our products.
