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What is the value proposition for Cloud Computing? How does it vary by company size and industry?
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Defining Cloud Computing
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7 Answers
Great answers everyone. I think an important thing to consider when looking at the general value of the cloud is around its adaptability and flexibility (or lack there of, depending on the layer of the cloud that you are talking about as well as the provider). If you do choose a flexible cloud partner (emphasis on partner because there is a big difference between having a provider and having a partner), the same value prop can exist regardless of the size of the business. When we talk to our customers and prospects, we frequently bring up the idea of a "cloud fingerprint" - the idea being that no two infrastructures are alike as is depends on your business' requirements and needs. Finding a cloud infrastructure provider that can meet those needs, be flexible and help you craft a solution is critical. No round pegs being jammed into square holes. For those interested, we have a variety of case studies of companies that range from 2 people to 1000's, each with their own unique implementation (see here: http://j.mp/AbOzb4) and this circles back to my original point about the value proposition of the cloud being flexible enough to meet just about any business needs. Hope that helps!
The major value proposition for cloud computing is that the buyer doesn't need to make the same capital investment into their IT infrastructure compared to a company that is looking to have the software located on-premise.
I would say that the value proposition does vary based on company size, but not necessarily as much by industry. The cost to put in place the IT infrastructure whether the the company is in finance / insurance, manufacturing, distribution, NFP, etc is going to be the same as you will need a server, workstations, etc.
The reason size contributes to the decision is because more often than not, the smaller the company, the more sensitive they are to cash fluctuations. As a result, it is more important to look at the cash availability for the enterprise, the cost to bring their IT infrastructure up to par with the software requirements (often can be different if you are using "on-premise" vs "off-premise", and what is the opportunity lost that the company may incur (or in other words, would the money invested in the IT infrastruture prove to have a better value add to the enterprise if it was used on something else).
Thanks,
Laurence
www.tlcgroupinc.com
www.discretemanufacturingerp.com
Cloud computing provides an opportunity for smaller organizations to access and deploy rich applications that would be too complex or costly for them to build and deploy on their own.
I agree with Laurence that size is more of a factor than industry, but the potential value manifests itself whenever a major change or deployment is needed. Often times, larger organizations have already made investments in infrastructure that make it more reasonable for them to deploy things in-house. But, even in larger organizations, being able to put a foot in the water without a huge startup cost can be valuable.
Long-term costs should still be evaluated, because there can be a lot more fluctuation in long-term cloud costs vs long-term on-premise costs.
-ASB: http://XeeMe.com/AndrewBaker
Cloud computing's value varies by the size and makeup of the client organization. As the aforementioned experts delineated above, the cloud provides Fortune 500-level IT capabilities to the small and midsize sector - without the capital cost.
So on the surface, it would seem that the cloud best serves organizations that are firmly established with a less-than-robust IT system already in place. However, we engaged with a small firm who had recently disbanded from a larger firm simply because the managing partner refused to put a "dollar sign" on the security of his clients' confidential data.
So the bottom line is that each cloud computing benefit should always be tied to a specific business benefit. If it meets that specified criteria, the cloud should be viewed as a viable alternative to on-premise IT.
Best of luck!
Yehuda Cagen
Cloud resources: http://www.info.isutility.com/houstoncloudcomputing
Cloud computing is also a boon to developers who are also freed from the overhead of in-house solutions. The developer can focus on functionality and features and leave the bandwidth and storage issues to the cloud.
Productivity gets a boost as well, as many of the cloud solutions offer feature sets that are new and not entrenched in typical corporate IT solutions. Being able to easily sync data across platforms and mobile devices, personal and work related, offers quicker access to data and easier model for working, especially if a road warrior or nomadic worker.
Cloud computing value proposition is reduction of total cost ownership or TCO, translation of fixed cost to variable cost, improvement of business agility and ability to build systems of a global class. Cloud computing cost model allows businesses to free up budget on infrastructure, and the cloud platform allows delivering innovation services quickly. It is obvious that the cloud computing value proposition is higher for a small size company as it has a more restricted budget.
http://www.myrealdata.com/cloud-computing.html
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