Smll Business Cloud Services Summry. We re thick in the midst of historic se-chnge in computing. Like the emergence of personl computers, grphicl user interfces, nd mobile devices, the cloud is lredy profoundly chnging the wy we do business, nd the trnsformtion s just getting strted. The Cloud is whole collection of mrkets for vrious kinds of off-premise services; ech niche is in its own stge of development. It s bit wild west out there. It s hrd for smll-business owner to know which services re smllbusiness-redy nd which re still too risky or expensive. Now more thn ever, you need trusted dvisor who cn help you mrry the best of the cloud with the things best kept in-house for now. Nimble Systems provides worry-free technology solutions to businesses tht wnt the benefits of full-time IT deprtment without the hedche nd the cost. All of our customized IT strtegies re bcked by relible service nd support you cn count on, tking the stress out of using the technology you count on ech nd every dy. Discover wht prtnership with Nimble Systems could do for your business tody! Wht is The Cloud? The term cloud services describes n IT resource tht resides off-site, nd whose infrstructure is mnged by its vendor. You rent the resource nd ccess it remotely (often but not lwys through Web browser). There re mny, mny kinds of cloud services, including hosted emil, file storge nd shring, customer resource mngement (CRM), collbortion ids, virtul servers, virtul desktops, nd ccounting tools, to nme few. These re horizontl pplictions (not industry specific), nd there 1
Smll Business Cloud Services re lso countless verticl mrket cloud solutions tht fll under the heding of Ss (Softwre s Service). Wht re the benefits? The most oft-cited benefits re these: Sclbility/flexibility - You rent only wht you need, cn djust up or down t will, nd most cloud services re bsed on month-to-month pyment so you re never locked in. Reduced cpitl investment - Becuse you rent insted of buying, you hve no up-front cpitl costs, which removes finncil brriers to dopting n otherwise cost-prohibitive technology. Predictble expenses - Monthly fees re fixed (bsed on usge, e.g. number of users, mount of storge, etc.) Accessibility - You cn get to your resource from ny Web-enbled device, nytime, nywhere. Relibility - Most cloud service vendors commit to 99%+ uptime, nd compenste you (though not generously) if they fil to meet tht objective. 2012 by Shulmn Clrk Assocites LLC, All Rights Reserved. 2
Smll Business Cloud Services Freedom from obsolescence - The vendor keeps their cloud solution up to dte with ptches, new versions, etc., so you re never chrged for these updtes nd upgrdes, nd they re usully pretty trnsprent to you. Wht re the potentil drwbcks? There s no such thing s free lunch. Mrket risk - Some cloud service mrkets re well-developed. Stndrds re set. The winning vendors re known. Pricing is competitive nd resonble. Other niches re still developing, nd being n erly dopter of service cn be costly nd my put you on the losing end s the mrket mtures. Loss of control - When resource is in-house, you re in control. Updtes nd upgrdes hppen on your schedule. If there s problem you cn cll the responsible prty to tsk. With cloud service, you re t the mercy of the vendor. Support - Some cloud service providers only offer support vi emil or their ticketing system. You cnnot get humn being on the phone when you hve n issue. Sometimes the promised response time is long, s much s 24-48 hours. If the cloud service in question is essentil to your opertions, this my not be cceptble. Cost - Although there is little up-front investment for most cloud services, the totl cost cn be higher thn n in-house solution over the useful life the in-house solution would provide. Sometimes this cost differentil is high 100% or even more. If the cpitl investment for n in-house solution is not brrier, tht my be more cost-effective for you. Security - Some businesses worry bout putting criticl dt in the cloud, especilly if they re subject to legl requirements (e.g. HIPAA, ttorney-client privilege). There hve certinly been prominent cses of cloud vendors being hcked. We would suggest tht these concerns re lrgely misplced, t lest when the cloud vendor is wellestblished. Cloud services from these vendors re provided out of 2012 by Shulmn Clrk Assocites LLC, All Rights Reserved. 3
Smll Business Cloud Services enterprise-grde opertions centers with stte-of-the-rt security nd disster prevention. So while there is risk, it s probbly smller thn the risks you lredy fce. Which cloud solutions should I dopt? We cn t sy without understnding your specific sitution. It s ll bout the costs nd risks nd your tolernce for them, nd the benefits nd the business vlue those provide you. We cn sy tht certin technologies no longer pose much mrket risk nd provide significnt benefits for mny of our clients. Among these re hosted emil, collbortion ids, cloud bckups/storge/file-shring, nd hosted VOIP. For these services we hve selected preferred vendors who offer qulity service t gret price with high uptime gurntees nd good support. We continue to monitor vrious cloud services tht hve gret potentil so tht we re prepred to help clients dopt them s they mture. We cn lso sy tht some specific cloud offerings re in our opinion not yet smll-business-redy. Among these re cloud servers nd desktops these mrkets re still turbulent. The number of vendors is very lrge. Pricing is complex nd still too high for mny smll businesses. We expect these mrkets to become vible for smll business in the nottoo-distnt future. We ll dd tht in-house solutions exist tht cn provide mny of the sme benefits s hosted cloud service. For exmple, we don t need the cloud to mke you highly mobile. Our Totl-IT cn provide the sme predictbility in IT expenses s cloud solution, nd keep your IT just s relible nd secure. We hve ccess to finncing progrms tht cn significntly reduce up-front cpitl investment. 2012 by Shulmn Clrk Assocites LLC, All Rights Reserved. 4
Smll Business Cloud Services The bottom line. We don t recommend technology becuse it s hot, but becuse it s good solution for you. As your trusted IT dvisor, we cn help you evlute where to move to the cloud nd where to remin in-house. Nimble Systems Miling Address 3915 Reserch Prk Drive Suite A-13 Ann Arbor, MI 48108 Phone: 734-997-7145 Fx: 734-786-1239 Emil: info@nimble-systems.com Web: www.nimble-systems.com 2012 by Shulmn Clrk Assocites LLC, All Rights Reserved. 5