Cloud Computing in Small Business : Outlook

Cloud Computing in Small Business such as ERP, also shows expected competitive advantages through cloud until the competitor has implemented a similar model. This article is an outlook based on our previous three articles – Strategic Requirements for Including Cloud computing for Small Businesses, Opportunities and Risks of Cloud Computing for Small Business and Use of Cloud Computing in Small Business.

Cloud Computing in Small Business : Outlook

From the aforementioned articles, the success factors such as global reach and the avoidable cost transparency of IT services to the typical computer work replaced and creating more scalability in the enterprise. The vision of the new world of IT resources in the cloud provides the referring and discounting as a commodity like water or electricity. Given these advantages those cloud computing offers, even in the current expression, compared to the traditional IT infrastructures, market researchers characterize the growth potential of cloud, especially for SMEs to be very positive. The greatest need, to the market analysts is much in the hardware-oriented services, which in the resulting in SaaS services.

On the other hand, in view of the still prevailing uncertainties and vulnerabilities against the cloud, the cloud services for most IT managers are currently causing still difficult impact to assess. For example, the long-term costs without consideration of the comparative figures designed to be difficult. The calculation and weighed against unpredictable risks, such as the cost of the data center power consumption to license and usage fees for the software are unpredictable for the long run. This opinion currently corresponds to the assessment of 54 percent of those surveyed IT managers who expect a bigger growth of the cloud market in next few years.

This view is made instable by the fact that the supply of cloud services currently is still limited and security, scalability and interface compatibility needed for optimization. With Open Cloud Manifesto, one of the first steps for joint design of interfaces and uniformity in pricing models has been established. However, it will still take a long time until the cloud has will the trust of customers. This also emphasize the market researchers who assume that the outstanding issues has been resolved faster, assuming such might bring the higher the request fails to the customers. The past has quickly become known safety margins for the larger companies, among the other things, can now lead to new legal regulations on data security and privacy. If the legal requirements are to be ever meet, this is moving to put the data management in the hands of professionals. On the other hand, there will be companies those will offer less control and a slight lack of availability of the data with significant cost savings.

If it is assumed that cloud will see a proliferation in the business landscape, the question arises whether the anticipated long-term competitive potential is strong. The development on the basis of other concepts, such as ERP, also shows that the expected competitive advantages through cloud is good, until the competitor has implemented a similar model. In the long run, the use of cloud computing can forcibly always lead to the removal of competitive disadvantages. Therefore, the experts also point to the benefits of in-house solutions, e.g. in the form of virtualization. Instead of following the new way of adapting standardization, the (required standard) standardization of processes can lead a company internally to better focus on the internal know-how and serve as an effective competitive barrier. Therefore, it is recommended that, in fact, outsource should be done on only the areas of the company, which does not belong to the core competencies.