Let's be clear about the potential of cloud computing. It is going to transform the way businesses can sync information technology, similar to how Electric Utilities once transformed manufacturing. Instead of having to build and maintain their own local power sources, the rise of Electric Utilities enabled manufacturers to simply plug into the grid and pay for electricity used. Similarly, most enterprises today, with the help of solution providers, "manufacture" their own IT. But centralized, scalable, on-demand cloud-computing provides a utility that can be cheaper, faster and more agile than an on-premise infrastructure. And it frees businesses to focus on their core challenges, rather than maintaining an IT infrastructure. There has been much hype about cloud computing, of course. Experts believe the reality is fast overtaking the hype. Gartner predicts that by 2012, 20% of businesses will own no IT assets. Sand Hill Group foresees IT budgets being reallocated from 80% maintenance to 80% innovation. Microsoft reports that 70% of its staff is working on cloud computing. On the revenue side, research firm Global Industry Analyst expects cloud services to generate $222.5 billion over the next five years. Clearly the landscape is changing. Such potential makes cloud computing an exceptional opportunity for solution providers and consumers alike. The business benefits of cloud computing to solution providers are on par with the advantages to end users. WebDesk capitalizes on this potential with its unique application agnostic approach. While other "Home Depot" type providers offer some application services, WebDesk fills in the gaps by addressing the unique needs of each individual customer. When you initially look at a solution like Google Docs, you immediately see the appeal: it's a light, fast office productivity suite that lives on the web, not your PC, so it doesn't need to be manually updated every month as new security updates roll out. Then, you actually spent some time with the solution, and the limitations become apparent. Aside from some interesting collaboration features, Google Docs is functionally similar to the version of office that Microsoft shipped in 1995. Finally, it hits you. The perfect online office suite would look and work just like office, except that it would live on the web like Google Docs. Taking it one step further, having those applications integrate with your other critical business applications completes the solution. That is the promise of WebDesk. WebDesk can provide an on-premise / cloud solution comparison to determine the best solution for each individual business based on cost, access, feasibility, applications and workforce requirements. The on-premise costs include the initial hardware, OS and application software and setup services, as well as ongoing management and the need to refresh after four years. This contrasts with the cloud's monthly fee over the same period for all of the above, including software upgrades, in a highly redundant, secure data center. The cloud delivers a cost benefit over time, and by using virtualization everything is fully redundant. To have such redundancy and up-time guaranteed, and knowing they don't have to build and staff it themselves, really resonates with clients. You don't have to incur any capital expense to take advantage of cloud services. There are key advantages to embracing the cloud. Clouds solutions are built on a multitenant architecture, where a single instance of the software serves all client organizations, or "tenants". Such applications virtually partition their data and configuration, customizing each organization's instance of the application. Advantages include economies of scale based on high capacity utilization, and automatic scalability powered by the cloud provider's grid. There's also the speed at which improvements can be made to a multitenant platform. A single instance of the code means that innovation can be continuous and incremental, and changes are instantly available to all users. What's more, WebDesk manages security and other infrastructure issues as part of their offerings. Such pluses enable businesses to focus on their business process and pain points, rather than on the undifferentiated infrastructure management. And WebDesk works tirelessly to improve their platforms. For example the client application could receive an improved user interface, new reporting capabilities and other features, without any R&D.; Cloud customers also benefit from more agile application development. But with cloud platforms, you can build application prototypes really quickly. You don't need to mount the database, provision an application server or create a user interface framework, so you work at a higher level of abstraction. As one of our customer said, "We were in able to deploy an application in the time it used to take to get a purchase order for a test server approved". This speed and business agility may be the most compelling reason for taking applications to the public cloud. There will be TCO benefits, to be sure, but more significant is the ability to quickly develop solutions that address the needs of the business. In addition, cloud applications are designed to be web-accessible, whether from a notebook, Blackberry or iPad. This helps ensure that a large number of users will adopt cloud applications and enjoy using them. Such benefits help IT managers address their top challenge of aligning IT with the business. Cloud platforms help clients get out of the business of manufacturing their own IT so they can start getting more business-focused. That's bound to be good for the clients and the solution providers who serve them. Customers can now retire from the commodity aspects of IT. Cloud services offer an alternative to on-premise solutions with their heavy capital expense: services as an operational expense. So is the cloud a new business model, a passing fad or just plain inevitable? Is the cloud here to stay? Most definitely. Ready or not, it's coming. Contact WebDesk today to find out how we can expand your IT so you can expand your business. 877-833-2049www.gowebdesk.comsales@gowebdesk.net
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