How to choose the right computer equipment for your business to increase your productivity and efficiency without it costing the earth.
Business software helps you complete a range of tasks. Choose the right software, provide support and train your staff with our introduction.
It is highly likely that you depend on the internet for some aspects of your business. Find out how you can use the internet more effectively.
Good communication with customers, partners and suppliers is vital for business success. This summary explores business communication methods.
How would you cope if your IT system failed or was breached? We cover the main IT security issues and how to protect against them.
Good IT management can help you choose, use and implement IT. Our overview helps you manage IT in a way that maximises the return on your investment.
IT support is vital if you rely on your IT system. But how can you set up an effective safety net in case things go wrong? We explore the options.
Getting the right IT is just the first step. Appropriate training, policies and working practices can help you maximise return on your IT investment.
Cloud computing could simplify IT management and reduce costs for your business.
If something is 'in the cloud', it is accessed online via the internet. Cloud computing allows you to log in to IT resources online - usually by logging in to a website with a username and password - rather than managing them in your company.
In essence, you take advantage of computing power that's outside your business, rather than relying on computers in your business.
This has two main benefits:
To access cloud computing services, you need a computer and a reliable internet connection. Cloud computing is a broad term that's also sometimes called application hosting, hosted services or software as a service.
In general, if you're paying a subscription to access a service online instead of buying software to use in your business, that's cloud computing. You can use it to perform lots of different tasks:
Cloud computing is well-suited to services which are used by several people in your company (like your CRM system or a collaboration tool). It's also ideal when you need to provide access from several locations, or where it's important you keep data off-site.
Some services are less appropriate. For instance, photo and video editing software still works best when installed on an individual computer.
Cloud computing has four main advantages over running software within your business:
Although these advantages can be significant, there is a downside. Cloud software requires a reliable internet connection. If that fails, your data is stuck where you can't access it.
Additionally, although cloud computing providers go to great lengths to protect data, there are still risks. What happens if the company behind the hosted services goes bust or is attacked by hackers?
That's not to say cloud computing is unsafe. In fact, often the risks are lower than those involved in managing services yourself. It's just important to evaluate them carefully. It's usually safest to go for big-name providers which have an established customer base.
The number of cloud services available has grown enormously in the last few years. Combined with the wide availability of good internet connections, it's now feasible to run most areas of your business IT in the cloud, if you want to.
However, you don't have to go that far. You can often try cloud computing at a low cost and with little risk. For instance, a service to run your company intranet should cost from £10 a month. Given the money saved over buying a server, installing intranet software and learning how to use it, that makes the cloud a very attractive option.
