1. On-premise or the cloud?
The “cloud” has been identified as one of the big 5
forces which will impact business IT over the next
decade 1. From its early beginnings at the turn of the
century, cloud computing has decisively proven its
advantages over on-premise software, and become
the dominant approach for delivering software.
Adoption
Formerly, cloud solutions made their way into
organizations through end users who bypassed the IT
department and chose their own cloud solutions
because of vastly superior usability. However, today
85% of organizations have a formal cloud strategy, up
from 67% in 2012 1. CIOs listed cloud computing as
one of their top priorities in 2013 1.
Formal Cloud Strategy
2012
2013
67%
85%
Why choose the cloud over on-premise
software?
There is near unanimous agreement based on 10
years of experience deploying cloud solutions, and
numerous that the cloud delivers tangible and
immediate benefits to businesses. The choice
between cloud and on premise software has often
been compared to the choice between consuming
electricity from a public grid vs. having your own
power plant.
Specific advantages of cloud computing include:
Cost
The costs of on-premise software are capital intensive
considering the costs of hardware, staffing,
implementation and maintenance. Under the cloud
model, the cloud vendor manages all aspects of
application infrastructure and management, while
businesses users only pay for actual use.
Server
Software
The cloud was again identified
as one of the top priorities of
CIOs in 2013
Cloud
Software
Total Cost of Ownership
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2. Over a 5-7 year time horizon,
SaaS often turns out to be
cheaper by 25-50% than on
premise software.
Speed
A typical on-premise software implementation takes
months including planning, implementation and
customization. Cloud software is developed per the
“plug and play” philosophy. Typical HyperOffice
implementation cycles can be counted in days.
Businesses begin to realize the business benefits of
the software solution much faster, which means the
ROI is significantly better.
Security
Cloud vendors have developed specific competencies
in terms of application infrastructure and
management and data security. Businesses with a
different area of operation have neither the
competency, nor the finances to ensure the same
degree of security.
Cloud computing will be more
secure
Neil MacDonald
Aligned to business
On-premise software heavily depends on the IT
department at every step of the software cycle right
through implementation, management and
customization. This leads to the IT department
becoming a walled-off clique, with decisions driven by
internal dynamics rather than being subordinate to
business objectives.
With cloud software, the IT department assumes a
strategic role of choosing solutions that assist with
business goals, while content owners and end users
manage and customize their own applications on a
day to day basis.
Continuous Innovation and Upgrades
Upgrades are continuous in cloud software. Users
have ongoing access to new functionality in tune with
the changing business and technological landscape,
rather than waiting for the typical 2-3 year upgrade
cycle of on premise software.
Since SaaS vendors have access to application usage
data, they can study user behavior to innovate and
upgrade their product. Since SaaS solutions are not a
one-time sell, but an ongoing relationship, they tie
users and vendors in a “community of interest”, where
everyone benefits from developing the solution – the
vendors in terms of continued patronage from the
users, and the users in terms of technology.
Anywhere anytime access
User Friendly
Cloud computing and “Web 2.0” have been two
concurrent movements in the software industry.
Cloud applications borrow heavily from the
excellence of the consumer world and bring the same
pleasing user experience and interfaces to the
business world. This means end users get their job
done more easily and businesses finally combat the
problem of low software adoption.
Since the means of delivering cloud software is over
the public Internet, users may access their software
tools no matter where they are, rather than being
restricted by corporate firewalls and networks. Since
“mobility” is one of the drivers of cloud computing,
most solutions are compatible with mobile devices.
For example HyperOffice is compatible with all major
tablets and mobile devices including iPhone, iPad
Android and Windows Mobile.
The result is productivity on-the-go.
© 2014 www.hyperoffice.com