Cloud computing for business is probably delivering well in US, European countries and several countries in Asia and Africa, but to the rest of the world, cloud computing for business is just a wonderful concept that is nearly impossible to implement.
In the US, cloud business solutions are hot. Cloud vendors are grabbing opportunities well, and businesses see real benefits of integrating cloud computing solutions. The recession has pushed businesses to seek solutions to cut costs and increase productivity, and cloud computing gives them the answer they are looking for. In the UK, South Africa, India, and some other countries, this also holds true.
It’s probably safe to say that the future of cloud computing for business is encouraging in those countries.
Unfortunately, not many enjoy the opportunities cloud computing bring to the table. The main culprit is the Government’s readiness to go cloud and infrastructure problems.
Cloud computing is just a great-sounding jargon and concept, but inapplicable in some countries
The “cloud” concept of delivering solutions on-demand in scalable manners is just, well, a concept in some countries, even if the countries have developed well in IT and communication industry.
The Government is probably the main barrier. It’s one of the most difficult tasks to ‘educate’ the Gov’t to understand how the cloud can help businesses to cut costs.
There are also infrastructure problems. Frequent power cuts, unreliable Internet connections and such are tough barriers to break in benefiting from the cloud.
I live in one of the countries in Asia Pacific region. As a cloud user, I am eager to move my whole business online (I run an online business) – from data storage to information sharing and collaboration – something that the cloud can offer easily… or is it?
I am a user of Box.net and Google Cloud services. Their services are top notch. Unfortunately, my Internet connection isn’t.
Synchronizing my folder with Box.net will take ages to complete, due to my poor Internet connection. Uploading a 100MB file took me hours to complete.
All in all, instead of increasing my productivity, moving my business to the cloud makes me way less productive. My daily business operations involve taking care of my files and folders synchronization that takes ages to complete – not ideal.
Fortunately, cloud computing for business is not only all about cloud storage. For instance, I also host my sites with SiteCloud, a cPanel cloud hosting provider. I do use Google apps personal – the Google docs and the rest help me get things done, while sharing with my clients is a breeze.
So, for me – cloud storage: No. The rest of cloud services: Yes.
In conclusion – is cloud computing really increasing business productivity? The answer is yes, but it depends on what cloud solutions you use and what for. Not all cutting edge solutions can help your business; implementing the cloud is not guaranteed to help your business.
The key is on picking the right solutions for you and your business, depending on the country you resides in. Effectiveness and efficiency are the keys in integrating cloud computing to your business, in such a way that it helps you cut costs and increase productivity – not the other way around.
Any thoughts? Please comment on this blog post.
