As a part of my regular business reviews with my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers I have an agenda item titled Technology Update. I describe it as information that will at least give them something to talk to their geek relative about at the next family gathering. My real goal is to inform my customers about upcoming changes or new trends in the Information Technology industry that may have an impact on the way they operate their businesses. Recently, I've included a little blurb about Cloud Computing.

I start by explaining that the concept isn't as new as the term. Before it was called Cloud Computing it was called Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Before that it was called Application Service Providing (ASP). Way before that it was called Client/Server computing. This background is what will help them impress that geeky relative. Next I give them a short description of it: Cloud computing is the process in which the software actually runs on a computer somewhere outside your office that you connect to via the Internet. Finally I explain why I'm telling them about it. In this case, I take the opportunity to point out that Cloud Computing is a win-win-win for them, the software vendor, and their IT outsourcing company, us.

I also point out that they will hear all kinds of horror stories from our competitors here in Indianapolis and Carmel. These are the technology support companies that still bill by the hour in a Time and Materials mode. They don't want you to switch to cloud computing because it simplifies your internal network. A simpler network means fewer things break which reduces the number of billable hours they can generate at your office. Since our Pertingo Computer Support Service is a fixed fee program, we're all for things that will increase the availability and effectiveness of your IT resources. While I can't deny that there are risks to Cloud Computing, I can say they are overblown by the naysayers. For each risk that Cloud Computing increases, there is at least one other that it decreases.

In the end, we may all have to move to Cloud Computing for some (or all) of our small business computing. That's because it's a more efficient way for programmers to deliver patches, fixes, and updates. It also makes technical support easier because every person using the software is using the exact same version. I didn't start out as a fan of this model of application delivery. I realize now that it was because the early software was just bad. Today, I'm telling my customers during our business reviews that they should expect to move one or more of their applications to the cloud in the course of the next year. They will be more comfortable with the idea when it becomes a decision they have to make.