Blog: Small Business Management

Why embracing the Cloud becomes imperative in 2012.

By Keyon Thomas (external link)

“ The only things we can be certain of are death and taxes” is as true today as it was when Ben Franklin first coined the phrase.

But what the channel can be comfortable adding is that the Cloud will be a major factor in SMB purchasing in 2012.

With Oracle spending millions purchasing cloud providers, IBM transforming into a cloud-based service provider, and tablets and laptop purchases exploding, the cloud is fast becoming the perfect storm: the convergence of all forms of hardware and applications into a singular experience at a time when SMBs are looking for solutions that will increase productivity and mobility while reducing costs.

Worldwide revenues from public IT cloud services exceeded $16 billion in 2009 and are expected to hit the $55.5B mark by 2014, according to market researcher IDC. This represents a 27.4% compound annual growth rate, which is roughly five times that of regular IT products, notes IDC.

And thanks to the millions of advertising from Cisco and Microsoft, the SMBs who hadn’t thought much about it are starting to ask questions.

According to Channel Insider (external link) the biggest factors driving buying decisions:

• Storage and backup solutions are the most heavily used cloud applications with 71% of SMBs using the cloud in this way
• Better network efficiencies and robustness
• Improved connections with customers online and in a mobile environment
• Enhanced resources, management and tracking
• More business analytics

Yet the Cloud is not the panacea for many SMBs. Companies are stretched to the max with employees working harder to make up for a smaller workforce and smaller margins. Moving to the Cloud would mean integrating data and analyzing which providers to go with for what product: as intuitive as the concept of the Cloud is, SMBs will need qualified resellers that can help them select the optimal providers and provide 24/7 support.

MSPs and VARs have developed a unique trusted adviser relationship with their customers both in telecom, networking, and server deployment. Given the move to the Cloud, the question that resellers have to answer is:  

Will you be positioned to take charge of their cloud migration?

An actual cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets, but the gifts that the Cloud provides the reseller are solid and filled with potential:

1. The gift of time: Unlike current channels, the Cloud provides faster deployments, freeing your team to expand and support their client base.
2. The gift of money: You control the cost structure without having to support an ongoing infrastructure, which again gives you more time to focus on selling more clients (see gift #1).
3. The gift of savings: Reselling cloud platforms have low upfront startup costs, allowing your company to invest in expanding your operations.

To go vertical or horizontal: a straight line might be the best approach (external link) . Be the Market Maker: 

In a discussion at the Cloud Channel Summit (external link) , it was noted that that if cloud vendors don’t create a marketplace for partners and just give them the technology; resellers are missing a really critical step. Horizontal market makers, such as InfoStreet’s SkyDesktop, provide the platform- you install the vertical cloud apps accordingly. This horizontal approach provides more channels for the reseller expanding the potential.

The attraction is a two-way street; the channel is embracing the Cloud, while the Cloud is welcoming the MSP and IT community giving them more time, more control, and increased revenues along with enterprise level functionality.

The last few years have been a challenge for businesses globally, resellers are no exception. Adopting a cloud based strategy might well turn 2012 into Cloud 9.

Published in CityBiz Real Estate.

A Cloud-based intranet is a virtual office accessible from anywhere there is a web-enabled device and an internet connection. The Cloud provides 24/7 accessibility and real-time information - two key features that are of particular benefit to the real estate professional.

Cloud-based  applications and secure intranet systems work on any computer or laptop whether the computer is old or new, PC or Mac. They work on Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome; they don't require updates or licenses to operate; and they most often work on a pay-as-you-go basis.

One of our clients, Baltimore, MD-based Keys2Day Real Estate, had grown rapidly and faced many issues common to the real estate industry:
• Hardware was purchased over a period of years as the company expanded;
• Software was purchased that was compatible with newer computers but not necessarily older ones;
• The company used multiple vendors - one to host its website, another for email, still another for lead generation; and
• It employed various software applications from a host of suppliers.

Too often, these issues are dealt with individually, but what this agency needed was a global solution that provided a platform powerful enough to handle their demands yet simple enough to accommodate their growth pattern and personnel.

Rather than fix the agency's disparate problems, my company, InfoStreet, built a Cloud-based private environment that hosted their website, email, lead generation tools, and CRM; a private and secure environment where they could share information and updates in real time, communicate with each other, and access all of this from any web-enabled device.

We were able to do this in less than half a day.

A real estate professional with this firm can now pull up the latest data while in the field with a client, get listings while at a networking event, or can update information during a meeting. Since all of the firm's tools are now based in the proverbial Cloud, the ages and makeup of the computers no longer matter, and PC users and Mac lovers alike are all on the same page.

In a report titled The Role of Cloud Computing in Commercial Property, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) explains that, "Cloud computing is a model that takes away the need to know anything about technology- you can just use it to do your work and not worry."

This solution is what InfoStreet aims to provide for our clients.

Real estate companies, like other industries, grow in spurts. In an ideal world, a business would create a strategic plan, begin operations, and everything would fall into place precisely according to plan. But that isn't how the real world works. Business growth isn't like driving on the Autobahn but instead resembles highway driving in rush hour traffic: periods of slow growth followed by spurts of acceleration. And too often, the technology that sustains the business grows the same way.

InfoStreet, a Cloud app provider, helps clients navigate the multitude of Cloud apps launched daily to develop a customized, comprehensive solution to allow both management and sales professionals to work on their core competency. Siamak Farah is the company's Founder and CEO.