Closet-to-Cloud Computing
2011 Scenarios
You own or operate a business and are finding that the costs of installing, powering, cooling, and maintaining your computing resources keep going up. Even though computers themselves cost less these days than they used to, the real estate to house them, the power to run and cool them, and the staff to protect and maintain them 24x7 is still a major expense for most business owners.
More and more workers and key-contributors to businesses don't come into the office to work every day. Instead they work from Starbucks, hotel rooms, or their home offices or from the road when traveling. But, they still want remote access to the same information and productivity tools as ordinary office workers. That's another large expense when you consider the cost of laptops, productivity software, connectivity, and all the while providing security AND compliance controls.
You are not technical and are launching a new business that will depend upon the Internet for eCommerce, record keeping, and finance in its day-to-day operations. The business may or may not be bricks-and-mortar. You are curious about "Cloud Computing", however you have reservations about information security, initial and recurring costs, and overhead expenses.