Cloud computing gives small and medium enterprises (SMEs) unprecedented access to enterprise-grade software and infrastructure services because they can just plug into the already-provided infrastructure and start operating, paying as they go, and only for what they need.
This is according to Steven Cohen, MD of Sage Pastel Accounting, who notes cloud provides SMEs with less complex systems than legacy IT systems, enabling them to use the cloud for competitive advantage.
Market research firm, IDC reveals small businesses using cloud computing are 1.7 times more likely to have over 10% revenue growth compared to similar-sized companies. In the report - "Sharpening the Small Business Competitive Edge" - it is noted, through to 2018, IDC expects 43% of SME IT budget increases to go towards either cloud or mobile technology enablement.
"Consider that just 10 years ago, only the largest companies could afford server room infrastructure that allowed them to achieve uptime of 99.9%. Now, anyone can purchase reliable, scalable cloud services from Amazon or Microsoft for a small monthly fee," says Cohen.
"No longer do you need to have your own data centre, employ a large IT department or spend huge amounts of money to access reliable IT services that are as good as those your bank or telco depend on," he adds.
According to AJ Hartenberg, portfolio manager for data centre services at T-Systems in SA, cloud is a platform that enables a competitive advantage for SMEs, as it allows business agility, which is key in a fast-paced and ever-changing technology-driven business environment.
"Whoever has access to the best tools and accuracy of information can make the best business decisions in terms of changing direction or delivering a better customer experience," he says.
When it comes to functionality, part of the beauty of cloud apps is they can be as simple or complex as the business requires, says Cohen.
"A lot of heritage enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is bloated and complicated, and was never designed for the small or mid-sized business in the first place," he continues.
"The thing is almost all ERP software today evolved over many years - and often, R&D departments struggled to keep it simple because they had large users asking for convoluted features. So, not only is traditional ERP software difficult to use, the businesses that wrote and supported this software have a legacy user-base to think about when they do develop new things."
Hartenberg says before considering a cloud adoption roadmap, SMEs should consider the sensitivity of company information; which applications can provide them with the ability to easily adapt within their market segment; terms of the contract period; ability to extract company information out of the cloud providers' systems; scalability of platform and resources; as well as the cost of these resources.
He says cloud enables better decision-making if the owner or manager has access to clean, up-to-date business information, wherever he or she is.
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