The NIL Office in the Cloud is an easy-to-use, customised service that allows users to pick and choose applications suited to their business needs, and it's all hosted online.
Initially formed out of a partnership between Vodacom and NIL, the service offers a suite of popular business applications on a pay-as-you-go basis and is accessed via a Wyse virtual client.
This is especially useful for mobile workers who need to access work applications from wherever they are.
One of the biggest advantages that I found for small companies is that Office in the Cloud provides predictable monthly costs. This means a company has access to only the IT functionality and applications it requires without having to pay expensive software licence fees or coughing up for hardware.
The solution can also be upgraded and expanded as an organisation grows. All hardware is charged for on a rental basis, and the SME only pays for what it uses.
The Office in the Cloud solution consists of a Wyse thin client terminal using VMware technology and access to an online applications portal comprising a wide choice of business applications. SMEs can choose to have a Cisco VOIP-enabled phone handset, an HP printer, as well as peripherals such as monitors and keyboards.
In the cloud
It was also relatively simple to switch between operating systems, which took a few minutes. From the online dashboard, I was able to quickly select the Windows 7 operating system and change from Windows XP within minutes.
All the applications are hosted in the cloud, meaning no downloads are necessary; all apps can be accessed and moved to the client in real-time. Apps are selected from the online dashboard and then billed at the end of the month.
Hosted security
NIL and Vodacom have made security a priority and have built security features into the solution, from anti-virus and firewalls, to access management tools.
All applications that I chose required me to insert a unique, one-time PIN that was sent to my personal smartphone, where I had to approve which applications could be sent to the virtual client.
In Summary
Pros: Fast, efficient, everything an SME would need at a fraction of the cost
Cons: Requires some level of IT knowledge and IT support
Rating: 8/10
Price: Start from R600 per month, dependable on applications, OS and hardware
Certain administration rights can also be managed via the dashboard to enforce who in a company can download or access particular applications. It also tracks who has accessed those applications.
For any technical difficulty, support is offered remotely on a 24/7 basis. This is useful, particularly as small business owners often cannot afford to have permanent technical staff on-hand. It should be noted that some training is required to use the equipment and dashboard, particularly if the business owner is not very technically minded. While, overall, the solution is simple to use, it does have quite a learning curve.
In a nutshell
Office in the Cloud provides enterprise-grade IT services that would normally be restricted to larger organisations because of the hefty licence fees and high capital costs relating to hardware and security. This solution provides everything a small company would need in terms of IT and provides these services rapidly, without having to wait weeks or months to start a business.
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