All of the technology and business people I regularly talk to keep mentioning cloud computing. But what is it, what is the impact on business and what are the monetary and obvious upsides?

Cloud means Internet. The computing happens on the Internet – instead of the software you use running on your desktop pc, it runs somewhere on the Internet on a server installed in a data centre usually staffed by people who are proficient in managing technology. This type of “cloud” software is often referred to as “on demand” or Software as a Service (SaaS).

Some well known examples of well established Software as a Service are:

Web based CRM Software (Customer Relationship Management) – Salesforce.com pricing about $9 per user/month.
Small business management and accounting software (small business ERP) – Salesorder.com pricing $45 per user/month.
Medium sized business ERP software – NetSuite pricing around $99 per user/month.

There are 3 substantial benefits for every business here:

Time, cost savings and reliability

Businesses do not need a permanent IT professional to help them procure, bed in and manage the technology platform thus pushing down operating expenses and time to get operational. The task of regularly backing up data is taken away as this is almost always an inherent feature of the “cloud” software. Cloud software “operators” often have stand by systems that can be deployed in instantly should a catastrophic failure occur.

Easier selection and wider choice

Using a web browser, businesses now have instant access to a massive choice of software packages they can in the majority of cases immediately test and quickly work out if the software suits their needs at no expense. This makes it simple for employees in large corporations to by pass the usual information technology purchasing processes and easily test and prove their business proposal.

Better user experience

The net provides instant feedback to software makers and has driven substantial progress in user interface design resulting in easier to use software thus lowering learning times and improving user satisfaction. This of course means faster adoption and higher productivity.