A cloud is pushing its way rapidly across the Northeast, expanding from its origins in the mountains of Washington and the valleys of California.  But the larger it grows, the brighter the horizon looks for businesses here.  “The cloud,” as it’s known in tech talk, is a collection of applications and other services that reside on servers of major software companies like Microsoft and of partners across America.  These applications are just like the licensed software business people are used to installing on their own in-house servers—Microsoft Exchange, CRM, SharePoint, Office—but they’re available from anywhere via the Web for a subscription fee.

Some businesses will always want software they can place directly on their own servers and computers so that they can customize it and control security with their own measures.  Others will like the way “the cloud” makes their password-protected files and applications available from anywhere on earth, as well as the savings from not needing to buy servers and from a smaller IT staff.   Still others will want a combination of software plus services to use with various applications and different facilities.  In some cases, software on their servers—such as Microsoft Dynamics business management programs—will pull a variety of services from the cloud automatically.  For example, through Microsoft Dynamics NAV, you could manage your warehouse and list excess inventory on eBay automatically.

In talking with partners and customers around the region, I’m finding a good deal of interest in these emerging alternatives for access to computing, along with a few myths. 

One myth is that “software is dead.”  The fact is that the purchase and implementation of software and servers continue to grow in our region and across the country.  With 8 million developers building software applications with Microsoft tools—and as yet only 0.5 percent of consumers substituting Web-based productivity suites for software like Office—the software we’ve all been used to, running on premises,  will remain the primary way businesses operate in the foreseeable future.

Another misperception is, “Cloud computing is innovative and traditional software has too much functionality.”  Individual consumers may make that argument, but that functionality is there for businesses because they demand it for meeting objectives, such as security compliance and collaboration.

And a third myth is that, “With applications hosted in the cloud, I really won’t need a technology partner.”  The fact is that Microsoft partners will become even more important to our area’s businesses than they are today.  Within a few years, nearly all companies will be running with a combination of software plus services delivered via the Web, and they will rely on their partners for advice and expertise to determine the right balance of these options for each organizational function.  Partners also will play a crucial role in developing and implementing software that allows businesses to draw on Web services through their on-premises software.  Our area’s technology experts will be linking businesses and their branch offices with their computing power and data across many paths.

Now is the time to start working even more closely with your Microsoft partner to develop a plan for how you will deploy software plus services to provide you with the greatest cost savings, the maximum flexibility and access, and the most appropriate security. 

You don’t want to get caught out in the heat of the marketplace without a cloud to shelter you in this rugged business environment.