Unlike many providers, we make sure we focus on what the right cloud solution is for each organisation we work with based on functionality, performance and cost, whether that be Office 365, Azure, bespoke or co-location hosting, a hybrid environment or any of the other options available, we don’t follow a ‘one size fits all’ policy. Our first stage of any cloud conversation is matching your requirements with the most suitable technology. We always recommend a pilot or trial to ensure the solution meets your technical needs and user requirements.

Cost Benefits

Employing large scale to drive down costs, ‘cloud’ is essentially an outsourcing model and thus inevitably seeing increased take up. The cluster of advantages gained might be:

  • reduced hardware and maintenance costs
  • increased flexibility
  • better cash flow
  • receiving automatic upgrades
  • easy deployment
  • simplified disaster recovery
  • lower environmental impact

Types of Cloud

There are three types of provision:

Public Cloud
eg Hotmail™, Google’s Apps™ services, Facebook™. Services like these – the biggest growth areas – constitute most people’s experience today, though most are unaware they are using the cloud services

Private Cloud
Your own private hosted servers or virtual ones

Community Cloud
Getting together with a group to share private facilities

AAS - "As a Service"

The main uses currently divide into Software as a Service (SAAS), or “Infrastructure as a service” (IAAS).

SAAS - Software as a Service
Examples are Google Mail™, Microsoft Office365 which comprises hosted Exchange and Outlook email, SharePoint™ collaboration and Lync communication. Also web-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications such as Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM and Salesforce™. If you currently use Microsoft Office (Word, Excel etc), it’s well worth having an awareness of Office365, click here for more information.

IAAS - Infrastructure as a Service
Examples are Microsoft Azure Virtual Servers or hosted servers at data centres running applications normally held on office-based servers; online storage for data backup; or virtual PBX IP phone systems.

Sometimes IAAS and SAAS combine, as in hosted virtual servers that provide Outlook/Exchange email to any staff member with Internet access via a handheld PDA, laptop, or anywhere there is a PC.

DAAS - Desktop as a service
Hosted desktop. Providers include GoCloud  or private DAAS provided by CoopSys. (DaaS) is a cloud computing offering in which a third party hosts the back end of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployment. With DaaS, desktop operating systems run inside virtual machines on servers in a cloud provider's data centre