Cloud computing adoption strategies for small businesses
Friday, September 30, 2011 5:35:21 PM
Economic crises around the world have forced governments and businesses to search for ways to reduce costs, increase efficiency and streamline operations. Small businesses have been especially quick to adopt cloud computing services, as the technology offers a variety of benefits specifically prevalent in the start-up business industry, such as third-party hosted hardware and software services.
Internet.com recently published an article suggesting some tips for small businesses to improve their experiences with cloud computing adoption. The website stresses that the first step is to decide if a public, private or hybrid cloud would be best for the given business' operations. For a small business that handles sensitive data, or falls under stringent regulatory compliance, the private cloud is often preferable.
According to the website, the public cloud could be a better option for rapidly growing businesses, as it offers superior availability of data and service to a larger number of employees. While security is often better in the private cloud, the website notes that it requires a higher level of knowledge and resource to manage.
A Wall Street Journal article from earlier this month explained that 7 percent of small companies and 17 percent of mid-sized businesses were using some form of the cloud in early 2010, while now those numbers have nearly doubled to 13 percent and 36 percent, respectively.
-McAfee Cloud Security
