ATLAS COMMUNICATIONS
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Has the cloud finally brought the challenge of David v Goliath to a close ? asks Richard Simpson , Atlas Communications
avid vs Goliath . It ’ s a commonly used metaphor for every small business who has to compete against massive multinationals in their marketplaces .
In the IT industry , which changes at such speed , smaller providers face massive challenges to compete . It ’ s the common cycle of invest & renew that all small businesses know , it just seems to happen a bit faster .
With Cloud computing becoming more widely used , the model for selling is changing . Capital costs are moving to rental and we are seeing more direct entry and control from the big players , instead of going through resellers .
Microsoft offer Office directly via Office 365 , Google have Google Apps . You no longer have to buy a server when you can rent one on the cloud .
Your local IT provider has to help you migrate to the Cloud and will continue to help when your PC has a problem but their revenue sources are diminished as the global giants push more and into more direct services .
How can small business fight their corner ?
In many ways that hasn ’ t changed , good niches , great service , local presence and depth of experience still have their place in the market .
Our industry , like many others is seeing the big names exert direct control over pricing and purchasing channels . They own the product , they own the infrastructure and , in the world of Cloud IT , they will have your data when it becomes stored in one of their data centres somewhere in the world .
So , how to compete ? Do we seek new spaces ? Do we seek to partner more with those giants but have less control over the sales and service process ?
After a year of research and market analysis we decided we wanted to own the infrastructure that our Cloud Services were operating upon . In short , we decided to compete headtohead with some of the most familiar names in the business .
The result is that we have become the first independent provider in UK to offer Cloud Infrastructure using Microsoft Azure , one of the leading cloud services in the global marketplace .
So what does that mean ?
Applications and data you use to run your business are often stored on the Cloud . Microsoft Azure is one of the biggest players in providing the computing power and data storage for those services . It ’ s owned and managed directly by Microsoft
You may well have seen the adverts on TV about its benefits . Now Azure cloud computing power is here , in Northern Ireland , serviced and supported by a local company .
Why do it , why offer what global giants already do ?
Many people reading this know that question and know they can do the same things that big players do , but better . The Cloud as a concept has been accepted already but its costs , its risks and any limitations are only starting to become clear now .
We believe that there is still a place for what an SME like ourselves can do to make The Cloud work better , especially if we own and control the key components of the service .
One of the great benefits of sending services to the Cloud is that you aren ’ t buying or maintaining expensive server equipment . As a service it can change & grow with you with a lot less fuss . Sounds attractive , but try to work out what it costs to rent many Cloud services , each and every month . Then try budgeting it before you buy it and experience it .
The costs are not just the rental of computing power it ’ s the connectivity to
access it . Is it good enough ? How much does it cost ? It ’ s a problem , it ’ s unpredictable . Business doesn ’ t like uncertainty .
We think there are ways to make the costs more predictable .
Then there is Brexit , aka the ultimate in uncertainty .
Locality of your data is now on the agenda . Data sovereignty and security rules and regulations may well go through change . It ’ s possible that working by the rule that data being held within the EU is ‘ ok ’ will no longer apply . For some businesses it doesn ’ t apply already . All a better reason to know where your data is going to be .
There are more advantages we believe can be offered by an SME like us against the big players . In the land of giants , there are still gaps for the smaller player to run through .
Richard Simpson , Managing Director of Atlas Communications . Atlas provides inpremises and hosted Cloud data , network and telephony solutions to businesses across Northern Ireland and are happy to assist you on 028 9078 6868 .
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