Your Future in the Clouds
The world is definitely different these days: Sixty is the new 40, pink is the new black, the recession has businesses believing flat is the new up in terms of growth and, for payables, 90 days is the new net-30.
So if I suggested that you should "have your head in the clouds," in the past you would have asked why I would encourage you to disconnect from reality. But today, that suggestion would be quite to the contrary because having your head in the coulds in 2009 is actually a very real way for your small business to gain a competitive advantage. Let me explain.
If you haven't already heard about it, allow me to introduce you to a new term: cloud computing. Get used to it because cloud computing is going to become as ubiquitous as terms like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and social media.
If you've ever sent an instant message, you've worked in the clouds. If you've made a transaction on eBay, you've conducted cloud computing. And if you've joined a social media site or attended a webinar, you're a cloud-head.
In truth, cloud computing isn't all that new.
The early term was ASP, which stands for Application Service Provider. These were the first developers of processing power accessed over the Internet where customers didn't own it or install it on a hard drive. Hotmail is an ASP.
The next generation of this highly efficient way to leverage technology was - and still is - software-as-a-service (SaaS). These are typically more sophisticated programs, like Customer Relationship Management software (CRM), often delivered as SaaS. When IBM famously reinvented itself with a greater focus on services, SaaS became one of its primary delivery methods.
More and more, as acquiring processing power over the Internet becomes the norm rather than just an option, we'll think of this kind of leverage as cloud computing because it's such an intuitive way to conceptualize managing your work and life in cyberspace. But cloud computing is more than intuitive; for small businesses, it's the next generation of gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage. Here's why.
The more a small business can acquire processing power on-line, the less it has to commit precious capital to own that power. Virtually by definition, cloud computing means incremental delivery, on-demand availability and pay-as-you-go pricing. No muss, no fuss and turn around on a dime - just like a small business and just what small businesses need.
Write this on a rock... Pink may not be the new black next year, but cloud computing will still be your future.
Jim Blasingame is creator and host of the Small Business Advocate Show.
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