A Data Backup consists of making additional copies of your data that can be used in the event of data loss.

Typically data loss occurs due to:

• Human error
• Hard Drive failure
• Hard Drive Loss or theft
• Natural Disaster (i.e. hurricane or fire)

In order to recover your data, you need to have a recent backup of your files. Hence, a backup is a tasks that needs to be performed on a regular basis. The frequency in which you backup data will depend on the frequency in which your data changes.

You have the option of doing a local backup, an off-site backup, or both.

Local backups have the advantage that they are cheap and recover quicker because there is no need to download the backup. The disadvantage of a local backup is that it does not protect against natural disaster, loss or theft.

Online backups have the advantage that they protect against natural disaster, loss, and theft. However, online backups typically have a monthly recurring fee and backups need to be downloaded from the internet.

The best backup is typically a strategy  which combines an on-line solution with a local backup.

The answer to this question has a lot to do with your specific business model. Custom applications are typically for organizations which have a very unique business model. Most companies however can benefit from an off-the-shelf database system that already embraces industry best practices.

The key to determining if you need a custom application is defining your current processes and workflow. This analysis can be done by an experienced IT business consultant. Ideally it will define your current procedures and recommend best practices. If your model is to unique, it might indeed require a custom application design. Otherwise, it might just be a matter of implementing a new system that better adapts to your model.

A hybrid system is also a possibility. In other words, integrating two applications. One of them can be custom or both. At the end of the day, the only true way to know if you need customization is by throughly analyzing your processes and workflow.

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A virtual office is an office that allows you to work independent of physical location. Typically you have access to all of your information and communication systems and can easily relocate without having to reconfigure connections.

Your information can be hosted via a 3rd party or in-house servers hosted at a secure location.

Advantages

• Mobility: you can virtually work from anywhere there is internet access. These means across the street or across the globe.
• Accessibility
• Cost Savings: there are many ways to save with a virtual office. The first and most obvious is office space. One less obvious option is to relocate to a city were the cost of living is less than where you offer the service.

Disadvantages:

• You lose face to face: although this can be remediated with a good video conference system.
• More difficult to measure performance: Small Businesses are accustomed to measuring performance within a well confined office space. Hence, it is arguably more difficult to measure at a distance. I personally believe that with a shift in mentality and good control mechanism, performance is as easy to measure as traditional office layouts.

This is a common question that business owners ask. Below I list 5 steps you can take in your organization to optimize and improve your current processes:

1. Define your current processes.

2. Highlight the processes which you believe currently are not efficient or optimal in your organization.

3. Use a technique such as fishbone analysis or 5 w + h to determine the root cause of the inefficiencies.

4. Find alternative solutions that can address the inefficiencies. Most of the times the solutions will involve technological recommendations and process changes.

5. implement the recommendations.

These five steps can be done in-house or you can always hire a IT Consultant to complete the task.

The short and probably most concise answer to this question is: ‘resource allocation’.

For small businesses cloud computing (AKA Infrastructure as a Service) is a fairly new delivery model of Information Technology Services. In a nutshell, it enables using virtual servers online to host IT Services (such as email, document management, and database applications) without having to invest in or manage an in-house virtual server infrastructure. Furthermore, it allows increasing infrastructure resource needs (drive space, memory, etc) on demand. Cloud computing can be seen as a logical evolution in outsourcing IT services.

Some examples of companies offering cloud services and computing include: Google App engine, Amazon Web Services, Go Grid, Terremark, and Microsoft Office 365. Although, despite all of Microsoft’s talk about cloud computing, they will probably fight hard to avoid killing their back office server products with cloud offerings.

Small businesses typically use an in-house server for remote access, file sharing, database systems, email, and web hosting among others. Today most of these services can easily be obtained over the cloud without sacrificing functionality. However, so far only an estimated 2% of businesses with fewer than 100 employees are using cloud computing, according to a May 2009 report by Forrester Research.

Why is the adoption of cloud computing so low? To answer this question first I will explore some of the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing. I will then answer a Key Question that both IT companies and small business face: will it eliminate the need for IT Service companies? And finally, I will conclude by expanding on why adoption is so low.

Advantages and Benefits

• Low upfront costs. You don’t need to invest huge amounts in your own servers. A good comparison is when you decide to lease a car as opposed to buying. The initial cost is low, but it adds up in the long run. You will still need IT service to develop, enable, configure, and support the infrastructure. However, initial Infrastructure investments are freed. An entry level Cloud computing solutions is $500/month excluding any software license costs.
• Easily Scale. you are able to increase computing capacity as you need it. No need to configure or purchase new hardware. Just pay for the extra capacity and it is enabled instantly.
• Easy Deployment: because cloud computing is a virtualized environment, it is easy to clone a pre-configured system and deploy it in a new environment. In essence, you get the advantages of virtualization without the huge initial investment.
• Failover Capability: failover capability is available typically at an extra cost. This allows for a more reliable and resilient network environment.

Disadvantages

• Integration: Not all applications are ready to reside on a cloud. Furthermore, moving applications to the cloud can demand the integration of existing local networks with cloud networks. At the worst this could mean that information does not flow smoothly from one point to another.

• Loss of Control: This means no control over one of a businesses most precious assest: data. In some cases it is easy to export information. In others, it is nearly impossible to extract information from the cloud application.

• Security: security, privacy and compliancy is still difficult for cloud solutions. Especially for public cloud services. Physical location of hardware and software is unknown. Site inspections and audits are hard. Failure to compliance is a potential issue. (i.e. HIPAA, SOX, PCI, SAS 70 and audits).

Will Cloud Computing eliminate the need for IT service?

Certainly not. It will shift IT Professionals attention away from infrastructure deployment into developing, enabling, supporting, and managing services. Shifting attention from infrastructure can allow teams to focus more on the strategic impact of IT on the business.

Conclusion

I would say that adoption is mainly low, due to lack of knowledge and understanding of what the cloud is and what it can do in terms of efficiency and savings. I believe it is not as much a question of integration but rather a question of time.

For an in depth study by Gartner please visit: http://tinyurl.com/5symafv

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