Cloud computing is a way to increase capabilities on the fly without investing in a new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software.

  Small businesses benefit from Cloud computing by not having to deploy physical infrastructure like file and e-mail servers, storage systems or shrink-wrapped software.

  Cloud computing is a broad umbrella that includes Software-as-a-Service where a specific application or service is offered to a customer as a subscription.

  Dropbox, Salesforce.com, and QuickBooks are all examples of SaaS.

  SaaS provides a way of delivering a host of software and technical services that would usually be cost-prohibitive and difficult to manage as on-premise, local solutions. Cloud computing has come a long way and is now mainstream technology for businesses.

  The cloud does for IT as UPS and Federal Express did for the shipping industry. Cloud computing capabilities deliver a plethora of network technology. Small businesses are most likely to not have an IT staff or technical, in-house expert. Some companies don’t even know how to ask about their company’s tech infrastructure. Joining the cloud can help reduce these stress of all the IT stuff.

   The different types of models of cloud are: public, private, community and hybrid.

             •   Public cloud is available to the general public over the Internet. It’s a “game changer” for small businesses and gives them access to enterprise-level applications.

             •   Private cloud is within a corporate firewall. It is reserved for larger companies that have their own IT staff and data centers.

             •   Community cloud is shared between different organizations. It’s a multitenant infrastructure with a pay-as-you-go billing structure.

             •   Hybrid cloud is a combination of the three. This cloud addresses configuration

management, change control, security and budgeting.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is predominantly used for office productivity like email, work processing, number crunching, and online file sharing. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) functions like storage and computing. It is used to store intellectual property like documents, drawings, applications and code proprietary to a business.

PaaS (Platform as a Service) is used to develop and run a website in the cloud or build applications.

There is a huge opportunity for growth of a small business when using cloud services. Cloud computing encompasses subscription-based or pay-per-use service, that in real time or over the Internet, extends IT’s existing capabilities. Cloud computing is still at an early stage, with a crew of providers large and small. It delivers not only cloud-based services from storage to spam filtering but presents a utility-style infrastructure for your business.