Speaking with a client today the subject of cloud computing came up. For those who are not yet familiar with Cloud Computing, in simple terms your computing power is delivered to you as a service over the internet for a reoccurring charge, similar to electricity. You pay only for what you use. You probably already use some “cloud applications” and do not even realize it. Some good examples of cloud applications are Gmail, Salesforce.com, and file sharing sites like YouSendIt.

How can cloud computing benefit your office? Well first of all it gets rid of the recurring hardware lifecycle expenses. You know the deal, the IT staff purchase expensive new servers and desktops for your company. Things are great at first, then in a blink of an eye your equipment is outdated and you have to shell out exorbitant amounts of money to upgrade. Utilizing the cloud allows your company to take advantage of resources which are constantly being upgraded and maintained on the backend level. On the desktop side of things your standard PC Tower is replaced with a low-cost low-power ThinClient. ThinClients have life spans far beyond that of traditional PCs.

As your office hardware ages have a closer look towards the clouds. You may find a new and better way to handle your computing.