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Cloud Apps

No doubt you’ve heard buzz about “The Cloud” by now. If the term seems somewhat vague – well, it is. What does it mean, and why should you care?

“The cloud” refers to resources that you access over the Internet. These resources are off-site. Often, people think that “moving to the cloud” means that ALL their data is in the cloud. That may or may not be true. It’s likely that only certain data and apps are in the cloud, while other data is stored onsite.

A good example of one of the most popular cloud apps is Gmail. The consumer version of Gmail is widely used and lets you access your e-mail from anywhere. In a business setting though, the “@gmail.com” address is undesirable. You want to use your domain name. Google offers “Google Apps for Business” which lets you set up all your users, use your domain for your e-mail addresses, and store up to 25GB of data. It also has a calendar and contacts.  Cost is $5 per user per month, and many popular and powerful cloud apps are included in the cost. Don’t sign up though, without talking to me or Keith at OnYourMark.  If you’re interested, you can read more here: http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business

Another popular cloud app is Microsoft Office 365. This service lets you run an Exchange server without having to maintain an in-house e-mail server. There are several levels of service, ranging from $4 to $20 per user, per month. Don’t sign up for this without talking to me first. The implementation needs to be handled properly to avoid email downtime.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365

Other examples of cloud apps are Salesforce.com, Quickbooks Online, and Sage Act! Hosted. There are many, many others as well.

Each organization needs to determine if cloud-hosted services are right for them. I would be happy to discuss your needs and how the cloud might benefit your company. Just give me a call. 262-720-3668

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