For companies with people in them™

Everything you need to know about cloud

Sprint BusinessHacks for the growing business

You used to know where you stood with the word ‘cloud’.

It meant those fluffy things floating above you, bringing shade and rain, and looking like sheep, or dinosaur heads, or pretty much anything else.

Then you started growing your business, and talking to people about your IT needs.

You started hearing about all kinds of clouds. Public clouds. Private clouds. Hybrid clouds. Cloud software. Cloud infrastructure. Cloud corn dogs. (OK, maybe not the corn dogs.)

Point is, ‘cloud’ took on a whole bunch of other meanings. Many of which were far from clear as day.

We’ve made this simple guide to give you back that much needed clarity. In the fastest possible time. Here we go…

Oracle’s Larry Ellison on Cloud Computing…

“Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It’s complete gibberish.”1

1 http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2013/03/24/10-quotes-on-cloud-computing-that-really-say-it-all/#69920f752102

Sprint BusinessHacks for the growing business

OK, first things first. What’s the cloud?

Think of the cloud as IT on tap. Instead of having software on your computer, or a server in your workplace, that stuff lives elsewhere, and you access it through the Internet, paying for it as you go.

(Elsewhere means a great, humming data center run by either your cloud service provider or their trusted partner.)

Where do ‘public’, ‘private’ and ‘hybrid’ come in?

With a public cloud service, the IT resources you’re using – be they software, computer power, or data storage – are shared with other users. With a private cloud, your resources are set apart from everybody else’s (and hence, ‘private’).

Hybrid cloud environments are exactly as they sound – they involve combining on-site, private and public cloud resources, in an effort to achieve results (think security, efficiency, availability) none of these approaches could achieve on their own.

An exception to our definition of cloud

You can build a private cloud on your own site – creating a pool of IT resources that your people access over the Internet, as and when they need them.

(But frankly, as a growing business, you probably don’t need to worry about this one just yet.)

Sprint BusinessHacks for the growing business

Are clouds secure?

People worry about putting data in public clouds. They really shouldn’t.

The kind of security measures most businesses can afford to put in place are a pale shadow of those a good public cloud provider can offer.

Why would I want to use cloud services?

Cloud services can offer your growing business all the power of an IT department, without you actually having to build and support one.

Instead of massive upfront investments in people and tech, you get more manageable operating expenses, and the flexibility to increase and decrease IT resources on the fly.

And, as we said, you get better security for your valuable data.

What kind of stuff can I get from cloud?

Pretty much whatever IT your business needs. That ‘whatever’ slices up into three main types of cloud service. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

We bet you’re relying on at least one SaaS solution already. Think G Suite* or Microsoft Office 365. Or that handy project management system Simon loves so much.

Why should I care?

SaaS solutions make the tools your people need available over the Internet, making them accessible – to multiple users – through any device, anytime, anywhere. That means true mobility, easier collaboration, more productivity…

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

When you consume computing resources – from servers to storage – over the Internet, that’s IaaS. (Think Amazon Web Services, or Microsoft Azure.)

Why should I care?

With IaaS, you don’t have to purchase, maintain or support your IT infrastructure. That’s your provider’s job. Instead you can focus your time and money on growing your core business.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

Want to develop and run a new app? Don’t want to build the app development platform yourself? That’s where PaaS comes in. Notable providers include Force.com and Google App Engine.

Why should I care?

You get a space for developing and deploying apps – if that’s the kind of thing your business wants to do – without the need to build, maintain and support it yourself.

How can cloud help my business grow?

Cloud services can be an easy win for a young, agile business. They offer:

• A simple way to stay mobile and connected as you grow

• Low upfront costs, and the power to pay – and scale – as you go

• More time and money to pour into everything else

*Formerly Google Apps for Work

For companies with people in them™

Any further questions…We’ve covered a heck of a lot of ground in the last two pages, scratching the surface of some pretty massive subjects.

We’d love to help you dig deeper into this stuff – go ahead and hit us up.

Call us at 877-633-1102 sprint.com/businessmojo