By Charles A. Reid II
Today, companies have the option to opt out of having an IT department, the Cloud. This allows for the allocation of more time, money and resources to focus on core business matters. No outlays for network cabling or in-house network hardware. No telecom system as you move to using an IP phone and even save on the desktop real estate by using the laptop as your phone so the actual handset and cable are no longer needed. There will be no need for computer support staff other than the people who take your computer out of the box, plug it in, turn it on and connect to the vendor-supported wireless network, because the vendor installs all of the software you need to run the computer at the factory. No desktop support will be needed as you now use a virtual desktop environment run on a VM on some vendors server in the cloud. You can run a free desktop OS like some form of Linux to connect to the VM and save on the cost of MS Windows Licenses and software.
Using the cloud can reduce HR costs, benefit costs, real estate investments, training costs, senior management costs. All the costs of having employees and providing an IT function and move it to the contract management cost center. There the SLA’s will be managed just like any other vendor contract.
Leveraging the Cloud means reducing startup costs by only paying a monthly fee for renting the services you need for the precise number of users you have. This translates to simpler accounting for licenses and the ability to make quicker right-offs. You have access to the best of the applications just by signing up and providing the billing information.
The biggest advantage to being Cloud based is the opportunities provided to collaborate. Not only can you securely work on projects with others in your company, but you can collaborate from anywhere with anyone be it coworker, vendor or customer. Time is saved with the use of eSignatures, no coming into or going to someone’s office, which could be anywhere in the world. Billing and payment costs are reduced because the systems are accessible from anywhere for the suppliers or the clients and everything, once configured, is as simple as clicking a button to pay.
Collaboration team spaces can let parties work on documents in real time saving time on needed revisions while constructing a contract agreement or proposal. Using the options granted by using the Cloud will decrease the time to respond to clients. Using mobile IM and chat will let meetings to occur anywhere in any combination of devices. Being able to use and assign “ToDo’s” and tasks will let the project managers to keep making progress as fast as possible. Cloud based discussion groups will let brainstorming and planning occur without ever having to bring the stake-holders and subject matter experts into the same room.
The flexibility provided by leveraging the Cloud provides Progressive Law with the ability to increase service levels to clients, reduce cyber risks, meet regulatory obligations and gives our lawyers the capability to work from the location that best servers the client’s needs while reducing the costs to our clients. The Now is the Cloud and we are leveraging it all we can.
Continued…
(In “The Cloud: Part B: Why Your Company Should Not Use the Cloud?” I will discuss why your company might not choose to utilize the Cloud.)
