SOFTWARE


Walkingthetalk


Stewart Anderson describes his experience of moving his office software into ‘The Cloud’.


W


hen anyone gives business advice, their credibility needs to be built on a platform of experience. We have been talking in PROPERTYdrum about Aspasia


Cloud and the concept of cloud computing so it is time to relate the story of our move from desktop to the cloud. For us, moving to the ‘cloud’ meant doing away with servers,


complicated networks, backups and several traditional ‘must have’ Microsoft business products such as Exchange, Word, Excel and Outlook. We replaced it with an IT infrastructure similar to those in our homes – computers connected together where necessary via either wireless or cable with the odd printer and of course a broadband Internet connection. All our old Microsoft software products were replaced with Google equivalents in the form of Google Apps. The result? What was a substantial IT infrastructure and cost virtually disappeared. As with any significant re-organisation, we expected disquiet


both in terms of technical glitches and, as importantly, staff frustration. The anticipated complications surrounding the transfer of emails, contact information and documents never materialised. The bulk of the automated process happened over one weekend using the Google migration tools which proved to be simplicity itself. More importantly what little staff nervousness existed about using new tools like Gmail and Google Docs dissipated within a few days and nobody would now entertain going back to the ‘old’ days. Admittedly, some of the Google equivalents to the old


Microsoft products are not as feature rich but they do everything a business like ours needs. Other Google equivalents are proving to be better and benefit from new Internet based functionality that just didn’t exist in the “old” products. The advantages? First we really don’t have a significant


business overhead called ‘IT’ anymore with all its associated costs and complications. What we now have is almost childishly simple to maintain and support and really doesn’t need any IT expertise at all. Our company data, whilst no longer being on our premises, is being housed for us in a manner that is more secure than we, even as an IT company, could ever hope to provide locally ourselves. The threats of fire or more likely, burglary and their associated impact on our business is totally alleviated. And whilst many of our staff continue to maintain traditional office hours, we all now have the flexibility to work wherever we are and at whatever time of day or night we prefer which can enhance staff productivity. And the cost to us of the move? £33 per employee per year – the cost of the Google licences. The disadvantages? Other than a need to question traditional attitudes – frankly none.


Stewart Anderson is MD of SPA Microsystems, supplier of Aspasia Cloud agency software


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PROPERTYdrum DECEMBER 2010 23


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