Embracing the cloud at home and work

It is not so very long ago that the cloud was being spoken of in hushed terms as the next computer revolution. For IT experts the cloud could do no wrong whilst business gurus were divided between enthusiastic cloud embracers and security doom merchants.

Almost without us noticing the cloud revolution has not only hit but so quickly became embedded in our processes that many still don’t realise that they benefit from cloud computing every day. Taking the broadest definition of the cloud as using one electronic device as a terminal with the processing taking place elsewhere, the cloud now sits at the heart of our business and private lives.

Let’s start with Smart phones. These have so blurred the boundaries between PC and telephone that we no longer think it remarkable to phone, take photos and video, surf the web and send and receive texts and e-mails all on the same device. Acer are even taking this one step further with the launch in May of a new tablet PC which will also make telephone calls.

Then there is web surfing itself. Apart from internet cafes and wi-fi hot spots which are already a success, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, aims to install free wi-fi access to 120 Tube Stations and some bus stops by the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games. This follows a successful trial at Charing Cross and is expected to be funded by the mobile operators.

Logging on to post your accounts details online with HMRC or even completing the 2010 Census online is a form of cloud computing. We take these processes for granted and benefit from time and cost savings. This is especially true for businesses which embrace the benefits that the cloud can bring to their telephone systems.

Gone are the days when a switchboard operator was needed to take messages, answer telephones and divert calls. Nowadays managing telephone processes via a virtual switchboard in the cloud brings increased service levels with simultaneous cost savings. Organisations with multiple offices can run their entire telephone process from one virtual switchboard, even if some of those offices are abroad. Virtual switchboards and automated telephone processes can play a leading role in business continuity planning with caller divert, automated messaging and caller recognition. Sales and client relationships can be better managed with messaging, telephone call recording and follow the sun phone transfer.

As with any business process, security has to be taken into account when setting up and running cloud processes. However, that is a small price to pay for the benefits in time and cost that working and playing in the cloud can bring. The revolution has happened and those who don’t take advantage will soon have to run to keep up.