Why the Cloud is a Big Deal for Small Businesses

WHY Cloud is A BIG DEAL FOR SMALL BUSINESS OPEN Cloud computing is allowing modern businesses to get off the ground with little upfront investment and operate on a shoestring while accessing technology and applications traditionally reserved for big businesses. Take a look at what a big deal the cloud is becoming for small businesses. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SMALL BUSINESS IN THE U.S. 1000:1 Small Businesses (under 100 employees) to Large Businesses (over 100 employees) Patents registered per employee at 13:1 small businesses to large businesses Percentage of U. S. exporters of goods 97% which are small businesses 60% Percentage of jobs created by small to 80% businesses each year STARTUP COSTS DECREASED WITH THE CLOUD INITIAL SETUP 2 APPLICATION SERVERS & 2 DATABASE SERVERS ON PREMISE CLOUD HARDWARE & EQUIPMENT NO COST THOUSANDS OF $ SET UP COSTS THOUSANDS OF $ NO COST IT ADMIN $80,000 PLUS $100/MONTH POWER THOUSANDS OF $ PENNIES/HR TIME DAYS & MONTHS MINUTES WHICH EXPLAINS WHY... Percentage of small 66% businesses using cloud today 74% Percentage of small businesses that plan to use the cloud Percentage of commercial 80% enterprise apps that will be deployed on a cloud platform 4:1 Ratio of mobile app development to PC projects by 2015 SMB CLOUD ADOPTION 80- 65% PROJECTED 60- 46% 40- 20- 14% 2H 2010 2H 2011 2H 2014 WHERE CAN SMALL BUSINESS LEVERAGE THE CLOUD? BACKUP With storage demands expected to triple in the next 5 years, cloud offers unlimited scale at fixed costs. SOFTWARE ACCESS Turns popular but expensive software like Office, Exchange, and Quickbooks into a monthly fee instead of a major investment in licensing and supporting hardware FILE SHARING Users can remotely access and collaborate on digitally stored resources in the office, on the road. from desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. ... CRM CRM provides small business a great cost-effective tool to manage client lifecycle, track leads and store marketing docs. NEW USES FOR CLOUD COMPUTING PAYMENT PROCESSING Cloud payment processing from standout Square, used by 1 out of 8 businesses, is possibly a cash killer. The service, and others like it, are making it easier for vendors, small businesses, and charities to process credit card transactions using mobile devices hooked to bank accounts. COMPARISON Processing of (50) $6 transactions a day: $198 SQUARE $417 TRADITIONAL PROCESSING CLOUD CALL CENTERS Moving call center operations to the cloud helps small call centers better compete against larger firms, allows startups to cost-effectively launch customer service centers, and keeps users connected to systems and resources for business continuity. Call centers can cut costs up to 50% using a cloud-based contact center model. SITE BUILDERS Website hosting is already one of the most popular uses for cloud computing. However, before you host a site, you have to build it. Not all businesses have the time or expertise to build an attractive, user-friendly site. That's where combination services that allow non-technical people to access tools to not only host their website, but also build it. COMPARISON Cost to build and develop a custom website: $5K -$10K CUSTOM WEBSITE UPFRONT $0 - $20 WEBSITE BUILDER SERVICE PER MONTH TOP 5 USES OF THE CLOUD 48% 30% 24% 23% 20% WEB HOSTING EMAIL HOSTING APPLICATION HOSTING DATA BACKUP & RECOVERY CONTENT FILTERING BENEFITS OF USING CLOUD FOR SMALL BUSINESS REMOTE ACCESS 62% of information workers are already working remotely using cloud services. MOBILE PROLIFERATION 1/3 of businesses planning to adopt mobile devices this year powering demand for more cloud services. DISASTER PROOFING Saves $159,000 in annual downtime. Users can still access data from the cloudand stay productive despite on-site outages. SOURCES www.rackspace.com/knawledge_center/cloudu_smallteambigimpact techcrunch.com/2011/12/13/aver-1m-merchants-now-use-mabile- payments-platform-square-to-accept-credit-cards/ www.micrasoft.com/Presspass/presskits/commsector/docs/SMBStudy_032011.pdf www.cloudbusinessreview.com/2011/D6/01/infographic-why-claud-computing-is-green.html www.rbj.net/print article.asp?al D-1891 10 www.businesswire.com/news/hame/2011120 1005541/en/Bartner- Reveals-Top-Predictions-Organizations-Users-2012 www.businesswire.com/news/hame/2011120 1005201/en/iIDC-Predicts-2012-Year-Mabile-Cloud-Platform venturebeat.com/2011/11/01/should-small-businesses-use-square/ searchcansumerization.techtarget.com/news/224011345B/2012-The-year-of-business-tablet-use www.spiceworks.com/voice-of-it/ m.softchoice.com/liles/pdl/brands/ca/ACOD_REPORT.pdf www.frost.com/prod/servlet/cia/239832330 www.forrester.com/rt/Research/demystifying_mobile_workforce/a/id/59261//2