Hosted solutions, the future of networking.

I attended a seminar recently which discussed the increased interest in cloud computing and businesses using it as a serious alternative to their traditional networks. This was an informative meeting that was well worth attending, but also raised a lot of questions about the service.

For starters, there were many concerns about businesses releasing their data from their own control to a third party, even if this 3^rd party was an IT Support company. There were also concerns about cost and if it was really a cost effective solution or a smokescreen for something that would end up costing more than the existing setup most companies have onsite.

I can tell you that so far from my experience that a hosted solution is the real deal. I have been testing this product for the last 6 months. The IT Support Essex based company I work for is providing this service for many of our existing clients and I can tell you that it is foolproof. All you need are your existing workstations, if you don’t have these then you can always purchase thin clients which are a cost effective alternative to a pc.

I can tell you that it will definitely cost less to use a hosted solution; all you have to do is the math. For starters, you can kiss goodbye to the  severs you have running in the office, that will save most offices at least 2k along with electric, maintenance and upgrade costs. Then there is the savings you are making on your software, as when you use a hosted service you don’t have to pay for any upgrades because it is all done automatically.

If you sit down and work it out, most of us could save at least 40% on our IT costs using a hosted solution and as soon as businesses figure that out, there will be a massive demand for the service.

The IT companies that are already in a position to offer a hosted solution will be the ones better off. I would also be bold enough to predict that in 10 years maximum, most businesses in the Uk will replace their existing network with a hosted solution.