by Stefani Laszko

Whenever new products or services hit the marketplace, incorrect information starts to fly around as well. This is especially true in the technology field, where new “experts” seem to pop up daily. Though cloud computing (also known as virtualization) has been around since the 1960’s it’s just become especially relevant to the small businesses in the last couple of years. Are you considering cloud computing for your business but just unsure of the pitfalls? Hopefully debunking the following myths will help make the decision easier for you.

Myth #1: The cloud is just a fad
Cloud computing has been around for decades, but recently savvy technologists just figured how to market and adapt it for the masses. All major technology companies (Microsoft and Amazon just to name a couple) are in the marketplace and they’re making money from it. It’s simply not going away. Major amounts of money are being put into cloud research and development and we’ll continue to see advancements in the capabilities, how it relates to small businesses and greater economies of scale.

Myth #2: The cloud is not reliable
The cloud is as reliable as the companies you partner with. Two major components are in play, your Internet service provider and your cloud service provider.  To access the cloud and to work productively you must first have a high speed, reliable Internet connection. Once you’re in the cloud you must be working with a solid services provider. A number of good questions to ask are: What do their service availability metrics looks like? Where do they house their equipment? What does their disaster recovery / business continuity plan look like?

Myth #3: The cloud is too complex for my business
The beauty of the cloud is that it can be extremely simple or extremely complex based on the needs of your business. You can start by just virtualizing a portion of your technology and then grow from there or you can jump in with both feet.

Cloud computing is not for everyone, but you must make sure you are making the right decisions to ensure you are positioning your business for the future. The best thing you can do is sit down with a true cloud expert (someone who is already providing these services to businesses like yours) and discuss where you are at now and where you would like to be and develop a plan from there.

Mythos Technology is an IT consulting and management firm that provides Managed Services including hosted cloud solutions. For more information, please visit www.mythostech.com or call (951) 813-2672.

Posted in Articles, Business Continuity