Saas, Cloud, "on-demand," all have wonderful possibilities.
At the same time, I fear the "power" that now rests in the hands of the provider. (I'm not talking about any provider specifically, I'm just speaking in general.)
Let's break this down to it's core fundamentals.
A. With SAAS/Cloud/OD, your data is housed on infrastructure that is entirely controlled by someone else. Period.
Wow. One starts to get dizzy pondering the security, ethical and operational nightmares that could ensue. (Again, just speaking generally, and raising discussion points that providers will have to address.)
If nothing else... there is a potential to be held hostage. And because of the agreements that will likely be in effect... your business could be LEGALLY held "hostage."
Right now... when I put data on my system... it's mine. Totally mine. I can touch it. I can reboot it. I can snuggle it if I want to.
B. When your data, is housed on infrastructure that is entirely controlled by you, "Internet Access" is much less likely to cripple your organization.
Ever had a problem with your ISP? With your phone company? Most ISP's are not known for their "stellar" customer service, despite what some ads would lead you to believe.
One of our offices uses "Business Class" service from a cable provider. 16Mbps. Dedicated. "Business Class."
The only thing absolutely reliable about the "Business Class" data service at that office, is that it is going to fail, at least once a week.
2 weeks ago, we were down for 6 hours. We lost an entire day.
The provider told us... "Your MAC address just fell off our system." (I kid you not. I'm not making this up.) They were very, very sorry, and gave us 3 months of service for free because of the error. And all we lost was a few billable hours.
My point is... what happens when things "just fall off their systems."
What happens when it's not their "fault." (And you'll notice, that whenever a service fails, the provider has 10,000 reasons why it's not really their "fault.")
What happens when your ISP goes down? In this scenario, it really isn't the provider's fault, it's the ISP's fault... BUT, your employees are still sitting around twiddling their thumbs (and likely screaming at the IT guys, because "nothing works.")
It is estimated that in today's commercial world, 80% of a company's value is in their data.
Personally, I'm going to have to see some major strides in security and reliability, before I put 80% of my business in the hands of a company, who's primary concern is my next payment.
(Again... speaking generally. Personally, I'm a big fan of SAP.)
Sadien Staff
Sadien, Inc.
http://www.sadien.com
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