Cloud Services for the SMB and the Enterprise

Small BusinessES

Many Cloud solutions exist that can be very useful. There are free Cloud Storage and Backup options that work well for some small businesses. All providers have paid versions for those who need more space or functionality. See reviews and comparisons of some of the better free and low cost options: Google Drive, OneDrive, iDriveSync, and Dropbox.

For all important files, whether they be photos, documents, spreadsheets, databases or something else, you need a backup system. Storage devices occasionally fail. Even if you are unusually lucky and yours doesn't fail, files can be corrupted by a disgruntled or careless employee, a faulty program or by a virus such as the CryptoLocker ransomware virus. It's not unusual for people to destroy files accidentally or for a fire to destroy your PC, tablet or phone. Or, your storage device may be stolen or otherwise made unavailable. If you do not have a backup system in place, you should put at least one backup arrangement in place if you wish to assure you can continue to have access to your files. History tells us that a large percentage of organizations will fail if their data is lost.

SMBs and Enterprises

Some Data Centers offer all of the following "Services in the Cloud" while some offer a subset:

Colocation - typically cages or rack space in a data center including power and cooling usually with built in redundancy.
Managed Hosting - often Dedicated Hosting where an entire server is leased by the client typically with the Operating System managed by the data center. Shared Hosting is where several clients lease space on a server.
Hosted PBX or Hosted Voice services - see our Voice Options for more info or contact us for an analysis of your voice needs for help in determining the best voice or VoIP solution.
Cloud Services often refers to the case where the data center manages not only the hardware and Operating Systems but also tools that are provided to clients.
Application Management is where the data center not only provides and manages the Cloud Services mentioned above but also one or more applications.

To determine the services in the cloud and providers that best fit your business, give us a general description of your data center or service in the cloud interests. We will determine the top providers that can supply those needs. Typically, we then schedule a Discovery meeting with what appears to be the top provider for your situation. As a result of the Discovery Meeting, we may bring one or more other providers into the conversation. To start this process, contact us for a Cloud Service Consultation.

For an idea of what's available, here is info from RapidScale, one of the many cloud providers we work with:

For more info on these options and similar options from other providers, contact us for a Cloud Service Consultation.