Microsoft Cloud Computing- Crucial tool for sustainable business growth

Advancementsin technology have intensified the role of cloud computing.Cloud computing is more than a concept which involves software services, platforms, and online administration and data storage.Financial experts are of the opinion that cloud computing will be a key to business success inthe near future. Cloud computing increases the IT department’s contribution to innovations and corporate strategies.Financial experts also believe that cloud computing outsourcing provides more benefits than traditional outsourcing.


Cloud computing is of two kinds: public clouds and private clouds.Public cloud hosting refers to offering services over the Internet, whereas private cloud hosting refers to the deployment of cloud services within the firewall. The management of the services offered through private cloud hosting is taken care of by the enterprise.Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of private and public cloud solutions:




Comparing public and private cloud solutions:

•Enterprises using public cloud solutions have to pay monthly for the services, while enterprises using private cloud solutions only have to pay according to the data usage and applicable bandwidth charges.

•The sharing of data is based on the principle of storage demand scalability in a public cloud, whilethe data stored in a private cloud is accessible only to the users in the organization. Third party sharing of data in a private cloud is possible only if the business entity running the operation wants it.

•There is a limit of accessibility for the private cloud solution as it functions within a firewall,while a public cloud solution can be accessed from any place that has an Internet connection.

•Data security risk is more prevalent in private cloud architecture since the geographical location of the data can be easily identified or traced. Public cloud solution is less risky in comparison.

•The initial costs of a private cloud solution are high and are reduced in the later stages of using it as a service.For public cloud solutions, the initial cost islow, but the expense increases over the time as the data increases.

There are several advantages and disadvantages ofprivate and public  cloud platforms other than the ones discussed above.Let’s take a look at one of the most popular Microsoft cloud computingplatform,Windows Azure:

Microsoft cloud computing:An Introduction

Windows Azure is an open and flexible open platform developed by Microsoft. It hasthe capability of building, deploying and managing applications in a quick way across a global network of Microsoft-managed data centers.Let’s take a look at some of the advantages provided by Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform:

•High uptime: Microsoft cloud computingpresents around 99.5% monthly SLA.This allows businesses to build and deploy easily available applications on the cloud platform without worrying about the infrastructure.

•Open platform: Though it belongs to Microsoft, Windows Azure is an open public platform that enables one to build applicationsusing any tool, language or operating system.

•Unlimited storage:Microsoft cloud computingallows you to scale applications to any size. The resources are always available, and you can enlarge or shrink the resource usage as per your application needs.You are only charged for the resources used by the application.

•Unlimited Servers: Windows Azure is available in multiple Microsoft Data Centers located worldwide. This allows you to deploy applications in a data center located close to your customer.

SharePoint Online With Office 365 Benefits: Taking Your Business to Next Level

Advancement in technology has brought about a major change in the way of working of modern workforce. Statistics show that around 95% of information workers are using notebooks as well devices like iPad and smartphones for work. This is why today, several leading enterprise systems are being offered as Online systems and cloud computing is gaining momentum. Microsoft’s SharePoint, a part of Office 365 is undeniably one of the most powerful enterprise tools available for all business sizes.

Office 365, a suite of web-enabled (on the cloud) tools is the latest offering from Microsoft for Online system users. Microsoft products such as Office, Outlook, and SharePoint are widely used by small and medium sized businesses as well as big multinational corporations. If you are considering using a collaboration platform or planning to move your existing business to the cloud, there is no better office-productivity enterprise solution than Office 365.

Moving to a cloud based system seems to be an intelligent business decision considering the future trend. Microsoft has clearly anticipated the powerful role online systems will play in the near future. Flexibility along with reduced costs of management is one of the noteworthy features of SharePoint Online system introduced by Microsoft.

Office 365 is offered in two editions- Standard and Dedicated. Additionally, the Standard edition is offered in two versions- Plan S and Plan E. Both standard versions of Office 365 consist of SharePoint 2010, Lync 2010, and Exchange 2010. Subscription to these services is based on per-user or per month basis.

Let’s look at some benefits presented by Office 365 due to its access to SharePoint 2010 noteworthy features:

•Powerful search capabilities: SharePoint 2010 is known to have a good search engine, so searching for something in Office 365 is quick and easy.

•Optimum Security: SharePoint 2010 is known to offer superior user level security than other Microsoft products. This feature is extremely useful in an enterprise system where different users have access to read, write, and share data stored in the database. The security features included in SharePoint 2010 protects the confidentiality of the data without hampering the productivity and efficiency of the workforce, even in the cloud.

•Easy creation and collaborations: SharePoint 2010 allows easy creation of site and pages. Administrator can create a site to store documents and allow specific group of people, permission to work and collaborate on it.

•No coding to create workflow: An efficient workflow chart improves efficiency of workforce and enhances productivity. The SharePoint Designer allows creating of an efficient workflow in an easy way without use of any complex coding.

•Active directory: SharePoint allows the administrator to permit access to users by assigning username and passwords. If required external users may also be granted restricted access to the system resources by the administrator.

One of the biggest advantages of using Office 365 and its SharePoint cloud platform is smaller learning curve for people who are using Microsoft office products, as it is only transition to different working environment for such people.