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.

Offshore Vs Nearshore Software Development Provider: Whom to Choose?

IT Managers across the states are re thinking their software development strategy, and aiming to replace their offshore software development firms with nearshoring ones.

The reason behind this growing trend, are the advantages of nearshore software development (Latin America) over offshore (i.e. India and East Europe) like the timezone proximity which enables real time communication and agile software development with nearshore teams, and thus better project control for the IT manager. Also the geographical proximity allows the IT managers to go down and visit the team for a period of time within the year, either for critical paths within software development process, or just to improve the nearshore team compromise and commitment with the cause.
 

The fact that cost gap between nearshore and offshore software development firms continues to close especially due to inflation and attrition differences is also contributing to the decision of replacing offshore software development firms.Nearshore development costs still fall between the costs of local development anoffshore development.

Declining service levels and difficulty understanding Indian accents are issues that buyers have also expressed concern over during 2011 about offshore software development.

Why to expect a growing of nearshore trend: A lot of the growth in the US is coming from SMEs that find it easier to work with similar providers in Latin American and for example, Silicon Valley startups are trusting their software development for nearshore development firms located in Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile or Uruguay, and more US companies are investigating what options Latin America can provide.

Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of Latin American companies that are opening US offices, or hiring a US marketing and sales representative.

Deloitte’s 2011 Global Shared Services research which was reviewed at Shared Services and Outsourcing Week, called Latin America the new frontier and said that Latin America was the second most popular destination for new centers, and found that companies establishing new facilities in Latin America were likely to be following the growth of Latin markets for their companies’ products.

So, what is the offshore team still useful for when it comes to offshore software development? The answer is non-critical path waterfall development: waterfall because the time difference precludes agile development; non-critical path because delays in communication add unpredictability which can upset the timeline.

IT managers looking to manage their software development projects using agile processes will continue to try with nearshore firms.

Cloud computing has the ability to unleash great value for IT outsourcing customers. Opt for Microsoft Cloud Computing Outsourcing by UruIT, we won’t let you down.

 

2012hottest outsourcing destinations in Latin America

Latin America outsourcing is gaining momentum and a growing list of IT managers across the states are planningto replace their offshore software outsourcing providers with nearshore ones (Latin America) mainly because the timezone issue preventing IT Managers to control projects using agile methodologies, and the fact that cost gap between nearshore and offshore software development firms continues to close especially due to inflation and attrition differences.

Countries in Latin America and in particular South American ones are looking to position as preferred IT services outsourcing destinations and take benefit from such trend. Client organizations in neighboring Spanish-speaking countries may find additional advantages, such as proximity, as well as language and cultural compatibility, in outsourcing to Latin America.

So which country an organization should choose? What factors are required for consideration? A decision maker could consider looking at Gartner reports for outsourcing, which analyze suitability for offshore outsourcing based on 10 criteria: language, government support, labor pool, infrastructure, educational system, cost, political and economic environment, cultural compatibility, global and legal maturity, and data and intellectual property security and privacy.

Countries in Latin America share the same benefits about nearshoreoutsourcing: timezone and geographical proximity. However a few of them are showing up as better outsourcing choices for those organizations looking to outsource to a South American software development firm (or setup their own captive centers), and they try to tackle some of the key factors affecting decision making about choosing outsourcing.

Within South America, Chile and Uruguay are on top of outsourcing destination lists because even when its population is below giants as Argentina and Brazil, and this is some big limitation for big volume outsourcing business, they are ranking great about some of the key outsourcing enablers: 

•    both countries achieved a continuous economic growth over the past few years, remarkable among competition in Latin America

•    reached a world-recognized political stability, in contrast with Argentinean or Colombia reality, and most of Latin Americancountries

•    Language is not such barrier like in Brazil, one of major competitor in South America for volume outsourcing

•    Government is pushing hard and supporting growth of IT companies, by enabling IT parks, taxes redemption, FTAs, and initiatives such as the One Laptop per Child initiative developed by Uruguayan government: By November 2010, the government had distributed 380,000 laptops, trained 18,000 teachers, created 280 free Wi-Fi areas in Montevideo and had given 220,000 families their first computer, unique initiative in Latin America

•    educated workforce with a high literacy rate, among the highest in Latin America

•    Outstanding technology infrastructure (According to "The Global Competitiveness Report, 2010 to 2011," Uruguay is ranked No. 53 in infrastructure globally, ranking above other Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Argentina.

UruIT is the leading provider of nearshoring to South America outsourcing and Latin America nearshore outsourcing companies. Microsoft certified nearshore outsourcing.

Chile Continues Positioning As A Hot Destination For Outsourcing

Last week Chile hosted the first LatamOutsourcing and Investment Forum.

Invited by Chilean Economic Development Agency(CORFO), more than 40 IT companies from 13 countries and mainly focused in global offshore outsourcing, shared experiences and learn about why to invest in building their development centers in thisexceptionalcountry.

During the 3-days Forum, foreign outsourcing companies met with Chilean Government stakeholders and key local players interested in helpingto place their branches in such hot business environment.

Forum focused in sharing key indicators and advantages of placing outsourcing destinations in Chile such as good indicators and top positions in recognized ranking related to political risks and corruption, outstanding economic environment (Government target is to place Chile into First World economies by 2020), timezone proximity for outsourcing services, trade agreements, Government support for investors and IT education. Chilean agency recognized the lack of English speakers developers but agreed to continue investing in such key element needed for the success of outsourcing services. Higher costs than other nearshore destinations like Uruguay is also a disadvantage Finally, different outsourcing companies already established in Chile, like TCS, showcased their success stories and things to consider when establishing here.

Forum was not restricted by company size or technology; everyone has the same benefits and support if choosing Chile as an offshore outsourcing platform. For instance UruIT, a Microsoft Gold partner from Uruguay specialized in providing outsourcing services for US companies from convenient nearshore locations on top of Microsoft products and technologies, was among the list of companies invited by CORFO. Local Microsoft branch continues growing as companies demonstrate huge investment capabilities in technology, in particular Microsoft related ones, becoming a very exciting market for Microsoft IT shops like UruIT, not only for outsourcing but also to provide services for local companies.

UruIT was hired by a leading global solutions provider of career development, mentoring and career transition to build their user-friendly SaaS solution. Our ongoing dedicated team includes web developers (ASP.NET), Support Engineers and QA.

This product development project represented a challenge because it required transitioning from an offshore development team in India.

With Microsoft outsourcing offices in US and development centers in Uruguay, UruIT is the leader in Chilie outsourcing nearshore software development company in South and Latin America.