Monitis: Cloud Monitoring Blog

The cloud and its relationship to the economy; what an interesting subject.

Some say the cloud is growing because the economy is so bad (well, bad but getting better), and that companies are increasingly adopting the cloud because computing costs are lower (for example, server maintenance costs).

But I like James Urquhart’s contention that the cloud is growing because businesses want more agility in their cash flow. Specifically, what’s so attractive about the cloud, especially to start-ups, is that the cloud’s “pay-as-you-go” model, allows companies to have more cash on hand – to invest, to improve their products, to grow.

Let’s look at this more closely. Traditionally, corporate IT builds or buys an application, usually paying up-front licensing fees. And then the company has to buy the infrastructure on which to run the app. That’s a huge investment, and much of its return depends on the success or failure of that app.

Cloud computing, however, allows companies to migrate from a capital-intensive strategy and replace it with an ongoing operational expense. Plus, if you’re not buying software for apps and such, you don’t have to suffer through version after version until you get the one that works without a hitch. All that’s taken care of on the cloud.

While I agree with Urquhart’s theory, I give credit to the growth of the cloud to the troubled economy, too. I think lower cost computing – whether it’s seen from an upfront investment or long-term savings perspective – is more attractive to more organizations in these days of tight IT budgets and CIO directives to pare costs.

And I offer proof that that theory is correct – judging from the success we at Monitis are experiencing, in terms of growing interest in cloud-based monitoring services of everything from cloud platforms, servers, websites, transactions, apps, etc.