Storm in an IT Cupboard

We are being constantly bombarded with adverts and messages predicting cloudy times ahead, but is it all it’s made out to be or is it just a storm in an IT cupboard? Its got the techno geeks excited the data guys worried and everyone else totally confused. Just what is a cloud do you need your own can you get on somebody else’s and was Mick Jagger a techno visionary when he sang about getting off his?

So have you read the sky news at night? It seems our lives are not going to be able to function properly without each of us having access to our own bit of cloud. Well forgive me for being a little cynical here as I approach my half century… so far so good and not once have I stopped to think, my life is nothing without my floating fluffy companion. So what difference will it make and what does it mean for the future of workspace environments?

Shaun Baker – Cloud ComputingTo get some clarity I thought I would check on the definition of ‘The cloud’ and was somewhat underwhelmed with the answer. The cloud it would seem is the Internet. Instead of storing your information on your computer, handheld device or expensive servers in an equally expensive comms room all your data is held remotely out there somewhere in the ether. Well almost. It is the outsourcing of data storage to a remote third party. The benefit of holding information on a central remote server being that with an internet signal and secure log-in you can access your information at any time from anywhere and from any device.

Outsourcing the hosting of your servers would also mean the build costs of the facility and equipment falls to another party and the burden of maintenance becomes a supplier issue. This would mean in terms of your workplace design you would save on the cost of constructing a dedicated facility and require slightly smaller office space. The running costs alone for a comms room are significant as the servers and air handling units are constantly on and drawing energy even though the units are accessed and active for a small proportion of each day. An important factor in today’s green and sustainable savvy workplace.

In summary the key benefits of wireless technology are:

1. Reduced costs – cheaper to install and maintain compared to hard wired networks.
2. Greater flexibility – workers can be networked without sitting at assigned workstations.
3. Improved communications – leads to faster transfer of information within businesses and customers.
4. Always available – you don’t need to carry cables or adaptors in order to access office networks.

The knock on affect of all these benefits other than cost savings and productivity will be in allowing the designer to review how the workspace can be better utilised. Employees are no longer confined to an office or chained to a particular desk. This means that alternative environments can be investigated that may aid collaborative working and ultimately better communication. Instigating a non assigned desk policy where it is suitable to do so also means that potentially space can be saved by reducing the numbers of workstations in an area.

Now, so far that all sounds incredibly positive and a winning solution all round but a word of caution. Well several words actually. As with all new technologies there are one or two concerns. Firstly, security, just how safe are all your business secrets? If the provider is based abroad how do their local laws impact upon your stored data? Secondly, what if you can’t get an Internet signal? And thirdly and probably of most concern, what happens if your provider goes pop? Not having had the opportunity to read the small print on all the varied cloud formations jostling for our hard earned cash I can not comment on any recourse open to a user should their provider go out of business. I would however have thought that best business practice in these troubled times would be to have a back up at another weather system or what ever the collective noun is for a group of clouds.

I can despite my initial cynicism understand the benefits of remote storage and the appeal of instant access but having personally suffered the pain of a hard drive failure coupled with an inadequate back up policy my advise would always be plan for that rainy day. Back up the back up and whether the weather be good or not don’t let the clouds rain on your parade.