Cloud computing represents a major change in how you store information and run applications. Instead of hosting applications and data on an individual server, everything is hosted in the “cloud”—a collection of computers and servers accessed via the Internet.

This type of Web-based computing frees you from the autocracy of single-server computing and opens up new avenues for group collaboration. But as attractive as all that sounds, cloud computing isn’t for everyone. This blog will take an honest look at the pro’s and con’s of this type of solution and how the average end user can benefit from cloud computing.

Reduced Software Costs – Instead of purchasing expensive software applications, you can get most of what you need for a pittance compared to the $200k+ you will spend buying Documentum or SharePoint. Yes, SharePoint is virtually free…but the programming and maintenance isn’t. This alone may be justification for switching to cloud applications.

Improved Document Format Compatibility – You don’t have to worry about the documents you create on your machine being compatible with other users’ applications or operating systems. In a typical environment where Word 2007 documents can’t be opened on a computer running Word 2003, all documents created by Web-based applications can be read by any other user accessing that application. There are no format incompatibilities when everyone is sharing documents and applications in the cloud.

Unlimited Storage Capacity – Cloud computing offers almost limitless storage. Your computer’s current 200 gigabyte hard drive is peanuts compared to the millions of terabytes available in the cloud. Whatever you need to store, you can.

Increased Data Reliability & Security – Unlike server or desktop computing, in which a hard disk crash can destroy all your valuable data, a computer crashing in the cloud won’t affect the storage of your data. That also means that if your computer or server crashes, all your data is still out there in the cloud, still accessible – there is no “wait time” for a recovery tape to be loaded. Many cloud providers offer military grade encryption…far more secure than anything your organization could hope to provide.

Anywhere, Anytime Access – The ultimate advantage to cloud computing is that you’re no longer dependent on a single computer or network. Change computers, and your existing data and documents follow you through the cloud. Move to a portable device, and your applications and documents are still available. There’s no need to buy a special version of a program for a particular device, or to save your document in a device-specific format. Your docs and their apps are the same no matter what computer or other device you’re using…that goes for Apple computers as well.

Now…just to be fair and not to sound too biased towards cloud computing, there are some pitfalls.
However, I do believe that after you have seen the advantages and disadvantages, you to will decide that cloud computing is still the best way to go. OK…here are some of the pitfalls.

Requires Internet Connection – Cloud computing is impossible if you can’t connect to the Internet. Since you use the Internet to connect to both your applications and documents, if you don’t have an Internet connection you can’t access anything, even your own documents.

May Be Slower – Even on a fast connection, cloud-based applications can sometimes be slower than accessing a similar program on your desktop or server. The one solution to this issue is to “check out” the document. When a user is done working on the document, they can “check in” the document.

So, who are the users that are best suited for cloud computing? Given the pros and cons of cloud computing, I think that the following types of users benefit most from switching to cloud-based solutions and applications:

Collaborators – If you collaborate with other people on group projects, you’re an ideal candidate for cloud computing. The ability to share and edit documents in real time between multiple users is one of the primary benefits of Web-based applications; it makes collaborating easy.

Users With A Need For Total Security – Cloud computing, when properly configured, is one of the most secure environments known today. Many outsourced cloud solutions provide a total package that includes not only all the storage space you will ever need, but also security that would make the Pentagon jealous for and a maintenance program that is worry free. You will save large amounts of money, time and resources by not having to lay out big bucks for the latest versions of Documentum or maintenance programs for SharePoint – both of which have very limited security…if any at all.

Users With Regulatory Compliance Needs – When you are required to comply with NERC, FERC, CFATS or other compliance measurements, there are many areas that you must address. You could hire a high-priced consulting firm with almost no industry experience or pile more work on your already thinly stretched internal resources and purchase a fleet of new servers and desktops, or you could utilize lower-cost cloud computing instead. The other main advantage for those who have to adhere to compliance requirements is that the cloud acts as your back-up site for Disaster Recovery. Abandon that outdated technology and use a less-demanding, low maintenance, fully secured and hosted cloud instead. In the old days (in computer speak, that is last year), the only solution to increased needs was to purchase more powerful hardware and hire overpriced consultants that didn’t know your industry.

Bottom-line: With cloud computing, the solution is in the cloud—which saves you resources, time and money.

James Holler is founder of Abidance Consulting.

“There’s nothing to see here folks, move along. Nothing to see here.”

That’s what police usually say when a crowd gathers to watch something new, unusual or just plain interesting.

Reminds me of an article I recently ran across declaring that Software as a Service (SaaS) technology was indeed configurable.  The jist of it was that NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson was attempting to shatter some of the common misperceptions about SaaS during his keynote address at a company’s partner conference in San Francisco last week.

The WebCPA article covering Zach’s speech went on, “Addressing claims that most SaaS solutions are not customizable, Nelson claimed that there are currently 6,600 users utilizing NetSuite’s enterprise resource planning functions, the majority of which are customizable features.”

Extra! Extra! Read all about it: SaaS is configurable, says Zach.  And we’ve blogged about this before, too.

But is this news to anyone?

Apparently it is in some circles. So why has SaaS gotten a bad rap as inflexible?

Blame it on the early days of SaaS, when some providers offered more rigid, “pigeon-holed” solutions, says AssurX Operations Manager Karl Kleinkauf, who’s been in this business nearly twenty years. “In the old days there was something of a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude,” Karl adds.

But that’s all changed in recent years, Karl notes. For starters, the technology has improved and ample bandwidth is more widely available today. Both factors help make SaaS more configurable. But consumer demand also helped make it happen, Karl notes.

In fact, as his own customers get more adept using SaaS for regulatory compliance, they often see other uses for it. “I’ve helped many use our SaaS system for document control and customer complaint handling after they’ve gotten comfortable with it on the compliance side,” Karl says.

So let’s recap: SaaS is flexible, multi-faceted and configurable.

Remember, you didn’t read it here first.

The concept of implementing SaaS is moving ahead quickly, especially in the medical device arena. Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising; most industry experts say that device firms tend to be a bit more innovative when it comes to embracing new technologies.

That may be why Angiotech made the decision to go with AssurX’s OnDemand (SaaS) model as opposed to on-premise implementation for their global complaint handling system. Angiotech is a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company that discovers, develops, and markets innovative technologies and medical products primarily for local diseases or for complications associated with medical device implants, surgical interventions and acute injury.

AssurX’s CATSWeb system is already rolled out across four facilities – three in the US and one in Puerto Rico – with Europe expected by the end of 2009.

Larry Murphy, Senior Manager, Corporate Quality, was part of the team that made the decision to go with the SaaS model because they needed to get up and running quicker.

“We got the blessing of the IT group after they reviewed the AssurX system and were able to get answers quickly about the level of security and support,” Murphy said. “As far as the users are concerned, they really like having everything centralized, including the reporting capabilities. We have significantly improved our efficiency and productivity,” added Murphy.

Prior to implementing an automated complaint handling system, various divisions of Angiotech were using either paper-based systems or homegrown Access database applications. Now the company-wide system using CATSWeb allows them to process complaints in a more structured and standardized manner that provides a much higher level of quality of information as well as the ability to track progress using metrics and dashboards.

Future plans include expansion of the current process and perhaps implementing electronic medical device reporting (eMDR) somewhere down the line.

How does one achieve five 9′s (99.999%) uptime or better in today’s crazy IT world?  Easy.  Have backups for your backups and have at least two of everything.

Okay, so maybe it’s easier said than done and perhaps that is an egregious oversimplification. The bottom line, however, is basically that’s how AssurX has achieved not five 9′s but a perfect 100% uptime for CATSWeb OnDemand systems for two years running.

We have multiple redundancies in all our critical infrastructure systems: at least two of everything.  We have everything from multiple pipes to the Internet to multiple fire suppression systems.  There are multiples of all server types; web servers, application servers, database servers, backup servers. There are multiples of all components of the servers; multiple drives in RAID arrays, multiple network cards, multiple power supplies, multiple CPUs.   There are redundant monitoring systems, monitoring internally and externally the availability of CATSWeb and we are notified immediately when something is wrong.  Fortunately (knock on wood), we’ve yet to experience this scenario outside of testing.

Our data center is the same way.  There are redundant heating and cooling systems, redundant fire suppression systems, redundant UPS systems, redundant generators and everything is in “hot standby” mode, meaning if one fails, the other takes over without missing a beat.   The network employs at least three major telecom providers for separate and redundant backbones to the Internet.

To someone unfamiliar with the true meaning of “mission critical”, all this sounds like overkill. Doesn’t having two (or more) of everything make life more difficult?  Simple answer is, yes, life is more complicated with two of everything.  There are the requirements of extra space, extra maintenance, extra power consumption, extra time for install/management/decommission of software packages and extra man hours spent working on all these redundant systems.  Does it make financial sense?  Absolutely!  Just the same as one has homeowner’s insurance, car insurance, health insurance or life insurance, what redundancy means to an IT department is data and connectivity insurance.  For hosted systems like CATSWeb OnDemand, it means happy customers who always get to their data, day or night.  For IT guys like me it means peaceful, easy sleep and less hair loss.

At the end of the day, the simple fact is that AssurX has achieved something truly difficult in the IT world; 100% uptime, two years running.  This is something major players, like Yahoo, eBay, Google, Amazon and many others cannot claim.  We are proud of our commitment to hosting CATSWeb for our customers and will continue to implement new and better ways to achieve and maintain the best possible uptime numbers and availability as we forge ahead.

The idea of software as a service is not new and in fact AssurX has offered its CATSWeb enterprise quality and compliance system in a hosted environment for over 10 years.  However, there has always been a certain resistance in business for utilizing this software model.  The reasons have varied from security issues to wanting to have control over the platforms to a perception that the data just needs to be in-house.  For several years, though, businesses have been looking to reduce their overall costs, including those involved with IT.  As a result SaaS has much more appeal as it can significantly help to reduce the overall cost of ownership.

One of the chief issues that have confounded IT, though, is system integration.  No system is the be-all-to-end-all.  ERP systems will generally handle most of the basic functions of a business, however there are aspects like complaint management, auditing, CAPA, etc., that are not fully covered by these systems – hence the need for multiple applications and the need to integrate.

The next argument from many is that if our systems are all hosted we cannot integrate them.  That is not necessarily true.  Systems that have Web service capabilities are fully capable of being integrated regardless of their location.  This was recently proven by a very successful hosted NetSuite to CATSWeb integration.  The requirement was to allow customer service to enter their initial customer complaint as a Support Case in NetSuite (which the customer runs as a SaaS) and have a corresponding transaction triggered in CATSWeb (which is also running as SaaS) where the actual complaint processing occurs.  This was all accomplished by using a simple call from NetSuite to the CATSWeb web service.  CATSWeb creates the record and sends a success or error message back to NetSuite, which then either stores the newly created CATSWeb Record ID in the Support Case for reference purposes or sends an email to an individual in the case of an error message.  Additionally, because CATSWeb returns the Record ID created to NetSuite, any further changes to the NetSuite Support Case can be sent to CATSWeb, which will update the record accordingly.

So is system integration of SaaS applications possible?  Absolutely. And depending the capabilities of the systems involved it can be relatively easy to accomplish.  CATSWeb offers a fully functional Web services API, which will allow any external system to integrate with it.  The location of the external system does not matter.  The bottom line is that Software as a Service is a viable business model which can greatly reduce IT costs and the idea that just because your applications are hosted at offsite locations is no reason why they cannot be effectively integrated.