Cloud Computing Solutions

Ask SNP these questions and seek their expertise to decide on a Cloud Computing Solution.

• What is the total cost of ownership?
  
  SNP will assess and compare hardware costs, implementation and time to value, and license costs for on-premise and cloud computing.
  
  Our Cloud Computing Scenarios page describes costs for example implementations.

• What are the hardware, software and maintenance considerations?
  
  In a cloud-based computing environment, computer memory, speed, and disk space are not so significant because data is stored and computation occurs "in the cloud." For software, a key issue is managing updates and version control. Typically, in cloud-based computing, updates trickle in incrementally but versions can be controlled. SNP will assess your needs, environment and advise if this would present problems for users, or will it introduce risks of feature changes that impact your data.

• What's the best fit for your business process?
  
  SNP will compare systems and advise whether cloud-based applications have the feature depth of their traditional on-premises counterparts, and if so how will it impact your operation and workflows. Many activities such as document sharing and setting up work-groups on the fly may be easier with cloud-based applications; similar capabilities in an on-premise environment may require additional software tools.

• What are the security risks?
  
  In a cloud-based software environment, physical security is stronger because the loss of a client system does not compromise data or software. Furthermore, there are multiple levels of data backup ensuring that a reliable set of data is always available. SNP will assess security of the service provider's system against outside attack, or if there is a system failure, is the security and integrity of data is preserved. Since your proprietary business information is now in the cloud, SNP will assess and advise you of the risks.

• How do you work in an offline environment?
  
  Many Cloud applications address the issue of accessing key information when online access is not available, or even have the capability to use the application with limited capabilities. Even with on-premise applications, such issues arise when server is inaccessible. SNP will investigate and depending on the application and the provider, help develop appropriate procedures to address this issue.