When I launched my small company in 2004, we needed email, word processing, spreadsheets, and a shared database.
If I had launched my company earlier, I would have had to set up a server to run the database as well as the email and hire a guy to manage it so that my employees would all be able to access it, whether they were in the US, Europe, China, or India.
But this was 2004, and I was able to use Google Apps for the email and document sharing and DabbleDB (since closed) for the database. There was a small monthly fee for the database, and the free version of Google Apps gave us all the email and shared documents we needed.
Anything else we had to do — image editing, for example — we did on our desktops, and we emailed the documents around.
If the Internet went down, we waited it out. If Google went down — it happens — we waited it out. Both kinds of outages were relatively rare and didn’t impede operations.
If a computer crashed, we picked up the phone and paid for a local guy to come out and fix it, usually by reinstalling Windows. Once in a while, we’d buy a new computer for an employee.
Since then, more and more applications have become available on a subscription basis, delivered over the Web: customer relationship management, accounting, photo editing. You can even run a hedge fund out of your house by outsourcing all the back-end services to vendors.
And that’s not even the half of it. If you need some software that’s not available in the cloud — a specialized accounting application, for example, or something you developed in-house — you can hire a hosting company to run it for you.
There are even companies that will run your Windows desktops for you. You can use a tablet, or a cheapo netbook, thin client, or Linux box — pull up your browser, log in, and all your programs and data files are right there.
No worrying about upgrades, viruses, or backups — the hosting company does everything for you. All you pay is a monthly fee. And if a computer breaks, call in the local tech support shop, or just buy a new one.
If you’re a small company, you don’t need an IT department anymore.
In fact, the line at which you’ll have to hire IT staff and buy your own servers keeps moving up and up.
Even the largest corporations are getting into the game to the point where, today, any non-core process can be outsourced. Proctor & Gamble, for example, signed a $650 million deal in 2008 to outsource VoIP, Internet services, audio- and videoconferencing, and firewalls and anti-virus protection to the BT Group. And that was on top of its existing 10-year, $3 billion mega-outsourcing deal with Hewlett-Packard
After all, how many companies run their own cafeterias, power plants, or janitorial staffs these days?
There may soon come a point where the only companies with information technology divisions are those for whom tech is a key differentiator or a core strength.
A hotel, for example, isn’t likely to outsource maid service if the cleanliness of its rooms and the politeness of its staff is a strength and a differentiator.
Similarly, Amazon and Google aren’t going to turn over their servers to an outside organization.
But if you’re an online merchant and don’t have a hope of matching Amazon’s technology, why not outsource it to Amazon itself?
And if your IT department isn’t the best in your industry, why not outsource it to IBM, Accenture, HP, or another world-class technology vendor?
Instead of having to be proficient in all aspects of technology, your company will need to become proficient in choosing vendors and negotiating contracts.
Source:http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=1192&doc_id=235956&f_src=internetevolution_gnews
