Myths and Lies About Cloud and SaaS

Top 10 Myths and Lies used by installed software vendors to scare you away from the cloud

by Raj Sheth on 13/06/11 at 9:04 am

A lot of the myths below are breaking as more and more cloud applications are demonstrating how there is clearly a more optimum way of doing things. But you still hear the following reasons in enterprise sales pitches. The top 10 myths surrounding cloud applications are listed below, and in each case exactly the opposite is true!

1. Your data is not secure because it’s not on your own server/ laptop

Your data on your or any other server is just as secure. You do trust your bank with your data, right? Your bank and many other such services store your data on servers all over the world. Also, many would argue that your data backed up on secured servers is a lot safer than on your laptop alone. What if you lose your computer?

2. Cloud is not reliable – what if the site is down?

There are two aspects here – the internet connection and the cloud company’s site. Both have a 99.99% uptime rate statistically. In fact, you are more likely to have your installed software crash or have a bug in it, or processes that your IT admin have to keep running on them. Cloud companies are managed by reliable services like Amazon EC2 and many others, who are leaders in online continuity.

3. It’s not scalable – you can’t use the cloud for large operations

Cloud applications are exponentially scalable. Salesforce.com, recruiterbox.com has no limits to their respective usage. You can run a global operation off these systems.

4. The primary reason to use cloud is that it is cheap

Cloud is value for money. It’s not a compromise you make because installed software is more expensive. Cloud is scalable, flexible and can be accessed from anywhere, and one can share the same updated data with others. It runs on the latest technology that keeps getting updated automatically and it is completely secure. It’s a better way to run things.

5. Cloud applications are not as powerful as desktop applications

Cloud applications are extremely powerful in terms of functionality. In fact, they are designed keeping in mind the needs of the entire user base and constantly updated based on feedback from 100s of companies, not just yours. So the result is that you have functionality that your already installed software cannot replicate. It allows you to do more stuff efficiently.

6. Cloud applications are new and untested

Cloud applications are continuously tested even before going live, and are constantly improved. Many companies rely on online applications to a very large degree and in fact to most small companies, the cloud is not a new solution, it’s the only solution.

7. Your data offline is accessible and flexible enough

If you compare both accessibility and flexibility between an offline and online system, you will answer this question yourself. You can access an online application anywhere, from any computer. Whatever changes or updates you make through this are live and complete. This has a much greater impact on the way businesses are run today, and it’s almost necessary in this mobile age when people are working from different places.

8. Cloud companies don’t know enough about your usage

Cloud companies know more about how your company works than any enterprise software company. This is because an enterprise company is selling you what they have built and they might customize it to your current processes, but a cloud company has built a solution ground up based on the input of several companies that have a similar usage to you. So they have the benefit of a wider vision to developing, scaling and improving on a solution constantly just the way you need to use it.

9. Your enterprise installed software is the latest and greatest

An enterprise software company made certain technology choices at inception and once you get used to their system, they provide you with newer versions at regular intervals. But during your usage, you will not have any boost in functionality if there is a better way to do things. For a cloud company, it is possible to improve your user experience because it’s online and they can constantly make your life easier by finding the best way to get something done.

10. It will be simple for established software vendors to give you a SaaS/cloud version of their installed software

The way an installed solution is developed is very different from a cloud one. A cloud one is built ground up with the very purpose of doing things online. It is lean in terms of size to ensure the user can achieve their objective in the fastest and most optimum way. In contrast, an enterprise company cannot take an existing desktop application, which was not built with these considerations, and convert it to an online application.

About The Author: Raj Sheth is the Co-Founder of Recruiterbox.com. Recruiterbox is a cloud-based job application management service that’s used by fast-growing companies like Groupon.