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There have been some tremendous improvements in the culture of software service provision for businesses in the UK over the past 6 years. Back in 2007 it felt like the bulk of our day-to-day computing work was carried out on the desktop, with the majority of the applications and utilities we needed being desktop based; a physical application was installed on the desktop and/or server in our office.

The internet and service provisioning technologies offered an intriguing and tangible scalability option. During this period businesses started to become aware and realise the potential this option had to offer. At Ai Solutions we were no exception to this and in 2008 we started to provide services across the cloud, with big data, scalability, and the customer at the heart of the service provision of ToolKit CS.

Back then we talked about the internet; soon we started discussing the cloud. But what is cloud computing? At its core, cloud computing is computing based on the internet. We are moving our focus from having the physical computing power within our offices, to being stored elsewhere, distributed across the globe in data centres around the world. Computer hardware has advanced, allowing us to provide virtual servers, so one physical device can manage several virtual devices. In turn, these physical and virtual devices can host multiple applications, securely accessed by numerous users around the globe. With such immense capabilities, big data is supported. The size of the customer's data is irrelevant - the cloud can handle it, and scale to support more with comparable ease, compared to the limitations of an office solution.

Nothing is instant about this shift in focus and with the progression of technology and the supporting role it plays in business, no doubt there will be further advances that we'll need to consider moving forwards. It may be that the next advent that will consume our interests will be the surge in mobile support. In reality, given the adoption rate we see on the coalface of business, the approach to service provision and technological support of business will be a mix of all aspects that the industry has to offer. There will be no day zero reset or change but a progression of improvements along the way.

What do we need to consider when dealing with the cloud? Some of the most critical considerations are security, bandwidth, and service provision of the connection to the internet. Without question this can be a headache, but it doesn't have to be a block - it just needs planning for. Slowly but surely businesses can subscribe to new internet packages, offering greater speeds, connectivity and contention ratios, that ultimately lead to a more stable portal to access cloud based software.

One of the greatest challenges faced is security and privacy. There are a plethora of advances and preventative measures being undertaken - from designers to software developers, testing to third party solutions - all ultimately working to reduce the risks.

Of course these are not new challenges but ones we have faced in the office with localised computing - and we continue to do so today. The key to any of these challenges is to be proactive, and to factor and account for each of the risks involved. With the transition from local to cloud we hav e also seen the transition of the same inherent IT hardware risks and software provisioning from the office to the cloud.

What are the benefits of the service structure we offer? Cloud computing providers manage the maintenance of servers, which allows businesses to focus their attention on other more productive tasks, without needing the IT personnel to constantly update multiple locally installed software applications. Included with their maintenance responsibilities, disaster recovery is provisioned by the cloud service provider. Companies can change their focus from provisioning processes and put their energy into getting work done with their cloud based solution.

There are a plethora of service providers, making the market very competitive - which is great for the customer's wallet. The other side to this is that SMEs have access to enterprise class services that allow them to compete with organisations of a much greater size.

Not only do most of the services provide a more scalable approach to billing and supporting the take-up of licenses, there is a decreased cost of operating expenses for businesses choosing to move their software to the cloud. The rapid factoring of cost, licenses and bandwidth (compared to 'in office' services) can be achieved simply due to the nature of the hardware provisioning offered by cloud computing suppliers.

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