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At Skyworks Canada we provide information on cloud computing and virtualization for business executives.  If you can install ESXi or configure a SAN then this probably isn’t the place for you.  Information here is not intended to get technical.  It’s designed to be informative using as much business language as possible without getting into the bits and bytes.  If you’re an executive looking to understand current cloud trends in the IT industry and want to be able to carry on intelligent conversations with your technical staff then this is the place for you.

If you like the information here then come back and/or post comments.  If we weren’t clear then let us know and will do our best to demystify the “cloud”.  Our challenge is to take leading edge technology and put it in a format that we can all comprehend.

Sometimes bringing information like this “up a level” causes hardcore techie’s to point out hairsplitting differences in opinion as we’re sure will happen.  There’s much industry jargon and cloud and virtualization technology is rapidly maturing.  No worry as it’s our job to keep you informed and keep it all at a business level.  We’ll also feature leaders in the industry both as references and links in our articles so that you can follow them to explore further.

We hope you enjoy our site and find it of value.  Feel free to share this site with your peers and colleagues.  We’re here to help you navigate through the marketing jargon and find the reality that can help enable your business to take advantage of these powerful technologies.

 VDI is coming.  In many respects its been here for some time. What is VDI or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure?  Think of it as having your personal computer (desktop, laptop) but without the actual desktop/laptop hardware. Your desktop computer’s operating system (e.g. Windows XP, Windows 7), work files and desktop applications (e.g. MS Excel, Firefox, MS Outlook) are actually running somewhere out in the network (cloud) typically on large server computers shared  (virtually) with other users. As your desktop really only exists out on this shared computer server and is made available as a virtual desktop upon demand, the technology is referred to as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. As a PC desktop user all you see and get is a window, a “thin client” view into your virtual desktop.  For all intents it works pretty much the same as a real computer desktop.  The mouse works the same, as does the keyboard, display and speakers. Pretty cool technology.

But, you say, I still need something to see the virtual desktop window on.  You’re right.  It may seem like a strange thing to do but one way is to see and use a virtual computer desktop on a desktop or laptop.  More typically, businesses are deploying devices called thin terminals.  These are hardware devices that connect to a PC monitor, network, keyboard and mouse and do little more than provide access to a virtual desktop. There’s no operating system to manage or moving parts to break (like a hard drive).  Another benefit is they can be shared between users.  As the actual virtual desktop is the only thing accessed through the thin terminal, any virtual desktop user can use it to access their personal virtual desktop, files and applications.  After they’re done another user can make use of the same thin terminal.  This makes the business practice of desk “hoteling” possible. This enables savings on the cost of desktop PCs, desks and workspace for employees as everything becomes a shared resource.  You only need to have enough desks and thin terminals for the maximum staff in the office at any point in time.

The other big benefit of virtual desktops is they can run on tablets and smartphones. As long as the tablet or mobile device has network access to the virtual desktop infrastructure, a user can bring up a virtual desktop window and access their files and applications. This is great for mobile users like Sales personnel.  Mobile devices use a finger pointer for a mouse and on-screen keyboard instead of a physical keyboard.  As long as the mobile device has solid and fast performing network access to the virtual desktop infrastructure the experience and usability should be good.

There are many other benefits associated with VDI.  These include:

• Lower desktop administration as all desktops are managed centrally.  This includes having them all backed up and upgraded together.
• Better utilization of hardware with the associated reduced cost as all desktops run virtually on shared computer servers.
• No lost or stollen files. If a tablet or other mobile device is lost or stollen it can be easily replaced. The user then accesses their desktop and files like before.  Nothing is lost.  Nothing to recover.
• Desktop or laptop hard drive fail?  No more lost files.  Limited downtime.  Just replace the hard drive or PC, access your VDI and you’re back in business. While waiting any other device can be used to access the same Virtual Desktop.
• Staff can now work from anywhere there is network access to your VDI.  This means they can have the ability to work from home or on the road.  As access is via a window to the virtual desktop, viruses are not transferred nor are corporate files left behind when done.

Like most technology there are also considerations and concerns when thinking about VDI.  These include:

• Making sure new virtual desktops include everything your staff need.  Typically staff with different roles have different desktop application requirements.  This means understanding what they need for applications and files and building unique desktop “images” for each.
• Security: How best to provide secure access to a Virtual Desktops?  Virtual Desktops can be accessed from many device types pretty much from anywhere there is network access. Thus, secure access becomes even more important.  Many businesses look at using smart cards along with user IDs and passwords.
• Network performance is very important when accessing and using a Virtual Desktop. If the network is slow then use will be very sluggish and awkward. If running over a wireless or cellular network and you temporarily loose connection then most likely the access to the Virtual Desktop will also be lost resulting in the need to access it again and signing in.
• I find Virtual Desktops to work reasonably well when accessing with a thin terminal device.  However when using a Virtual Desktop on a mobile device (like a tablet computer) the usability suffers due to the onscreen keyboard and the lower precision associated with using a finger pointer rather than a mouse.  Still, having the full power of your desktop computer with you on the road makes this an acceptable trade off.

Seeing is believing with VDI. Seeing your desktop magically appear on any thin terminal at the office while also having full use from home and even on the road via a laptop or tablet computer is pretty awesome.  Of course that’s only if VDI done right with the necessary network access  and security.  Having your files and applications anywhere and everywhere you go with no worry about loosing them or having them stollen helps solve one of the largest computing concerns for business.  Plan to see more of this technology from your IT department and from a growing number of cloud service providers on the Internet.

Your company or organization has a problem.  It’d be surprising and unusual if you didn’t given the state of mobile computing.  Your IT staff may be vaguely aware of the problem or actively be taking

steps to deal with it but either way it’s there and a growing concern. Allow me to describe the problem and the new cloud based solutions designed to get it under control.

Here are the factors leading to the problem:

1. The growth and proliferation of smart mobile devices (I-Phones, Android phones and tablets, I-Pads, …)
2. At one time smart devices were primarily business provided tools for employees.  We all know that’s changed.
3. The growth in the number of smart mobile devices has now grown beyond the number of personal computers – this continues to accelerate
4. Smart mobile devices are now commonplace as personal devices and yet they’re only about 1/6th of the total mobile devices out there – the rest are soon to follow.
5. Personally owned smart devices are now being used for both personal and business use.  They connect to your business network, access and retain email and business data and then connect to public and home Internet.
6. More personal smart devices are coming into your business everyday.  This trend will continue (per Gartner).
7. Mobile device misuse, lost and theft is common (over 70 million smart phones are lost every year)
8. How many of the mobile devices accessing your network and information are running Angry Birds, other mail programs or…virus/malware?
9. This is happening whether your business realizes it or not.

So then, what’s the risk to your business?  The obvious risks are:

• Unintentional access to your business network and corporate information by unauthorized personal devices
• Mobile devices accessing and taking away sensitive business information
• Mobile devices introducing threats into your business network through inappropriate applications they may have installed on their device
• Mobile device theft or loss resulting in your business information falling into unintended hands.  That same mobile device may be set up to provide access into your company’s network!
• The list of risks is extensive

Companies like Research in Motion (RIM) helped with this problem by providing special server software that could be used to lock down BlackBerry devices.  This software (BlackBerry Enterprise Server or BES) would restrict installed applications, control access to email and information.  If a corporate device were lost it could remotely wipe the device clean.  This was a great relief for companies and was/is commonly implemented.

Things have changed.  Apple and Android phones and tablets are eclipsing BlackBerry devices.  How many of your staff have an I-Phones or Android device?  How many of these are personally owned and totally uncontrolled?  It’s only getting worse as more of these devices are sold to consumers.  Then there are tablets.  Tablets are now outpacing PC sales.  They have even more capacity to walk away with sensitive company information.  Businesses are coming to realize staff will bring and use their personal devices for work.  It’s estimated 90% of businesses will come to accept this trend (Gartner).

Until recently there were few options to deal with this growing risk.  Mobile management is a growing industry designed to address a growing problem.

Mobile device management solutions (both in the cloud and some you can run yourself) are now available.  To use them your company subscribes to an Internet service (remember software as a service – SaaS?).  Then individual devices can be registered in the cloud with this Mobility Management Service.  Software is installed on the mobile device.  It doesn’t matter if it is an Android or I-Pad tablet, smart phone like Samsung or I-Phone or BlackBerry.   The software works to lock down the device and track it as a personally (or corporately) owned device.  From there you can restrict the list of applications available for installation, keep track of who owns the device, lock down security and even remotely wipe clean part or all of its content if it is lost or stolen.  There are many other cloud features and rich reporting available so you know exactly what’s going on with mobile devices and who’s using them.  This provides great peace of mind.  If someone attempts to use a device inappropriately (e.g. inappropriate application) the cloud service can produce a report of this user and/or notify your support staff.

This is such a large and growing problem that big organizations are racing to get to market with Mobility Management services.  Your local phone company will be amongst these.  Technology cloud vendors are also out there.  Problem is not one of them does everything you need quite yet – but that’s quickly changing.  Here are some of the companies I’ve come across that offer these cloud-based mobility management services:

VoxMobile (their cloud service was recently acquired by TELUS)

Long View Systems

TELUS Mobility Management Service

Juno Pulse

MobileIron

The questions for business are:

• Do you really understand your current risk?
• Are you willing to wait for an incident to find out?
• How many staff have left your company with sensitive information or have lost devices with corporate data?

If any of the above is a concern it may be time to look into cloud-based mobility management.

What is IPaaS?  Is it something new or just another industry buzzword used by marketing to confuse corporations?

Article coming soon.  Be sure to check back.

Sales tools are at the forefront of software as a service.  Learn how cloud sales tools enable Sales Team to track leads and close sales like no other.

Article coming soon.  Be sure to check back.

What is Cloud Storage?

Quite simply, cloud storage is a service that makes space available for your files out in the cloud (typically the Internet).  All that is required is to set up an account with the cloud storage provider (e.g. Google or Dropbox) and space is immediately made available.  If only a small amount of file space is required (not that GBs of information is small) then you can probably just use the storage provided for free.  Dropbox for example offers up to 2GB for no charge.  The same is true for Microsoft, Apple and Google.  More storage than this and you need to provide a credit card they’ll charge monthly.  The monthly amount charged depends on how much space you need.

There are multiple ways of getting your files in and out of your cloud storage.  Part of the installation process allows your device to see the cloud storage like it’s just like any other file on your device.  For example on a Microsoft Windows PC cloud storage looks like any other folder you can drag and drop files into.  There’s also a webpage that provides the same upload and download features when you’re on the road or using a device that’s not yours.

The Major Cloud Storage Players

It’s very likely you’ve heard of Dropbox, perhaps you even use it yourself.  If you have you’re not alone.  It’s a very popular and useful cloud storage service.  Other cloud storage service providers are also around but only recently have the big industry giants like Apple, Google and Microsoft stepped into this arena.  They plan to change the way we view and use cloud storage as a service.  If you haven’t heard of Microsoft’s SkyDrive, Google’s Drive or Apple’s I-Cloud services, you will – soon.

Why Cloud Storage Now?

Cloud storage started off many years ago with a number of early to market companies trying to make a go of it.  They offered space out in the cloud for files for a fee.  Initially services were a bit of a kluge with awkward interfaces for uploading and downloading files and very limited features.  These limited their mass appeal.  I also suspect the reason the market for cloud storage didn’t explode at the time was due to the cost of cloud space from these vendors vs. the ever rapidly decreasing cost of removal storage media like USB memory sticks and DVDs.  This has recently changed with cloud storage now very cost-effective (typically 2 or more GBs are free), easy to use and full-featured. There’s also another reason for recent resurgence of cloud storage and that has to do with the growth and popularity of mobile applications.  I’ll speak more to that in a bit.

Cloud Storage Benefits

Anywhere you go you can have access to your files.  Files (and folders) can also be protected using ID and passwords such that you can allow others to access all or a subset of your cloud files.  Previously you would have used a DVD, memory stick or even email to share a file outside your company.  Now files, even large ones, can be easily shared between anyone, anywhere in the world in seconds.  It’s a pretty useful service.

Files are also accessible and sharable across multiple devices.  For example, Dropbox supports Windows, Mac, I-Pad, I-Phone, Android and even BlackBerry devices.  Files are also accessible via a web page on any device that has a web browser.  Similar to Dropbox, Google’s Drive also supports a number of devices and platforms.  Apple’s I-Cloud supports Apple-based devices and automatically synchronizes media files between them.  Microsoft’s SkyDrive has come out with a strong offering and supports Mac, I-Pad and of course Windows platforms.  The good news is with all the competition the cost and features will only get better.

Cloud Applications and Cloud Storage

Other than the low cost and great usability of current cloud storage services I believe applications will make the difference as to which cloud services will continue to live and thrive.  What do I mean by this?  Any cloud storage service will allow you to upload and download your files.  Where cloud storage gets really useful is when the applications you use also work with your cloud storage.  In Google’s case when you use any of Google’s cloud applications (Google Apps word processing, spreadsheet, …) it will be able to save your work directly on your Google Drive storage so it’s available for you to work on later wherever you are and from whatever device you plan to use.  It can also be shared with others, securely and immediately.  Google’s applications even allow multiple users to edit the same document simultaneously. Cloud storage now becomes a powerful enabling technology for your business and the businesses you share information with.

Similar to Google, Microsoft has its cloud applications, Microsoft 365 and others.  They too will use cloud storage (Microsoft’s SkyDrive) much like Google.

Apple’s I-Cloud also allows the sharing of files (music, pictures, …) and is currently targeted more at the consumer market with users having multiple devices (e.g. Mac, I-Pad, AppleTV, Nano, …) and wanting to share media between them.

Dropbox while very popular today doesn’t really have its own applications to take advantage of its cloud storage.  It should be interesting to see how this gives their competitors like Google and Microsoft the edge in this growing market.

Applicability to Business

Cloud storage, like most other cloud technologies, has limitations so depending upon the size of your business, number of users, connection to the Internet, etc. cloud storage may or may not be the right fit for you at this time (of course it all depends on how you plan to use it).

However as technology changes (cheaper, faster, better) so does the applicability of services like this to your business needs.  My suggestion is to try it and see if it can help solve some of your business challenges.  Places where it makes a good fit are:

• When you need to share files with others outside your company
• When you need to access files from multiple devices (e.g. I-Pad, laptop, desktop)
• Mobile users
• If you’re already a user of Google Apps or Microsoft 365 services (cloud storage is a natural add-on)

Considerations

Cloud storage is a very useful service but there are some careful considerations to be made when planning to use it.  These include:

• Security: How do I make sure my business’ files are secure?  With cloud storage, files are now out in the cloud and it only takes an ID/Password to see and/or change them (they can also be made public with no ID/Password required).
• Auditability: How do I know if a file in the cloud has been accessed and who by?
• Recoverability: What happens if I have a file on cloud storage and it accidently gets deleted or corrupted?  How (if at all) can I get a previous copy back?

Another concern is the accessibility of cloud storage to anyone, anywhere with Internet access.  Any person can create their own account.  Think about it as anyone in your business walking around with a memory stick containing some your business files but all fully accessible to the Internet – and you can’t tell who or what files.

The reverse is also true; cloud storage creates a hole into your business where files from outside can very easily be brought in.  As there are no restrictions on files can be stored, files could contain business information or personal and/or inappropriate content.  There’s not much technology can do to stop your staff using personal cloud storage but having a strong corporate policy on the use of services like these can help.

If you ask your staff and business associates who’s using these services today you’ll find many already do.  Expect the number of users and extent of cloud storage use to grow.  I recommend learning more about it, using it appropriately and protect your business now from unintended use.

By the way, this article was written across two locations and on three different devices (Mac, Windows desktop and I-Pad) using a cloud storage service

Using the Internet to back up your computer’s information is not new but the ability to backup and restore servers and other technology is a growing service…

Article coming soon.  Be sure to check back.

Voice as a Service

Welcome to one of the fastest evolving cloud technologies.  This is truly a game changing time for the telecom industry.  Telecom (voice service) in the cloud has been around for some time but only in recent years has it matured from a consumer based service (think of services like Skype) to something business should seriously (and carefully) consider.

Why do I say evolving?  Data networking and the Internet have evolved to higher speeds, higher availability and performance and the pace is accelerating.  This provides the transport that enables services like voice transmission to have the clarity, reliability and features required by business while also supporting much higher capacity (number of calls) than ever before.

Let’s take a minute to define voice services in the cloud.  Today there are a number of ways voice services can be purchased for business.  To explain how these services work I’ll need to briefly describe the traditional way voice has been provided.

A Brief Voice History

Voice service (dial tone) has a long history.  It’s actually quite interesting if you’d like to take the time to read more about it.  You’d be surprised how much of that history still affects how voice systems run today.  Analog phones are still being used by business today (like those used by most home phones).  These analog phone use lines that come all the way from a telephone company central office that resides in your area and uses simple analog signals over wire to oscillate the speaker and mouthpiece in your phone to allow voice communication.  This technology has been around for over 100 years.

Digital Systems

The next major phone evolution was to digital voice systems.  This was a big play for companies like Nortel and Lucent.  Phone systems from companies like these were installed at a business office branch were they were either mounted on a closet wall or in a small computer style rack.  System had one or more lines externally connecting to the public phone network so that calls could be made to the rest of the world.  Some of these voice systems use something called a PRI (Primary Rate Interface) which provides the equivalent of 23 connections to the public phone network.  Inside the business all communication from the phone system to phone sets was digital.  This made the ability to have more advanced phone system features possible within the business office (e.g. multiple lines per phone, call forwarding, voicemail, long list of features here).  However each digital phone system manufacturer developed their own way (protocol) for communicating digitally.  This meant you had to use their phones with their phone system and were limited by what their system could do.  There are many digital systems still sold and in use today.

Voice over IP (VOIP) Systems

The latest technology trend in voice systems is Voice over IP or VOIP for short.  I’m sure you’ve heard of VOIP.  Unfortunately like any useful industry term, VOIP has and is used and abused by technology vendors to mean different things, typically used to promote their own wares.  Let’s simplify what VOIP means for our purposes here.

VOIP in simple terms is just voice (yours, mine, others) that has been converted into digital form using an IP Phone and transmitted over the same type of wiring as is used for data communications (e.g. Internet, Office wide area network or LAN).  The way it is transported  over the network is also the same as is used for other data: Internet Protocol or IP.  At the receiving end it is converted from digital back to analog where you hear it on your IP Phone speaker.  In between the sending and receiving ends (while your voice is in digital format) all sorts of cool and useful things can happen.

Similar to digital phone systems before it, voice over IP phone systems are systems that get installed in a business office.  They talk digital to their phones although they must be IP phones.  However unlike digital phone systems, IP phone systems don’t communicate using a proprietary ditial communication technology.  The connection between the IP phone system and the IP phone set is IP (network standard) and can either run over the same data network as is used by office PCs.  Alternatively a second network data line to each phone location can be installed.  IP phone systems have much the same features as digital phone systems (voicemail, call waiting, forwarding, …).  Where they do differ is how they are able to communicate outside the business office.

An IP phone system sends voice around much like any other computer (in actuality it IS just a computer).  It can also communicate with another same or similar IP phone system at another branch office (via IP!).  All that is needed is an IP network (WAN or other) between offices.  This allows one (or multiple) phone systems to call each other without using the public phone network.  As the public phone network is owned and operated by the phone company, this potentially means no long distance charges, local dialling between branches and more.  Many businesses run this type of phone system for their offices.  One or more of the branch offices still needs to have a connection to the public phone network for those calls that need to talk to the world outside their immediate business.

Considerations

So IP phone systems sound pretty good, right?  What could be better than great features, free calling between offices with local dialling and clear digital sound?  The problem is business still needs to buy a piece of hardware (IP or digital phone system) and install it at each office.  It also needs to keep up maintenance and support (provided by the phone system vendor – $$) and eventually replace it when it becomes obsolete.  Voice (dial tone) in the cloud promises to change all that.

Voice in the Cloud

Imagine you have all the benefits of an IP phone system – but without the phone system.  Instead the phone system is somewhere else, out in the cloud (Internet or somewhere accessible by network outside of your company).  Then imagine instead of needing to buy the IP phone system, your company gets the use of one – as a service.  The IP voice service you buy from a phone service provider (there are many and the numbers are growing).  The phone service provider will charge you monthly based on what you need and use.  Charges can be by the number of phones you intend to connect through the cloud to its IP phone service or could be by the number of minutes of talk time used or by some other charge model.  It typically includes all sorts of great phone call features (forwarding, voicemail, calling line ID, …) and may also include free (or very cheap) long distance to many countries or at least major cities.  All your company needs are IP Phones, a network connection to the phone service provider (could be over the Internet) and sometimes a small device at your office that acts as a gateway to the cloud service.

Benefits of Cloud Voice Services

Benefits?  Many.  Here are some of the larger ones:

• No need to buy a phone system, find a place for it, provide power or space
• No need to pay for a maintenance and support plan for the phone system
• No worries about phone system upgrades or obsolescence
• As the phone service itself is somewhere (you don’t need to worry about where) is in the cloud, other offices can also connect to it. This makes the phone service look like one big virtual phone system for your entire organization.  This means you can have local calls between branches, 3 or 4 digital dialing between locals, common voicemail, one central calling in number for your whole company and/or one attendant for your branches (unless you want more).
• Office moves become much easier.  No phone system to move, just pick up phone sets and connect them to the network at your new location with access to the phone service provider and they’re back in business.
• The phone service provider looks after the hardware, software, backups, space, cooling, power, upgrades and much more.  Your company just pays for dial-tone to a number of phones at a monthly recurring cost.

Is there a catch (there’s always a catch)? Yes.  The network to the phone service provider in the cloud must be big enough and perform well enough (you’ll hear technical terms like latency and jitter) so that calls are clear and don’t fail.  If they share the same data connection into the cloud as other network data (e.g. Internet browsing) then voice calls may not get the priority they need to sound clear.  The result is voice calls that are choppy and can even get dropped.  Good network access is key to making VOIP work.  For this reason alone IP based phone services in the cloud have been limited in the number of phones they can support at any given location (the network becomes the limiting factor).  However, as networks get faster and better so does the ability to support more phones and the viability of phone service (dial tone) in the cloud for business.

Voice in the Cloud Example

Here’s an example of a business using IP phone services in the cloud.  In this example the voice service (dial tone) is made available over the Internet.  A small business named Acme with three branches wishes to have the features of a new IP phone system but doesn’t want to incur the capital cost of purchasing the system itself.  Amce only has about three to four phones at each branch location.  They call a phone service provider “Cheapvoice” to set up a cloud-based IP phone service for Acme.  The service is somewhere out in the Internet cloud but they really have no idea where.  Cheapvoice gives Acme the choice of buying their own IP phones (they recommend a few models that work well with their phone service) or having Cheapvoice provide them all ready-to-go.  Acme decides to get them from Cheapvoice as then they’re assured to work well with their service.  Each Acme branch has a high speed access to the Internet. They check the required Internet speed and performance with Cheapvoice to ensure it’s sufficient for the number of phones they plan to have.

Amce lets Cheapvoice know the local phone numbers they wish to use and who each phone belongs to.  They also let Cheapvoice know what number should be used when calling in from outside the company and who (or what) should answer. When the phones arrive the Amce staff simply plug them into the network (just like any computer).  Each phone wakes up, goes out into the cloud (Internet), finds Cheapvoice’s phone service and voila, dial tone is heard on the phone and so is the ability to make calls (there are a few other details but that’s the jist of it).  Here’s the really cool thing; as the phone service is out in the Internet cloud, some of Acme’s staff took their IP phones home and were able to plug them into their network at home.  The phone connected across their home Internet to Cheapvoice’s phone service again and it was just like they had their business office at their home complete with the same local number (e.g. extension 123).  They could be virtually anywhere!

The Growth and Viability of Voice in the Cloud

At first this way of doing voice in the cloud only really worked for very small offices with a few phones.  However as network speeds and performance improved (while costs for Internet decreased) so did the number of businesses using this type of service.

So where isn’t this a fit for business?

• Large offices with many phones in use
• Businesses with complex phone system requirements (e.g. calling centres, complex call routing)
• Businesses that need to interface their other systems into the phone system (common with telemarketing companies)

For many organizations moving to cloud based services that include voice makes a lot of sense.  Expect to see the number of companies providing phone service “in the cloud” to increase.  It’s known by many names (e.g. BVOIP, VPBX, Hosted PBX).  Even the big companies in Canada (TELUS, Bell, …) are now offering this type of service to business customers.  Consumers have been doing it for years with services like Shaw’s Home Phone service (same idea).  If you have a small to medium sized business and want to have great features, flexibility but at a reasonable monthly service fee then it’s worthwhile to check into it.

The Confusion with SIP

Before I finish I should say a few words about “SIP Trunks” or “SIP Trunking”.  If you get into VOIP or cloud-based phone services discussion with a phone techie or vendor, no doubt the term “SIP” will come up in this context.  You can think of SIP as just a computer protocol (language) that runs across a data network setting up a phone call from one phone to another.  A SIP Trunk is a connection over a network between two IP phone systems that allow phone calls to flow from one phone system to another.  SIP Trunks are also sold by phone companies to allow IP phone systems to get to the public phone network so that outbound calls to the rest of the planet can be made.  These are primarily used as an alternative to outbound phone lines (or PRIs) for a phone system.  However while SIP Trunking can replace business lines or PRIs, it still needs to run over a data network and so there’s still a requirement to have some type of IP network connection to the phone company that’s providing the SIP Trunking service.  Nothing’s for free.

Don’t stress.  SIP Trunking is generally in the realm of the phone system techs.  The reason I bring it up here is because I find much confusion around VOIP, SIP and phone service (dial tone) in the cloud.  SIP Trunking assumes there’s some type of computer or IP phone system at each end of the trunk.  This is not to be confused with the type of service where there is no phone system at the office.

Last Words on Voice in the Cloud

A last word of caution: With the move to voice over IP (voice as data) the number of options, technologies, manufacturers, service providers, … is staggering.  The above overview was intended to give an idea of what’s happening in the industry and not a description of all the potential ways of providing “dial tone” to your business.  It is intended to help arm savvy businesspersons with enough background to start an intelligent conversation with their staff or local phone vendor.  As an informed Executive, never feel offside to ask questions like:

• Is that all we need to make this work?
• What could make the phone service not work well?
• What happens if I need to grow the number of phones and how will service be affected?  What’s the cost of growth?  What about the network access to your cloud-based phone service (if it’s in the cloud)?
• What happens if the cloud fails (e.g. WAN or Internet goes down)?
• How much do changes cost (added a new local or resetting a voicemail password)?
• …

Questions like these are important and should be asked.  Be ready and be armed so that you understand the true cost, risk and benefits of cloud-based phone services.

The Challenge

Let’s face it.  Unless your organization is in the technology business most don’t want to run technology; they want the use of applications that support their business operation.  If they could do so without purchasing, managing, protecting and upgrading technology, they would.  That’s where software as a service (SaaS) comes in.

Within the whole notion of the “cloud” we have infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and software as a service (SaaS).  For more information on IaaS please refer to the article on IaaS on this site.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Simply put, SaaS is just paying for the use of a software application out across a network outside your organization (typically the Internet).  There’s no computer server to buy, no technology to manage (backup, keep up and healthy, upgrade, …) and no database licenses.  There’s just a subscription to pay for and the software vendor arranges for your organization’s access to the desired application.

SaaS has become a very popular model for obtaining access to applications for  your organization without the overhead of a large software purchase and the computer(s) to run it on.  Most SaaS vendors can have you up and running on their application in very short order and at a palatable monthly cost (as a service).  You don’t own the software or underlying technology, your organization just gets the use of it as a monthly service.    You also don’t get the associated burden of looking after it.

This also means the recurring cost for using the software application as a service can scale up and down depending on your use.  SaaS vendors have a number of charge models for their software applications that include costs based on the number user accounts, disk space and network usage.  The good news is you get charged for what you need and use.  If you don’t need it (say you can do with fewer user accounts) then the cost probably goes down.

They reason they can do this is by building their software such that it allows multiple customers to share computers, network and data centre space.  Your organization just becomes some extra load on their existing shared technology.  This provides much better utilization of computer resources and makes the entire business model for selling SaaS feasible to business while profitable to the software vendor.

Accessing SaaS

How do SaaS vendors make their software available to your organization?  How do you get access?  Most SaaS vendors provide access to their software applications via the Internet using a web-based interface.  Administration (web page) screens are available for looking after your software (e.g adding/deleting accounts or configuration changes) and application screens for users of the software.  Providing access via the web is really great as almost everywhere these days has Internet access.  This also means users of the software can access and work from almost anywhere Internet is available.  Security is provided by creating user accounts and the security built into secure web pages (the same technology that makes web pages safe for use with on-line banking).  While most SaaS vendors have designed their software to use web pages others use “thin client” technologies that effectively make a thin version of the software screen appear for use on a user’s computer desktop.  Technologies like Citrix and Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) are technologies that can be used for “thin client” access to software.  There are however additional licensing costs for these technologies.

SaaS Vendors

All sounds great, right?  Well for the most part SaaS tends to work pretty well.  That’s why its growth has been accelerating for years.  Most major software vendors have made the change to allow for their customers to purchase software as a service rather than to have to buy it all up front and run it themselves.  Examples include:

• SAP (previously you bought big computer technology and ran this yourself)
• Microsoft Exchange and Office (now there’s Office 365 providing email, calendaring, Word, PowerPoint, … all in the cloud)

Other software vendors started out with the SaaS business model.  These include companies like:

• Google Apps (Internet-based email, document management, sites, calendar and much more)
• Salesforce.com (Sales Customer Relationship Management Software).  Very popular and started out as SaaS.

The list of SaaS vendors is large and growing.  Pretty much any industry segment now has software vendors that will sell their software as a service.  If you’re not sure it pays to ask them.

SaaS Benefits

Much like the cost of owning and managing technology, most organizations really don’t have a handle on the true cost of owning and running software.  When you add up the cost of the technology software runs on (computer servers, disk storage, operating system, backup systems, databases, networking, monitoring and management, upgrades, data centre power and cooling, …) it can be quite surprising, much more than just the cost of the initial computer server and software costs.  Then there’s the cost of replacing old technology after three to five years.  Upgrade projects can be very expensive.  The alternative is a simple and scalable cost to use software as a service where the software vendor takes on all the risk and cost of the underlying technology.  This is what makes SaaS look like a very attractive option for business.

SaaS Considerations

So what’s the catch – there’s always a catch.  Sure, there are things to watch out for when going the SaaS route.  Here are some things to consider:

• Ensure you have a solid agreement with your SaaS vendor.  This includes good service levels that meet the needs of your business.  By service levels I mean:
  • What guarantees will there be around availability of your software as a service?  Will it be up 99.999% of the time?  How long could it be down if something goes wrong?  How long will my organization be without access to your software?  What’s the impact to my organization if this happens?  What credits ($) will I get back if it fails to work for a prolonged period of time?
  • Is your valuable information protected from loss?  How is it protected and what is the worst case for loosing your valuable information if something failed?
  • If your software does break (like software defect) how will your company deal with this software malfunction? How will you support my organization and users?  (These type of questions are the same that would apply even if the software were purchased outright and ran from inside your organization).
• What is the ability to customize your software?  Remember, you’re sharing the same software technology with a lot of other customers.  I tend to find SaaS vendors provide options to “configure” their software but not customize it to your specific needs.  Thus if it just doesn’t do what your organization needs and can’t be “configured” to make it so then you may want to keep looking for another software solution.
• Also check where the running software actually resides.  Sure, it’s in the “cloud” but the cloud may actually be in another country where you don’t want all your private information.  A common example of this concern are Canadian companies that don’t want their private information anywhere accessible by the USA (Patriot Act concerns).  Even if the software runs from an acceptable location, quite often if that location incurs a disaster (fire, flood, earthquake, power, …) they will bring up an alterative location far away and possibly in another country.  If you’re concerned get it in writing before you sign up.
• Then there’s access to the software.  If the software uses web-based screens then there’s a good chance you’re in good shape as web pages work well across the Internet (given a decent Internet connection).  Security (still should be checked by a technology professional) can be obtained using web page security (https).
• Another consideration is how to have the software as a service interface with other software applications you may be running to support your business.  Most software systems don’t run as islands.  They like to share with other software applications that you may be running inside your organization.  How does information stored in software from your new SaaS vendor get to your software applications in-house?  Again, this is where you should seek the assistance of a technology professional.

As the economics of SaaS are proven, one-way or other software as a service will be a part of your organization’s future.  Understanding the benefits as well as the risks of SaaS will enable cost savings with better service while managing risk and supporting your organization’s operations for years to come.