The Cloud: Why SMEs Stand To Gain Most

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In particular, the approach is allowing them to deliver a rapid, initial build of key applications and then add more functionality quickly and iteratively, helping to further drive customer engagement and success. In fact, according to some estimates, it is possible for SMEs to build applications about five times as quickly and at half the cost of using traditional software platforms. In turn, this gives them continuous innovation and keeps them ahead of their competitors.

Working in Harmony

Of course, if these kinds of development platforms are to fully support business agility for SMEs over the long term, they need to be easy to use and easily integrated with a company’s existing IT infrastructure. Today, cloud computing platforms exist which offer “no compromise customisations”: that is, fast and easy adaptation of the solution to a company’s business process while also enabling deeper integration as and when required. The philosophy should always be to keep simple adjustments simple and to make complex functional and technical requirements both achievable and accessible.

Being able to easily bring different applications together should be another key objective of any successful IT strategy, but it still remains an elusive goal for many SMEs. Yet, it is one that they should not view as being out of their reach. Cloud services that incorporate open internet standards-based APIs (application programming interfaces) using SOAP and REST, which are accessible through web services, allow for diverse systems to easily communicate together. This allows SMEs to align their organisations with their strategic goals in order to gain competitive advantage.

The best application development platforms should not only provide the chance for SMEs to develop new applications but also to reduce the effort usually associated with integrating cloud computing applications with existing technology.

A New Approach

Over the years, the traditional way of creating and running business applications has become overly complex and cumbersome – particularly for SMEs. There are too many moving parts to buy, install, configure, and maintain—including hardware and software. Plus, the entire infrastructure requires technical expertise and constant maintenance to keep it working smoothly. Cloud computing coupled with a flexible application development platform provides a solution to this previously intractable problem.

Developers working for SMEs just need an Internet connection to gain access to an application development environment with all the tools and resources they need. As a result they can develop complete enterprise applications without the cost and complexity of buying and maintaining on-premises development infrastructure, in turn speeding the response to user requests, and delivering the IT agility required to drive rapid business growth and quickly take advantage of new business opportunities.

Steve Garnett is chairman EMEA of  Salesforce.com