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A Guide for Small and Midsize Business As the cloud evolves from basic online MY APP tools to a full platform for business, it can provide ways for your business to do more, grow faster, and leave IT complexity behind. The Cloud as Platform Startups and smaller businesses use cloud services for the savings, but the cloud platform is really about a better way to do business. It means small to midsize companies can get the benefits of big IT systems without the up-front capital investments and the ongoing costs of maintaining and expanding a datacenter. That helps businesses of any size come to market with great products and services and always count on reliable, secure, and powerful IT when they need it.

Cloud is based on a simple concept: a strategic vision for how different cloud services Smaller companies can instead of each business owning and building its can or should work together—and sometimes own IT systems, vendors build massively scaled without thinking about them as “the cloud” at get the benefits of big datacenters and provide computing as a utility. all. This approach offers easy access to powerful This allows every customer to enjoy the benefits software capabilities, but that is just the beginning IT systems without the of secure, current, and centrally managed storage, of the journey. software, platform, and infrastructure services up-front investments. on terms affordable by any size business. Using the cloud as a platform—not just for cost and convenience—can help smaller businesses exploit From cost savings to business opportunity. their inherent advantages of speed and innovation, Today, many businesses are moving to the cloud while also tapping into the scale that used to be in a piecemeal fashion, app by app, without available only to large, well-resourced firms.

2 What the Cloud as a Platform Means for Your Business is a technological innovation, but how does it connect to the real needs and pains of small businesses?

The biggest impact of the cloud is in how it transforms IT from a cost and a headache into a flexible, affordable driver of innovation. Think of how much your company could get done without the burden of constantly installing, updating, managing, and supporting hardware and software. In a cloud platform, all that maintenance and security work happens behind the scenes, so your resources are free to:

Improve business productivity and Of businesses surveyed that grow efficiently. had 1,000 or fewer employees Go beyond stand-alone business applications with connected solutions that drive business process automation and employee productivity. With a common, cloud-based platform you can refocus IT 94% resources and free capital to develop new products of SMBs are using the cloud and services that drive business growth. Cloud Jargon Translator Deploy faster and reduce ongoing maintenance. 40% SaaS—software . Specific applications . Virtualization creates a layer Internal and vendor-driven IT teams can deploy delivered through the cloud, typically for scenarios of abstraction between hardware and software, want to be more agile and to new apps and solutions in the cloud that scale up such as email, office productivity, customer enabling entire datacenters full of servers and access new technical capabilities or down according to customer demand faster, relationship management, marketing analytics, microprocessors to operate as a shared pool with less maintenance and upgrade services. Source: Techaisle, 2014 and so on. of resources.

Never wait for servers or infrastructure again. Use data for competitive advantage. The big IaaS—infrastructure as a service. IaaS enables Public cloud. Public cloud refers to services Tired of waiting for IT? With software and apps secret of big data? You don’t have to be big businesses to move their entire datacenter, offered to multiple users (or “tenants”) in a running in the cloud, non-technical folks can to use it. The tools you need to keep track of including storage, servers, and software, to the single datacenter. experiment with better ways to connect with social media, spot market trends, reduce cloud, essentially outsourcing management, customers, manage financial records, and improve operational costs, and even create predictive security, and maintenance to the cloud provider. Private cloud. Private cloud is a dedicated productivity, all without having to install new models are accessible to any business through datacenter or server environment to deliver software and hardware on site. the cloud. PaaS—platform as a service. PaaS provides a cloud services for a single customer or tenant. complete environment in the cloud where customers can develop and deploy Hybrid cloud. Hybrid cloud is an enterprise IT software, applications, and services. The advantage environment combining some private cloud is that PaaS systems scale seamlessly to provide services, some public cloud services, and some consistent quality of service. on-premises computing resources.

3 4 Cloud Platforms Help Your Business Do More

Cloud Value Cloud Coherence Get big-business IT scale and Connect all your data from different capabilities on a budget any systems through the cloud for one business can afford. view of your business.

Cloud Power Cloud Flexibility Build apps in the cloud to Pay only for the capacity you use, reach new customers and take but scale up any time demand for advantage of new innovations. your services increases.

A cloud platform makes your business nimble to capitalize on new opportunities and resilient to react to unexpected challenges. Cloud Platform by the Numbers Evolving the Cloud: From Cost Savings to Business Opportunity What new and emerging capabilities can businesses unlock on their journey to the cloud?

Many startups or smaller technology companies have already embraced cloud platforms, focusing 58% OF SMBS on creating ingenious new products and services have a hybrid public/private without spending on hardware they don’t need. Pushing your data cloud strategy. But any business, including traditional firms and 58% 92% 87% those with fewer than 1,000 employees, can gain and apps through —RightScale, 2014 the agility of a startup by moving legacy software from on-site servers and personal computers to a cloud platform. the cloud can

Streamline processes. Simplify your finances, help you serve streamline your supply chain, connect with customers, and make confident decisions that customers faster expand your business, not your budget.

Surprise and delight customers. Want to and at lower cost. shorten customer wait times with mobile checkout devices? Target them with offers you know will interest them? Provide better service while fulfilling an order, and make it more convenient to shop for what you’re selling? Pushing your data and apps through the cloud can help you do all 58%58%929%2%878%7% that faster and at lower cost. Consolidate for bigger benefits. Dabbling in apps from multiple cloud providers means missing out on the powerful ways cloud-enabled services can work together. Strategic use of a single cloud suite can enable thoughtful connections among 92% OF SMBS 87% ALREADY USE business application and productivity tools for are now using at least one at least one cloud data sharing, recovery, and business continuity. cloud business solution. infrastructure solution.

—SMB Group, 2014

7 8 SOLUTION IN ACTION Vision for an Agile Business Onduline, global roofing manufacturer, What business processes and outcomes can small businesses achieve through the cloud? lowers overhead with a standardized By building data and IT capabilities on a cloud platform, the business becomes better able to meet cloud-based technology platform emerging challenges and capitalize on new opportunities in the market. Headquartered in France, Onduline is a world Reduced capital expenditure. Onduline saved Pay for usage, not equipment. Cloud service come in with flash sales or other promotional leader in the manufacture of cellulose-bitumen on IT infrastructure, because it can adjust its costs pricing models let businesses buy the storage events. Cloud-based backup facilitates a quicker roofing sheets, selling over 100 million square based on its real needs and adjust service levels and analytical capacity needed now, automate recovery if natural disaster strikes. meters of product per annum. The business has via the cloud. the addition of more as demand and new revenues 11 manufacturing plants and 35 sales offices require, or just as readily scale back when less Unleash as a service. Many worldwide, generating revenues of €340 million Secure, mobile access to information. service capacity is needed. businesses both welcome and fear a faster- ($460 million USD) in more than 100 countries. Employees traveling between offices or working than-expected growth cycle. Cloud services remotely can access live data, allowing rapid Start moving at speed. Gone are the take away much of the pain of scaling up IT Each location had adopted systems and processes response to inquiries and better decision making days when businesses can spend years developing systems to provide increased production or that met local requirements, but there was little while on the move. a new product or service. Whether your business sales capabilities. When such tools are designed IT standardization. Gwendal Meledo, CIO of is a startup or one with a long history, cloud-based with cloud computing in mind, you end up only Onduline, explained, “We needed to adapt quickly Better results. “Choosing was the right tools can accelerate many processes upon which paying for the capacity you use, when you use it. to market changes by improving the distribution call,” said Meledo. “The company is now set on you build revenues. Technology startups use online And if the spike is temporary, decommissioning of information across the organization.” the right path for the future.” collaboration to work with supply chain partners those virtual resources can even be an automatic near and far. Companies with a brick-and-mortar process with the added benefit of instant cost To set the company on the right path for the Learn more about how Onduline streamlined presence entice new and existing customers to reductions once they’re gone. future, Onduline standardized its technology its infrastructure using cloud-based solutions platform in the cloud with Microsoft Dynamics from Microsoft. on and Microsoft Office 365.

Considerations: What questions should you ask when evaluating cloud vendors and solutions? What business objective is driving Have you considered how your Do you have a handle on who makes Are your cloud partners in it for development of your cloud cloud strategy will evolve as your your IT and business decisions? the long haul? strategy? Is there more than one? business grows? Is there a functional separation in your Continuity matters, and when cloud-based services This information is essential to guiding Take a closer look at the most tech-savvy insiders organization? Whether or not there is, involve end unexpectedly, the disruption can be costly how you choose your cloud partner: a clear you have and what career paths they are on. Does your most technically savvy insider in planning for your business. Ask cloud vendors all the nosy understanding of whether your business needs it make sense to offer additional training to amplify your cloud strategy. Keep those with the most questions you can think of about how they plan to grow, including how and where; if you need their comfort with cloud technologies and business business process knowledge involved, too. Both new features or services, how they communicate to be ready for fast changes, up or down, in models? Will you need to hire some staff that need to work together to make the most of that with their customers, and whether the app demand for your product or services; or you just specializes in IT? Keep these issues in mind as you cloud capabilities. that most attracted your attention is one they want to have better control of your IT budget. evaluate your present and future staffing levels as intend to change anytime soon. you plan to grow your business.

9 10 Key Takeaways

• The cloud is more than just a bunch of apps and shared storage sites. Seen as a platform, it can be a springboard to better business performance in many different ways. • Moving old systems to the cloud and developing new tools through the cloud gives your business the agility to scale up to meet rising demands without having to constantly invest in new IT equipment and support. • Embracing a cloud platform for your IT means you can embrace new technologies and improve old processes faster to stay ahead of customer expectations and competitive pressure. Take the Next Steps

• For more information on Microsoft Dynamics cloud-based solutions to manage your accounting, operations, customer relationships, and sales, go to www.microsoft.com/en-us/Dynamics/small- midsize-business.aspx. • For more information on Microsoft cloud offerings and solutions for small and midsize businesses, go to www.microsoft.com/en-us/business. • For more information on the Microsoft Azure platform, including benefits, success stories, and pricing, go to azure.microsoft.com.

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