Cloud computing was originally used for backup storage. Cloud computing provides storage space, as well as spam filtering. One of the major cloud computing services is salesforce.com. Different providers allow a single application to be accessible to thousands of different customers and from many different computers for a low cost monthly payment, or “pay as you go”.
Now, cloud computing is being taken to another level with outwright.com. This is a company that is useful to many small business owners such as Sharon Chase. Chase owns her own business where she hosts princess parties for little girls. She often finds that she is overwhelmed with managing her many different bank and paypal accounts. When it came time to paying her vendors and making the spreadsheets, this was the final straw for her. Outwright.com has made her life so much easier and comes with no cost. It allows the user to input and edit data that is stored on servers that can be located anywhere, after registering with a specific developer. Outwright.com is less intimidating for small-business owners and makes the accounting process much easier by being able to have many accounts; it also shows spending patterns and itemizes different expenses.
Cloud computing is on its way to making desktop software obsolete. I think this is a major breakthrough and will be very successful. If you are away on business and information is stored to your desktop only, then you are unable to reach your accounts and all your data. With outwright.com someone can sync numerous applications in one and be able to access it from almost anywhere. With cloud computing you can even access your data from your mobile device. I think this is a major benefit because with the click of a button all your data flies will be in your handheld device.
One downfall to having all your work files open on your phone is the great chance of you losing it. If your phones ends up in the wrong hands then that person has access to all your accounts and information. It is much harder to lose a desktop or laptop, because of their size. Cellphones are the number one most lost object in the country. With people always being so busy now a days and having a million things on their mind, makes it that much more possible to lose their phone.
For the most part cloud computing will be beneficial to large companies. Their employees will be able to increase the amount of work they can get done by taking their projects home with them or even on business trips, in turn making them more profit. There is now no more excuse for employees that they didn’t have access to their work files at home. I think this is a great investment for large companies, as well as small business owners. Cloud computing will eliminate frustration and wasted time that could be put back into the business.
Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/11/04/small-business-cloud-computing/1677831/
http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031
Erica, your article touches home for small business owners everywhere. The pressure for most small business owners is overwhelming enough without having to deal with the onslaught of tedious paperwork that comes with being the boss. “Outright.com” is every small business owner’s best friend because it does the work of many people for free. On top of no charges, Outright.com can be accessed anywhere by anyone. The affordability and accessibility make Outright.com a breakthrough for practical cloud computing.
ReplyDeleteAs Erica mentioned, there is always the chance that human being’s lose their phone or leave their “Outright.com” page open. In such case, the array of important information and financial records are at a security risk. The ease of accessibility has to have a security downside. “Outright.com” seems to be a hacker’s goldmine and an opening of the floodgates for fraud. If Outright.com is keeping all financial records in one place at the same time, there needs to be a security overload to prevent people from losing all the valuable records they are in possession of.
Aside from the security issue, I question how “Outright.com” is making their money. Of course, one can argue that they get money from the amount of online traffic they produce which attracts advertising money, but is that the extent of the profits? There is no doubt in my mind that a website providing such real and necessary functions as Outright.com does will become very popular. In this case, I believe there is no other way for Outright.com to cover their costs of maintains their server and other expenses than charging a membership fee. In this case, will a membership fee cause membership to decrease?
My other curiosity revolving “Outright.com” is the willingness of the companies such as Paypal, Ebay, Esty, and credit card companies to have their systems intertwined in Outright.com. Do these companies charge a tiny fee to Outright.com or are they willing to use Outright.com as a free source of advertising.
There is a lot to wonder about Outright.com. The company can go in a multitude of directions in the future, but the overall concept is effective and efficient. The company offers a platform to eliminate tedious work for small business owners. The effects of Outright.com on small business everywhere is unprecedented because small business owners have always had to be held back by the time and money invested in these tedious activities. Outright.com, in my opinion, is going to make small business grow and start a positive cycle of small business to help boost the economy. I enjoyed reading your critique, Erica, and I feel the cloud computing systems, such as Outright.com, will continue to progress to help those who need it.
I found this article beneficial for small businesses and only small businesses. In this day and age with the amount of data a company is reliant on it is important for the business to implement an efficient way for backing up this data. This is why Cloud Computing has become the craze for businesses, doctors, and universities to implement, opposed to using large bulking hardware to store and back up data files. Cloud Computing is the use of computing resources that are delivered over a network or the internet. Cloud Computing then therefore entrusts direct services with a user’s data, software and computation. This is an efficient way for the medical field and universities to take advantage of not only businesses because they store loads and loads of data files in the form of hardcopies or stored on large hardware if they were to transform that data on a cloud the data would not only be entrusted but will also become extremely efficient.
ReplyDeleteThe companies that choose to store their data on a cloud can not only access it anywhere where there is internet connection but they can also insure efficient measure for backing it up, in an easy and user friendly way.
As Erica mentions a company named outwright.com has taken Cloud Computing to the next level. They instrument a way for companies to manage their financials online and back this data on a cloud. Outwright.com allows the user to input and edit data that is stored on servers that can be accessible anywhere. Their goal is to make the accounting of a business less stressful and more organized, by showing spending patterns and itemizes different expenses to meet the needs of the company.
I think this is a plausible way for a company to alleviate the stress of financial statements but I also think it is a risky service to be reliant on. Let’s say your small business ends up booming higher than expected. If sales are increasing and profit is raising at a significant level the system can then not account for your company becoming larger. Therefore the service does not account for viability. “NuWire Investor” states that, “the program’s limited functionality prohibits it from being useful for larger businesses and those looking for more detailed analysis of their accounting.” With this being said we can realize that outright essentially only supplies the customers with the basic accounting needs and does not offer the full ride. I feel that accounting is an integral part of the business and should not be something that is looked upon lightly. Therefore when accounting for the best accounting models in your business these are all things to consider. Other accounting mentions should be taken into consideration if you are planning to have your company grow larger in the future. Outright.com is a service to consider if your business is projecting to stay small in the future to come.
Source:
http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-using-outright-for-small-business-accounting-55950.aspx