Cloud Computing for Corporations...
Corporate IT (i.e., information technology) departments are facing many new demands and a changing environment in their usually very "static" world of software implementation. Typically in the past, they would purchase software licenses (or software updates), and then execute the installation of this software on central internal servers (for "intranet" use behind a proprietary firewall) and/or on individual desktop and laptop computers.
Today, they are faced with the task of analyzing, and presenting to management, the cost effectiveness (i.e., tangible benefits) of replacing this computing method with a transitional change and reliance on cloud computing solutions, where software is accessed as a service, instead of an installed software package locally. Reviewing these tangible cost comparisons, management must then determine how their business will likely utilize the cloud, and whether the intangible benefits (e.g., productivity, morale, opportunity costs/gains) will cause them to approve the transition to these cloud solutions.
Although cloud computing may be confused with the use of a "corporate intranet" from the past, it is very different in actual use. Unlike locally-installed custom intranets with a firewall, this is not simply access to specific proprietary files and servers, but access to them in real-time, account-specific (i.e., your files, not just everyones), and usually synched with others who have permissions for the same access.
Emerging as one of the most ubiquitous cloud computing "software as a service" delivery models are the cloud computing solutions provided by Salesforce.com. They were also probably among the first services to deliver sales and marketing tools to corporations over the web.
Today, they deliver calendar scheduling, documents, and presentations among all departments within a given organization. As social media has evolved as an important tool for personal use, its application methods have been adapted by Salesforce.com as an effective way to communicate within corporate departments of a single company, but also among partner and client/customer companies, through their "Chatter" interface, which is also delivered via the cloud.
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