Cloud Computing...What it is?

   

Sorce: http://vista.blorge.com/2012/03/18/cloud-computing-is-expected-to-create-14-million-new-jobs-worldwide-by-2015/

"Demand for “cloud-ready” IT workers will grow by 26% annually through 2015, with as many as 7 million cloud-related jobs available worldwide, according to an IDC White Paper sponsored by Microsoft Corp.

However, IT hiring managers report that the biggest reason they failed to fill an existing 1.7 million open cloud-related positions in 2012 is because job seekers lack the training and certification needed to work in a cloud-enabled world.

The chart above, taken from this White Paper, highlights the growth of cloud-related jobs in various industries across Asia. As can be seen, the growth from 2012 to 2015 in every single sector is expected to be phenomenal!"

The statement above is what I saw when I opened one e-mail sent to me recently. I've been invited to attend an intensive course on Cloud Computing. So the big question is.Should I go? But what really matters for me now is...to understand what is Cloud Computing is all about. 

What is cloud computing?

It is difficult to come up with a precise definition of cloud computing.  In general terms, it’s the idea that your computer’s applications run somewhere on the “cloud”, that is to say, on someone else’s server accessed via the Internet.  Instead of running program applications or storing data on your own computer, these functions are performed at remote servers which are connected to your computer through the Internet or other connections.

Who provides cloud computing services and what services do they provide?

Google operates several well-known cloud computing services.  It offers its users applications such as e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets and storage, and hosts them "in the cloud"--in other words, on its own servers, not yours.  So, for example, you can type a document without maintaining any word processing software on your computer.  You can use Google’s software “in the cloud”.  All you need is an Internet capable device.   It doesn’t even need to be a computer.

Cloud computing services also may allow us to synchronize files between our Internet accessible devices, so that we can see a file from your home or office computer on a mobile device.  Some of best known consumer-oriented cloud services include:

• Google Drive

• Dropbox

• Microsoft Skydrive

• Apple iCloud

• Evernote

Other examples of cloud computing include:

• Web-based email services such as Yahoo Mail

• Photo storing services such as Google’s Picassa

• Spreadsheet applications such as Zoho

• File transfer services such as YouSendIt, etc.

The above services are ready to use “out of the box”.  In addition, many cloud computing companies offer customized cloud computing services tailored to the specific needs of businesses and other organizations.

Some of the major players in cloud computing include:

• Google   

• Yahoo

• Microsoft

• IBM       

• Amazon

• Salesforce

• Sun Microsystems

• Oracle

• EMC

• Intuit

• Apple

What are the benefits of Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing offers  business many benefits. It allows us to set up what is essentially a virtual office to give us the flexibility of connecting to our business anywhere, any time. With the growing number of web-enabled devices used in today's business environment (e.g. smartphones, tablets), access to our data is even easier. There are many benefits to moving  business to the cloud:

Reduced IT costs

Moving to cloud computing may reduce the cost of managing and maintaining IT systems. Rather than purchasing expensive systems and equipment for business, it can reduce costs by using the resources of the cloud computing service provider. We may be able to reduce operating costs because:

·         the cost of system upgrades, new hardware and software may be included in the contract

·         no longer need to pay wages for expert staff

·         energy consumption costs may be reduced

·         there are fewer time delays.

Scalability

Business can scale up or scale down the operation and storage needs quickly to suit our situation, allowing flexibility as our needs change. Rather than purchasing and installing expensive upgrades ourself, the cloud computer service provider can handle this for us. 

Business continuity

Protecting our data and systems is an important part of business continuity planning. In the cloud ensures it is backed up and protected in a secure and safe location. Being able to access  data again quickly after any distraction  allows  to conduct business as usual, minimising any downtime and loss of productivity.

Collaboration efficiency

Collaboration in a cloud environment gives  business the ability to communicate and share more easily outside of the traditional methods. If we are working on a project across different locations, we could use cloud computing to give employees, contractors and third parties access to the same files. we could also choose a cloud computing model that makes it easy for us to share our records with your advisers (e.g. a quick and secure way to share accounting records with  accountant or financial adviser).

Flexibility of work practices

Cloud computing allows employees to be more flexible in their work practices. For example, we will have the ability to access data from home, on holiday, or via the commute to and from work (provided we have an internet connection). If we need access to  data while weare off-site, we can connect to your virtual office, quickly and easily.

Access to automatic updates

Access to automatic updates forIT requirements may be included in the service fee. Depending on the cloud computing service provider,  system will regularly be updated with the latest technology. This could include up-to-date versions of software, as well as upgrades to servers and computer processing power.

Source: http://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/technology-for-business/cloud-computing-business/cloud-computing-benefits & http://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/technology-for-business/cloud-computing-business/cloud-computing-benefits

OAS?Useful or usefool?

Office automation systems (OAS) are configurations of networked computer hardware and software. A variety of office automation systems are now applied to business and communication functions that used to be performed manually or in multiple locations of a company, such as preparing written communications and strategic planning. In addition, functions that once required coordinating the expertise of outside specialists in typesetting, printing, or electronic recording can now be integrated into the everyday work of an organization, saving both time and money.

Types of functions integrated by office automation systems include (1) electronic publishing; (2) electronic communication; (3) electronic collaboration; (4) image processing; and (5) office management. At the heart of these systems is often a local area network (LAN). The LAN allows users to transmit data, voice, mail, and images across the network to any destination, whether that destination is in the local office on the LAN, or in another country or continent, through a connecting network. An OAS makes office work more efficient and increases productivity.

Electronic Publishing

Electronic publishing systems include word processing and desktop publishing. Word processing software, (e.g., Microsoft Word, Corel Word-Perfect) allows users to create, edit, revise, store, and print documents such as letters, memos, reports, and manuscripts. Desktop publishing software (e.g., Adobe Pagemaker, Corel VENTURA, Microsoft Publisher) enables users to integrate text, images, photographs, and graphics to produce high-quality printable output. Desktop publishing software is used on a microcomputer with a mouse, scanner, and printer to create professional-looking publications. These may be newsletters, brochures, magazines, or books.

Retrieved from: http://www.bookrags.com/research/office-automation-systems-csci-01/


The above write up is primarily detailing on the OAS function and the function that attracted me most is the Electronic Publishing. This function enables users to integrate text, images, photographs and graphics to produce high quality printable output. The big question is do people really understand and know how to use this function during their course of works.

This question struck me one day as I have instructed my assistant to finalise and print out letters to be forwarded to several contractors which is urgently required. I trusted and anticipated that she can accomplish the task in half an hour as I have already drafted the letter. What is required from her is just a simple task of key in the recipient address and print them out. But alas!. The day is almost over and the letters are yet on my table! It baffled me as what is taking her so long to prepare the letter and after seeing her busy running between her table and the printer station, I asked her about the letter. When she replied that she is in the midst of printing it. When began pushing for an explanation what is taking her so long to print the letter, she reiterated that she need to print the letter one by one where after each letter printed, she need to upload the paper with the letter head MANUALLY. I asked her why she is doing it that way and what if we need to send out hundreds of letters in a day. It will take ages to accomplish that. Upon insisting with her, she then explained that actually she is doing it manually whereby she will type and print the letter one by one manually. When I asked her about the mail merge in Microsoft Word, she just gave me a blank expression and utterly said “a what?”. My jaw dropped and my heart almost stopped upon hearing her response. You did not know about mail merge?. All the questions started to run in my brain. How come she didn't know it? How come she is not aware of this feature as she’s been using the Microsoft Words all this while? Is it just purely ignorance  or..? Anyway , just to speed things up, I started doing the mail merge and at the same time taught her how to use it. At the end of the day, we managed to print the letters and subsequently forwarded it to all the intended recipients. 

So the morale of the story is, you can have the best features in any software in this case the OAS, but if you are not aware of it and utilize it, it really defeats the whole purpose and will become USEFOOL. Time are wasted, an unaccomplished task and dateline not met are some of the predicaments. More time are being consumed in doing the TRADITIONAL way, whereby the OAS are meant to make it simpler and to simplified the routine and repetitive task.

Based on true story...real names are not revealed in this story..:)

The risks of Internet addiction

Source : Google

Email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Delicious, Digg, LinkedIn, blogs (of course), and scores of others—all part of the new and wonderful ways we can now connect with one another electronically, each with its own culture and unique set of rules. In one sense, the planet has never been more interconnected. And yet, this interconnectedness, while wonderful, hasn't come without cost.

The internet phenomena are no doubt come without risk which is isolation. Just from merely browsing and surfing the internet, it literally takes us away from the real world. Grossly addicted to the internet will eventually substitute the physical relationship with electronic relationship

DANGERS
Via internet, the actual emotional expression such as laugh, cries as they are being expressed with LOL, LMOA etc. The internet also acts as a medium for confrontation rather than the traditional face to face confrontation where most people are uncomfortable with.

Precisely because electronic media transmit emotion so poorly compared to in-person interaction, many view it as the perfect way to send difficult messages: it blocks us from registering the negative emotional responses such messages engender, which provides us the illusion we're not really doing harm. 

Unfortunately, this also usually means we don't transmit these messages with as much empathy, and often find ourselves sending a different message than we intended and breeding more confusion than we realize.

ETIQUETTE
Internet is excellent when delivering facts but the reverse is true when transmitting emotionally sensitive connections.  Others bad etiquette like late or not replying message at all, saying things which they will not say to the people in persona and being insensitive to peoples feeling.

Some of the common sense rule for social media websites is not to say things on email that you are uncomfortable saying to people in person, do not delay your response to messages you would rather avoid, relationship are affected by online communication and last but not least balance time for internet and socializing.


Dr. Alex Lickerman stated that, social media websites are wonderful tools but are often abused. A few common sense rules for the electronic world apply:

1. Don't say anything on email you'd feel uncomfortable saying to someone in person. If it needs saying but feels awkward, do it in person. Look upon it as practice for handling confrontation maturely. Consider yourself drunk every time you get online so that you take steps to monitor yourself carefully. If you find yourself tempted to behave like a boor, step away from your keyboard (you wouldn't drive drunk, would you?).

2. Don't delay your response to messages you'd rather avoid. If someone has reached out to you, they care about your response. Relationships are affected by online communication. It's much easier to injure friendships online than in person because of the ease of creating creating misunderstandings electronically. Non-verbal communication, after all, (argued by to some to represent up to 40% of our in-person communication) is completely absent. Be careful how you word every electronic message you send, in whatever context. Remember that every Internet message you send becomes a permanent part of your brand (whether you're trying to market something or not).

3. Balance time on the Internet with time spent with friends and family. It may seem too obvious to mention, but it feels qualitatively different to go out to dinner with friends than to spend several days engaged in back-and-forth email exchanges. So much communication and meaning is lost in the latter. And our effect on one another is much more intense when we meet in person. When a friend is going through a rough time, nothing substitutes for in-person communication. A gentle smile or a heartfelt hug has far more power than the cleverest emoticon to lift another person's spirits.

Based on research conducted by:  Dr. Alex Lickerman, M.D.,  a general internist and former Director of Primary Care at the University of Chicago

4 Ways Social Media Is Changing Your Relationships..Research conducted on this...

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/06/14/social-media-real-world-infographic/

Dr. Rachna Jain has conducted a research on social media. She indicated that social media is a type of online media which expedites conversation and also allows the readers/viewers to participate in in the creation of the contents as opposed to the one dimensional traditional media.

The key important features of social media is its emphasis on creating and maintaining relationship as once you created a content, it invites other people, some you might not know, to follow the content that you build.

The social media is also changing the foundation of the way we relate especially its implications on running a business which involves interpersonal relationships. 

In terms of relationship, social media allows to connect with people rapidly, gauging the level of intimacy, exposed to its contagion effect and facilitates comparisons of oneself against the others.

Further findings:

1. Allows you to connect with more people.

With social media you can connect with more people of various levels, ethnic background, different countries, ideologies etc. For business purposes it open the door to penetrate new customers/contacts, enlarge the company’s database, new business ventures etc.

2. Makes it easy to overestimate levels of intimacy.

The negative aspect of social media is that it does not reflect the true intimacy as the digital intimacy gave the wrong perception and hopes of what we actually want out of the relationship. This will result in alienating the true people that is part of your daily life in pursuit of intimacy with online friends.

3. You are more susceptible to the social media contagion effect

This is another of the social media downside risk whereby you are exposed and subject to the emotional contagion effects of the online friends. Any negative or aggressive moods transmitted to you by the online friends will highly be transmitted the mood yourself. As you are getting more exposed or intimate, it is crucial that you monitor your own influence and reactions. Chances are that out well-mannered and politeness adopted in a face to face relationship will discarded when connecting with the online friends. This is also can be a negative effect on any business transactions.

4.  Comparing yourself with others

The social media can also affect your self-esteem as it can diminish your success while amplified your failure triggered by our rush to “compete” against the success of other people in running their lives.

How to benefit from social media.

Strategies to be adopted to benefit from the social media:

a. Limit time spend on social media.

Set time in day to update or to take part in conversations. If it involves business, care must be taken as not to jeopardise the smooth running of the business.

b. Monitor emotions and reactions. 

This is hugely important as it will affect you psychologically and emotionally.

c.  Not to compare too often with others.

d. Set goals or guidelines for business relationship

e.     Have a clear strategy and plan to implements the strategy

f. Maintain a balance between on line and of line life.

It is crucial to have a face to face communication and not dependable merely on email, phones and social sites.

Dr. Alex Lickerman, M.D. quoted that, " The Internet is an amazing tool. But even as it's shrunk the world and brought us closer together, it's threatened to push us further apart. Like any useful tool, to make technology serve us well requires the exercise of good judgment. For whatever reason, the restraints that stop most of us from blurting out things in public we know we shouldn't seem far weaker when our mode of communication is typing. Unfortunately, typed messages often wound even more gravely, while electronic messages of remorse paradoxically have little power to heal. Perhaps we just don't think such messages have the same power to harm as when we we say them in person. Perhaps in the heat of the moment without another's physical presence to hold us back, we just don't care. Whatever the reason, it's clearly far easier for us to be meaner to one another online. Let's try not to be."

Based on research conducted by :Dr. Rachna Jain  a psychologist by training and a social marketer by preference. She writes about the interconnections of neuroscience, psychology and social media.

Social Media’s Impact on business growth and useful tips

The evolution of internet throughout the years was massive where it started off communicating only with the people you know to the current scenario whereby it globalized the people in interacting with people around the world.

In the current business world, the usage of the social media is highly importance as it contributes to the success of the business.

As there are many available social media, the key point is to achieve the desired result regardless of the type of the social media use. Easy to use the web, secure and efficient is key factors to look after in choosing the media.

The present and future generations will spend most of their time on devices and media such as Facebook, twitter, chatting, YouTube. As business competition become stiffer, more consumer consume on their mobile devices, electronic gadgets while commuting to save time.

Therefore, business needs and relies heavily on social media in order to survive. The key word is connecting with their consumers, competitors, the market as the social media will become the lifestyle for the new generation.

The web has grown so fast and tightly woven into the normal lifestyle of almost everybody. According to Ayo Oyedotun(a blogger)  the number of active users of Facebook is already over 900 million, now pushing 1 billion; that’s about 14% of the population of the world. Also, Twitter is expected to hit 500 million registered users in the next few months. LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube and other social platforms are growing in leaps and bounds. Obviously, people are becoming more comfortable using online social platforms to interact with one another.

The present generation of consumers and the next generation spend most of their time on mobile devices and computers. They tend to find things like chatting, texting, sending instant messages and making other short continuous conversations more convenient than emailing or writing long letters. They spend most of their time with laptops, netbooks, smartphones, tablets and other new gadgets. Secondly as business competition gets stiffer, more and more people tend to consume media (news, entertainment etc) on their mobile devices while commuting in order to save time. Hence, the new best place to stay connected with team members, employees and partners is on these devices.

Therefore, you cannot continue to neglect social media and expect your business to survive for long. No matter the size of your business, getting involved and using social media is your sure bet towards mastering the language of this generation and the coming generations. To be frank, this is just the beginning of the new lifestyle of the world, and social media is not going away any soon. So get your business to adjust to this new culture and enjoy better business results.

Online tools & communities

Emails, SMS, face books; professional and communities networks are some of the social media tools available. From across the Globe, all information is being access easily. Business can create database and clientele and customers can be update of products.

Few major social media tools based on their relevance to business:

WordPress

You can use WordPress to build great blogs and really powerful and dynamic websites or both. As a small business owner, you can begin with their free domain name and webhost and later upgrade to a personal one. WordPress blogs are well optimized for search engines, and they integrate excellently with social networks. That’s why WordPress powers many of the sites you see online.

Blogger

A great alternative to WordPress is Blogger, which is a free blog publishing service provided by Google. It lets you create blogs for one or more people. The blogs are hosted free by Google at a sub-domain of blogspot.com. Like WordPress blogs, Blogger blogs can be built on very low budget.

Facebook

Aside the regular chatting and messaging, you can use Facebook to create brand pages for your business, install relevant extensions and use it to keep your fans abreast of your business updates. You can set up a vibrant discussion group for communicating with your partners or customers. Having a Facebook business page is indispensable for your business. Currently, Facebook has over 900 million active users, making it a place you should go and spend time with your customers and not lose them to competitors.

Twitter

Twitter is excellent for disseminating short information and keeping track of discussion trends around the world. It is a real time information network that connects users to latest news, stories, opinions and ideas. It lets you send and receive text-based posts of up to 140 characters.  Twitter currently has over 140 million active users and is pushing 500 million registered users according to Twopchart.

Google Plus

One of the best business features of Google Plus is their Hangout. It is a free but powerful video chat service for up to 10 persons. With the relevant extensions, you can share documents and much more while video chatting. While ten persons can participate in the video chat, many more people can watch the discussion.

YouTube

Today, many people share videos on social networks. This presents a unique opportunity for your business to get new customers and engage existing ones. By uploading short videos to YouTube and sharing with friends, you will be taking advantage of the over 800 million unique visits to YouTube every month from all over the world.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts is an indispensable tool for monitoring your business reputation online. It is a free tool from Google that works excellently well for monitoring your brand. Every time your business is mentioned on any website on the Internet, Google will send you an email. You can choose to receive the emails as it happens, daily or weekly. You can also use Google Alerts to monitor the mentions of specific products, brand names or name of a person.

Engage your audience

Using social media is a great way to make your business seem friendlier and to form close relationships with the customers. By engaging the audience you can interact with them directly, ask for customer feedback, and keep them updated with your latest happenings and news. By adding appealing content you can develop interest of your audience/customers. You can upload your latest marketing campaigns, questionnaires for customer feedback, discount deals or seasonal sales. Traditional marketing is now out of trend. Printing costs more and consumes more time. Just to get saved from this hassle, businesses have moved now online.

Creating a Strong Online Presence and Maintaining It

Your website and blog form the home-base and fortress of your online presence. They are the best place to get fans to connect with your brand more deeply. They are like the headquarters of your business, built and furnished to your taste; whereas other social media destinations are like outlets of your company, where you try to attract and retain more customers. Your blog and website are always yours to fully control, but Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media destinations can be tweaked and changed by the providers. So, get your website and blog in order as much as you can.

It’s quick and easy to set up a profile on social media sites and then publish your content. Once your content is published; people tend to like it or share the post that helps you reaching more audience creating a multiple effect. The more interesting the posts are, the more people tend to share it with their friends and the larger the amount of audience you reach. Discussions take place that also helps in getting an honest opinion of customers and much can be done later to remove the drawbacks.

Some ways to keep your audience engaged:

· Articles/ Blogging/Videos: To interest your readers give them a piece to read after a day or two. They’ll surely love you for that if you keep them good tips, some informative content and really exciting news.

· Competitions: Competitions will increase more hype about your business page. More people will enter the contest and this will give them a chance to learn your products in a better way.

· News/ Happenings: Update your customers of any events, updates in products, opening of new stores, new products etc.

· Special Offers: Customers are always looking forward for some incentives and giveaways from your end. They would definitely like some discount deals or complimentary gifts.

Source :http://sajidaligillani.hubpages.com/hub/Social-Medias-Impact-On-business-growth & Social Media: New Tools for Business Growth by Ayo Oyedotun: professional blogger and freelance writer