Do providers pay enough attention to unique needs?

SMBs can buy cloud services from local providers so the channel needs to step up, says Richard Alexander

Cloud computing offers SMBs global access to their data and software, but there is a trend for more UK businesses to procure their cloud services from locally based companies.

SMBs are increasingly telling us that they want to meet a locally based cloud provider. They like to meet and talk to a real person who they can relate to and trust to sort out their individual company issues.

Cloud providers can adapt products and services to their local market. Working in the cloud means you can integrate software from multiple suppliers to develop bespoke offerings for individual businesses.

Businesses have many local requirements that a remote provider wouldn't necessarily be aware of – such as actual download speed or what support of existing IT infrastructure is needed.

Businesses meanwhile must process data far more quickly than they used to have to, and it is faster in the cloud with office-based servers.

SMBs should ensure that they are correctly advised by a provider that is fully aware of their situation and requirements.

We have come across many firms in small towns or rural areas that are struggling to get the connectivity they need to access cloud services. Unfortunately, some of them seem to have figured this out only after they have attempted to make the transition into virtual computing.

They are then faced with the increasing cost of leased lines or bonded digital subscriber lines that can more or less eradicate any savings they thought they would make.

You would think that any SMB embarking on the journey into cloud would have been better advised but, unfortunately, many providers seem more fixated on the 'land grab' opportunity of new business – not each individual client's needs.

Richard Alexander is managing director of Prism Solutions