Category: Cloud Computing

Microsoft Plans to Expand Office 365 with Visio & Project

Michael Bratley / / Cloud Computing, Development, Features

Microsoft appears to be already planning for an expansion of services provided with Office 365. In an article posted by Mary Jo Foley on Zdnet, it is suggested that Microsoft is planning to introduce Visio and Project to the cloud to join a handful of other services already offered. This is a surprising move considering it’s less than a month ago that the service was officially launched to the public. However it does show that Microsoft is committed to the service and the Office 365 brand.

Full details of the story can be found here: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-to-boost-office-365-with-project-and-visio-cloud-services/10057

Five things about Office 365 for Education

Michael Bratley / / Cloud Computing, Office 365

With the release of Office 365, little is still know about its partner, Office 365 for Education. This variation of Office 365 is set to be the successor to Live@edu, but there are five points that should be noted.

  1. Live@edu users will not be automatically upgraded.
  2. Very little will change if you do upgrade.
  3. Just because Office 365 offers Sharepoint Online and Lync does not mean you will get it.
  4. Blackberry users may finally get an Exchange reprieve.
  5. Get familiar. You’ll likely be using it in industry.

This article can be found in full at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-office-365-for-education/11267?tag=search-results-rivers

Can cloud computing save an organisation money?

Michael Bratley / / Cloud Computing

Today I read a very good article about how cloud computing can save an organisation a large amount of money. Money is saved by not hosting services on your own site, for example an Exchange Server, and instead hosting it in the cloud.

http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2076978/leaders-forum-chiefs-savings-cloud

I also read another article which has the opinion that cloud computing can be more expensive, depending on the type of your organisation. The writer suggests that although the  cost of cloud computing is low compared to standalone software, this cost is ongoing rather than a one off payment. On the otherhand although the cost is ongoing you will always have the latest version of available applications, whereas new licences would be required for non cloud computing environments. Some businesses may not require to have the latest version of applications should the version they have perform all the functions they require.

http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/analysis/2075703/cloud-computing-rip-premise-bites

I think that the majority of organisations that could benefit from cloud computing would be large enterprises rather than small businesses. Because small businesses tend to have fewer computers and do not always require to have the latest version of applications, it is not neccessary to subscribe to a cloud service. On the otherhand if they did it would free up IT resources for other work. Larger organisations may be more interested as it would allow more resources to work on other projects rather than maintaining on site equipment that could be done by outsourcing.