A New Way To Reach The Clouds

By Frederic Dickey, director of product management, Sangoma Technologies

Technology pundits love to discuss market innovations. And these days, the talk almost always revolves around the cloud. This, of course, makes perfect sense. IP-based cloud solutions are changing the game in ways businesses interact with customers and conduct their day-to-day operations. Cloud services can tangibly reduce operating expenses, capital expenditures, and TCO, especially in comparison to more costly premise-based hardware and applications. But despite the dramatic efficiency and productivity gains that might be realized, the cost of upgrading to 100% cloud-based services is not as simple as many believe. Of course, the simple cost advantages of eliminating the capital expenses required for procuring new IP-capable on-premise equipment literally jumps off of the ledger sheet. But, there are other tangible and intangible costs associated with the cloud that need to be understood before undertaking such a radical change.