It's Time For IT Resellers To Get Their Heads In The Clouds

By Tom Fedro, President, Paragon Software Group Corp.

The cloud as a computing concept is relatively new, though it has its roots in central database management, which has been around since “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “Leave it to Beaver” were must-see TV.  Still, outsourcing not only data storage but also applications and customer management technology is a new concept that’s rushing forward with the kind of intense inevitability that has a great many technology pundits excited (sometimes I think we get excited just to get new buzzwords and new acronyms) and more than a few businesses confused.

Vendor relationships require work, and vendor relationships that are technology based require even more work.  While individual projects (when done right) will include a thorough needs assessment and a path toward meeting those needs within budgetary guidelines, when a relationship will be ongoing and mutually reliant, several issues present themselves. A cloud company such as a customer and relationship management hosted application or even hosted email like Google Apps is in the business of developing software, not handholding. A company that offers financial services isn’t looking to learn the ins and outs of a piece of software but instead to gain from its functionality.

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