Even though what is now called the Internet started with AARPA in the 1950's, the modern World Wide Web (the "www") is considered to have started in 1990 with the invention of the web server and HTML language. In less than 20 years, the growth of this phenomenon has created something never before known in the history of civilization - the ability to communicate globally for almost free. I'll talk about some of these ideas in future blog posts but my main focus for this blog is how the ability to live online will affect your business and life, especially SMB's (small and medium sized businesses). Ergo, Living Business Online.
Over the last 15 years, the cost and complexity of operating servers has come down dramatically from the days of dedicated computer rooms, raised floors, and the old mainframe mentality. Open Source software like Linux is free and can power large enterprises. Microsoft's Small Business Server bundles together what used to cost tens of thousands of dollars into a couple thousand dollars. A five person business can have their own Exchange email server, a powerful SQL Server database system, SharePoint collaboration server, and Internet server to host your website, all in the same box for not much money. You could even learn to operate and manage it all yourself although the majority of businesses use Microsoft Partners to take care of it for them. This is "your computer guy" who helps you navigate through the morass, keeps the servers and PC's running, and advises you on software to run your business. This has worked well but there's a new generation of computing coming and not everyone will make a smooth transition, you and your computer guy included!
That new generation is sometimes referred to as "cloud computing", online hosting, or software as a service (SaaS). Instead of you investing in hardware that sits inside your office, you "rent" space or service from large data centers, managed by professionals, and hosted by some of the biggest names in the computer industry - Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. You benefit from the efficiencies derived from having a few people manage huge numbers of servers. You reduce the cost of equipment, bandwidth, staff, software, and outsourcing costs (to the Partners mentioned above - more on this later). Critics say that you give up the security of having your data safely housed in your facility, that hackers can break in and steal your secrets and data, and they point to publicized reports of breaches. Yes, that's true. However, I believe that if you heard about all the breaches that happen and are not reported, you'd think differently. It's really costly for you, a small business, to provide the same level of protection that professionally managed centers can. And, when you start comparing those costs with the new costs for living business online, it becomes compelling.
So, here's what we did at pinpointtools. We took our Microsoft Small Business Server and reformatted the hard drive, turning it into a PC that we now use for testing our software. Instead of a domain controller, we have a workgroup. Our Exchange server for email is hosted by Intermedia. Our CRM program is Microsoft CRM Online, hosted by Microsoft. Our phone system has no hardware either - we use RingCentral who provides an auto-attendant and directs calls to our people. I don't even use a physical phone - I use a Bria softphone with a Plantronics wireless earset so I can wander around the office without a cord. Calls come into my PC using VoIP and voice messages are emailed to me. Our website is hosted by PowerDNN. We're a virtual company - we all work in different places and our "infrastructure" is the internet.
So, dear reader, keep reading about Living Business Online. Subscribe to the blog and I'll keep posting articles that tell you how you too can make this happen. It's a brave new world and I'm thrilled to be on the leading edge, guiding you to a successful outcome. Buckle your seatbelt, it could be a bumpy ride, but not with me driving. I'm a great driver!