The problem with maintaining your own IT systems

The Australian newspaper ran this article about the challenges faced by small and medium enterprises in trying to manage their own IT infrastructure.

Much of the content reads as a Microsoft and/or Telstra press release. (Byline anyone?) But in a nutshell we’re presented with this case study: Car crashes through front window of suburban real estate agency and damages agency’s server. This causes agency to realise the risks of relying on its server to run its core business systems. Agency implements hosted solutions from Telstra and Microsoft and lives happily ever after.

So why do I mention the article?

Firstly, it explains the risks of onsite IT management clearly and in non-techie terms (references to “cloud services” notwithstanding).

“FOR small and mid-sized businesses, IT infrastructure management can be challenging and expensive.

Even with a relatively low number of users, keeping servers patched and secure and desktops up to date takes valuable time and resources.”

Secondly, it encapsulates why I’ve set up Boxless. My aim is to simplify IT for SMEs by helping them adopt web-based systems; ones that don’t need servers to be installed and maintained onsite. The idea is to give SMEs access to useful systems without the associated costs and risk.

One difference for me  – as compared with the Microsoft/TelstraAustralian article – relates to systems vendors. I tend to implement systems from companies that were born in the web era – systems like Google Apps, Salesforce, and WordPress.

What’s your experience with “cloud computing”?