SharePoint and the Cloud v2.0

Many years ago when I first began my SharePoint consulting career I noticed a new technology called VMWare ESX. VMWare ESX at the time gave companies and independent consultants, such as myself, the ability to have a "Bare Metal" product that ran directly on server hardware, allowing virtual servers to also use hardware more or less directly. I began playing with the VMWare ESX building Windows Server virtual machines that ran Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and SQL Server 2005. This technology was great and lasted for a couple of years. I have built several solutions for customers using this technology until I was introduced to "Cloud Computing".

Cloud Computing has enabled me to completely set up different infrastructures based on my clients requirements without necessarily taking up closet space in a customer’s place of business. Cloud computing has enabled me to provide 99.9% server uptimes for customers across the globe. You are probably wondering, "What does this mean and how can Cloud computing benefit me and my business, especially in the SharePoint world?"

SharePoint is one of the mightiest collaboration tools available today, especially with the latest revision of SharePoint 2013. Imagine being able to have unlimited traffic, multi-tier, redundant carriers anywhere in the world. Users in Tokyo and Washington, DC have zero lag time when accessing their SharePoint sites. This is due to the flexibility that you have with Cloud Computing and Geographical Data Centers.

Noticing a bottleneck when users are visiting your site during peak hours? Well Cloud computing allows you to spin up a new server within minutes. Talk about being able to satisfy your clients at a moment’s notice.

Without getting into too much detail, many organizations are now looking to take full advantage of the Cloud for SharePoint to manage and deliver their business critical content. Moving your SharePoint instance to the Cloud can give you a piece of mind by reducing budget costs over 60%.

Gary Arrington is the Cloud Consultant & SharePoint SME for JHC Technology. He can be reached at garrington(at)jhctechnology.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.