Here at SpiderGroup, we’ve recently stepped up our marketing efforts – and this year, we’ve tried a number of strategies: PR, events, telemarketing and e-mail marketing.

This week, we’ve focused on e-mail marketing; and what a stressful week we’re having!

With great intentions we created four e-mails that would go to various databases and we out-sourced the distribution.

Rather embarrassingly, the marketing company’s file got corrupt and everyone who received the e-mail was greeted with the wrong name. Kerry was called Richard, James was called Graham and so on.

What’s more, the e-mail came from our brand new Business Development Manager, Chloe, to serve as a ‘nice’ introduction. This obviously back-fired!

Was it all bad?

Not entirely. Within an hour, we had four people register for our event in November. Though I’m not sure this is adequate compensation!

What did we learn?

E-mail marketing works, though it’s much better to be managed in-house, where you control who gets it. When a mistake is made, apologise immediately! (Within two hours, we had contacted all those who replied to the e-mail, and our apology letter is about to be sent from the Director)

Does e-mail marketing work?

We’ll let you know! This has certainly got us some attention, granted it’s not all good, but we’re going to do our best to turn the experience into a positive one. We will of course keep you ‘posted’.

We’re very sorry

Apologies once again, if you were one of the people who received our e-mail. We appreciate that you are fond of your name; we’ll make sure we get it right next time. Please contact James directly if you wish to make a formal complaint.

Alternatively if you wish to add yourself to our mailing list, please e-mail your full name to Chloe.Wheeler@SpiderGroup.co.uk

We say: Cloud Computing is the future of your business.

You say: what the hell is it and how much is it gonna cost?

Cloud Computing is slowly moving beyond the hype stage as more and more people start to grasp what it is.

(But just in case, here’s a very quick summary: Cloud Computing involves storing your data/work over the internet. This means you can access your software and your documents from any computer. This has become a revelation for business owners, who are no longer tied to one office or one computer. Staff can work from home, in meetings, even whilst travelling. Documents & calendars can be shared easily; all thanks to the Cloud.)

Its flexible; its scalable; its secure; its green. But is it expensive?

For large corporate companies a move to the Cloud isn’t going to be cheap – and it’s not very likely to save you a great deal of money, however it should match the cost of your current IT expenditure and yet the extra benefits should be enough to persuade a move.

SME’s, depending on the size of your business and its requirements, Cloud Computing comes with varying costs:

There is nearly always a set up fee simply because the Cloud requires a change in your current infrastructure. The integration of Cloud into your business takes time so most cloud providers will charge for this.

Where you are likely to save money is on software, updates, back-up, IT Support, server replacements, disaster recovery, electricity – though of course it does depend on the provider! For example while some CC companies offer free 24/7 support, others such as Amazon charge from $100 per month.

I know, it’s confusing, but here are some tips on what to ask yourself when weighing up the costs of Cloud Computing:

• Do I wish to pay per user, per GB or per hour?
• What are the set-up costs?
• Does it include support?
• Does it include back-up?
• How much will it cost when my business expands?

At SpiderGroup we charge per user and we’re currently building a system which will allow freelancers, sole traders and small businesses to join the Cloud without a set-up fee and a monthly payment plan starting at £30 per user. We are constantly looking to tackle the cost of Cloud Computing in Bristol so that more businesses can benefit from the vast advantages of the Cloud.

So, will it save you pounds? Probably not.

Does it add value? Definitely.

(Image by Salvatore Vuono)

“What’s the difference between the cloud and an on-site server?” is a question we get asked very frequently…

2011 is supposedly the connected era and is becoming very cloud orientated, however, we are well aware that the cloud isn’t for everyone and an on-site server may still be the best solution for some businesses.

Lets start with the current boom – the cloud.

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According to a recent survey by Zoomerang in May of this year, SMB’s are still unaware of what Cloud Computing is. The results showed that:

• Only 10% of SMB’s were using the Cloud
• 47% were not familiar with the technology
• 25% had heard of it but didn’t know the meaning of it

What does this mean?

That Cloud providers need to provide an educational strategy to their service.

It’s no major surprise to me that people don’t understand the meaning of Cloud Computing – it’s not exactly self-explanatory is it? The other problem is that Cloud Computing is provided by IT companies, who never claim to be marketers. In fact it was marketeers that decided they liked the term Cloud Computing in the first place!

Anyway, the service – and the name of this service – is now ‘out there’ and not going away so how can IT companies educate SMB’s?

• Blog – the more information available, the better
• Better descriptions of Cloud Computing on their websites
• Case studies – links to their own or others (people are far more likely to relate to, and remember a story)
• Events – explaining the cloud to people face to face is far more effective than online so it’s time to step away from the computer

SpiderGroup have already had one event in Bristol to educate local businesses on Cloud Computing. Tickets for our second one will be available soon, though you can pre-register here.

We get asked lots of questions about Cloud Computing, we even organise events in Bristol to help businesses to understand it. We do also recognise that getting out of the office and away from your computer can be difficult so we’ve compiled a list of our most commonly asked questions when it comes to the Cloud.

Q1. What is Cloud Computing? (Slightly obvious but one which we should really start with)

A. Cloud Computing is, in basic terms, computing over the Internet. It allows you to access your e-mail, documents, software, even your desktop on-line, so it’s like having a virtual computer. This means you can work from anywhere – your office, your home, a hotel, a cafe, basically anywhere that has an Internet connection.

Q2. Is it safe?

A. On the whole, yes. Although, you need to ask your Cloud provider about their security measures of course. Hackers have found breaking into the Cloud extremely difficult and the security is only getting tighter. It also makes your data safe from non-virtual theft! If anyone was to break into your office and steal your computer, they wouldn’t actually be able to access your data in the Cloud.

Q3. What if my Internet connection gets lost?

A. It’s worth looking into getting a back-up connection just in case – although, as we’ve covered, you can access it anywhere with an Internet connection. Therefore, if your Internet does go down, you could always pop to a coffee shop or a home office or make a cuppa whilst you re-boot.

Q4. Will it save me money?

A. Not neccessarily. It depends on how many users you’ll have. The great thing about it is that it’s entirely scalable – so you only pay for what you need, and as you grow, so can your Cloud. Saving money is never a guarantee, though it does save energy, in fact it equates to approximately £500 electricity savings per year for every 10 users.

Q5. Is it here for good?

A. Afraid so Yes! The Cloud has already been around for years and the recent coverage shows that interest is growing. According to the Cloud Industry Forum, 48% of businesses in the UK are already using Cloud Computing of some capacity in their organisation and 85% of those already using it plan to adopt even more within the next 12 months.

Q6. How do I know if it’s for my business?

A. Cloud Computing can be used by just about any business of any size in any industry. You might be a start-up looking for secure back-up or an employer who wants easier sharing and more flexible working for your staff; either way the Cloud has various benefits and is without doubt, the future of technology.

There is a lot of talk about Cloud Computing in the news, but did you know that ‘the Cloud’ is actually better for the environment? That Clouds are in fact Green?

Cloud Computing has actually been around since the late 1990’s when software became available on-line. It became much wider spread in 2006 with the launch of Google doc’s, which allows you to share documents and calendars over the internet.

Many people are now opting for Cloud Computing due to its flexibility and sense of security, but most people fail to realise the Green savings of Cloud Computing.

Traditionally, Computers store their memory and save your documents on a server, which, in a typical office of 10 PC’s consumes on average 215 kWh per working week.

Cloud Computing connects to a ‘thin client’ (pictured) which contains no software and no disc drive. Instead it simply connects to the internet and can be accessed remotely.

Thin clients, for the same office would consume on average 133 kWh per working week.

The difference is almost 80 kWh per week, which equates to a saving of approximately £500 per year.

Cloud computing is without doubt the future of technology: It has enormous benefits for business, but more importantly it will have a huge impact on our environment. The energy saving experiment was based on just one server. Imagine the impact when larger offices convert to the Cloud. We’re really hoping that Bristol will become a leader of Greener Computing in the UK.

According to a study which was conducted by Edinburgh Napier University, having numerous amounts of friends on Facebook could cause a considerable amount of stress to a user.

The study found that 12% of people who responded to the questionnaire said that Facebook made them feel anxious, and a third of them said that if they decline a friendship request makes them feel guilty and uncomfortable.

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According to research, ICT (Information & Communication Technologies) teaching could be improved in the UK’s private schools if cloud computing methods are adopted.

As a result of the new wave technology known as ‘the cloud’, school staff could be saved on down-time, maintenance, upgrades as well as shared costs.

According to a representative from ICT for education, they said that ‘the systems must be utilised by specialist ICT exerts’.

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A thin client is a stripped-down computing device with a much lower processing power than a traditional PC. They are a lot lighter than normal PC’s as there is no hard drive or heavy components in the case – this is why they are described  as ‘thin’.

Thin clients were designed to work with a ‘host server’ computer –  Cloud Computing.

At SpiderGroup, we use thin clients to enable our clients to connect through to their fully virtualized desktop.

What is a virtual server?

A lot of people can get confused as to what a virtual server is –  we’ve all been there… A virtual server is where all of your documents, version of windows, applications are all stored on the Cloud. The Cloud is basically a marketing word for the Internet – it alows you to access your desktop, documents and everything which has been virtualized, anywhere – you could be sat in your office in Bristol working on a document in the morning and finalising in Germany later that day without having to have travelled with your laptop.

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