If you aren't well-versed in tech speak, the cloud may bring to mind images of programs that are just floating around–somewhere. You may have heard of it–and even use it–but don't know how to describe what it means or what it offers.
Cloud computing relies on shared resources over a network. Moving to the cloud allows businesses to avoid infrastructure costs and make the most of limited IT budgets. According to a recent Novarica survey of 96 insurance CIOs, about half of insurance carriers use the cloud.
But the cloud also benefits the small or midsize agency, which typically has a smaller IT budget and little or no IT staff. Vertafore and Applied Systems now offer their CRM solutions through the cloud. Larger agencies find that the cloud streamlines the value chain and provides a degree of structure and establishment of standards.
Analysts, cloud providers, and carrier CIOs detail the benefits of cloud adoption:
- Customers—improving experience, service, and retention.
- Innovation—rapid rollout of new business lines, products, and geographies.
- Continuity—disaster preparedness and recovery.
- Scalability—instant additional capacity on-demand.
- Resources—leverage in-house IT resources and third-party expertise.
- Cost savings—reduced capital outlay, more rented vs. owned, and other efficiencies.
Read on about the three types of available cloud services.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
Definition: Software that is deployed over the Internet. A provider hosts the network, services and storage, and licenses an application to customers either as a service on demand or through a subscription in a “pay-as-you-go” model. This eliminates the need to install and run applications on your own computer, which simplifies maintenance and support.
Examples: Google Docs, Salesforce and other types of customer relationship management software, Vertafore AMS360, AppliedOnline
Benefits: Web access to commercial software, software is managed from a central location, the user is not required to handle upgrades or patches
Cons: Generally unable to provide real-time data, regulations limit what data can be hosted externally, less secure than other cloud models, limited by compatibility to hardware or operating systems
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
Definition: It is very similiar to SaaS, but rather than software being delivered over the Internet, a platform that creates software is delivered. Vendors provide pre-built program libraries that users can tweak to build a custom application.
Examples: Google App Engine, Force.com from Salesforce, Microsoft Azure Services
Benefits: Customization, no need to buy and maintain software and infrastructure, support for development team collaboration, software collaboration (can include tools to handle billing and subscription management). It is ideal for situations where multiple developers will be working on a project or where external parties need to interact with the development process.
Cons: Not ideal in situations where the application needs to be portable in terms of where it is hosted, where propriatary languages impact development or switches to other PaaS providers, and where the appliation requires hardware customizations.
Infrastructure-as-a-Serivce (IaaS)
Definition: The vendor provides an environment–servers, storage, network and operating systems–to build or host applications. IaaS can be obtained as either a public or private infrastructure. It allows for dybnamic scaling and has a variable costs.
Examples: Vertafore Sagitta 2014, Amazon Web Services
Benefits: Ideal for new or small businesses that cannot invest in hardware, businesses in the midst of expansion where scaling hardware would be problematic. Suitable for trial or temporary infrastructure needs.
Cons: Problematic where regulations limit offshoring or outsourcing of data storage, lack of dedicated infrastructure may not meet an organization's needs.
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