7 Cloud Computing Objections -- Debunked!

Yesterday, I described one small company's successful foray into cloud computing. Yet even as proponents are busy hyping cloud computing as the greatest innovation to hit small businesses in years, many small businesses still find barriers to adopting cloud solutions. 

There are plenty of reasons to doubt the value of cloud computing. But if you ask me, the smaller your company, the more the idea of “renting” your software over the Internet makes more sense than buying it.

And for new start-ups, the question is why buy anything at all, when you can get it all priced by the drink?

That’s why I stopped by Salesforce.com’s Dreamforce conference  in San Francisco last week to hear a session called "Tales from the Trenches: Practical Tips for Successful Cloud Investments," with small business expert Rhonda Abrams and Paul Leary from Blackbird Vineyards, John Lake from Panasas , and Marnie Webb, from TechSoup. The panel, and conversations with experts at the conference, both highlighted and debunked small business barriers to cloud computing.

Here are the seven most common objections to cloud computing that surfaced druing the Dreamforce session -- and why they rarely hold water:

1. Legacy Apps: Many small businesses have software already in place that they rely on to run their business. They don’t want to rip out these systems while they’re still working, and they worry about how to integrate cloud apps with them.

There’s no need to rip out your legacy apps – unless you want to. There are still plenty of things your company can do in the cloud without discarding or even modifying your legacy apps. And while cloud integration can still be a challenge, it’s getting easier all the time. 

2. Legacy Mindset: You may think that you’re not ready for the cloud. But you’re probably already using cloud applications in one way or another, even if you don’t think of them under that moniker.  Use Gmail? That’s a cloud app. Facebook or Twitter? Cloud apps. Dropbox – yep, that’s a cloud app, too. Online email marketing like Constant Contact? You’re in the cloud.

3. Data Hoarding: Some people aren’t comfortable sharing their precious personal information. That’s often true of salespeople who feel that “These are my contacts, and I’m not sharing them in some cloud application. I need to be able to threaten to take them with me if I leave the company.” But ask yourself, do you really want to be that guy?

4. Too Sensitive for the Cloud: Several people suggested that Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) apps are likely to be the last application segment “holding on for dear life” against the cloud. That’s because ERP includes all your most important financial data – most subject to audit – and typically is used by the most conservative people in the company. But just because ERP isn’t cloud based doesn’t mean that the rest of the company has to avoid cloud computing.

5. The Monthly Fee: If you’ve already bought all the software you use, you may not be excited about paying a new monthly fee. But everyone I spoke to said that when you consider maintenance and required upgrades and other costs, the monthly fees for cloud computing applications almost always come out cheaper -- and that's before you consider the up-front purchase costs for new software.

6. No One To Turn to For Help: Most small businesses don’t have IT departments, instead relying on outside technology consultants. Many of these consultants feel threatened by simpler-to-use cloud solutions that promise to reduce the need for their services, and so they offer little help with moving to the cloud. But many cloud apps are simple enough to use without dedicated consulting help, and there are increasing numbers of outfits, large and small, getting into the business of helping companies choose, install, integrate, and maintain cloud apps.

7. Keeping Secrets: One small business expert mentioned something to me that in my naivete I had never considered. Some small businesses keep two sets of books, one for public consumption and one for actually running the business. It may not be legal and it may not be ethical, but it may still be fairly common.

And these companies may not want to allow data about their true finances to leave the building -- in any way, shape, or form.

If that’s your company, well, maybe you do want to keep your financials out of the cloud. For everyone else, you may be over-thinking the issue.