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As with any business, your primary concern should
be in securing your potential assets; in this case,
your assets are your clients. But what exactly are
‘cloud computing’ customers looking for? 2010 was
a booming year in the world of cloud computing;
multiple well-known companies were developing
and launching their own services. This year, however,
experts are predicting unprecedented growth in the
cloud computing arena, and, with all this new growth,
there will be growing pains to deal with. The full
range of applications for cloud services has not been
fully explored yet by either techies or consumers. As
a result, specifc client expectations are still up for
debate. There are a few things that remain constant,
however; they are security, availability and fexibility.
There are essentially two diferent groups that you
are marketing your cloud computing services to:
individuals and businesses. Both of these groups have
their own concerns and desires that you must address
individually. Businesses are not going to utilize
cloud computing services in the same manner as
individuals; they are going to require larger volumes
of bandwidth, consistent speeds at all hours and
specialized security. Individuals are concerned about
these items as well, but they’re most likely using
cloud services on a limited scale. Most individual
users are more apt to utilize cloud computing for
entertainment or personal purposes and not strictly
business.
Security
Whether or not you’re providing services for
individuals or businesses, security is a big concern.
This must include a system of guidelines, technologies
and other control elements that work together to
ensure the highest level of safety that is possible. This
must include high-level encryption, data segregation,
and advanced identity management technologies.
Availability
If your service is frequently or completely unavailable,
you run the risk of losing business. The momentum
behind cloud computing literally falls apart the
instant that availability becomes an issue; the success
of cloud computing hinges on its ability to provide
access that is comparable to that of local hardware.
Adaptability
The technological race isn’t slowing down; in fact,
it’s speeding up dramatically. As cloud computing
becomes more commonplace, companies will need
to be fexible enough to ofer support for emerging
devices and technologies. This also extends into the
arena of software; your company’s ability to integrate
new software developments in a timely manner
cannot be underestimated (since most current cloud
computing systems are based on some type of
software interface).
Customer Service
Because cloud computing is in its infancy, you should
anticipate any number of problems arising in the
future. Your company’s ability to transition to a well-
established business will rest largely on the shoulders
of your customer service department. Developing
a strong business reputation is essential within the
tech world. Even if your developments are met with
a certain level of failure, your potential customer
base can still be salvaged with an excellent customer
service support staf. As such, you should strongly
consider only hiring extremely knowledgeable
employees for this department, i.e., people that not
only know what they’re talking about but can also
deal with and solve problems on a customer-to-
customer basis.
A great way to identify potential problem areas is
to establish a board or forum where customers can
directly voice their concerns; in this way, you can
simply go down the list and improve your service one
step at a time.
If you are able to successfully manage all of the
aforementioned elements, then you stand an
excellent chance of developing your company into
a powerhouse business. Try to focus on all known
elements frst and then, once frmly established,
begin to accumulate tactics for dealing with “wild
card” elements. Over time you’ll gain a much greater
understanding of what your client’s expectations are
and how to best meet or exceed them.
Your Cloud
Computing
Service
and Client
Expectations
There are various considerations to take into
account when establishing your own cloud
computing service; the most important is
arguably meeting customer expectations.
What Customers Expect:
• Security
• Availability
• Adaptability
• Customer service
“As cloud computing becomes more
commonplace, companies will
need to be fexible enough to ofer
support for emerging devices and
technologies”