Bdaily talks cloud computing with Newcastle's Atlas Cloud

Cloud computing continues dominate the IT discourse. Bdaily put some questions to Pete Watson, director of North East-based Atlas Cloud to find out what the cloud computing sector is really about.

We’re still hearing so much about cloud computing at the moment - why?

Cloud computing is one of the most rapidly expanding technologies in recent decades. It’s here, it’s happening and businesses now have to deal with it or fall behind. As people have started to understand it more, it is more acceptable than just 2-3 years ago, when many business leaders were scared by the idea and actually saw it as a risk. Ironic considering most of them had personal data such as photographs and email that had been there for years and were fairly accessible by anyone. With cloud you don’t get that – it affords a complete security lockdown.

The jargon used around cloud has made it confusing for consumers, with a lot of IT firms using it as marketing speak with customers. Cloud is in fact very simple - it’s “accessing the internet anywhere, anytime and being able to use any or all of the data and applications that you want.” Ultimately business has changed, life is busier and workers today need a bespoke computing service that offers an immediate service and fits their needs and demands. There appear to be a plethora of providers - is competition fierce? Competition in the corporate space is definitely fierce. We see the land grab of big providers like Rackspace, Dropbox, Google, SalesForce etc. That said, cloud computing is fiercely popular as well - consumers want it. The good news is that we are finding it less competitive in the SME space.

Competition makes you focus hard which is to be welcomed. Coming from commercial backgrounds we use what’s good about corporates – quality, governance, service level management, robustness - with what’s good about smaller business - agility, flexibility and speed – to provide an unrivalled service and underline how our service can transform an organisation’s operations and bring its costs right down.

How is the industry changing?

Regardless of people’s views or psychological barriers, the pace of technology development pushes us all continuously. Look at Netflix and how we now have film on demand. DVDs and blue rays will be obsolete in the coming years. People want to consume on demand. Cloud delivers that to your hand anytime, anywhere and on any device. What will be the next big development or hurdle to be achieved in the industry?

To me the industry’s biggest hurdle remains securing the trust and knowledge of the buyer. There is a big education job to do as people try to grasp the step change that has occurred. As a sector we need to better understand barriers to purchase and respond accordingly – for example the move away from owning IT assets is scary to some but a relief to others. Some people don’t realise that IT is not cost effective to manage, particularly if you have under 50 staff. We need to communicate that buyers of cloud get clarity on capital spend, business agility and flexibility, as well as increased security. It’s up to us to explain why this whole new way of doing things is the future and why the time to act is now.

What’s it like being North East-based, as an operator in the Cloud sector?

Being from the North East we are delighted to be building an innovative company and recruiting local people who serve the needs of businesses all over the UK. The beauty of cloud is your customers can be anywhere. We have 80% of our clients in the North East, but also several clients who are multi site or going through mergers and acquisitions. Technology is one of the sectors in which the region is pushing to be a world leader so it’s great to be part of that drive at what is also a very exciting time in cloud computing’s development.

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