I need a new database so why should I stick a "toe in the cloud"?

Now, more than ever in global history, IT systems need to be as cost-effective as possible. In software development projects upfront costs are very hard to justify. This makes it difficult to get approval to develop an application on a standard hardware platform. Now there is a new way of sticking a toe in the water for relatively low cost but the water is just vapour. The toe needs to be stuck in the cloud!

If that does not make sense to you please let me explain. By the "cloud" I do, of course mean web-based applications or servers. When developing a database solution it is common to build a development environment and run up a trial version of the application for testing and development prior to investing on a full server and system for the production version. This test environment still has infrastructure costs and may still require space in the server room and ongoing management effort.

Today, it is feasible to pay for a small number of licenses or a virtual server on a month-by-month or annual basis to run up the build environment over a period of months or a year. Only when the application has been determined to be of value to the organisation do more licenses need to be purchased to facilitate full access. In many cases, the application will not even require reinstallation as the hosted infrastructure scales dynamically on demand.

This model supports both rapid expansion and contraction of a business or business unit as licenses can be added at any time and cancelled at the end of a subscription period. This is in stark contrast to infrastructure-based solutions that do not scale well at all and have fixed costs of implementation and licensing.

Having this level of flexibility with IT systems can foster an environment of greater innovation as systems can be turned on and off on demand, without high overheads allowing technical departments to experiment with applications for quality of solution and fitness for purpose.

Reduced development overheads means less risk and therefore a better chance of project approval. The "toe in the cloud" approach to development is worthy of consideration.

If you need assistance with web-based software or infrastructure solutions seek expert advice as this is the newest frontier in the Wild West of IT. There are plenty of gunslingers out there and a little advice can go a long way.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector.