How the cloud can help your business grow

The evolution of cloud computing is helping property companies to scale their business systems, drive down costs, mitigate risk and support growth, says TechnologyOne’s Luke Fleming.

Fleming, TechnologyOne’s industry manager for project intensive industries, compares the evolution of cloud-based computing to the transformation of electricity generation during the industrial revolution.

“Companies moved from owning and running their own power generation equipment to simply consuming electricity from a grid. In the same way, computing is now accessed from the cloud.

“Instead of your business investing and maintaining a large, complex IT infrastructure, you can access your computing power from the grid – the cloud.”

TechnologyOne provides software through the cloud, which Fleming says presents many advantages for property developers – including scalability, risk mitigation and cost-effectiveness. 

Scalability is particularly important for developers needing systems that can accommodate business growth and demands during peak times.

“When you use your own IT infrastructure, it’s like using your own electricity generators. At peak times – like end of month – you need more computing power,” Fleming explains.

“A developer with sites may have 0 users across those sites – and while they won’t all be using the software all day every day, most will be at month end. A cloud-based service will automatically provide more power to manage demand – and you won’t take a performance hit when everyone is using the software at the same time to close off the month.”

Mobilising new project sites is also easier when your system is on the cloud.

“When you’re in the construction game, you need to mobilise new construction sites quickly – and part of that is setting up the IT infrastructure. When you’re operating from the cloud, new infrastructure isn’t required – all you need is an internet connection and you’re away,” Fleming adds.

Fleming says the cloud can also be a more cost-effective solution. One TechnologyOne cloud customer invested $1.2 million in licensing and services, and an additional $1 million each year after that. Comparatively, a KPMG cost analysis put the capital expenditure of a similar non-cloud based solution at $5 million, with an annual operating cost of $3.6 million.

“A cloud approach also mitigates risk – because property developers are outsourcing to a technology specialist while concentrating on their core business and driving growth.”

Learn more about TechnologyOne’s cloud-based enterprise solution for property developers.