Enterprises have long held a huge advantage over their smaller counterparts when it comes to their ability to fully leverage the benefits of technology. With large IT budgets and dedicated IT resources, Enterprises invariably have led the way in technology adoption, gaining the related competitive advantages that advances in technology usually deliver.

There are numerous historical examples in which Enterprises leveraged their technology prowess and resources to great advantage, with some of the best examples occurring within the manufacturing sector. Enterprise early-adopters of just-in-time inventory, for example, dramatically reduced their operating costs, which allowed them to drive down prices and squeeze out many smaller competitors that were burdened by costly, warehoused inventory. Things are changing, however, thanks to The Cloud.

The Cloud has made it possible for technology providers to move their applications and infrastructure-driven solutions - typically reserved for Enterprises - down-market. SMEs can now take advantage of shared, virtual infrastructure and managed services that afford them the same kinds of technological advantages previously only available to their larger competitors. The playing field is far closer to level than ever before.

So, how are Enterprises responding to these changes in the technology landscape? Well, some are sitting back, playing the “wait and see” game, but the more progressive Enterprises aren’t standing still. They understand the threat posed by more nimble, smaller players in their market who can close the competitive gaps created by technology. So they, too, are looking to the Cloud for efficiency and economical gains. And the Cloud providers are responding accordingly.

We are now seeing the leading Cloud providers adding Enterprise-focused platform and application support, and introducing new features - such as Cloud eDiscovery – that are clearly tailored to the big guys. And I believe this is just the beginning. Cloud Recovery solutions, for example, are becoming increasingly available to Enterprises, delivering continuous availability of business-critical applications via real-time replication of Windows, Unix and Linux file and application servers to any cloud vendor.

Other opportunities that the Cloud is creating for Enterprises, include the following:

a) The Cloud has dramatically expanded the number of vendors available to enterprises, with the list of those capable of handling their technology needs growing from 4 or 5 to numerous. More choices mean better negotiating power and a better technology fit.

b) Issues like platform support, scalability and encryption that were inherent features (and differentiators) of the big service providers, are now widely available to Enterprises from a wide array of Cloud service providers. This can be leveraged and gives Enterprises the choice to use different services from multiple suppliers.

c) Vendor lock-in, which can be a costly situation for Enterprises, is no longer the concern it was thanks to the Cloud. Enterprises can more easily move from cloud-to-cloud, leveraging substantial cost savings along the way – and maintaining their market advantage. The Enterprise CFO who has been stuck in a maintenance contract for years because of Vendor lock- will truly appreciate what the Cloud can offer in this area.

The Cloud is flattening the technology landscape, helping the SME market leverage new technologies, but it’s also offering advantages for organizations of every size - big and small.

And I sincerely believe that the best is yet to come…

ABOUT ME
Joshua Geist is Founder and CEO of Geminare Incorporated, a leading provider of turnkey business continuity, server replication and data protection solutions and innovator of the Cloud “Recovery as a Service” model. A solution junkie at heart, Joshua lives, breathes and dreams of all things DR Cloud-related and loves nothing better than to hear a story about how another customer experienced first-hand the tremendous value inherent in the technology that Geminare created.

Joshua lives in Toronto, with his lovely wife Liane and three beautiful daughters, Samantha, Chloe and Alexa – with a combined age of 8! Suffice to say that between introducing the world to Geminare’s RaaS and raising a family, Josh is a very busy guy but always seems to be reachable at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or followed on Twitter @CloudRecovery.