This document discusses demystifying the business cloud. It begins with introductions of the hosts and an overview of Huddle as a cloud collaboration company. It then addresses common questions around what the cloud is, why businesses should care about the cloud, and how to get started with the cloud. The cloud is defined as internet-based computing using shared resources provided on-demand. Migrating to the cloud can reduce costs while improving access, communication, and speed of deployment. Public, private, and virtual cloud options are outlined. The document encourages businesses to consider their problems and needs before selecting cloud services to address areas like CRM, email, marketing, billing, and collaboration.

1. DEMYSTIFYING THE
BUSINESS CLOUD
Presented in association
with VentureBeat

2. TODAY’S HOSTS
Matt Marshall
Editor-in-Chief, VentureBeat
Andy McLoughlin
Co-founder, Huddle

3. SAY HELLO TO HUDDLE
 The cloud collaboration
company, founded in 2006
 Help companies manage
people, projects and
information
 Offices in London and San
Francisco
 65 employees

4. The Problem
 Picture of office frustration
Why is it still so
hard to work
together?

5. The Problem
 Picture of office frustration
And what happens when the
Facebook generation goes to work?

6. QUESTION ONE
WHAT IS ‘THE
CLOUD’?

9. “Cloud computing is Internet-
based computing, whereby shared
resources, software and
information are provided to
computers and other devices on-
demand, like a public utility.”

10. WE ASKED 100 PEOPLE
‘WHAT IS THE CLOUD?’
 A BUZZWORD CREATED BY ANALYSTS TO
SELL WHITE PAPERS
 A FANCY NAME FOR THE INTERNET
 A MARKETING TERM DESIGNED TO SEX UP
SOFTWARE
 THE SAME TECHNOLOGY WE’VE ALL BEEN
USING FOR 10+ YEARS
 ALL OF THE ABOVE?

11. THE CLOUD
A VERY BRIEF HISTORY

13. THE BUSINESS CLOUD =
OLDER THAN YOU MIGHT
THINK
 Coined in 1999 when Marc Andreesen and
Ben Horowitz founded LoudCloud
 Early pioneers were focused on
enterprise-grade services (SLAs, security,
uptime)

14. Application Service Providers 
Managed Services  SaaS 
The Cloud
(plus ҫa change)

15. WE ASKED 100 PEOPLE
‘WHAT IS THE CLOUD?’
 A BUZZWORD CREATED BY ANALYSTS TO
SELL WHITE PAPERS
 A FANCY NAME FOR THE INTERNET
 A MARKETING TERM DESIGNED TO SEX UP
SOFTWARE
 THE SAME TECHNOLOGY WE’VE BEEN
USING FOR 10+ YEARS
 ALL OF THE ABOVE?

16. THE CLOUD IS
THE INTERNET
(It’s not new and you’ve probably
been using it for years)

17. I THINK YOU’RE
SOMEWHAT OVER
SIMPLIFYING THINGS...

18. Public Cloud
Private Cloud
Virtual Cloud

19. Public Cloud Hosted/Virtualized Private Cloud
Instance Single Single, Multiple Single
Tenancy Multiple Single Single
Examples
Gmail,
Huddle
Office 365,
SAP CRM On Demand
Oracle Fusion,
Windows Server
Focus Applications Applications
Middleware,
Infrastructure
Key Benefits
• Lowest total cost
• Agile environment
• Reduced infrastructure
• More Control
• Easier management
• Ultimate Control
Ideal Customer SMB Enterprise Enterprise
(not forgetting the cloud infrastructure providers)

20. QUESTION TWO
WHY SHOULD
YOU CARE?

21. (courtesy of cloudhypermarket.com)
Mandatory Infographic

22. Reduced Cost
“Cloud computing is elastic ... and you pay only
for what you use” Larry Ellison
“The cloud serves companies of every size. It’s
the democratization of computing” Marc Benioff

23. COSTTOBUSINESS
SET UP COSTS
NUMBER OF USERS
Hardware, software,
licensing, consultancy etc
COSTTOBUSINESS
NO SET UP COSTS
NUMBER OF USERS
Traditional IT Cloud Computing
(h/t wikibon.org)

24. Improved Access &
Communication

25. Improved Access &
Communication

26. Speed of Deployment

27. Business Continuity

28. OK, I'm sold. But
what about security?

29. QUESTION THREE
HOW DO I GET
STARTED?

30. ASK WHICH PROBLEMS
YOU’RE TRYING TO SOLVE
 Managing customers?
 Improving comms?
 Running projects?
 Dealing with documents
and storage?
 Working from anywhere?

31. FACT
There are many, many options.
For many, many applications.
Picks recommended by

32. CRM / SALES MANAGEMENT

33. HOSTED EMAIL / APPS

34. MARKETING AUTOMATION

35. BILLING / ACCOUNTS /
EXPENSES

36. BACKUP / FILE MANAGEMENT

37. PROJECT COLLABORATION

38. COMPANY COMMS

39. PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY

40. Q & A
(Don’t be afraid – we don’t bite)

41. WRAPPING UP
 First, think about which systems you don’t
want to / can’t manage in-house
 Remember, there’s a cool cloud service for
many things – but do you need it?
 Try before you buy as many services offer
a free version / trial
 Read industry blogs (VentureBeat /
Techcrunch / ReadWriteWeb) for honest
reviews

42. THANK YOU
Andy McLoughlin
@bandrew
Slides online at www.slideshare.com/bandrew