Cloud computing is becoming a very big deal, as businesses and consumers are eager to capitalize on what is likely to produce some real cost-saving trends and user flexibility over the next decade or so.
A recent study among a number of Australian banks showed that, at any given moment, up to half of all desks were unoccupied, and another run by ANZ found that two full floors of its offices were vacant due to vacations or other absences.
Such a waste of real estate is a major expense, due to floor space, heating and cooling costs, desks, computers, chairs, maintenance and other concerns; given the major cost savings that could be exploited, it seems inevitable that most businesses in the future will figure out some way to cut down on workspace technology upgrades in favor of lower-cost, mobile computing and other means.
A number of solutions exist; many businesses are outfitting their employees with laptops, which, although not necessarily cheaper than desktops, allow the users to take them wherever they go, which can lead to increased workplace productivity for a variety of reasons, plugging into a full-size screen or keyboard when necessary, and folding up and walking away as needed. Since many employees are likely to be involved in group projects at any given time, businesses have found that they can get away with having less than one computer desk per employee, with no real problem.
Another option, embraced by the likes of ANZ and Suncorp, is to embrace the cloud-computing model. Though not necessarily mutually exclusive, cloud computing essentially allows a user to log in to a work account from any device, and access any files and systems the business has on its servers. This means working from home, while on vacation, a coffee shop, or wherever, will be easily facilitated by a simply login and password entry.
Cloud computing doesn’t sound like much, but it offers a number of significant advantages beyond simple convenience; if the actual computation is taking place on a server, then the laptops need not be full-featured devices, and can simply be extraordinarily low-cost machines, such as netbooks or tablets, or even smart phones, and the user will still be able to compute with the fully-featured technological capacity of the business. This means the per-person computing cost can be significantly reduced, and lead to a greater operational efficiencyâ€"â€"on top of pleasing employees with free laptops.
Suncorp’s “desktop anywhere” program allows users to do something like this, offering on-demand laptops for users to sign in when necessary, and leave the computer to another user when finished. This rotating workstation model can be particularly useful when doing group work, since computers need not be carried around, and other situations.
These developments are likely to have a significant impact on workplace costs over the next several years, though with the inherent difficulty of security hiccups along the way. Mobile login needs to be protected; but if that problem can be solved, it is likely that cloud computing will have a significant impact on any major business that uses legions of computers to conduct its operations.
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