Cloud computing

Two weeks ago, I suggested examining customer relationships for their key components. Byrefining service, customer by customer, you can build a better, stronger business. Become something special for a specific group.

As a result I was asked what computer tools are needed for a small business. When I suggested CRM (Customer Relationship Management), I heard groans. Just selecting the right software can be exasperating. Downloading, installing and configuring the software, then training staff to use it consumes time and patience. Evidently that's why CRM often ends up as an expensive software investment whose real value lies idle.

Unless you're an IT fanatic, most likely you've never heard of ``cloud computing.'' Cloud computing offers small business an escape from software problems and offers a clear opportunity for growth.

Let's simplify: Cloud computing replaces software stored on your computer with an online service created within a ``cloud'' of computers. Your people work with the service using an Internet browser. They need no knowledge of, expertise in or control over the technology infrastructure in the cloud that supports their work. Cloud service is likely to be more efficient; you get better information at lower costs.

Worldwide more than seven out of 10 people use Google's search engine. The rate at which Google's cloud has grown is as amazing as its size. In March 2001, when the company served about 70 million Web pages daily, it had 8,000 servers. A new Google cloud of 45,000 servers is located at The Dalles, Oregon. Today, the best guess is that Google now has more than 500,000 servers spread over at least 25 locations around the world.

Google Docs is one of Google's cloud services. From your browser, you can access a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tools, notes and attachments. Work with your head in the clouds: Prepare, share and collaborate. With your feet on the ground, everything is safely stored. There's nothing to install or crash. Best bit: Google Docs is free (and loaded with extras). Take a few minutes: Visit YouTube; search for ``Google Docs'' or do a Google search with the same words.

Aerospace Composite Products is a family-run composite materials distribution and manufacturing company based in Livermore, Calif. The company focuses primarily on military and medical applications and supplies materials to a variety of industries including automotive and sports equipment. It solved its CRM problem and built a better business with Salesforce.com -- a pioneer in cloud computing.

Justin Sparr, vice president at ACP, explained how the business evolved. ``My parents started this business in 1984 out of our garage,'' he said. ``My father left his full-time job in 1996 to run the business full-time with my mother, and it has grown to a staff of 10 people.

``When I came on board in 2006, they had no network in the office, just a series of workstations with different operating systems. We had no central database of our customers or vendors, so the first thing I did was to implement Salesforce CRM and start collecting all of our business contacts, sales opportunities and manufacturing processes. I implemented it myself in about seven days of tinkering.''

Summing up the experience, Sparr said, ``Salesforce CRM helped us grow from a $600,000 company to a $3 million company in just a few years. I'm seeing 40 percent growth year over year, and we're holding steady at that rate.''