We are hearing a lot these days about the “Cloud”. This is a terms that has nothing to do with aviation. The Cloud is the new and evolving method of delivering software to end users. The Cloud offers major benefits to a mobile industry like ours and in fact IT Departments of major corporations are now spending 30-50% of their budgets on implementing the Cloud in their companies.
Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. Many of us have experience with using cloud based data backup storage where our valuable data is backed-up and stored remotely via the Internet. Another term commonly used to better define one of the primary Cloud type systems is Software as a System (SaaS) cloud model where the vendor supplies the hardware infrastructure, the software product and interacts with the user through a front-end portal. Because the service provider hosts both the application and the data, the end user is free to use the service from anywhere – which is ideal for a mobile industry like the HVAC industry.
The advantages of Cloud based or SaaS based options are many:
- User Device and Location independence – access to the system from any device anywhere there is Internet access – computer, smart phone or tablet that is ideal for use at the kitchen table
- Lower Cost – both initial investment and ongoing maintenance costs compared to conventional models are reduced due to cost sharing of the infrastructure and that it is user device independent (use of specific computer, smart phone, tablet is flexible and no special hardware is required)
- More reliable and secure – resources are maintained in professional, secure and staffed facility. This level of security and reliability is typically only found at larger companies and not typically afforded to small businesses.
- Because the data is stored centrally, additional support from the supplier of the service can be available to help upload and manage the data
TRUST PRO® online is a cloud based or SaaS service design specifically for the Residential/Light Commercial HVAC Contracting Business. It offers all the advantages listed above plus many more. For more information and a free demo of how to use TRUST PRO® online on a tablet in the home log onto www.trustproonline.com.