What is Cloud Computing

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing, SaaS, ASP – as usual there is a proliferation of technological terms and acronyms for very similar technologies, these tend to change with fashion and time. Below are brief definitions of these terms.

Cloud Computing – is internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand. i.e. providing EPoS software over a secured broadband connection

Software as a Service (SaaS) – is a model of software deployment over the internet i.e. providing EPoS software over a secured broadband connection

Application Service Provider (ASP) – a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. i.e. providing EPoS software over a secured broadband connection

Cybertill was the first EPoS provider to supply an EPoS system over an internet connection, long before the term Cloud Computing had been coined. Since then SaaS, Cloud Computing or whichever term you prefer to use, has exploded with popularity with many companies offering such services. That said very few other EPoS companies have caught on to the benefits of delivering EPoS in this manner, with Cybertill still very much at the forefront of this technology.

Cybertill recognised the key advantages that providing “Software as a Service” (SaaS) gives clients. Traditional EPoS systems have their EPoS software deployed locally on each piece of point of sale (POS) hardware machine. Today, the vast majority of EPoS solutions are still deployed in the traditional manner, meaning that the bulk of the administration of running and managing the software falls to the retailer. This also means that Cybertill still hold a very unique place in the market.

There are many advantages to deploying EPoS via Cloud Computing rather than the traditional route, these include:

  • Retailers are able to concentrate on their core activity of “selling goods” and not managing EPoS software systems, whilst benefitting from a retail network in real time
  • Real time stock analysis, allowing retailers to see true product performance – this does away with overnight polling and retailers can make informed decisions based on real live data
  • Retailers can benefit from a scalable solution that makes adding additional stores and points of sale straightforward. It is as simple as plugging the internet to the point of sale hardware. There is no need to load the EPoS software on to the hardware, then upload stock information, product images, client data and so forth.
  • Improved data security – SaaS requires companies to have sound data security measures in place. For example, does a typical retailer back up their data from their EPoS system every day and keep copies of that data kept off site in a secure and safe location? Data is the lifeblood of any business, imagine a retailer losing all stock, sales, orders and customer details, it would take them months and months to recover. Cybertill manage all this for clients, and what’s more the data is backed up to servers in bomb proof buildings.
  • Continuous access to the latest technology and continual upgrades and new features – the software is updated by the company that is providing the software as a service. So multiple retailers would have all branches using exactly the same version of the software in every location. No time consuming upgrades and updates done at point of sale. It is all done centrally by the provider.
  • Multi branch retailers link stores together using VPN for real time stock and sales information without the need of nightly polling of stores

These are just some of the many benefits to Cloud Computing. There is of course another definition for this solution…and that is “hosted solution” – this means the solution, software or service is hosted on an “external server” and users access it by connecting to the external server…just like providing EPoS software over a secured broadband connection.

Whatever the definition used at least the benefits stay the same…