Member Article

Not the C-word in summer

If you’re not thinking about Christmas yet, you should be according to Mick Keeble, head of managed services at Perfect Image. Here, he discusses the increasing demand for computing power experienced by e-tailers during the festive season, and how true cloud computing with AWS should be on the Christmas lists of all ecommerce businesses this year.

I’m going to say it. That’s right, the C-word – Christmas. While the sun is still shining and people are jetting off on last minute holidays to soak up some rays poolside with a cocktail in hand, the festive season seems a million miles away. But truth of the matter is, Christmas is only just over 100 days days away, so while you may have been making a list of things to pack in your suitcase recently, very soon you’ll be making your wish-list to send off to the big man at the North Pole.

Christmas may not have yet crossed your mind personally, but professionally, many businesses – especially those involved with the selling of their goods and services online – have started gearing up for the festive season already…

We’ve all heard of Cyber Monday – it’s the first Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. What was once a phenomenon stateside, this online shopping frenzy has quickly made its way over the waters to our shores. Last year, UK shoppers spent approximately £720million during the 24 hours online-buying frenzy, and this figure is expected to grow even more this year as Cyber Monday (as well as the newly introduced Black Friday) continues to gain momentum in the consumer marketplace.

My question is, if you’re in the business of ecommerce or are an e-tailer, can you really afford to not being thinking about Christmas right now – even though it is only early September. You’ve decided what new ranges you’re going to add to your inventory, thought about what special offers you’re going to use to entice customers as they do their Christmas shopping, you’ve possibly even a clever marketing plan in place to promote your business online. But have you thought about how your IT systems are going to cope with this expected spike in demand?

Well we have the solution for you…

Amazon Web Services (otherwise known as AWS) is able to provide flexible and scalable IT solutions in a safe and secure environment. As the name suggests, the world’s leading true cloud platform is what provides the IT infrastructure for internet shopping giant, Amazon. Just think, if Amazon is powered by AWS and uses this true cloud computing solution to scale up and scale down to meet demand for its services (remember Cyber Monday and the amounts of products sold and orders placed on that one day?), just think what AWS could do for your business too.

One of the many benefits of AWS is that it’s totally pay-as-you-go, meaning you literally only pay for what you use. Think of it like a utility – during the summer months you turn the heating down as your home is already nice and warm. But come Christmas time, the thermostat is up and the heating is on, as you need more energy to warm your home. The principle is the same for AWS – if you need to turn your computing power up to meet online shopping demand during the festive season, no problem! It can be done in a matter of moments and you only pay for what you use. Then, post-January sales, if you need to turn your computing power back down to normal service levels, it can be done extremely quickly with you only paying for the power that you use – no contracts, no fuss.

Of course, AWS isn’t only available to customers during the Christmas period. Regardless of your peak times, this true cloud computing service can be turned up or dialled down according to your own business needs – 365 days of the year.

The benefits of AWS for ecommerce business are clear to see. However an added benefit you may not be aware of is Perfect Image’s managed AWS service…

Not only can we help set you up with your true cloud computing solution through AWS, we manage the whole process for you – even once you’re up and running. We constantly monitor, measure and make amends where needed, so your cloud-based IT-solutions are always performing perfectly, bringing real business benefits to you. If it’s not already, true cloud computing with AWS should be on your list to Santa this year!

To find out more about AWS and managed true cloud services with Perfect Image, visit: http://www.perfect-image.co.uk/managed-services-support/amazon-web-services.aspx

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Perfect Image .