ABM_1 - Flipbook - Page 48
OPINION
RETAIL
When seeking software,
be sure to understand
the technology
→ Chris Dalton is CEO at jobmate ERP ltd
Cloud data storage can
scale easily, is accessible
globally, and provides a
high level of security
T
he term ‘cloud software’ has
been discussed since the
1960s, but it was in the early
2000s that it finally arrived
commercially – and this is the
key point – specifically then for
data storage.
What does that mean? Your
data is now hosted in major data centres
located around the world, rather than on
your drive or on-premises server room.
Currently, the key players are Amazon's
AWS (born in 2006) and Microsoft's
Azure (born in 2010). They are still in their
adolescence in human terms. There are
many other suppliers today, but be sure
to check their credentials.
48
AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS Q4 2025
If you are searching for tech to
implement, buy software or develop
custom software for your business,
buyer beware, as the terminology can be
confusing and commonly misunderstood.
Hence, ‘Cloud’ software means “your
data is in the cloud,” ‘Native Cloud’
means the data and the operational
software are in the cloud.
Cloud data storage is extremely
secure; the cloud supplier provides the
means, security and integrity of the
hosting, removing the need for additional
security measures. Cloud is Software
as a Service (SaaS); it can scale easily
and is accessible globally, compared to
on-premises servers, which are high cost,