Cloud computing can help firms cut costs
In this article (5)
With the rise of cloud computing in business practices worldwide, Microsoft is encouraging Indonesian industries and businesses to take advantage of this technology in their day-to-day operations, mainly due to the cost-cutting advantages that it offers.
Microsoft Indonesia’s national technology officer Tony Seno Hartono explained that by using public cloud services, such as the ones Microsoft offers through its Azure service, Indonesia’s businesses could significantly increase their operational efficiency, by 25 to 50 percent.
This is due to the fact that cloud services provide many streamlined features such as server management, data storage and even the electricity to keep the data-storing servers alive. “It can help businesses decrease their operational costs, because using cloud services is basically like outsourcing. Microsoft has a huge data center, capable of storing data and managing it for you. Why not utilize our services?” he said on Monday.
Microsoft, he continued, is in talks with an unspecified telecom operator to build a data center in Indonesia, but says the negotiations are still ongoing. Indonesian users of Azure currently have their data stored in Microsoft’s data centers abroad, such as in Singapore and the US.
Adding to the virtues of cloud computing, Tony elaborated that the local creative industry could also harness the benefits of Microsoft’s multiple data centers for creating works of art. One example is in the animation industry, where higher quality animations require massive amounts of time and data to be rendered.
“Microsoft, he continued, is in talks with an unspecified telecom operator to build a data center in Indonesia, but says the negotiations are still ongoing.”
During the making of James Cameron’s blockbuster film Avatar, Cameron collaborated with Microsoft to render the CGI animations using their public cloud services, thus saving the film production time and costs.
Tony said that if Cameron had not utilized Microsoft’s multiple data centers, the animations from Avatar would have taken many years to render properly due to the film’s scale and size.
Within the film industry in Indonesia, many have expressed interest in using Microsoft servers but none have used them so far, because the industry still remains small, and large-scale animation jobs in Indonesia tend to be taken to foreign animation studios to be worked on, Tony added.
From the perspective of Winastwan Gora, chief operating officer of tech education start-up Kelase, the usage of Azure cloud services has benefitted his company’s operations and has helped cut costs.
Kelase signed up for Microsoft’s BizSpark service, for three years of Azure usage with a usage cost limit of US$150 per month. The move guaranteed them space on Microsoft’s data centers abroad for storing and processing their information.
“By utilizing the Azure cloud, we were able to improve our communications and marketing efforts and also, our analytical and source control mechanisms became easier to carry out compared with other means. In other words, it’s now easier for the company to be run digitally,” Gora said.
Questions & Answers
Q.What is the main benefit Microsoft is promoting for businesses using cloud services in Indonesia?
What is the main benefit Microsoft is promoting for businesses using cloud services in Indonesia?
Microsoft is encouraging Indonesian businesses to use cloud services primarily for their cost-cutting advantages. It states that public cloud services could significantly increase operational efficiency by 25 to 50 percent.
Q.Where are Indonesian users' data currently stored when using Microsoft Azure services?
Where are Indonesian users' data currently stored when using Microsoft Azure services?
Indonesian users of Azure currently have their data stored in Microsoft's data centres located abroad. These data centres are in places such as Singapore and the United States.
Q.What steps is Microsoft taking to establish a local data centre presence in Indonesia?
What steps is Microsoft taking to establish a local data centre presence in Indonesia?
Microsoft is currently in discussions with an unspecified telecom operator to build a data centre within Indonesia. However, negotiations are still ongoing.
Q.How did cloud services specifically benefit the tech education start-up Kelase?
How did cloud services specifically benefit the tech education start-up Kelase?
Kelase found that using Azure cloud services improved their communications and marketing, and made analytical and source control mechanisms easier to manage. This allowed the company to be run more digitally.
Reader pulse
Is Microsoft's Indonesia cloud push a smart move?
17,132 votes so far