The cloud computing phenomenon is generating a lot of interest with retailers worldwide because of its potential to offer services on-demand, at a lower cost than current retail information system modernization options, and with less complexity, greater scalability, and wider reach.

The opportunities for providers of managed services to benefit from this model are significant and exciting. A February 2009 study by the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department at the University of California, Berkeley, "Above the Clouds: A Berkeley View of Cloud Computing", looked at cloud computing from the end-user perspective. It confirms Alpha Bay’s Adaptive Integrated Retail System—AIRS®—on Cloud Computing and SaaS configurations is on target to meet the needs of retailers large and small. The study points to three features of AIRS® that will be significant draws for Alpha Bay’s retail customers:

• Infinite computer resources available on-demand that eliminate the need for retailers to plan far ahead for provisioning
• No need for an up-front commitment by retailers, allowing them to start small and increase their use of cloud services as needed
• The pay-as-you-go model that allows retailers to buy just what they need, either on a short-term or ongoing basis

The on-demand nature of cloud computing is also a windfall to retailers, allowing them to quickly react to changing market conditions and opportunities. Another proof point for the cost-effectiveness of cloud computing is the estimate that large data centers can decrease the costs for electricity, network bandwidth, operations, software, and hardware by a factor of five, which of course generates real, hard dollar savings and contributes to green computing trends, as well.

With world-class products and technologies, AIRS® allow retailers to evolve to a new business paradigm in the most rapid form. AIRS® lets retailers cost-effectively utilize their existing infrastructure in new and exciting ways to incorporate cloud assets, fashion new and innovative service bundles, and gain new revenue.

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