Interview with Marcelo Tannus, director of EDN-ICT-Solutions, Magazine Eventos Latinoamericanos.

Using a system in ´the cloud´ of the Internet means that the company does not need to spend money on equipment: buy servers or software base -as operating systems, database administrators or mail managers, neither to invest money and time in programs installation, nor is it necessary to hire staff to operate the systems.

To understand more of the issues we interviewed Mr. Marcelo Tannus, EdN - ICT Solutions- SRL Manager, company dedicated exclusively to systems developing for the meetings industry, and has all the tools and services in ´the cloud´.

What does that business systems are uploaded to ´The Cloud´?

It means they are always available, so that each company decides whether to connect or not to the system that works better for its purposes; in order to get it will need the authorization of the company that publishes the service in ´The Cloud´ or either a contract that will provide access to such services, such as mobile phones, but without needing a SIM card or chip. The only needed is an internet-connected device.

What technical knowledge level users need to have in order to use systems that are in ´The Cloud´?

There is no need for users to have computing knowledge or being experts on the matter, it is enough if users know to handle a mouse or the device used to connect: computer, laptop, iPad, iPod, etc.

Are your systems already in ´The Cloud´ or you think to offer there?

Currently all EdN -ICT Solutions- systems  (see list at the end of the note) are already operating in the cloud of Iternet.

It does not matter anymore where the company is physically located; with an internet connection is enough to use the services. Additionally, all EdN -ICT Solutions- systems are multi-language, which means that any work team can use it, and send quotations in several languages, without even knowing all active languages.

Is the cost affordable for all types of companies?

In fact, being in the cloud and working the software as a service - which is known as SaaS (software as a service) allows each company to pay only for what it use, so also a sole proprietorship, or very small company, is able to use the same tools that large companies with 10,000 employees, paying prices according to their size, since the cost is measured by the number of licenses or contracted access profiles.

This means that cloud services can meet the needs of business, in a flexible and adaptable way in case of unforeseen demand, or peak workloads, paying only for real use.

So in times where the workload increases a company can incorporate more functionality or licenses?

If a company has seasonal work, and needs to increase payroll at peak time, will only buy more licenses for that period and when peak time ends, will continue paying the minimum for normal work volume. This means you only pay for what you use and when you need it, this is the advantage of Cloud Computing Computing in the Cloud.
Another advantage of using cloud services by its nature is that you can integrate easier and quicker all other enterprise applications.
An example from our experience: in recent months we have integrated - a software like SAP (www.sap.com), in accounting and billing modules, and CRM software such as Sales force (www.salesforce.com) or Oracle (www. oracle.com), systems  eConventionCenter, eCongress or eTradeShowCompany from EdN -ICT Solutions-, feeding the CRM detailing customers consumption for each event managed. The integration took only weeks.

What is the base price for cloud services?

This will depend on each company and the services they wish to provide. For example, and to have an idea of the range we are talking about, in our case the services start from U$S 7.99 (U.S. dollars) per license, per month, reaching a maximum of U$S 350 (U.S. dollars) per license per month in the full version.

If a company chooses to incorporate these services, how long can take the implementation since the decision-makers to start using it?

According to our experience in the Cloud Implementation is faster and less risky. It allows to get started quickly without investing much time and money. Moreover, integrated custom applications may be available in a very reasonable time: we talk of days or hours, at most weeks.

What additional advantage do you offer to companies that choose to work with EdN –ICT Solutions- services in the Cloud?

EdN –ICT Solutions- prioritizes one aspect that is very important: the closing cycle of the Investment Protection of our client, allowing that the money invested in software or world-class services, enhanced itself with the use of our products and services.

The concept of Investment Protection is also designed to help companies that currently do not work in the cloud to migrate to our systems in the cloud, our consultants will design a strategy that will allow them to migrate from other systems to our systems and be more efficient, protecting the investment already made and without spending more money than the contracted licenses. Additionally, to have full control of communications, our systems offer the possibility of sending emails, check over historical sent emails, generate PDFs or other formats documents, and send these documents as attachments or as links, when they exceed certain weight.

Development of emails is configurable in all aspects and fully compatible with any emails manager software (Outlook, Exchange, Zimbra, etc.).

Finally we note that all the above is valid for each of our products and services. In the other hand I would stress the ease that they can all be used in an integrated way, as one, working with a single control panel, as the way they have been designed and developed, what’s makes easier the complete management of companies and events.

EdN ICT Solutions solutions:
 to manage companies:
         eConventionCenter: designed to manage conference & exhibitions centers
         eBureau: meets the needs of managing a Coventions & Visitors Bureau
         eTradeShowCompany: to manage everything related to trades shows and exhibitions companies.
         eAssociation: thought to manage Associations and Institutions.
         ePCOCompany: to manage a professional event organizer companies.

 to manage events:
         eCongress: manages the whole cycle of a congress.
         eConvention:  offers a single control panel for managing a convention.
         eRegister: event registrations, hotel and transfers reservations.
         eLetter: manages electronic communications.
         eBroadway:  management and sales of ticket for shows.

For more information:
 mta@eventosdenegocios.com
skype: edn_soluciones_en_tic
www.EventosDeNegocios.com