Will the cloud solve all your desktop support problems? Probably not.

See discussion: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/05/31/0332220/it-desktop-support-to-be-wiped-out-thanks-to-cloud-computing

For the SMB, many of whom are just beginning to adopt cloud services in their organizations, the cloud will change nothing with respect to desktop support.  The cloud can actually, in some cases, increase the complexity of serving the needs of SMBs.  The modern desktop support tech needs to not only be versed in the onsite needs of the SMB, but also be familiar with the most popular cloud-based productivity services: Office 365, GoogleApps, Lync, Symantec.cloud, etc.

The future of computing probably sees us moving towards dumb-teminals and 100% cloud services.  When we get to that point, services must still be configured and maintained for users IN THE CLOUD.  The role of desktop wupport will change at that point.  Three things must happen first – internet bandwidth and speeds must increase, QOS must improve, and the price of dumb terminals must come down.  I see it on the horizon for the SMB, realistically, in the next two years. The adoption rate will be much slower than that, however.

Be careful when choosing your IT provider.  It is imperative you make the right choice, expecially if you have adopted cloud-based services to offset your on-premise services.  The industry is changing rapidly.  The driving force behind all of these changes are efficiency and price, but IT can turn into a very costly endeavor very quickly if your trusted IT provider is behind the eight ball.

TRA