Service, Not Servers

"When your computer servers go down, so does your business. So why not toss your servers and keep your applications on the Web instead? Don't tell Joe Walker that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. The headquarters of his company, Elcometer, a manufacturer of testing equipment for paints and coatings based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, was hit by lightning three consecutive years starting in 2001. In the first two cases, the resulting electrical surges knocked out the building's power and completely fried every electronic device--including the company's computer servers, which stored critical information such as inventory numbers and customer contacts. Both times, business ground to a halt for 10 days as the company's tech team scrambled to restore the systems ... Elcometer's Walker admits that he was nervous about keeping his data on the Web. But he's thankful that the decision has saved him from worrying about the nagging problems of maintaining his hardware--not to mention the weather."