Cloud computing.

• Position: TRENDS IN TECH

Cloud computing has boomed in the last year at Englewood-based Statera, an IT consulting firm with five offices. "It's probably at least a third of our business," says Brad Weydert, Statera's president. "Last year it just exploded. It's not just hype anymore."

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Largely implementing name-brand cloud computing solutions from Salesforce.com and Microsoft Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS), Statera worked on a number of large projects for Fortune 500 companies in the last year. "Cloud computing is prime time now," Weydert says. "It's not a risk anymore. Security is there, integration with other apps is there. It's not just early adopters anymore. Now you're seeing government moving to the cloud. You're seeing hospitals moving to the cloud. There's peace of mind."

The benefits of cloud computing are many. "You can access your system anywhere, anytime," Weydert says. "You don't have to hire an IT staff. You don't have to invest in hardware. It's like electricity and the light switch: You just flip it and away you go."

Not only is cloud computing cheaper than traditional computing on a per-user basis, but it's also easier to implement than previous solutions. Instead of a two-year installation of a CRM system, "You can be up and running in three to six...