Live poll: Is the cloud your business' next killer app?

The hosting of software and services in leased, private clouds is already a reality for many businesses worldwide. But the synchronization of confidential data is the next big step, and while technologists declare "the cloud" as something that is happening, like climate change, CIOs aren't always ready to take the plunge.

But services such as Microsoft Exchange synchronization are already among us. Is that a cloud app? Recently, Microsoft has been saying yes, as it rolls out its own leased Exchange hosting services to many classes of business, including SMBs. The difference between hosted Exchange and Exchange Server is that it's Microsoft that's doing the hosting. And in synchronization services such as those being constructed by Google and others, employees' data could follow them wherever they go, from their PCs to their Android phones and on the road. Almost like Eeyore, users wouldn't be able to escape the cloud over their heads.

Do you feel safe enough where, if your business made the decision to go with the cloud, you'd be happy to synchronize anyplace, anytime? That's the focus of today's Betanews Live Poll.