A new generation of ambitious young businesses are harnessing cloud computing and software-as-a-service to punch above their weight. While larger, more established enterprises struggle to master the always-on, 24x7 information streams of today's global business economy, their smaller rivals are taking advantage of new, online models to wean customers away.

 MyVenturePad's new eBook, OnDemand: Soaring with the Cloud  based on September's virtual summit of the same name tells the story of this new generation of high-energy business innovators. Among the tips and takeaways to be gleaned from this invaluable resource, the following key points stand out.

 Command world-class infrastructure. Even the smallest start-up can now command powerful, robust computing infrastructure without having to pay any of the upfront cost of building it themselves. Cloud providers operate a single, shared infrastructure that delivers world-class capabilities to every one of their hundreds or thousands of customers. "We have the same functionality at our disposal now," says Brent Leary, partner at CRM Essentials. "We're not only competing with folks that are our size, we're able to compete with big guys now."

 Reduce your outlay. It costs far less to get started because the technology is already in operation, while running costs are lower than conventional in-house computing, too. Cloud computing delivers "more efficiency and lower cost" says Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings. 

 Extend your reach and scope. When you're connected into the cloud, you can plug in capabilities as needed to supplement your in-house resources anything from raw computing power to on-demand professional services.

 Scale without limits. Cloud platforms have the capacity to expand as you grow without having to stop to upgrade every few years. For biotech company Living Proof, implementing a cloud-based business system "provided the horsepower of a very large platform, a large system, with essentially minimal cost to really get it up and running," says Jon Shore, VP finance and operations.

Deploy instantly. Instead of planning implementations for months in advance, start as rapidly as possible and add more functions as you go. "Six weeks after the license was signed, we went live on the system with our most essential business process," says Todd Smith, vice president and corporate controller at telecoms business IntelePeer.

Constantly refresh what you can do. With software as a service, the latest capabilities are constantly being pushed out to businesses as part of the continuous upgrade regimen. This forces them to stay up-to-date with the latest business practices, says Deborah Farrington, co-founder and general partner at Starvest Partners: "It's one of the soft, non-quantifiable but extremely beneficial advantages."

Innovate your business processes. Having easy access to new ways of doing things is a powerful catalyst for business transformation. "It's really allowed us to innovate in areas that we wouldn't have, as far as process, procedure and policy goes," says Jim O'Neill, CIO of inbound marketing provider HubSpot, which runs its operations entirely on cloud services.

Engage directly with customers. Being in the cloud gives you a direct connection to your customers, especially when using emerging social media techniques such as Twitter and FaceBook. These new forms of interaction are hugely valuable, says Drugstore.com's director of customer care Lisa Larsen: "You do it well, you do it honestly and openly, and you're going to create relationships."

Measure performance in real-time. The on-demand model provides real-time metrics and analytics that businesses can use to monitor their performance and instantly take action to fine-tune the results they're achieving. The same analytics show very plainly exactly how much value their on-demand cloud solutions are delivering.

These are just a sampling of the benefits that on-demand services can bring to ambitious, high-growth businesses. Read the eBook for more insight into how the cloud is supercharging the success strategies of tomorrow's business leaders. Complimentary download is availabe here.