A growing buzz around cloud computing means almost everyone has heard about the topic. On top of that, the most famous digital companies use it in their operations. Instagram, for instance, used a public cloud to store users’ photos, until the app was bought by Facebook and storage shifted to the social media giant’s private cloud. Why did they make this decision, and how can you get an understanding of which cloud computing option is the best fit for a particular company? Let’s dive deeper into cloud computing and look at everything we know about the cloud.
What Is Cloud Computing?
Oxford Dictionary defines cloud computing as the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.
Let’s look at Microsoft’s definition of cloud computing. Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services such as servers, storage, networking, software, databases, and analytics over the internet in order to provide flexible resources, rapid innovation, and economies at scale.
As such, cloud computing is simply the act of storing and processing your data somewhere “in the cloud” rather than on your local server.
Benefits of Cloud Computing for Every Company
Here’s a list of the top-10 main advantages of cloud computing:
Business Benefits of Cloud Computing
I Simplified Service Maintenance
If you have a remote server, you have to look after it. Every time there is a small issue, you have to ask the tech department’s help. The tech department is usually extremely busy with other tasks, so you have two scenarios: they will fix the problem much later, or they will not bother to fix things until it is a bigger issue that affects everyone.
When you use a cloud platform, the company that runs your server has only one objective: to run and maintain the server. So, if any issue arises, they will start working on it immediately. Therefore, you will get your bugs fixed quickly, and you will not have to wait for a small bug to turn into a major one that will require more effort and money.
II Easy Application Integration
You do not need to manually integrate new software as it was necessary with on-premises software. With cloud computing, the integration is easy thanks to the extensive support from cloud vendors like Microsoft with Microsoft Azure and Amazon with AWS. However, keep in mind that you would need to retrain your tech team so they can effectively maintain the system.
On the one hand, it offers huge advantages because you don’t need to buy expensive hardware, hire more team members to operate it or worry about any possible physical damages or problems like an electrical outage. On the other hand, your data is stored somewhere else, and the value of the data is a key factor: Is it going to be secure?
Leading cloud services providers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon say yes. These tech giants assure clients that they provide a highly secure environment by offering a set of policies, technologies, and controls to strengthen their security.
Financial Benefits of Cloud Computing
III Minimized Investments
The economic or cost benefits of cloud computing are the main reason why so many businesses choose this approach. We have already mentioned that you do not have to fix big issues that cost a lot of money and requires the tech department to step away from their more important tasks. However, there is more to that.
You can also have an easier start if you are new to the industry or the owner of a small business. You do not have to pay for the server start or the tech team who can run it.
IV Go Green
Cloud servers help decrease the carbon footprint since businesses do not need data centers, and increased collaborations online do not require printouts. This is not only good for the environment but also for your wallet.
According to Microsoft, cloud storage is 79–93% more energy efficient compared to traditional storage. And having some underwater datacenters, Microsoft finds them reliable, practical, and energy-efficient.
Security Benefits of Cloud Computing
V Improved Safety
There are a lot of physical issues that can happen to your storage: there can be a natural disaster, power outage, or a fatal computer malfunction.
Cloud storage providers use back-ups on additional remote servers and perform a security check much more often. So, your files are safer than they could ever be on a local server, contrary to popular belief that cloud storage is riskier.
VI Critical Documents Under Control
With local servers, you can never know who has the document and what they will do with it. Cloud computing allows you to control access to documents with sensitive data and see how and when the document was changed and by whom. You will not have to forward countless versions of the same document: shared editing allows you to have just one.
Keeping the information in the cloud has various benefits for the healthcare industry. It allows for greater reach, especially during a disaster. Medical professionals can consult with each other, keep each other updated on the disaster victim’s condition, or send additional resource requests. Such quick access to data offered by cloud computing can impact the victim’s life.
VII Software Updates Are Automatic
Maintaining a local server requires regular checks and updates. Thus tech team needs to devote time and effort to perform these tasks manually. Cloud storage providers save companies time and money by updating the software and security measures themselves.
Benefits of Virtualization in Cloud Computing
VIII More Space for Collaborations
Cloud computing means stress-free file sharing and editing in real-time. There is no need to send numerous emails or set frequent meetings. One of the main cloud computing benefits that affect all the aspects of the business is that employees from all over the world can collaborate very easily and efficiently.
Read the full article on ModLogix
Originally published at https://modlogix.com on November 2, 2020.
