Local servers are outdated. Though many businesses may still have rooms filled with local servers, cloud computing is the way of the future.
Cloud computing was introduced around two decades back and ever since business operations have never been the same again. So what is cloud computing and what are the benefits of cloud computing?
Before we go ahead, let us first learn what is cloud computing in simple terms?
What is cloud computing in simple terms?
Cloud computing follows a pay-as-you-use pricing model for delivering IT resources over the Internet. It involves the delivery of computing services like servers, storage, databases, networking, software etc. over the Internet.
The user is normally required to pay only for the cloud services they avail and use. This helps in lowering the cost of operations and running the infrastructure more efficiently.
It offers scalability to business operations. The cloud is a powerhouse that helps in running the business effectively and efficiently, hence it is not surprising that the computing it offers has its own share of benefits.
Benefits of Cloud Computing
Below mentioned are some of the benefits of Cloud Computing
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Cost Reduction
Shifting to cloud computing helps in reducing the cost of managing and maintaining the IT infrastructure. Instead of investing in expensive systems and equipment for the business, with cloud computing the business can use the resources of the cloud computing service provider and pay only for the resources used.
Once the business moves its operations to the cloud, it can easily access the company’s data from the cloud and save time and money in project startups. Most cloud-computing services are pay as you go which means if a business does not use the services offered by the cloud, it won’t have to pay for them.
The pay-as-you-go system is also applicable to the data storage space required for servicing the stakeholders and clients. It means that the business will get as much space as required and not be charged for space that is not used.
Cloud computing helps in reducing the cost of IT infrastructure as
- the cost of system upgradation or installing new hardware and software are all included in cloud computing services
- the business is no longer required to pay salaries to staff for managing IT infrastructure
- the energy consumption costs ate reduced as the resources are outsourced
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Scalability
Scalability is the ability of a product or service to magnify its impact on the customers and meet their demands or requirements. Scalability is one of the key benefits of cloud computing that can help increase business efficiency.
By availing of cloud computing services a business can scale its operations and storage needs to match its requirements. It allows flexibility as the needs change. Instead of investing in buying and installing expensive technology and upgrades, the cloud computing service provider handles it for the business.
Each company or business has different IT requirements. A large organization of 1000+ employees will have different IT requirements as compared to a start-up.
Cloud computing services enable companies to efficiently and quickly scale their IT departments based on business demands.
Cloud computing solutions are perfect for businesses that are growing or have changing bandwidth demands. This ability to scale the business operations and requirements help in minimizing the risks associated with in-house operational issues and maintenance.
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Security
The biggest concern for most businesses whether big or small is the security of their data. Breach of data security or any other form of cyber-attack can have a devastating impact on the company’s revenue, customer faith and brand image.
Cloud computing can help lessen the risk associated with Data Security. As per a report published by RapidScale, 94% of businesses that switched to the cloud witnessed an improvement in the security of their data.
Though many businesses believe that since the cloud is an open platform it is accessible and can be easily hacked, the truth is that it is difficult to access or hack a cloud territory. The cloud is heavily encrypted, and the files or data can be transferred without any chance of being hacked.
Cloud storage offers baseline protections like authentication, access control, and encryption of the data stored and transferred.
A cloud computing service provider’s full-time job is to carefully monitor security that is significantly more efficient than a traditional in-house IT system whose focus is on several IT issues and requirements, security being only one of them.
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Disaster recovery
The biggest disaster faced by a company is “loss of data.” Cloud helps in storing backed up data, this helps companies to recover their lost data easily and securely in case of any loss.
The cloud helps in reducing the time wasted on technical errors or lags which are almost 6 hours a week. Losing 6 hours is like losing almost one full day of work.
Storing data on the cloud guarantees that the data would always be available, even if the laptops or PCs are damaged. Cloud computing services offer quick data recovery in any emergency whether a natural disaster or power outage.
If a business follows the traditional on-premises approach, the data is stored locally on the office computers. Despite the best care computers can malfunction and the data can be lost permanently.
However, if the data is uploaded to the cloud and something happens to a computer, the data can be accessed from any device connected to the internet.
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Competitive Edge
Not every company or business has migrated its business to the cloud. Organizations that have migrated to the cloud have started experiencing the benefits of the cloud and see the positive impact on their business.
As companies have started realizing the benefits of cloud computing, each year there is an increase in the number of companies moving towards the cloud.
If your business implements a cloud solution now, your business will get an opportunity to stay ahead of the competitors.
There are several businesses that still prefer to keep everything local. It is their choice however by not shifting to the cloud they are at a huge disadvantage while competing with those businesses which are harnessing the benefits of cloud computing.
By implementing a cloud-based solution before its competition, a business can have the opportunity to climb the learning curve by the time they catch up
A study conducted by Verizon showed that 77% of businesses agreed that cloud technology gave them a competitive advantage while 16% of them believed that the advantage was significant.
Conclusion
As seen above the benefits of cloud computing are vast, they expand beyond the mentioned above in the article. Many businesses are fast realizing the importance of the cloud and are becoming less and less dependent on on-premises IT systems.
Companies have realized the benefits of cloud computing and have understood how it impacts their production, collaboration, security and revenue.
