Published on February 2nd, 2016 | by Guest

Importance of Cloud Technology for businesses

Anywhere you look, you’ll find one thing for sure i.e. data! Our world is being increasingly converted into data and information. And this transformation has brought forth another major issue of storage and security of the data. There has been evolution of data storage and management options and today we live in times where a new phenomenon is setting the standards for the future – Cloud Technology. In simple terms, it is relieving yourself of the burden and responsibility of managing the ever increasing datasets.

What is Cloud Technology?

Cloud Technology is provision of various critical and noncritical services via internet. That means that the entire operation takes place on the web, thus reducing the offline load. You can use centrally hosted software, store and access data from anywhere and expand your business quickly as setting up new infrastructure is too easy.

Pros of the Cloud

Security – The data is well protected.
Disaster management and recovery of data – There is redundancy of data storage so as to mitigate any damage due to crash of servers. Offline storage of redundant information takes more space and is inconvenient for small and medium businesses. There is provision of online backup too.
Cost effective – It costs very less. It saves the most during expansion of operations as you can save on hardware and software, server maintenance, etc. many small businesses cannot invest capital on some critical offline services. Cloud saves the day for them.
Flexible – You can access the data 24×7.
Expansion – becomes smooth, quick and hassle free as physically developing new infrastructure is avoided.

Business using Cloud

Cloud is considered ideal for businesses be it small, medium or large. With the above benefits and types of services, each kind of business can find something useful in cloud. Following are some compelling reasons for using cloud technology for business.

Software on Cloud – It becomes much easier and cost efficient to use ready-to-use and centrally hosted software than investing on a new offline one. Also, cloud helps accessing the software instantly as per need, thus saving time and money needed to increase number of users in traditional installations, etc. Traditional offline use lets you use the applications and software on specific machines where they are installed. Cloud gives you access from any machine having an internet connection.
Data on Cloud – Cloud not only helps with web applications but also hosts your large and ever increasing datasets. They provide easy and authorized access to your data, thus ensuring security of the data. It is also cost efficient and reduces the burden of maintaining data storage centres and specialists.
Any service on Cloud – Above two and many other services like networking, data synch, online backup, anywhere access, etc. help you set up the entire infrastructure of your business.
Expansion – Expansion is real easy as compared to traditional increase in physical space, money, software licenses, machines, etc.

Cloud Storage for Your Business

Businesses would greatly profit from using the Cloud technology as their storage options. Whatever we do nowadays, everything is some or the other way related to the cloud. So using cloud storage is the most obvious choice nowadays and looking at its advantages, it will be a norm in the near future.

Public Cloud – Here static data which changes less often can be stored. Made available by third party for a subscription, this cloud storage service is provided by companies like Microsoft, Rackspace, AT&T, etc.
Private Cloud – In this service, a cloud is specifically made for an organisation which hosts its data and applications. The organisation has complete control over the cloud.
Hybrid Cloud – This features best of both public and private cloud storage. It is used for expansion as well as maintaining control over the data.

Should you go for it?

The day is not far off, when everything migrates to cloud. This is the future of data storage and business infrastructure. By starting on the cloud or migrating right now, you will save a lot of efforts, time and money as compared to what you might need later. Since all will be soon on the cloud, compatibility will be a big issue if you keep with the traditional options.

About the author:

Mauricio is passionate about all things cloud. He’s been writing and creating videos for Cloudwards for the last three years. You can follow him on YouTube to check out his helpful tutorials.

Tags: business, cloud, importance, technology