The cloud market is growing at a break-neck speed, and there are no signs of a let up in the years to come. Cloud computing offers several benefits like affordability, security, and scalability. And, that is the reason why companies around the world are shifting their business operations to the cloud.
Cloud computing has been around for a pretty long time now. For example, the banking transaction we do on the internet, the music we listen to on the phone, and emails that we send and receive – all of it is managed and stored by cloud computing.
The cloud computing market is projected to touch $411 billion by 2020 (Gartner).
Cloud computing has the potential to solve all your IT infrastructure needs. With cloud computing in place, you don’t have to invest in costly IT infrastructure. And, it is just a myth that cloud computing is meant only for big businesses. Cloud computing has several benefits to offer to businesses both big and small.
So, what are the benefits of cloud computing? But before getting into the benefits of cloud computing, let us try to understand what is cloud computing.
What is cloud computing?
The use of various resources like software development platforms, software, storage, servers over the internet is called cloud computing. And, the companies that offer these services are known as cloud service providers. When it comes to cloud computing, you only have to pay for what you use. The cloud service providers generally manage the backend of the application (hardware), and you only have to pay for the services you use like bandwidth, processing time, memory, etc.
In cloud computing, you can run all your programs and applications over the internet. And, since you don’t have to invest in costly IT infrastructure, that is why you save so much money. That is why cloud computing is a boon for small and medium enterprises because businesses don’t need to arrange liquid funds to create the IT infrastructure.
Cloud computing is generally categorised into three main types – Infrastructure as a service or IaaS, Platform as a service or PaaS, and Software as a service or SaaS.
Benefits of cloud computing
Cloud computing has several benefits to offer to businesses both big and small. Here are some of the major benefits of cloud computing.
Cloud computing is/ offers:
Cost-efficient – Small and medium enterprises need to invest in the infrastructure set-up carefully. Putting in place the IT infrastructure and the team to run the show requires a lot of money upfront. And, many a time, arranging liquid funds becomes a problem for organisations that are starting their operations. And, cloud computing comes as a major respite for all such organisations that don’t want to invest big at the start. You are not required to invest big (or even small) when you start your operation in the cloud. All you have to pay for is what you use.
It is the responsibility of the cloud service provider to acquire the hardware, run it, maintain it, and upgrade it. All you have to pay for is the services you use, and that too in a convenient way – yearly, half-yearly, or monthly.
Scalable – At the start organisations have limited requirement, but as you grow, your needs grow. It means that as you grow, you need to increase and improve your IT resources (read infrastructure), employees, team collaboration, etc. But when you opt for cloud computing, you don’t have to worry about your growing needs because cloud computing offers scalable solutions. You don’t have to keep investing money to upgrade your IT resources every time your business operations grow. It is the responsibility of the cloud service provider to arrange all the resources for your organisation. For example, if your bandwidth requirement grows, your service provider will scale up your capacity. Likewise, if your requirements come down, your service provider can scale down your capacity.
Safe – Cloud computing is safe. Cloud providers take adequate measures to make sure that your data remain safe at all the times. You can put in place different security settings to keep your data protected from prying eyes. Also, encryption provides additional security to your data in the cloud. Your data remains safer in the cloud in comparison to the traditional on-site servers.
Mobility – Cloud computing can increase the productivity and efficiency of your team members because it offers them mobile access. Your team members can access the corporate data as and when they need it, and this helps them remain on the same page on any given subject. Those at a remote location and high-flying executives who are short on time can keep themselves updated on all the recent developments. It makes life much easier for your remote staff and freelancers who can remain equally productive. It also empowers your sales team because they have access to all the data on the move.
Increased collaboration – Cloud computing makes the process of collaboration seamless. It allows your mobile workforce and remote workers to access information seamlessly across devices making them more productive. With cloud computing, your team members can view and share all the information securely without any delay. Collaborating without cloud computing is not easy, and it is also not all that effective.
Disaster recovery – Data is important for every business, and that is why businesses need to invest in robust data recovery. But due to lack of expertise and liquid funds, it becomes difficult for smaller businesses to invest in data recovery. That is where cloud computing comes to the rescue of businesses. You can avail the cloud-based backup and recovery solutions which ensures that your data remains safe at all the times. Businesses not only save on time and third-party expertise, but they also don’t have to spend money on disaster recovery. Be it power outages or natural disasters; cloud computing offers a robust data recovery solution.
Document control – You need to have stringent document control in place when employees and partners from different region collaborate on documents. Earlier, employees used to send the documents back and forth as an email attachment for inputs and correction where only one person at a time could have given his or her views. All of this resulted in unnecessary confusion. But when businesses move their operations to the cloud, all your documents are stored at a central place and in a similar format. And, when people in your organisation access the same information, it helps you to maintain data consistency and eliminates human error. It improves collaboration which, of course, results in better outcomes.
Competitive edge – Businesses who have moved their operations to the cloud firmly believe that it has provided them with a competitive edge. With cloud computing, you get access to enterprise-class technology which helps small and medium companies to act faster than big and established corporates. When you opt for cloud computing, you get all the resources to compete with the big players.
In case you are planning to move your business operations to the cloud, and you are looking for a reliable cloud service provider, you can get in touch with vStacks Infotech now.
vStacks Infotech offers affordable and flexible cloud hosting solutions. We have the necessary experience and exposure in the software industry to take your business to the next level.
