The Cloud: Why Are So Many Midsize Businesses Investing In It?

Grazed from Midsize Insider. Author: Robert Lawson.

Small and midsize businesses of all types are investing in cloud computing operations in one way or another. But why? According to the Indiana Star, businesses have discovered that their customers demand a more streamlined approach that is integrated with their expectations. Internal operations also flow with less disruption. Employees find that data can be accessed much more quickly and more easily. Many businesses, however, still find it wise to be selective about which information, if any, is stored virtually.

Efficiency of Operation

As Forbes journalist Louis Columbus pointed out in the Roundup of Cloud Computing Forecasts Update for 2013, time to market, more flexible IT support for business strategies and faster response to competitive conditions are the secret ingredients to the success of the cloud. Businesses want systems that keep pace with their strategies. The Roundup cited data from studies done by Gartner, McKinsey and Company and others. Gartner predicted that the bulk of spending by 2016 will be on cloud computing platforms and applications…

Because of the massive amount of data being adopted at the current scale and speed, roughly two zettabytes (2 billion terabytes) of data exist in the digital world, and estimates predict that by 2020 more than 10 times that amount will be generated every year. The scalability and demand of this technology, along with expectations from businesses and customers, are signals that IT should be prepared to deal efficiently with more data than ever before. This technology is simply becoming the computing means by which most IT processes will be handled. As a result, however, policies regarding privacy, users and data will have to be consistently revisited…

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