What is Cloud Computing and How Does it Matter to Business

Cloud computing is becoming the go-to technology for almost every business now. It’s a scalable, easy-to-use IT architecture that confers a variety of benefits to every organization. Then again, to some, it’s still a simple buzzword and they feel like it has no value to them whatsoever.

If you’re one of the latter, let’s change your mind. The cloud is one of the most powerful inventions of recent history. What is cloud computing? Why does it matter to your business? From secure financial services to Fortune 500 companies, this is why cloud systems are crucial for your success.

What is Cloud Computing?

To simplify, cloud computing is the delivery of several IT and computing services over the internet. These services can be anything from cloud-based desktops, servers, storage, analytics, and even business intelligence. Most of these services use a “pay as you go” model – your costs scale with your usage.

Rather than buying your own data center and building your own IT infrastructure, the cloud allows you to rent everything you would need to continue your business. Cloud service providers provide companies a variety of benefits, including removing the several magnitudes of complexity that comes with an IT infrastructure.

These services are non-proprietary, which means everything passes through a third-party service to help keep business integrity. Cloud computing does all the heavy lifting that traditional server farms will do for your business, making services available to anyone in the world.

Cloud also works both for private and public users rather than simply for enterprise clients, Public cloud services provide system services over the internet for a fee or subscription. Private cloud limits their service to some clientele, usually from a system of networks. There are also hybrid services that offer both public and private cloud.

What Can Cloud Services Do For Your Business

Now that you know what cloud computing is, why does it matter to your business? Cloud-based software offers several benefits to almost every business. Every sector can find something useful in the cloud, including the use of software applications from any device at any point in the world.

These benefits come with a cloud service’s native app or via an internet browser, which allows businesses to carry their settings and files anywhere they want.

1.    Cloud Storage

One of the most common business uses of cloud computing is simple cloud storage. If you have used online services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Mega, these are all cloud storage services. If your business relies on a remote team of workers or you simply want convenience, cloud storage is for you.

Most services offer several layers of cloud data protection for businesses to protect valuable files and information. Both consumer-level and enterprise-level cloud allow you to store almost anything in it. Most small businesses use cloud storage servers to encourage collaboration between their employees, including real-time file sharing.

A business can create a near-infinite amount of settings on their cloud, including private cloud hosting. The limits of cloud storage depend on the amount that your service provider bundles with their options. Regardless, the level of flexibility that cloud storage gives your organization can help increase productivity.

2.     Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS)

Among the most fundamental uses of cloud computing for business is a service called Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). IaaS offers useful IT infrastructure services to a business, including compute and networking resources. In simpler terms, this service provides you everything that a data center can give your business.

These come on a pay-as-you-go basis, according to the needs of the business. Not all businesses need complex data centers, but any business could use a central server and various software to operate. This makes IaaS scalable, growing in use as your business grows too.

Organizational migration to cloud offers a variety of advantages, which includes reducing upfront costs for hardware, software, and in-house teams. You also reduce the level of maintenance that you have to perform for your in-house infrastructure, as well as real-time insights into your business.

There are many use cases for IaaS for every business size available. You can use these cloud systems for testing and development, web apps, high-compute modules, or even lift-and-shift system migration.

3.     Cloud Backups

For organizations that rely on their data, using the cloud as a backup system is the simplest way to protect your information. Cloud backups are easy, quick to complete, and take very little setup. Depending on your needs, you can use it to save anything from media to raw data used in a data lake.

Cloud-based backups are a powerful solution for several sectors, which include financial, insurance, data science, and business intelligence. Any business that needs to make sure they can have zero downtime from loss of client data can make the most use of cloud backups.

All stored files will always be available and backup scheduling is also possible. Information storage is secure too, so you can protect it not only from prying eyes but potential cybersecurity threats. Cloud backup services mostly use high-level encryption to prevent unauthorized use of your data.

4.     Testing and Virtualization

As we noted before, cloud storage can provide a testing platform for your organization. This is an effective solution for companies that need to test new programs, applications, and even processes. Doing so can help with system virtualization, adding data sets, and running the environment without rolling it out into your organization.

Cloud offers easy to access system performance that you can use in isolation. You can test apps before sending them to a client or see how features behave within an isolated environment. Once you’re done with the testing, you can then uninstall the testing environment, put back system resources into the pool and start a new environment.

If quality assurance and quality control is a crucial process in your business, the cloud can give you ways to simulate your data without taxing your local IT infrastructure.

The Bottom Line

Cloud computing is a powerful technology that offers ubiquitous services to any business. Whether you’re a small team or a big organization, you’ll find a good use for the cloud. Use it to simulate your data center, save your files, backup your crucial data, or as a testing environment.

Start your cloud services today. Make the best of the cloud and you won’t go back. The possibilities on how it can help you grow and increase productivity are practically endless.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kat Sarmiento is a Molecular Biology Scientist turned Growth Marketing Scientist. During her free time, she loves to write articles that will bring delight, empower women, and spark the business mind. She loves to bake but unfortunately, baking doesn’t love her back. She has many things in her arsenal and writing is one of her passion projects.