Changing to the cloud offers several benefits. Nowadays cloud computing is the trend. Due to the pandemic, many organizations have moved to the cloud to ensure business continuity. As Flexera reports, 50% of decision-makers have confirmed that cloud usage will increase. Moving to the cloud is referred to as cloud migration. In this process, the on-premise servers and IT infrastructure are moved to the cloud. We’ll look at some cloud basics first, then we’ll go into the advantages of cloud computing.
What Advantages Do Switching To The Cloud Provide?
- Cloud-based Services
- Cloud Computing types
- Benefits of moving to the cloud
- Business Challenges of moving to the cloud
Cloud-based Services
Cloud computing includes three main services. The three services differ from each other according to business requirements.
Software as a service (SaaS): this service provides third-party software over the Internet. For example, Google Apps, Salesforce, MailChimp, and HubSpot.
Platform as a service (PaaS): this service provides hardware and software tools for development. For example, Windows Azure, Force.com, Apache OpenShift, etc.
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): it provides cloud infrastructure for the organization. It provides a pay-as-you-go model in which organizations and businesses can be able to use the infrastructure according to their needs.
Cloud Computing types
There are three main types of cloud computing. The way the data is accessible varies between these categories.
Public cloud
The public cloud provides data over the Internet. Anyone using cloud services can access this data. For example, Facebook and LinkedIn are the best examples of public clouds. Most are free for cloud customers and some offer subscription plans.
Private cloud
Private clouds are for corporate use only. Each cloud provides service to the same organization and does not allow access to users outside the organization.
Hybrid cloud
There are both public and private clouds in it. This cloud provides features of both private and public clouds. Large organizations use hybrid clouds to store their important data in the private cloud and the rest of the services in the public cloud.
Benefits of moving to the cloud
Businesses would be wise to invest in moving to the cloud. Some people may think that going to the cloud is risky for data loss, but a proper cloud backup and storage solution is essential to improve the business in many aspects. Here are a few advantages of using the cloud.
Flexibility
The cloud has huge storage space. It also provides solutions as per requirements for business. These solutions are staff efficient as well as satisfying customers. Flexible storage allows businesses to expand according to their needs. Employees can work together efficiently as all necessary resources and data are available on the cloud.
Reliability
The cloud is reliable because even when one server is down we can access data and resources from another server. Therefore, the cloud keeps data and resources safe even when the server is down.
Cost-saving
Businesses would be wise to invest in moving to the cloud. All data and resources are kept in one place and only the organization can access them, this will not only save money but also save time. Moving to the cloud will also reduce hardware costs for the IT infrastructure. Therefore, businesses save maintenance costs of servers. You need no IT person to manage the server. In addition, the cloud offers pay-as-you-go Services where you will only pay for the features your business needs. Therefore, the organization does not have to waste money on resources they are not using.
Ease of access
Since all data and resources are available on the cloud, it becomes easy to access them on any device from anywhere. Employees can now access data from their portable devices. This benefit allows employees to work remotely and will help employees who travel frequently. Ease of access increases productivity as well as improves employee satisfaction.
Reduced Risk of Data Loss
When all your data and resources are moved to the cloud, you can access them even if your desktop or laptop fails to work. Cloud computing also offers some solutions for data recovery and security. For example, cloud computing offers a disaster recovery solution that applies to businesses of all types and sizes. This feature ensures that users can access the data even after a machine failure. All you need is a working desktop or laptop with access to the internet.
Environmental Benefit
Since moving to the cloud will eliminate most of the hardware, this will reduce environmental waste. Moving to the cloud also generates a paperless environment.
Security
Cloud computing has high security. Cloud hosts primarily focus on data and resource security and ensure security is monitored at all times. There is a data encryption process in the cloud that does not allow unauthorized users to access data. Likewise, there are many hosts that offer unique security to their users.
Instant Access
If data and resources are available on the cloud. It makes it easy for users to access and retrieve from any location at any time. Because the cloud is always on and the data is available at all times. Users need a stable internet connection to access data.
Fewer Issues
Cloud is easier to manage than IT infrastructure. If there is a problem or bug, cloud computing hosts start working on the problem when it is detected. So, if there is a bug in the cloud system then the host starts working on the situation even before you know about the problem. If there is a bug or problem on the server or IT infrastructure. The problem-solving process can take hours and you will need an IT professional service provider to fix the problem.
Data Monitoring
Data monitoring is one of the main features of cloud computing. You can monitor all your data instantly at any time.
Instant Collaboration
Employees working in different locations can still collaborate easily. Cloud computing provides syncing and sharing of records in real time.
Business Challenges of moving to the cloud
Many organizations and businesses are moving towards the cloud but they face some challenges during the digital transformation. Here are some common challenges that businesses face.
Cost
Cloud computing is cost effective but migrating to the cloud sometimes seems expensive. Some of the costs of migration include.
- Redeveloping application architecture to meet cloud requirements.
- Inventing staff and resources for a successful migration.
- After transferring the system to the cloud, new systems should be introduced to employees and appropriate training should be conducted.
- Organizations may face some issues like latency, performance, non-cloud application dependencies, etc.
- Bandwidth costs may increase.
Legacy Applications
When moving data and applications to the cloud there are some applications that cannot be moved to the cloud environment. These applications are known as legacy applications. Businesses with outdated applications should modernize their IT infrastructure.
Conclusion
Although moving to the cloud might be tough, the firm will expand much more quickly. It is convenient, flexible, and reliable. Many companies have migrated to the cloud during the pandemic period for business continuity. Cloud computing comes with different cloud services for different types of businesses. Cloud computing has high security of data and resources and with the help of cloud, we can access data from anywhere at any time.
