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Top Benefits Of Cloud Computing For Every Business

Cloud computing has undoubtedly revolutionized the entire IT industry. It allows businesses to create ‘virtual offices’ giving the option to work at flexible timings and allowing them to access their data from anywhere. Following are some of the top benefits that cloud computing has given the IT industry.

1) Cost Reduction

Financial matters are a concern for both large IT firms as well as smaller start-ups. Cloud computing can help lower costs in several ways; It could replace the older method of keeping physical records and hence save the cost that would be used to update, arrange or keep up these records.

There is also no need to worry about purchasing equipment, software or latest updates because cloud computing software does that for you with automatic software updates and built-in tools. Cloud services usually charge monthly or yearly which is convenient as you can pay according to usage.

2) Flexibility At Work

Cloud is a revolution that has freed office staff from their work desks, since cloud networking is most commonly Web – based, meaning that IT users can access their data anytime, anywhere. This gives them the option to work from home, when they’re stuck in traffic or while travelling.

One of such offerings of cloud computing is the managed cloud services, which not only let you avail the lightening fast workability of the cloud but also, manage your cloud oriented systems so that you can work without worrying about system management.

3) It’s Easier To Manage Data

This saves both time and money. Cloud solutions are easy to use and make it simple to manage records. This saves the effort of an in-house data manager and the cost of hiring one.

On the other hand, Cloud technology opens up new job opportunities by allowing businesses to depend and trust on outsourcing of IT administration and system operations. These days there are managed service providers present that acquire outsourcing work from companies and offers a steady, reliable and cheap alternative to in-house IT teams and staff.

4) It Allows Co-ordination

It is difficult to collect experts in one place, but it is possible to do so online. Cloud also allows professionals online to share data and work together on a project. Professionals from different time zones are able to access and send data to be received at run – time.

This increases the efficiency and quality of products. This feature also births scalability and mobility of the cloud which is can commonly be experienced in managed cloud services where systems, databases, and serves are remotely managed by the service providers.

5) Increases Competition

With the cost reduction and the speed that cloud networking provides, smaller businesses are now able to compete with larger, more established ones. This is because cloud technology gives both equal opportunities and facilities.

This encourages start-ups, increases competition between IT firms and, therefore, helps the IT industry to grow on the whole.

6) Information Security

Perhaps the most important feature of cloud is that if a machine breaks, gets lost or stolen; the data will still be accessible online. Data is important because it is the result of a lot of time and effort and is typically quite valuable and cloud is the best way to make sure that your data stays safe and accessible.

Therefore, cloud computing is not just beneficial, but essential to any company or industry that wishes to keep up with modern times.

Cloud Computing: The Ins and Outs

Cloud computing has gained significant popularity over the past few years because of its self service capacity, flexibility, affordability, scalability and its pay as you go service model. You may have also heard cloud computing referred to as the cloud, cloud hosting, cloud server hosting and etc. These terms have been thrown around so much and most do not even know exactly what it means. So what is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is unlike traditional hosting alternatives that use a single dedicated server, as cloud computing uses virtualization technology to pool or share resources from an underlying network of physical servers. In other words, a group of physical servers acts like one big server to bring you the resources that you need on demand. Cloud computing delivers shared computing resources, data or software through the Internet; which is the most common way of accessing the cloud. However, intranets and dedicated networks are also used too. Resources provided by the cloud include: networks, servers, storage, platforms, applications and other services. And these resources are shared between people and organizations, and accessed by applications or users.

The Five Main Characteristic of Cloud Computing

In cloud computing, there are five fundamental characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting alternatives, including rapid elasticity, broad network access, on-demand self-service, resource pooling, and measured service.

· On-Demand Self-Service

With cloud computing’s on demand self service, you are able to access email, applications, network or server services without human interaction. Simply set up an account with the seller, create billing and security credentials, and select the cloud computing resources that you will need. Generally this is all done by utilizing a user friendly and easily accessible web-based self-service portal.

· Broad Network Access

Cloud computing services are available over a network, either over a dedicated network, the Internet or the Intranet. These services can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, anytime on any device or workstation, with the right credentials of course.

· Resource Pooling

Cloud computing provides multiple customers the same physical resources, however, with a a separate environment for each client. And the resources from these physical servers can be pooled from various servers, in various data centers, in various locations. And if a server in your network goes offline, then your virtual server will pool resources from another server in your physical network. Even if an entire data center in your network is down, then your resources are pooled from various data centers in various locations. This structure allows for decreased risk in the instance of failure.

· Rapid Elasticity

Perhaps one of the essential benefits of cloud computing is the flexibility that it provides to users, as cloud resources can be rapidly and elastically supplied to quickly scale out and in to meet demand. In other words, you get the resources that you need when you need them.

· Measured Service

Cloud computing leverages metering capabilities to measure your usage of resources, allowing you to only pay for what you are using. In other words, just like a utility bill you will only be charged for what you use, nothing more nothing less.

The 3 Main Cloud Computing Service Models

In cloud computing, there are three main service models. They are Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).

· Software as a Service (SaaS) is the most extensively used cloud computing service model. SaaS allows developers and organizations to utilize business specific applications developed by third parties. In a SaaS model the vendor hosts both the application and the data, and the end user is free to use the services from anywhere. SaaS is not your average on premise software, as it is deployed over a network, generally the web, accessible via browser or program interface. Services can be anything from email to inventory control to database processing. Some examples include: Salesforce.com, Zoho, and Netsuite. The service level coverage provided includes: application uptime and performance.

· Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a type of cloud computing that provides users with software development tools that are hosted on a cloud provider’s infrastructure. In a PaaS environment, developers can leverage the resources of a cloud provider to create and host applications on their platforms over the Internet. The greatest benefit derived from PaaS is that users can run existing or develop new applications without being concerned about the maintenance of server hardware, operating systems, load balancing or computing capacity. In other words, you can unload the responsibility of owning, managing, and operating systems software and hardware to your service provider. The types of services provided can be anything from RunTime scenario, cloud storage, integration and etc. Some examples of PaaS are Google App Engine, Windows Azure and Force.com. The service level coverage provided includes: environment availability, environment performance and no application coverage.

· Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a form of cloud computing that provides users with networks, storage, virtualized servers and systems software that give you all the functionalities of an entire data center. In other words, you are able to use computers that your service provider owns, manages and operates. Resources should encompass servers, storage, vendor managed network and virtualization layers so that your network architect is able to run your application and data. All the while, you will have control over operating systems and deployed applications. Types of services provided: cloud storage and virtual server. Some examples: Amazon Web Services, RackSpace Cloud and Go Grid. The service level coverage provided includes: virtual server availability, time to provision and no platform or application coverage.

The Three Major Cloud Solutions

There are many types of cloud strategies to employ. There are three main types of cloud solutions, including: public, private and hybrid cloud solutions.

· Public Cloud

When people think of the term cloud, more often than not they are referring to the public cloud. A public cloud solution is shared by thousands of customers worldwide and is available to anyone on the Internet. This is the easiest and most cost effective cloud strategy to employ. However, because you share the cloud with the public, you do not want to keep sensitive information here.

· Private Cloud

When your organization has sensitive data, privacy fears are a leading issue. This is where a private cloud will come into use. A private cloud is either a proprietary network or a data center that provides hosted services to just a single customer. In a private cloud setup, you must either lease or supply the hardware that will be used. Not to mention you can either manage some or all of your IT resources in-house or managed externally. For businesses that are in highly regulated industries where security is paramount, a private cloud solution is the only alternative. The benefits of a private cloud solution include: no restrictions of network bandwidth, security vulnerabilities, and legal concerns that utilizing a public cloud might encompass. It can also have improved security, accountability, and resiliency than a public cloud because use can be contained and managed. Some disadvantages are that a large capital investment is required, time to market can average 6-36 months to establish and the learning curve is great.

· Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud is a combination of a public and a private cloud and is considered to be the best of both worlds. A hybrid cloud solution allows you to keep all of your secure data in a private cloud setting, while getting high usability of mobile and web based access to corporate applications. In most cases, a hybrid cloud solution that combines the advantages of both private and public clouds works rather well for a bulk of businesses. Some advantages of a hybrid cloud solution include: no vendor lock in, minimizes the risk of data loss and/or downtime, save the extra cost of purchasing exclusive server hardware and get fairly reliable connectivity, even in case of outages. One major disadvantage is that a hybrid cloud solution is very expensive.

Cloud Computing and Its Impact on Your Business

The term ‘Cloud Computing’ is one of the most echoed buzzwords in the recent times’ technological expansion. Deliberately or accidentally, you come across cloud storage and cloud computing in everyday life, provided that you are active in the online e-commerce domain.

To be more specific, a majority of people make use of various online video calling facilities like Skype or might regularly access emails for business transactions and also for personal use through Gmail or Yahoo! Here, you access the data or the resources which are lying on a cloud storage environment.

What is cloud computing?

In simple terms, Cloud computing implies delivering hosted services like computing resources or data storage capacity across the Internet. The end-user just needs to have a computer and a high-speed internet access to connect to the cloud where services and resources are shared.

Cloud computing, which has paved the way for a paradigm shift to be introduced in to the IT field, is now being largely used in many fields like web-based software services, on-demand gaming, platform as a service etc. The cloud computing environment is very flexible as the applications or services are platform independent and also the storage location will also be in the cloud, eliminating the need to assign specific hardware to a task.

These services are delivered mainly in three forms like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). In IaaS, the end, the users pay for resources like servers and other infrastructure for a period of time. In PaaS, the platform or system software is accessed from the cloud while in SaaS, the application software and databases are provided by the cloud service provider.

How a cloud helps in your online business?

Developments in the domain of cloud computing and also the interest in this service is on the path of rapid growth as it is used by small and big enterprises on a large scale. Contrary to traditional web hosting services, cloud service is sold on demand and can be treated like it is subscription-based. This is very useful for SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) who cannot afford to purchase large amount of storage space and hardware resources.

The cloud provider provides the services and resources as per the users demand. It is also very easy and fast to use, as SaaS in cloud computing eliminates the need of installing software in your hardware. You can save a lot of money as cloud provides scalability, enabling you to scale up or down, the use of resources or data from cloud, as per your needs. It also requires less staff as the maintenance tasks, hardware and software are quite minimal.

Thus these services look promising from all perspective, whether for a large enterprise or a small online business.