It seems as if cloud technology has been there for ages. However, its adoption is increasing exponentially over the last couple of years. Gartner predicts an increase of 17.5 percent in the public cloud services in 2019 as compared to the previous year, accounting for a total of 214.3 billion.
If you have not adopted cloud technology yet and are wondering why is there so much fuss about it, you must first know what it brings to the table.
Cloud offers you everything that a legacy hardware system cannot. It is a flexible environment that makes your businesses more accessible and cost-efficient. In 2019 Global Cloud Technology Statistics are more competitive among the three cloud vendors AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud.
Let us see some core aspects of cloud computing that make your business process an efficient one.
1. Accessibility
One of the major aspects that differentiate cloud with the legacy hardware is the remote access feature. While there are some third-party remote access software tools that enable you to access your desktop remotely, they are no match to the cloud when it comes to performance.
Cloud empowers you to access your business process through multiple devices like your phones, laptops, and tablets. Hence, you are not bound to your local desktop. You can access your business data and task status, even while traveling or on vacation.
All you need is an Internet-enabled device, and you are good to go. It helps you reduce mental stress and improves productivity.
2. Security
Ask any entrepreneur, and the first thing that comes into his/her mind is the security of the business data.
Every viable effort is made to ensure data security in the local premises. However, still, with the rising cyber threats such as Ransomware, it sometimes gets out of hand.
However, if you opt for cloud services from a third-party provider, your data is more likely to be safe than on the premises. This is because all your business-specific applications and data are hosted on the remote cloud servers situated in high-security data centers. So, even if the device from which you are accessing the data gets damaged, all your data remains safe.
What’s more is that the providers build a secure environment with safeguards like enterprise-grade firewalls, traffic monitoring, Intrusion Prevention and Detection, and data encryption, to name a few.
Implementing these safeguards in your local premises would cost a big chunk out of your budget.
Also Read: How The Cloud, IoT, and Blockchain Can Help The Planet?
3. Cost-Efficient
No business is willing to adopt a technology if it does not save them some money. Why should cloud be any different? However, a specific technology should not be considered feasible for a business if it is only affordable, but not cost-efficient.
Cloud is one such cost-efficient technology that not only offers high-end infrastructure and advanced features, but it also helps you save a considerable part of your revenue.
As your business process can be accessed from remote data centers, there is no need for investing in the latest hardware for your office. Moreover, as the cloud providers offer managed hosting services, the requirement of a skilled on-premise IT team is eliminated.
4. Scalability
One of the most distinguishing features of the cloud is its scalability. In a conventional scenario, as the business grows with time, you have to add more and more systems or servers in your local hardware setup. For instance, if you want more storage for your data, the only way it can be accomplished is through the replacement of old storage drives.
In contrast, cloud technology enables you to scale your resources as and when you want. Since cloud comprises a pool of resources, your business process can be scaled up and down without hardware replacement.
Moreover, if you opt for cloud hosting services, the provider offers you a range of pricing plans to suit your business. Also, you are billed according to the resources you utilize.
5. Collaboration
How many times do you have to send files back and forth through emails or store them in a shared drive for others to retrieve it?
Cloud technology offers all the employees a unified platform to work together and share files with each other in real-time. We all know the example of Google Drive or Google docs, where the users can access and make changes to the same file in real-time.
With the help of the cloud, ten members of your team can be in ten different locations and still work together. It is a highly critical aspect for businesses with roots in multiple countries.
Also Read: How Cloud Computing Is Perfect For The Current IT Culture
Cloud is the Way to Go!
Although a majority of businesses are expected to shift to cloud by the year 2022, any entrepreneur who is still reluctant to move to the cloud, should evaluate its pros and cons wisely and make the right decision.
Most cloud providers nowadays offer a free trial of their cloud services. Hence, you can test their services and make an informed decision.
