Why Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is perhaps the most flamboyant technological innovation of the 21st century. This is because it has seen the fastest adoption into the mainstream than any other technology in the domain. This adoption has been fueled mainly by the ever-increasing number of smartphones and mobile devices that can access the internet. Cloud computing is not just for organizations and businesses; it’s also useful for the average person as well. It enables us to run software programs without installing them on our computers; it enables us to store and access our multimedia content via the internet, it enables us to develop and test programs without necessarily having servers and so on. Cloud computing is a 21st-century marvel that holds its importance in almost every field you can think of.
Most of us might be certainly asking ourselves the critical questions, why do we need cloud computing? Basically, we need cloud computing because of the numerous individual and business problems that we encounter today. These problems range from acquiring and maintaining expensive hardware and software resources that we use in our daily operations to streamlining these resources in the most efficient manner for our benefit and the benefit of the society at large. In handling these challenges, cloud computing offers numerous benefits that have surpassed our expectations and delivered more than we had previously thought. These benefits are discussed below.
Why is cloud computing important for business?
Pooled computing resources available through cloud computing have been proven to offer tremendous benefits to business organizations. Unraveling are these benefits broadly classified into three categories that include efficiency, flexibility, and strategic value.
- Efficiency
Efficiency in business operations is achieved in the following ways through the use of cloud computing:
- Accessibility; Cloud computing facilitates the access of applications and data from any location worldwide and from any device with an internet connection.
- Cost savings; Cloud computing offers businesses with scalable computing resources hence saving them on the cost of acquiring and maintaining them. These resources are paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis which means businesses pay only for the resources they use. This has proven to be much cheaper than acquiring the resources on their own.
- Security; Cloud providers especially those offering private cloud services have strived to implement the best security standards and procedures in order to protect client’s data saved in the cloud.
- Disaster recovery; Cloud computing offers the most efficient means for small, medium, and even large enterprises to backup and restore their data and applications in a fast and reliable way.
- Flexibility
Flexibility is achieved in the following ways when using cloud computing:
- Scalability; Cloud computing is the best option for businesses with fluctuating workloads since cloud infrastructure scales depending on the demands of the business.
- Tools selection; Cloud computing allows businesses to select specific prebuilt tools and features to derive solutions tailored to their specific needs.
- Cloud options; Cloud computing offers private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud solutions each with different features. Organizations can choose these options depending on what best serves their need.
- Control choices; Businesses can determine their level of control with as-a-service options offered by the cloud provider. These options include SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.
- Strategic edge
Cloud computing allows businesses to gain a strategic edge in their niche in the following ways:
- Increased productivity; Cloud service providers acquire and manage underlying cloud infrastructure hence enabling businesses to focus their energies on their core business operations.
- Automatic software updates; All the software applications that are accessed through the cloud are usually up-to-date. This enables businesses to access the latest features without having to maintain the system themselves.
- Competitiveness; Businesses that employ cloud computing are able to maneuver more nimbly as compared to competitors who devote their energies to acquiring and maintaining IT resources.
- Increased collaboration; With the capabilities of cloud computing, individuals from different places can collaborate in business projects without necessarily having to meet.