Cloud computing has become a buzzword lately. In fact, it has turned into a phenomenon that has taken the business world by storm. According to an Intel Security report, 93% of IT security professionals claim that they use some type of cloud service for business operation, whether it is the public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid. This is a testament to the popularity of cloud-based solutions in the business world.
Cloud computing not only offers distinct advantages to businesses but can also resolve some of the biggest business problems and help businesses in overcoming some of the biggest challenges.
Pros and Cons of Cloud Computing
Here are some of the pros and cons of cloud computing
Pros:
Here are some of the advantages of cloud computing that are worth knowing.
Lower Cost
When you ditch your legacy systems and on-premise systems and opt for cloud-based solutions, your infrastructure cost will decrease instantly. You don’t have to buy exorbitantly priced hardware or expensive software licenses, which will cut your operational expenses as well. What’s more, you don’t have to worry about hardware maintenance costs or upgrading costs either.
Scalability
Cloud gives your more room for scalability as compared to traditional systems. You can easily acquire more resources when your business needs them and downscale resources if there is low demand. This also makes cloud solutions a great choice for dynamic businesses whose business needs are changing with each passing day.
Easy Access
Another perk that makes cloud technologies stand out is accessibility. With a cloud-based solution at your disposal, you don’t have to worry about being restricted to a physical location to access your data. You can access your data from anywhere, at any time with any internet-connected device.
Cons:
Just like every other technology, cloud computing has its downsides as well. Some of them are as follows:
Less Control
One of the biggest disadvantages of cloud computing is that it gives you less control over your infrastructure. The cloud service provider will manage everything on their end and they will give you a dashboard where you can control certain things but you can not access the physical infrastructure. Even though this might vary from cloud provider to cloud provider but you won’t be getting the same level of control you enjoy with on-premises systems.
Security
Data security and privacy have been a cause of concern for cloud technology since its inception. Despite efforts from cloud providers to secure the cloud infrastructure, there is still a lot of improvement in this regard. That is why it is important to ask the cloud provider how do they keep the data stored in the cloud secure before signing the contract. Some cloud providers offer security features such as DDoS mitigation, firewalls and CDNs for added security. Do they offer DDoS protection or network protection? Do they have the capacity to block cybersecurity attacks targeting your cloud?
Vendor Lock-ins
Most cloud provider tries to lure you into signing non-negotiable contracts. Some might even trap you into vendor lock-ins. Once you fall for those traps, it is very difficult to get out of them. You will be bound to stick to a single service provider for years and you are not allowed to switch cloud providers even when you want to. This can negatively impact your cloud adoption and business growth and can stagnate your business.
In this article, you will learn about 13 problems businesses can solve by migrating to the cloud.
13 Business Problems Cloud Computing Can Solve
Here are 13 problems that cloud computing can resolve for your business.
Web Hosting
Hosting your website and data to the cloud has its perks. It provides high uptime and 24/7 availability. Businesses can scale up and scale down resources as their businesses needs grow or shrinks. The easy setup process and a simple dashboard make server management a breeze. Best of all, it saves you from purchasing costly equipment for the purpose of web hosting and data storage purposes. With no hardware involved, your business does not have to worry about hardware-related issues.
Data Privacy and Security
When cloud computing was first introduced, it received a lot of criticism for poor security and privacy. Even though early adopters jumped on the cloud bandwagon but many businesses are reluctant, which led to a low adoption rate. Thankfully, that is not the case anymore. Many businesses and enterprises now consider the cloud as a secure and private space.
There is still business who are reluctant to migrate to the cloud because they are accustomed to using their own local servers. Cloud providers offer features such as DDoS protection, network protection, and DDoS mitigation and take steps to ensure that all your sensitive business data stays safe in the cloud. Advanced security features such as intrusion detection systems, firewalls and encryption provide businesses with peace of mind.
Adaptability
In today’s rapidly evolving business world, you need highly scalable solutions that grow with your business needs in order to succeed. Cloud technology gives you the freedom to upscale and downscale according to your business requirements. As your business needs grow, you can request additional resources at any time such as processor, RAM, storage and bandwidth. On the contrary, if you have to get more resources in traditional server architecture, you will have to buy additional hardware and computing power which would cost you a lot more than in cloud setup.
Disaster Recovery
Businesses that store their data in their local servers are always at risk of natural disaster, power failure, critical IT functions failure and equipment damage. Fortunately, that is not the case with cloud storage. The lack of any physical hardware means that you should not have to worry about all these problems.
Even if a disaster strikes, it is far easier to recover from it if your data is stored on a cloud than on a physical server especially if you have network protection and DDoS protection in place. You can even protect your data with ransomware attack protection and DDoS mitigation. Restoring your website or data back is just a matter of few clicks, which helps in ensuring business continuity even in tough situations.
Vulnerabilities
You are less likely to be affected by natural disasters or cyber attacks when your data is stored in a cloud than in a traditional server environment. Cloud is just like a few servers merged together, virtually. This adds another layer of security. Moreover, the cloud also lets businesses take advantage of industry-leading solutions in different areas such as VPS, dedicated servers, virtualization and more. Make sure you use strong passwords because this is the only way hackers can get access to your cloud service account.
Change your passwords frequently and implement two-factor authentications to beef up your cloud security. Use encryption to ensure that your stored data stay safe from prying eyes in the cloud. By using a combination of these security techniques, you can protect your cloud against a wide range of cybersecurity threats.
Rigidity
In a traditional server environment, you have limited options, and you are tied to a particular vendor. This means that you don’t have any choice but to play in their hands. That is why suppliers and IT vendors start to exploit businesses by charging them high fees. Migrate your IT infrastructure to the cloud and get rid of all these problems. Cloud offers you the flexibility businesses can only dream of. They can choose from different pricing plans, pricing models, cloud architecture, and resources depending on their business needs.
Higher Cost
Migrating to the cloud means that you have to pay a high upfront cost but if you look at this expense as a long-term investment, it will pay rich dividends in the long run. You don’t have to purchase expensive hardware or spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on software licenses and maintenance. You don’t even have to spend money on securing the hardware as some cloud providers even offer DDoS protection, DDoS mitigation, and network protection services.
When you factor in all the money you save by migrating to the cloud, the high upfront cost seems more bearable. On the other hand, your local servers will cost you money in terms of maintenance and up-gradation. You will only pay for what you use with pay as you go pricing or opt for a fixed pricing plan. Use a hybrid approach to minimize cost and use the combination of cloud and dedicated servers.
Data Management
Businesses store a lot of sensitive information these days and with GDPR laws enforced, it is important for businesses to ensure the privacy and security of the data. This brings us to an important consideration “Where you should store your data?” The answer to this question is influenced by how you are going to use that data.
Most businesses prefer to store their data on databases and servers in-house. Businesses that store their data in the cloud don’t have to worry about all the data management issues as it is the responsibility of the cloud providers. Cloud providers will store your data on the cloud storage servers and their technicians and experts will ensure efficient data management.
Poor Collaboration
If you are a part of a multi-national business or large-scale enterprise then you might have remote teams located in different regions of the world. This makes collaboration a challenge. Cloud technologies and file-sharing apps can help you keep clients, vendors, and team members on the same page. You can collaborate on documents and projects in real-time with your remote team members located thousands of miles away from you.
Accessibility
Cloud computing gives your team the ability to work from anywhere. The enhanced accessibility of the cloud ensures that you can access your files from any device, at any time from any internet-enabled device. With employees demanding flexibility in working hours and working environment, there is no room for traditional server architecture.
Traditional server-based architecture restricts you to access the data only when you are in proximity and does not allow freedom to access it from anywhere. When your employees get the freedom and flexible work schedule and environment, they tend to be more productive and give it their best shot.
Technical Issues
Power outages, network issues, hardware failure, and other problems are all technical issues linked to hardware. It can hamper the smoother operation of your business if you are storing all your data on traditional servers. Then there is downtime and disruption caused due by update installation and traditional server architecture becomes a big pain in the neck. You can overcome this problem by opting for DDoS protection, DDoS mitigation, and network protection services. By migrating everything to the cloud, you can save your business from all these hassles. With everything being managed by cloud service providers, businesses can get the peace of mind that they can never get in a traditional server setup.
Adaptability
If you own one of those businesses that want to gain a competitive edge over competitors or want to enhance your business efficiency and productivity then cloud technologies can help you with that. The extended support and adaptability allow businesses to integrate new and advanced services such as AI, data analytics, and more. Businesses can get the best of both worlds by integrating these services with the cloud and achieve desired results. They can make better decisions based on the data and guide their business towards success. By tracking project progress in real-time and digging into large data sets to unearth useful insights, you can easily guide your projects to successful completion.
Technical Support
In traditional server architecture, your business looks towards IT professionals in your IT team for technical support or outsource technical support to a third party, which is more costly and insecure. Meanwhile, you get round-the-clock technical support when you take the cloud services from cloud providers. The customer support team of cloud service providers usually consists of experienced professionals who are well versed in delivering technical support in emergency situations. You can rely on them in case of an issue and send your queries to them. You will certainly get a satisfactory response from their side.
Did cloud computing help you resolve your business problems? Which business problems does cloud computing solve? Feel free to share it with us in the comments section below.
