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The cloud-driven future has begun shaping more and more businesses that are migrating to remote infrastructure. The move to the cloud appears to be one of the top priorities for companies in 2021 and is expected to maintain this status for years to come. But why is cloud computing so popular?
What are cloud services?
Cloud computing is the delivery of various services over the internet, such as apps, data storage, servers, databases, network connections, and software. It makes these services available to users and businesses without the need to install them.
Instead of storing files on a hard drive or local unit, cloud services allow information to be stored in a remote database. If your device has access to the internet, it has access to data and software programs.
Companies that have successfully migrated to the cloud mention several benefits, such as increased efficiency, productivity, security, accessibility, easier administration, and generally lower operating costs.
Why the cloud is the way to go?
Cloud computing offers companies several benefits, including access to software, e-mail, corporate, and private data from any device through a native app or browser. We explained why cloud services are so popular among modern business owners:
- Access to data from anywhere
Today, most companies work remotely because the pandemic forces us to stay at home. Every organization seeks and implements cloud team tools that enable real-time collaboration and project management, regardless of location and time zone. Cloud computing stores all data in one place and makes it available to all employees. The most popular apps include Trello, Jira, Asana, Slack, and many others.
- Security and privacy
All your data is automatically and securely backed up to the cloud, so you don’t need to worry about losing anything. If a computer failure or death occurs, you will still be able to gain access to the data on the cloud.
- Reduced costs
Using cloud services as IT resources generates a dramatic reduction in purchase and maintenance costs. For cloud solutions, you only pay for the services you use, but not for the entire complex infrastructure. Because it’s a cloud solution, you don’t have to worry about hardware, configuration, and environmental upgrades. That can save a lot of time.
- Digitization of business
The public cloud enables organizations to change and optimize their business and organizational activities using a combination of digital technologies.
- Flexibility
Companies need to respond quickly to challenges and opportunities, and the public cloud provides the means to achieve this flexibility in the form of scaling. That is, delivering just the right amount of IT resources, including the enhancement and restriction of computer power, as and when necessary.
- Technological updates
It provides technological updates, usually without interrupting the operation of the entire system, with at least downtime. The cloud model allows employees to upgrade specific applications and not wait for global system updates.
Public cloud vs. Private cloud
Before entrusting business data to the cloud, clearly understand what types of clouds exist, the differences, and whether they meet your company’s requirements. There are three types of cloud:
- public,
- private,
- hybrid.
41% of all businesses run a certain type of public or private cloud.
Public cloud
The main principle of the public cloud is that data sharing is managed by third-party providers, which can be a problem or come with increased legislative requirements regarding GDPR. This type of cloud reduces storage maintenance costs and can be scaled to any size. This means that each client pays only for the services used, not for all that exists in the cloud. However, public cloud storage has limitations:
- data sharing is limited by configurations and the same infrastructure,
- security is managed only by the provider; customers have no additional guarantees regarding data protection.
Private cloud
Privátny cloud je služba, ktorá je vyvinutá a integrovaná s ohľadom na všetky obchodné ciele konkrétnej spoločnosti. Má podobnú úroveň efektívnosti v porovnaní s verejným cloudom, ale vlastník cloudu má úplnú správu a kontrolu nad dátami a ich bezpečnosťou.
Private cloud is developed and integrated with regard to all business goals of a particular company. It has a similar level of efficiency compared to a public cloud, but the cloud owner has complete management and control over the data and its security.
Mostly, this suits large companies that care about privacy and legislation. Because the cloud is private, it can be customized for enterprise applications and the entire network that perfectly meets the needs of the company. However, the limitations are:
- does not provide scalability on demand because it is designed specifically for the organization and its number of employees,
- the private cloud model is more expensive due to the costs of hardware and software licenses.
Hybrid cloud
A hybrid cloud solution means that some data is stored in a public cloud and some projects in a private cloud. You can choose from multiple providers and different levels of cloud usage. The hybrid cloud is an ideal choice if you are looking for public cloud scalability and private cloud security. The main reasons for choosing a hybrid cloud include disaster recovery planning and trying to avoid hardware costs when expanding your existing data center.
Which service is the best choice for your business?
The public cloud is the perfect choice for complicated workflows in a high-performance environment. Why? These processes contain a huge amount of data and sometimes you need to change their boundaries – you just need to scale. The public cloud is flexible and can cope with resource requirements, so in this case, it will probably be the best option.
Speaking of a private cloud, it’s a great solution for managing internal data, including databases and analytics services. If sensitive company data is used in the workflow, a private cloud service is a better choice.
The best cloud service providers
The number of cloud service providers in the market is large. The choice depends on the business goals and specifications of the company. To successfully implement cloud services in your company’s environment, you will need to find and hire a team of developers who can integrate the solution properly.
Amazon Web Services
Amazon’s web services are used by thousands of customers around the world. They provide services for companies of all sizes at low costs. Their popularity can be explained by many useful features:
- Low-cost “pay-as-you-go” model. You only pay for the services you use.
- Flexibility. You can choose the appropriate solution depending on the programming model and operating system.
- Scalability. With AWS, you can increase or decrease resources based on demand.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure has the largest number of data centers in the world. We emphasize the main advantages:
- A hybrid environment allows users to develop and maintain applications on both hosts computers and the cloud server.
- Increase productivity by connecting applications, data, and devices to Azure applications (Salesforce, Office 365, and Google services).
- Authorization specifically for each user, which increases data security.
- Microsoft Azure strictly adheres to international privacy regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, FeDAMP, and others.
Digital Ocean
Digital Ocean offers excellent servers and is a great tool for tech start-ups. Its benefits include:
- Budget prices.
- Automatic scaling.
- User-friendly interface.
- Easy setup and support for different operating systems.
- Well-documented FAQs and manuals.
Conclusion
Cloud computing offers companies several benefits – from higher productivity and efficiency to significant cost reductions and simplified IT management. However, for successful and seamless integration, it is essential to hire a team of developers with experience in this field.
But don’t wait long with your digital transformation. Competitiveness is one of the most important features of modern companies and is becoming almost a necessity. Have a lead start over other companies and take advantage of cloud computing service providers.
