Cloud Computing for Business – Why is it Important?
The rapid advent of Cloud computing has been synchronous to the rise of the online business marketplace. Before the introduction of the Cloud, businesses would run software applications or programs on a physical computer system or a dedicated on-premise server.
However, several businesses were struggling to run their own data centers with the rise in data volumes and the cost of maintaining an in-house team of IT professionals. As the need to digitize deliverables increased, businesses were faced with the need to transform their organizational processes to develop in-tune processes.
Cloud computing provides a one-point solution to these requirements, allowing businesses to take their operational processes online as a whole. Simply, with the Cloud, a large organization can conclusively do away with on-premise data centers and servers for data storage and even opt for a virtual server to run its operations.
Cloud Computing for Business – How can it Help?
1. Flexibility in Access
In a recent survey conducted by KPMG, it was found that around 42% of the survey pool including key decision-makers of mid-sized businesses thinks that flexibility is the primary factor why Cloud computing is essential to their businesses.
The data stored in a cloud system can be accessed from any device with the necessary security permissions. Note that previous physical server-based LAN systems were limited to on-premise data accessibility only.
2. Feasibility
Another remarkable benefit of Cloud computing over conventional LAN-based computing setups is that it requires minimal resources, especially concerning server or data center maintenance. It cuts down on the variable costs associated with data volumes considerably and limits surplus collateral.
3. Emergency Data Recovery
Cloud computing comes with cloud-based backup and recovery solutions that save time to recover any data stored in the servers in case of an emergency on-premise. A vital benefit, businesses can bring down data or process loss due to server issues to nearly zero as data on the Cloud is stored in real-time and accessible from multiple devices. It is, however, necessary to mention that the network quality can play a major role with data recovery.
4. Collaboration Efficiency
Cloud computing allows businesses to communicate and share data or information with various channels much more easily than conventional methods. It allows efficient collaboration between employees, executives, customers, and enables multiple users to share and work on a single virtually hosted platform simultaneously. It also allows the user to keep a track of changes being made in real-time.
5. Scalability
Another feature of cloud computing is its scalability. Cloud-based services are ideal for businesses with a fast-growing bandwidth such as start-ups. As requirements increase, it’s easy to scale the capacity of Cloud services, drawing on the service’s remote servers and vice versa.
Cloud Computing for Business – Small Organizations
Cloud computing is just as important for small businesses as it is for large conglomerates. It reduces operational costs and optimizes business processes to better manage data and digital deliverables. It provides the necessary platform for a small-scale organization to grow and scale without the need to opt for expensive hardware based web-hosting or LAN-based in-house data sharing.
Cloud computing is soon going to be the future for all businesses, especially with the ease and flexibility it provides makes it useful for several types of businesses around the world. For any business, going Cloud is the best step forward.
Cloud Computing for Business – Additional Resources
- Google Guide – A CIO’s guide to the cloud: hybrid and human solutions to avoid trade-offs
- Azure Business Benefits – The Azure cloud platform is more than 200 products and cloud services
- AWS – Develop, deploy, run, and scale virtually any application on the world’s most reliable, secure, and capable cloud.
