Today’s information technology enthusiasts, trend spotters, and practitioners use “cloud computing” interchangeably. “Cloud” is evolving into the hub for new apps, and services are being created quicker each year. Thanks to cloud computing, the ever-increasing speed of internet access and the excellent processing capacity of computers, it is possible to develop many novel services without necessarily “owning” but instead “renting” the ICT infrastructure needed for such innovations.
The Central government’s IT projects frequently use cloud computing, also referred to as the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet. In the government, cloud computing is gradually replacing conventional data centres.
The fundamental factor that makes this possible is a broadband internet, which enables distant communication with the resources. As a result, the name “cloud computing” is appropriate given that many enterprises may use high-performance ICT resources online.
Cloud Computing Comes in Various Forms
The simplest form is delivering computer hardware services with capabilities that aren’t present on-site. For example, some applications, which need a lot of memory or processing capacity, are too expensive or inefficient for businesses to purchase for ownership. However, there are services out there that offer these high-capability computing capabilities as an internet service. Infrastructure as a service describes this cloud computing solution (IaaS).
Another cloud computing option is a software as a service (SaaS). Since this level sees a lot of innovation and is accessible to all businesses, many variations exist here. Offerings range from CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software. Owing to the positives of cloud computing, the company Salesforce has emerged as a global leader in the CRM software sector. Since the mail servers are not hosted on-premises, as in many local businesses, even the good old free email services provided by Google, Yahoo, and Hotmail depend on cloud computing.
Platform-as-a-Service is another variation of the cloud computing proposition (PaaS). For software developers with constrained hardware resources, this solution entails the creation of an entire development environment. Without owning the entire infrastructure on their premises, they are given access to a tool ecosystem that allows them to construct new applications. They can quickly scale up their needs for such an environment based on consumer demand or volume. Platform-as-a-Service benefits not only software developers; Facebook and other social media sites can also be included in this third category.
Cloud Backup: Most Prominent Feature
One of the many advantages of cloud computing and the services hosted there is cloud storage. Cloud backup is a service quite similar to this cloud storage facility. It is a practical tool that gives organisations the confidence to secure their files and other digital assets.
Although it is never pleasant to consider situations like your company’s servers getting lost, stolen, or damaged, it is a possibility. Therefore, organisations should plan for it to prevent a worst-case scenario.
With cloud computing, you may back up your vital documents on a server that is not connected to your website and that you can access from anywhere at any time as long as you have an internet connection.
How Can Businesses Get Benefit from it?
Businesses can benefit from cloud computing by allowing several users to access a single server and carry out their tasks without using distinct programmes or databases. This implies that users can access the cloud virtually anywhere, including away from their computer or computing server.
For instance, cloud computing allows the company the power to use cloud services to ensure one only buys access to a set amount of data capacity. That data you need for your resources when the amount of data is more significant than your computer’s capability.
Similar to this, organisations may now manage and distribute their resources or data using a variety of approaches, thanks to cloud computing. Therefore, it is suitable for organisations to select the cloud service most compatible with the services they intend to offer when choosing between private, public, hybrid, or community cloud options. That’s the reason that each cloud service offers unique functions.
Risk Factors
Using a cloud-based architecture for business delivery has three main risks: compliance, security, and availability. First, environmental disasters like fires, floods, or earthquakes can affect the location of the data centres hosting the cloud services and render the cloud-based service inoperable. As a result, the architecture must be resilient to outages brought on by location-specific incidents affecting the data centres hosting the cloud services. By designing a redundancy approach that involves hosting the service across multiple regions, this risk is typically reduced so that an incident impacting one location does not fully shut down the service.
The Concluding Note
Even if it was only a lesser version of email services like Yahoo Mail, Google Mail, Hotmail, etc., cloud computing has been around for a long time. This paradigm is now being used by various corporate sectors, including e-government and e-commerce. Applications or models that are cloud-native are sure to transform the way services are provided across a wide range of sectors. The best course of action in the present fourth industrial revolution—the digital revolution—is to embrace them as small and medium-sized businesses.
Vidhu Nautiyal
Guest contributor Vidhu Nautiyal is the Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of CloudConnect Communications Pvt. Ltd, that claims to be India’s first B2B DOT-licensed Virtual Network Operator (VNO) poised to revolutionise and redefine mobile-first business communication and team collaboration. Any opinions expressed in this article are strictly that of the author.
