Cloud computing technologies have gotten a lot more popular among businesses in the last few years.
While the basic principles behind cloud computing have existed for quite some time already, the demand for technologies allowing businesses to store and process large amounts of data remotely has resulted in a lot of innovation related to cloud-based technologies.
New products and services are being developed on a regular basis to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes in today’s world.
Cloud computing has a wide range of benefits for businesses that adopt it and many companies are starting to move some of their IT resources to the cloud after becoming aware of everything it has to offer.
Improved Operation Efficiency
Cloud computing lets businesses of all sizes take advantage of third-party servers to run some of their business processes and operations.
Smaller businesses can especially benefit from this, as it allows them to access powerful IT resources without having to make large investments in hardware infrastructure.
The cloud lets businesses grow and handle larger amounts of data without having to worry about maintaining their own servers.
With cloud technologies, businesses can use various managed service providers and infrastructure as a service to power their global expansion. This eliminates the need for building and maintaining expensive data centers in multiple locations.
With the cloud, small and medium-sized businesses can now compete with larger corporations that do business on a worldwide scale.
Cloud computing also has many benefits that larger companies can take advantage of, most notably the ability to build a modular organization. Cloud-based services let smaller teams within an organization work together, no matter where they are located. As organizations become more modular, they’re also less likely to be affected if a particular department in their unit is having problems.
Significant Cost Savings
One of the main reasons why so many businesses today are drawn to the cloud is because of the large cost savings that this technology can offer them.
Cloud computing enables businesses to lower their IT budgets, as the hardware and software they use is maintained by external providers. Many companies will still need to have some IT professionals as part of their staff. But moving operations to the cloud can reduce the need of having a dedicated IT department.
Startups are among the biggest users of cloud-based technologies.
They lower the costs associated with starting a business and growing it through innovation. As cloud resources are efficiently shared by multiple businesses, this results in cost savings for everyone involved.
Using the cloud has the potential of making cooperation among businesses simpler and less expensive due to the fact that applications hosted on cloud servers can share data more easily.
Storage and Security
The cloud is one of the most convenient and secure ways for businesses to store all the data they need to use on a regular basis in a central location.
The fact that data is stored remotely instead of on local devices ensures that it will be fully accessible from anywhere. Security in the cloud has improved greatly in the past few years.
Cloud providers now use sophisticated security technologies and let users encrypt their data to keep it safe from potential breaches.
Mobility and Flexibility
As the global workforce is becoming increasingly mobile, many employees want to do their work either from home or by using their own mobile devices.
Cloud computing makes it a lot easier for a company’s team members to work remotely while enjoying all of the benefits that would come from being in their office.
Cloud computing has been largely responsible for the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend.
Workers can now use their own laptops, smartphones and tablets to securely access a company’s network, gaining access to the resources they need to get the job done. Whether it’s working from home or sharing files with a colleague on a business trip halfway around the world, cloud computing makes it possible.
Customer Interaction
Cloud computing has not only changed the way businesses work internally, but also the manner in which they interact with their customers.
It powers online shopping sites, letting consumers shop for products and services at any time.
The cloud also provides powerful data sharing functionality. Content delivery networks have servers around the world that are able to deliver interactive content like videos to website visitors a lot faster than if these were stored on a local server.
As cloud-based technologies are designed with cross-platform compatibility in mind, they enable data sharing across all desktops and mobile devices, regardless of which operating system they’re running.
The popularity of cloud computing has grown exponentially in the last few years, as businesses ranging from startups to multinational corporations realize the immense benefits that it can bring them.
Businesses get access to powerful and versatile IT resources at a fraction of what it would cost to acquire and maintain local infrastructure like servers.
Cloud-based technologies are truly transforming our world by giving businesses the tools they need to function far more efficiently than ever before.
About The Author
This article was written by Jen McKenzie, an up-and-coming author from NY. She usually writes on business, marketing and HR subjects. When not at her desk, you can find her taking long strolls in the countryside or enjoying her free time brushing up on photo editing. You can reach Jennifer @jenmcknzie.
