Cloud technology, generally referred as Cloud Computing is the delivery of computing services over the internet. These services could be related to a software, storage, database, networks, servers, analytics and more.
According to IDC, the worldwide spending on public cloud computing will increase from $67 Billion in 2015 to $162 Billion in 2020. The use of clouds has revolutionised the way we live and conduct our businesses. Let’s look at some ways Clouds have made our lives easier and better.
#1 Storage in Clouds
We collect digital goods. App data, files, folders that have important documents, videos and photographs all need space. Once upon a time we used floppy disc but now we have better options. We can store all our data in clouds.
This cloud has nothing to do with weather and the atmosphere. It is all about saving your data to an off-site storage system which is maintained by a third party. Thus instead of storing your information in the hard drive of your computer or any other local device you save it to a remote database. You then use your computer and the internet to access you data. This data stored in remote database can then be accessible to anyone you want to have access to at anytime from anywhere. You don’t have to lug your CDs and hard drives anymore.
A good cloud storage service plays nicely with different apps and formats. It enables you to view and edit your files easily. There are several companies that provide you the data storage facility. The amount of storage and the price varies. Here is a list of best cloud storage services along with the price.
#2 Efficient Big Data Management
According to data quoted by Forbes, 74% of Tech Chief Financial Officers say Cloud computing will have the most measurable impact on their business in 2017. More and more businesses are relying on Cloud computation to manage their businesses. As big data grows in volume it becomes more and more impractical to manage it efficiently on premise. Businesses are therefore looking at clouds for their big data management needs.
If you want to store big data on premise you would need to invest in large data centres. It would be difficult for you to scale as you would then need to invest more. When you store your data in a cloud based platform you save your capital, and you can scale up easily as and when you need. When you put your data in a cloud you can dive deeper and analyse it in a better way. Data is not scattered but is all together in one place. Analytical tools are provided. You can spot the trends easily and use them to plan the future.
#3 Better Collaboration
When the employees of a business are able to collaborate in a better way, they are on their way to be more productive. Clouds facilitate collaboration in real time.
Good collaboration tools should have cloud based web and video conferencing capability. In simple terms you are able to chat and have a video talk/conference with your team mates easily. Project, team and client’s workspace is easily accessible through different interfaces and log-ins. There are live discussion forums. You can easily share and transport heavy files from any corner of the world. These files being in the clouds are constantly updated. There is no need to download a file work on it, save it and then resend it. Instead, you can simply click on a file and work on it in real time. The concept of WFH (Work From Home) thrives because of cloud. An organization can ensure all relevant information and resources is easily accessible by its employees.
#4 Clouds Help You Save Money
Cloud companies provide various services that can help an organisation save big on its costs. Businesses and organizations can keep their TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) down. TCO basically consists of 3 kinds of costs: Capital expenses, Operating expenses and Indirect costs. Public clouds and hosted solutions incur no capital expenses. Operating cost is one cost the businesses incur when they subscribe for cloud services. Unplanned downtime ply the businesses with Indirect Cost. Cloud services ensure the services are up and running all the time helping businesses maintain their continuity.
Getting to the nitty-gritties: cloud computing uses less electricity, you have lower staffing costs as the number of people required to run your business is less. Cloud computing helps you deal with disasters and the process of keeping your data safe in an economical and better way.
#5 Incredible Disaster Recovery Systems
Today’s organizations are all data and information driven. There can be a range of outages and disasters. Downtime which results from them can affect the businesses in a big way. Breaches of customer service agreement can cause damage to the reputation of businesses. There is an urgency to meet SLAs- Service Level Agreements. Building a disaster recovery infrastructure from scratch can be a very expensive and unreliable option. Businesses therefore are keen on aggressive disaster recovery solutions and cloud services readily provide a reliable DR platform to them.
A cloud makes the DR more affordable by replicating systems and data across multiple geographies. Big cloud companies invest incredible amount of resources to ensure your data remains safe and in case of incidents recovery is faster with no losses.
#6 Cloud And Apps
It is hard to believe for the millennials but people did lead happy and content lives before smartphones. Smartphones and tablets have completely changed the way news, information and entertaining content is consumed. All of us remain glued to our smartphones and the apps contained therein.
Apps work because of the cloud. Internet connects our actions on our devices to the data enters located remotely and we get the results of the actions we perform back on our devices almost instantaneously. Our data is stored on servers, in cloud, to be sent to us whenever we need. Google Maps uses different technologies to tell us which roads to avoid, Parking apps tell us about the best place to park our cars, sensors on our wearables tell us about the rhythm of our heart , we play a game of Asphalt 8 with your friends all with the help of cloud technology. Apps have made a big change in our lives. We all depend on different apps for connecting and collaborating with each other.
#7 Cloud Technology and Healthcare
Cloud has become a vital tool for Healthcare professionals. It enables better collaboration, the data can be stored remotely in an effective way and can be accessed from anywhere in the world at any time. The facility of remote conferencing and the ability to get up-to-the second updates on patient’s condition has been saving many lives. Information on new breakthroughs and healthcare developments is disseminated effectively, efficiently and very quickly without any ambiguity.
Cloud technology is very helpful when coping with a disaster. Right resources can be requested. Inexperienced doctors can have real-time guidance. Medical equipments connected to the cloud provide big data which can be analysed quickly to help everyone reach right conclusions in a timely manner. Big data helps immensely in the medical research too. You can get treatment even if you are marooned on an island.
Colin Zick, an attorney from Foley Hoag, a reputed International Law firm says, “It is not a new notion for data to be stored on remote servers.” Stressing that there is a big benefit of security in clouds he adds, “Physical records are difficult to track or replace if they are stolen. If an unauthorized individual walks off with records, there is no way to trace it.”
#8 Cloud Technology In Education Sector
According to the report Cloud Computation in Education Market – Global Forecast to 2021 by Markets and Markets, the education market is estimated to grow from USD 8.13 Billion in 2016 to USD 25.36 Billion by 2021 at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 25.6%.
Cloud computing solution in the education industry enables effective knowledge delivery to students. There is better student engagement, better collaboration amongst stakeholders resulting in better performance from students. About 90% of educational institutes currently use some kind of cloud-based application. Cloud based applications reduce costs and increase accessibility. Apps and e-readers are changing the landscape. There is flexibility so that the brands involved are able to customize their products for their audiences.
USA and Canada have adopted cloud technology well into their education system. Major players in education marketing include Adobe Systems, Cisco Systems, IBM, Oracle and Microsoft.
#9 Cloud Technology and e-commerce
Cloud technology has been making inroads in e-commerce space too. Many e-commerce businesses which use on premise platforms have been looking for efficient cloud based solutions for them. The basic advantage that cloud solutions can provide to e-commerce businesses is that of speed. You can scale up your e-commerce business without thinking about IT team-if they would be able to cope up.
With cloud solutions helping e-commerce sites can focus on their business more. No need to spend more on servers and storage. No more being stressed about the backups and security of data. They can get dedicated cloud service- with their own cloud server. Cloud hosting can give you a better back end support. Functions such as customer service, customer data management, search engine optimization, inventory and order management, tax integrated accounting services can be all integrated and shifted to cloud based solutions. Cloud based e-commerce businesses are flexible and easier to scale.
#10 Clouds And Internet Of Things
Your new smart appliances, your printer, washer, dryer, refrigerator and cars are all connected to the cloud and perhaps capable of talking to each other. These things are all connected to the clouds with the help of internet. These smart appliances and devices have cloud based backends. They are now built to have long term value.
Just like your smartphone updates itself to keep itself all spruced up, rest of the appliances and devices at your home will soon be connected to clouds to get updated and to be more useful to you so that they are able to understand your instructions through cloud, through your smartphone should you choose to communicate and give instructions through it. Self opening curtains, lights, self adjusting thermostats, Amazon Echo, Apple Homepod, Google Home are proving to be pretty useful. The use of AI and clouds will simplify our lives a lot more.
Winding up
Cloud services have immense potential. It truly depends on us how we want to integrate these easily available super efficient services to help us in our life and business. If you have any query or if you simply want to have a discussion with someone on how cloud services can be useful to you, don’t hesitate to call us. We have with us experts on products from leading cloud services vendors like AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and more. We can help you choose right services with right vendors so that you gain. We will provide architecture consulting and design the right cloud infrastructure for you. We have the right experience. We can help you get the right value. Clouds have a lot to offer. Let’s leverage the potential of cloud-together.