What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves the provision of hosted services over the internet. These services are divided into three main categories: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS).
A cloud can be private or public. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the internet. A private cloud is a proprietary network or data center that provides hosted services to a limited number of people, with specific access and permission settings. Private or public, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy and scalable access to computing resources and IT services.
The cloud infrastructure includes the hardware and software components necessary to implement a cloud computing model correctly. Cloud computing can also be thought of as service computing or on-demand computing.
The name cloud computing is inspired by the symbol for the cloud that is often used to represent the internet in diagrams and flowcharts.
How does cloud computing work?
Cloud computing works by allowing customer devices to access data over the internet, from remote computers, databases, and servers.
An internet network connection links the front end (accessing client device, browser, network, and cloud software applications) to the back end, consisting of databases, servers, and computers. The rear end works as a repository that stores the data accessed by the front end.
A central server manages communications between the front and rear ends. The central server is protocol-based to facilitate data exchange. The core server uses software and middleware to manage the connectivity between different client devices and cloud servers. Typically, there will be a dedicated server for each application.
When you consider moving to the cloud, your goal will be to improve your situation. Depending on your specific needs, you can take advantage of the various benefits of cloud computing.
Whether you are dealing with a new deployment or the migration of an existing service, you will want your cloud setup to be better than deploying it locally. To do this, you must first understand the broader benefits of cloud computing technology and how they can be applied to your business.
In this situation, most people take a high-level approach to understanding the benefits of cloud computing. But when you look at the big picture, it’s not always easy to contextualize how your business can reap these high-level benefits. If you don’t understand some of the complexities that lie beneath the surface, you won’t fully appreciate the real value these solutions can bring to your organization.
Cloud Computing: Benefits of Sustainability
When we talk about sustainability, we mean reducing your organization’s carbon footprint along with a green approach to technology. With the current state of the environment, organizations are responsible for investing in solutions that provide real sustainability.
Opting for a cloud-based technology approach enables your business to take advantage of the sustainability benefits of cloud computing.
100% Renewable Energy
Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are actively investing in green energy development. All of them are committed to moving towards a clean energy future in which 100% of their energy consumption comes from green sources.
By choosing one of these providers, you take a greener energy approach to technology.
Carbon Efficiency
Moving to a leading cloud platform will significantly reduce your carbon footprint. By combining green energy, increased server utilization, and other practices, cloud providers allow you to perform the same tasks with a substantially lower carbon footprint than on-premises solutions.
Studies by Amazon and Microsoft estimate a carbon footprint reduction of between 88 and 98% for the cloud compared to local equivalents.
Cloud Computing: Reliable Support
When working with any technology, in the end, you run into problems in which you do not have the necessary knowledge to solve. One of the great benefits of cloud computing is the availability of support when this occurs. Added to this benefit of the cloud is that most support channels are free. So, let’s explore this benefit a little more in-depth.
Self Service Assistance
You can solve a wide range of cloud problems through free self-service support channels available (that is, if you have the time and inclination to find the solution for yourself).
Documentation
Cloud providers are famous for their extensive repositories of technical documentation. They allow you to build, configure, deploy, manage and troubleshoot the full range of your available technologies at zero cost.
Below you will find links to the documentation available from the leading providers to help you understand the magnitude of these resources:
- Amazon Web Services documentation
- Alibaba Cloud Document Center
- Google Cloud Documentation
- Microsoft Azure Documentation
Communities
In addition to documentation, each cloud platform offers a hub that supports a thriving online community. They are home to hundreds of thousands of independent cloud experts and enthusiasts who openly share and pool their knowledge and experience.
By visiting this community, you can connect and take advantage of this vast free support resource, an ever-growing ecosystem of blogs, events, tutorials, and discussion forums covering every topic and technology imaginable.
Below you can explore these valuable support communities:
- Amazon Web Services Developer Community
- Alibaba Cloud Community
- Google Cloud Community
- Microsoft Azure Community Support
Support Plans
You won’t always have the ability or skill to manage and troubleshoot your cloud deployment. Eventually, you may run into a situation where you need immediate hands-on expert support to keep your organization operational.
To cover this eventuality, each cloud provider offers a selection of basic cloud support plans, along with a range of premium paid plans. As the tip plans to scale, you can upgrade the level of support to include:
Good practice controls
Additional communication channels: phone, email, live chat, video conferencing
Availability 24/7
Response times in less than 15 minutes for critical business interruptions
API support
Training resources – both online and in-person
Access to a technical account manager
You also have the added benefit of customizing your support plans, giving you the flexibility to tailor support to your individual needs – vital considering that official support plans can range from $ 30 per month to $ 15,000. A month.
Cloud Computing: Easier Compliance
Regarding technology, compliance is a rising tide of regulations and requirements enforced by governments and industries.
Whether you operate in a highly regulated industry, a specific geographic location, or both, technology compliance is a daunting challenge that can quickly overwhelm you regardless of your desire to adjust.
Understand the elements of compliance.
Understand the aspects of compliance.
Cloud offers on-demand technology solutions that already meet some of the most demanding compliance requirements. These include CSA STAR, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and a series of ISO standards. Moving to a cloud deployment takes away the time, expertise, and financial resources required to adhere to compliance standards that you might not otherwise be able to meet.
Each platform provider offers
comprehensive compliance programs for their cloud solutions. They all compete to comply with more certifications, laws, industry-specific regulations, security, and privacy frameworks than their competitors.
Cloud Computing: Competitive Advantage
Going to the cloud can give you the competitive advantage you need to outperform your rivals. According to a study by Version, 77% of companies believe that cloud technology gives them a competitive advantage.
There is no single way to obtain this benefit. It is achieved in countless ways, unlocked by your creativity in using the inherent attributes of the cloud to your advantage. Here are some examples of how the cloud can give you a competitive advantage:
Free your team to focus on innovation
Moving to the cloud shifts responsibility for managing the underlying infrastructure to your provider. Your IT team is thus free to focus on innovation projects that advance your business prospects.
Always use the latest technology: The flexible and on-demand nature of the cloud allows you to embrace the newest technology as it comes to market. No deployment delays or financial requirements were incurred in a local setup.
Become a more agile company
Cloud technology allows you to launch into a new region, experiment with new technologies, and add or remove services quickly and easily. This agility will enable you to keep up with changes in the market and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise, getting ahead of competitors.
Leveling the playing field: The economies of scale available through the cloud make advanced technologies much more accessible; deep pockets are no longer required to unlock such technologies’ benefits. Smaller organizations now have the opportunity to gain an edge on the big stage.
Cloud Computing: Action Insights
The digital age has transformed the adage “knowledge is power” into “data is money.”
Today, we generate more digital data than ever, and current estimates suggest that by 2021 2.5 quintillion bytes of new data will be created every day. Valuable and actionable information hides in your data waiting to be identified and used.
Visualization of Big Data analysis.
With cloud technology, you can gain more insight into your customer transaction data, business processes, and technology utilization, helping you turn your data into money.
The affordability and flexibility of cloud computing give you access to services like machine learning, AI, and big data analytics. These services can allow you to analyze and gain insights from data in new ways, thereby creating value from previously inaccessible data, especially unstructured data.
Many cloud-based solutions also come with built-in reports, giving you an integrated view of your data throughout your deployment. Whether it’s user behavior, resource consumption, or any other type of data, you can easily create custom reporting and tracking mechanisms to analyze information from across your business. Thanks to this information, you will be able to increase efficiency, improve security, automate resource management and develop an action plan to achieve company objectives.
Summary
If you’ve made it this far, you may have already realized that the benefits of cloud computing are undeniable and powerful. By moving to the cloud, you can make real improvements in almost every area of your business.
We’ve outlined the characteristics, characteristics, and underlying mechanisms that combine to make that benefit a reality, and we’ve discussed how some of these benefits are inherent, while others require your active participation to be recognized. We hope that you now have a solid understanding of the main benefits of the cloud that go beyond the big picture.
Thanks to this new knowledge, you now have a much more fantastic opportunity to utilize cloud computing for your organization.
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