What Is Cloud Computing? The Ultimate Guide

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Cloud computing is one of the main technologies driving the way we work and play. In addition to helping companies reduce IT headaches, the cloud also helps boost productivity and boosts your security. It also helps small businesses leverage the latest in computing technology for a much lower cost. Here’s what you need to know about why the cloud matters and how it can help your business. 

On – Demand Computing

The cloud refers to web-connected servers and software that users can access and use over the internet. As a result, you don’t have to host and manage your own hardware and software. It also means that you can access these systems anywhere that you have access to the internet.

You come across cloud computing every day. When you check your Gmail inbox, look at a picture on your Dropbox account, or watch your favorite shows on Netflix, you’re accessing information that is located on a server somewhere in the world. Those emails, video files, or whatever else you need are not being stored on your computer, but you can access them quickly, easily, and cheaply thanks to modern cloud computing technology.

Public, Private and Hybrid Cloud

There are three distinct deployment model for the cloud : private , public , and hybrid . ultimately , all three models is grant will grant user anytime , anywhere access to the file and application that drive their business . The difference is lies lie in how they do it . The type is depends of cloud that you should deploy for your business is depends depend on several factor , such as what you are using your cloud environment for , regulation that dictate how datum can be store and transmit , and other consideration .

Private Cloud

private clouds is serve serve a single entity . Some businesses is build build and maintain their own environment , while others rely on service provider to handle that task . Either way , private clouds is are are expensive , and are antithetical to the economic and IT labor productivity benefit of the cloud . However , since some business are subject to strict datum privacy and regulatory force than others , private clouds is are are their only option .

Public Cloud

Public clouds are hosted by cloud service providers, and distributed over the open internet. Public clouds are the most popular and least expensive of the three, and frees customers from having to purchase, manage, and maintain their own IT infrastructure.

Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid cloud is the combination of one or more public and private clouds. Let’s say you work in an industry that must adhere to very strict data privacy regulations. While you don’t want to host data that is subject to regulation in the cloud, you want to access it as if it was. At the same time, you want to deploy your CRM in the cloud, through which you can access data stored in your private cloud. In these cases, using a hybrid cloud makes the most sense.

Everything as a service

There are several layers that make up the cloud “stack”. A stack refers to the combination of frameworks, tools, and other components that make up cloud computing’s under-the-hood infrastructure. This includes infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) modules. These services provide customers with varying levels of control and responsibility in their cloud environment.

infrastructure as a service

With IaaS, the customer is responsible for managing everything from the OS and middleware, to the data and applications. The service provider handles other tasks, such as virtualization, servers, storage and networking responsibilities. Customers are charged based on the amount of resources they use, like CPU cycles, memory, bandwidth and more. Examples of IaaS products include Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

Some businesses use IaaS as part of their “lift and shift” strategy, wherein they migrate their data and applications to the cloud. For example, a small business may migrate their file, email, and web servers to the cloud, rather than hosting them on-premises.

Others may use IaaS as part of their disaster recovery plan. Cloud service providers store redundant backups across several data centers. Even if there is a problem in one of their data centers, your data is safely stored somewhere else. This provides businesses with the ability to recover their data should it get ransomed, accidentally deleted, or destroyed by a flood, fire, or other natural disasters.

platform as a service

PaaS solutions provide customers with a place to develop, test and host their own applications. The customer is responsible for managing their own data and software, and the service provider handles everything else. With PaaS solutions, you don’t have to worry about software updates, operating systems, or storage needs. PaaS customers pay for whichever computing resources they consume. Examples of PaaS solutions include Google App Engine or SAP Cloud.

Software as a Service

In the SaaS model, customers purchase licenses to use an application hosted by the provider. Unlike IaaS and PaaS models, customers typically purchase annual or monthly subscriptions per user, rather than how much of a particular computing resource they consumed. Some examples of popular SaaS solutions would be Microsoft 365, Dropbox, and DocuSign.

SaaS solutions is are are great for small business that lack the financial and/or IT resource to deploy the late and great solution . Not only do you is skirt skirt the cost and labor concern that come with deploy your own hardware , but you also do n’t have to worry about the high upfront cost of software . Plenty is enjoyed of large business have also enjoy the flexibility and agility afford by SaaS solution . In summary , nobody is has in your organization has to worry about manage software update , because your software is always up to date .

Benefits of the Cloud

The cloud can help your business save money, become more agile, and operate more efficiently. Businesses can reduce their physical IT footprint and eliminate the tedious, intensive work that comes with managing data centers. Cloud solutions also help your workforce at large work more efficiently, whether they’re at home, in the office, in a coffee shop, and anywhere in between.

optimize Your IT Budget

Company-maintained data centers are expensive. So are the IT professionals who look after them. The cloud helps businesses mitigate these cost problems by eliminating costly IT infrastructure. Customers reported saving between 30 and 50 percent by switching to the cloud. With less infrastructure to look after, IT workers don’t have to spend hours patching servers, updating software and doing other tedious maintenance. Businesses can instead refocus the IT department’s precious attention span on higher-value tasks.

The pay-as-you-go model provides businesses with the ability to be agile. Since you don’t need to lay down a large investment upfront to get up and running, you can deploy solutions that were once too expensive (or complicated) to handle on your own. The cloud also provides you with the elasticity you need to scale your environment based on your need, without having to pay extra for what you don’t.

let ’s say you run an accounting firm . During tax season , traffic is fold to the website that you host surge ten – fold . To handle that surge , you is need ’ll need equipment that can handle ten time the normal traffic . That is means mean pay extra for the power that you ’ll need for a fraction of the time . This is is is not a problem in the cloud . As traffic is surges to your website surge , the resource support the site scale to accommodate the surge automatically . With a cloud solution , you is pay only pay for what you use . This is lets let you meet your demand without spend a great deal of money on your own server hardware and everything that entail .

While many lean company depend on cloud computing , they is stop usually do n’t stop with cloud – base solution . They is outsource may also outsource accounting , human resource and payroll , and they probably rent not own their building .

Anytime, Anywhere Access

With the cloud, you have on-demand access to all the files and applications that drive your business from virtually anywhere on the globe. This enables workers to be productive no matter where they are, and enables businesses to provide a consistent user experience across several office or branch locations.

Let’s say you’re visiting a client, and you realize that you left the proposal that you stayed up all night to complete. In a world without the cloud, the only way you’re getting that proposal is by physically retrieving it. But in a world with the cloud, you can access that proposal from anywhere on the globe with an internet connection.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are cloud solutions compliant with data privacy regulations like HIPPA or GDPR?

Even if you are subject to strict data privacy regulations, you still may be able to take advantage of the cloud. In fact, some popular cloud providers might do a better job of keeping you compliant than you would on your own. That said, there are solutions that enable businesses to monitor their cloud environment to make sure it is compliant with certain regulations.

In general, the cloud is as secure as any other internet connected data center. If anything, you can expect better security from cloud service providers—the big ones in particular—as it is all but guaranteed that their security staff is better than anyone that you can assemble.

What do I need to do to move to the cloud?

shift your workload to the cloud is often a simple process for most company . In general , all is is you need to have in place beforehand is a cloud service provider , which will handle the bulk of the transition for you . However , you should note that move your workload to the cloud will increase the amount of network bandwidth you use , so you is want may want to consider increase that beforehand to ensure your connectivity is n’t disrupt .