Exploring the Business Benefits of the Cloud

Cloud computing has become a commonplace technology solution, primarily provided on a service business model. The cloud has quickly gained preferential status over mainframe computing because it offers many significant advantages over having a centralized, physical presence within a company.

Massive data centers provide a model that’s tough to compete with using an organization’s existing or anticipated build-out of IT resources. Sharing resources results in an economy of scale, reducing costs through increased scale and reduced cost per unit.

Until new technologies emerge to compete realistically, the cloud will likely be the first solution your boss asks you to look into for application and web development, as well as other computing needs. The cloud, as of this writing, makes good business sense.

1. Cost-Effective for Small Businesses

For companies trying to save on overhead, the cloud is an obvious choice. You’ll find that most businesses offer flexible pricing adapted to your specific needs. There may be reduced requirements for additional data center resources such as servers, software, and IT staff within your own company by provisioning through a cloud service.

2. Flexibility and Reliability

Cloud computing firms have an excellent reputation for uptime, due to built-in geographical redundancies; if a service center has a problem, there’s a strong likelihood your data and information are still available as they’re being mirrored at a separate location.

Your employees will benefit from accessing information globally, including from their smartphones, if so desired, while collaborating more easily with colleagues. When data is shared, and access is appropriately controlled, there is less time wasted in gathering and sharing information when it’s at everyone’s fingertips.

Your cloud development projects may even be shared across companies on public clouds, as opposed to on your own organization’s enterprise cloud.

3. Improved Service and Stability for Websites

Perhaps your business needs are less business intensive. If you want to host your website in a cloud environment, you’ll find that there is no shortage of services available to cater to your site’s capacity, including hosting multiple sites. Many of these plans offer a variety of memory, CPU speed, the number of domains being organized, and additional tools at quite a reasonable monthly service cost.

Cloud hosting on services can improve the speed with which your content is displayed, features server allocation capabilities to handle big traffic spikes without slowing service, and includes a dashboard for better resource management.

4. The Cloud Computing Solution is Popular for a Reason

The cloud might not be for everyone, and there are a variety of different hosting options. Though security and access control can be strong in handling data, a company may prefer that all servers and resources remain on company property, where those assets can be more closely monitored. Maybe the entire IT infrastructure for concern is quite low, and an in-house service center isn’t going to be so expensive.

But generally speaking, cloud computing remains advantageous for cost, reliability, flexibility, and management purposes. By reducing the focus on in-house services, an organization can invest its IT needs through automated, monthly payments that are scalable, provide little risk, and a good deal of benefit.