Cloud computing has been around for over two decades now. The efficiencies, cost-benefits, agility and scalability of cloud continue to drive its popularity. A study by the International Data Group showed that 69% of businesses have shifted to the cloud in one capacity or another.
Another 18% are considering cloud-computing solutions for their organisations. Moreover, Dell claims that organisations investing in accessibility, security, and cloud solutions, are enjoying 53% faster revenue growth as they outrank their competition. With convincing statistics and proven benefits, more tech-savvy organisations have joined the cloud-computing trend to improve efficiency with scalable and cost-effective IT solutions. Laggards however, remain continuing to operate traditional IT infrastructure, oblivious to the power of cloud computing.
What makes cloud computing so important?
As noted above cloud computing is a term that has gained popularity over the last couple of decades. It allows businesses to access hardware and software via a virtual network. Traditional IT solutions include onsite physical servers dedicated to specific tasks, working within a ‘specified’ capacity. Cloud solutions, on the other hand, are infinitely scalable, more secure, and ultimately less costly.
While traditional IT infrastructure demands more capital and a dedicated IT team for maintenance, it also creates limitations for scalability, data storage, etc. Cloud-based services eliminate the hassle of on-site infrastructure and associated maintenance and offer flexible IT solutions to maximise infrastructure efficiency.
People probably do not realise that they depend on cloud-based applications (Gmail, Google Drive, Instagram, Facebook) for daily interactions and business marketing.
Advantages of cloud computing
Cloud computing has become a vital service for many organisations – mainly because of the following outcomes that cloud can deliver back to the business.
Decreased IT costs
Cloud computing provides cost-effective services by cutting the substantial costs of onsite IT infrastructure and the supporting dedicated IT team. In the world of cloud, it is the cloud service provider who is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure – eliminating the burden of responsibility on the user.
Genuine cloud services offer pay-as-you-go subscriptions, so businesses only pay for the resources they use and nothing more.
Easy deployment
Cloud computing offers access to multiple virtual servers with different operating systems. Developers can easily test new applications on different servers without the limitations of onsite IT infrastructure.
Because the cloud service provider is responsible for patching, upgrades and ongoing maintenance of all the infrastructure, users can also have a higher level of confidence in the security and stability of their environments.
Importantly environments are set up to enable users to easily access their data.
Collaboration
Many cloud-based services also offer collaborative spaces that allow employees to connect on one platform, enhancing engagement and maximising efficiency.
Scalability
Businesses have different IT needs. A large organisation with 2000+ employees does not have the same requirements as a startup. The cloud offers scalable resources to meet the different and changing IT demands of different types and sizes of businesses.
As businesses grow, their data grows with them. With cloud-based solutions, businesses can easily scale up their cloud capacity without the added costs or hassle of physical infrastructure. Cloud computing offers on-demand, high-performance, and secure resources with limitless scalability and no up-front investments.
Portability
Cloud computing offers mobile access. You can easily access your data on your smartphones and other devices.
Date on the cloud can be easily stored, recovered, or processed within minutes with a couple of clicks. Users can access data anytime, on any device, from anywhere. All they need is an internet connection.
Backup & Disaster Recovery
The cloud can also store your data in multiple, virtual locations. If one location is compromised, data can be immediately retrieved from another location. This minimises downtime for businesses and enables rapid restoration of data.
Data loss is a major concern for many organisations. Cloud computing ensures data integrity and security, even if your physical devices (laptops, PCs, smartphones) are compromised. While traditional IT infrastructure stores data locally, it can be lost if any of the physical servers are compromised. Since the cloud creates a virtual environment accessible on any device, typically with geo-resilience, your data is secure and easily retrievable in the event of device compromise.
AUCloud offers scalable and cost-effective Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) with ransomware protection to ensure your data is always secure. Combined with our Disaster recovery-as-aService (DRaaS), you can minimise data loss and downtime with rapid restoration.
Sustainability
Cloud computing is an environmentally friendly alternative to on-premises IT infrastructure. Reducing the footprint of localised physical infrastructure combined with the aggregation of discrete enterprise data centres to larger scale facilities that can manage power capacity more efficiently, optimise cooling, leverage more power efficient servers and increase server utilisation ultimately reduces carbon emissions. According to the Pike Research report, by 2021, cloud computing would cut down the IT carbon footprint by some 38%.
Data security
When talking about data, it’s impossible to skip the importance of data security. It is one of the major concerns of every business due to the increase in number and sophistication of cyber threats, including ransomware – all of which put at risk business performance, revenue, and reputation.
Cloud computing makes data security a priority. Granular permissions, authorised access, encryption, authentication, etc., are some ways cloud computing ensures your data is stored and managed with zero compromise to security.
Control
It is crucial that businesses control the sensitive data they store in the cloud. Cloud computing offers complete visibility and control over organisational data. You can set authorised access, which ensures safety and streamlines operations. Employees can only view the data they have access to and easily retrieve the documents assigned to them, increasing collaboration and efficiency.
Competitive edge
Shifting to the cloud puts your business one step ahead of your competitors. A Verizon study showed that 77% of businesses claimed they got a competitive edge by shifting to the cloud, while 16% acknowledged the significant advantage.
The future is Cloud computing
Cloud computing adoption is gaining popularity, and it’s not surprising why. Organisations acknowledge the benefits of cloud computing as they experience how it significantly improves production, security, efficiency, and revenue. With cloud computing, companies reduce costs and maximise efficiency.
Cloud computing streamlines business operations and allows businesses to rapidly respond to the latest market trends. Your data and resources are a few clicks away, ensuring accessibility and minimising downtime. As pressure mounts for organisations to be fully digital, cloud-based services offer provide a cost effective vehicle to respond more rapidly to technology trends and expectations.
Are you thinking about making the switch to cloud-based services? AUCloud is a VMware Verified Cloud and Sovereign Cloud Partner offering an Australian sovereign cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). Focused on the Australian Government and Critical Infrastructure communities. AUCloud is owned, managed, and operated in Australia with a team of security cleared professionals and an infrastructure that does not compromise data security.
Data security is in our DNA. Give us a call and get in touch with one of our representatives today.
