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5 benefits and limitations of cloud computing services
Cloud computing is no more a bandwagon, it has become a ubiquitous service now. As per Statista, the worldwide cloud computing services reached 3517 billion dollars in 2017 and is forecasted to cross 3683 billion dollars in 2018.
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
The IT world has delivered one thing constantly – Upgrades. No matter what industry you belong to, every year a new technology will be waiting to get implemented in. 5 years ago, the cloud computing was considered to be the choice of tech behemoths like Google, Amazon, Cisco, Intel, Dell, and so on. But it’s not the same in 2018. Every business from a start-up and SMB to a large-scale organization, everyone is choosing to migrate to the cloud to strive in the competition outstandingly well.
You might have noticed one thing. Every e-commerce store can’t earn the same success of brick & mortar store. Similarly, every business can’t reap the benefits of cloud ahead of the time. This blog would provide you the insights related to the benefits and limitations of cloud services with in-depth examples.
The cloud computing services have turned the software development approach upside down
“I don’t need a hard disk in my computer if I can get to the server faster. Carrying around this nonconnected computers is Byzantine by comparison.” - Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs’ above statement indicates towards the trending as well as upcoming demands of cloud services. Earlier, the IT solutions provider used to assess infrastructure cost for project estimation. But the emergence of cloud computing has eliminated the infrastructure planning at all. So one has to battle at development front only. Moreover, the cloud services appear in many formats like IaaS (Infrastructure as a service), PaaS( Platform as a Service), SaaS(Software as a Service, TaaS (Testing as a Service), DaaS(Desktop as a Service) and many more. You name it and you’ll get it. Let’s check out the benefits one by one.
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1. The Cost
Having set up own infrastructure and its maintenance system is certainly a time consuming and costly affair. It’s beyond the pocket of startups and SMBs. Right from the cost of heavy load servers, the licensed software, and huge maintenance team, every cost can be saved and spent where necessary. Plus, if business demands a scaling, the infrastructure has to scale high to match up the scenario. This kind of upgrade requirement ends up in a new purchase of either hardware, software or both.
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Migrating to cloud saves you from hiring an IT maintenance team and paying regularly for costly updates. In addition to that, you can scale up or down quite easily and pay as per your use to cloud services.
2. Relief From Backup & Recovery Management
Your business is only your baby at the end of the day, no matter everybody does the job perfectly. The very first thing needs to be done is its safety. What if the solely dedicated server crashes followed by a failure of a backup system? It’s like a nightmare, correct? And it’s possible. It’s not a wise decision to spend more on infrastructure to assure safety.
For the industries such as banking and finance, cloud service is a huge blessing. Because a miss of single transaction can result in a big news causing penalties or court cases. Opting for cloud computing means to get completely out of the picture for a backup system. Here, the data storage is distributed amongst connected server instead of one place. Right from the data security to legal compliance, everything is cloud service provider’s responsibility. Everything would be automatically taken care of with the best measures.
3. Scaling is just one email away
In case, your business is progressing high resulting in a big leap. Definitely, your IT infrastructure will have to cope up with that leap. Cloud computing allows you to upgrade to higher measures by sending just an email. All you need to do is to send an email or to call a service provider mentioning your needs and you would notice it’s happening immediately. The big organizations like schools, colleges and even e-commerce sites where user loads can increase tremendously, an IT infrastructure gets scaled up immediately and the cost would be nominal compared to setting up yet another hardware system along with necessary software upgrades.
4. Inter-department collaboration is no longer a headache now
The cloud computing came into an existence when large enterprises started failing in inter-department collaboration especially across the multi-locations. The cloud computing services provide a big sense of relief because of data security, scalability and an ease of access attached to it. The cloud computing services bring employees, users, customers and third parties from various locations under one roof and eliminate those time-consuming, tiresome and ‘stuck’ phases. It’s become quite easy to share and communicate with anyone available on board. For example, a real estate field is associated with masons, contractors, builders, architects and many more people. Here a cloud-based portal can help quick and seamless sharing of necessary data confidentially to a relevant person.
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5. Cloud Is Available 24 X 7 And It’s Paperless
Opting for cloud computing means not only data security but also the 24X7 accessibility of the data anywhere in the world. With everything on the cloud, you no longer have to store your file on your office PC. At your home, or even though you're mobile, you can easily access your valuable data anytime. Moreover, cloud computing helps to make the paperless world. Because every data is doubly secure and accessible in few seconds, you no longer have to keep its paper format to show or study or even email.
Think a little before flying to the clouds
No technology is without limitation. So is cloud computing. Before taking a flight to clouds, the business owners must cross-check it doubly sure. The key decision makers of SMBs and startups need to find out the compatibility between requirements and cloud computing. No further discussion, let’s checkout limitations one by one.
1. Internet dependence
Everything at the cloud is accessible through internet only. If the cloud server faces some issues, so will your application. Plus, if you use an internet service that fluctuates a lot, the cloud computing is not for you. Even the biggest service providers face quite long downtimes. In certain scenarios, it’s become a crucial decision to opt for cloud services.
2. Data incompatibility
This is varied as per different service providers. Sometimes, a vendor locks in the customer by using proprietary rights so that a customer can’t switch to another vendor. For example, there is a chance that a vendor doesn’t provide compatibility with Google Docs or Google Sheets. As your customers or employees are becoming advanced, your business may be in crucial need for it. So ensure your contract with the provider as per your terms, not them.
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3. Security breach threats
Again, the data transactions happen through internet only. Though your cloud service provider claims to be one of the best-secured-service providers, it should be your call finally. Because cloud computing history has noted big accidents, before. So if you own a business where a single miss or corruption of data is not at all acceptable, you should think 100 times before going for the cloud, especially for large-scale business. But for small business owners, the question here is – will you be able to provide more security levels to your applications than a cloud service provider does?
4. Various costs
Is your current application compatible enough to take to clouds? The common mistake business owners do is to invite unrequired expense in order to be highly-advanced. As per the current scenario and near future analysis, if your current infrastructure is serving the needs, then migrating to the clouds would not be recommended. Because it may happen that to be compatible with clouds, your business applications need to be re-written. Moreover, if your business demands huge data transfers, every month you would be billed huge as well. Sometimes, having set up own infrastructure can save you from this kind of constant high billings.
5. Customer support
Before opting for clouds, check out the query resolving time. With time, service providers are going modern but still check for the best. If your business faces heavy traffic every day and heavier on weekends, then a quick fix is always on top priority. The best cloud service provider must have optimum support for technical difficulties via email, call, chat or even forums. Choose the one who provides the highest support.
In Short,
The cloud computing is an advancement of technologies. Sooner or later, all the businesses are going for it. But to determine whether this is your business time is solely depending on your business criticalities. One advice by tech guru is that fly slowly towards clouds. Check with one or two applications followed by the rest. As the time advances, you will get a deep understanding of cloud computing and that will be the perfect time to take a giant leap.