Before we discuss the reasons you should consider using cloud computing services, there are different types of cloud computing models you should be aware of.
Iaas (Infrastructure as a service)
Paas (Platform as a service)
Saas (Software as a service)
Think of these terms as an inverted pyramid. If you and your team want to manage and develop the infrastructure on your own, we recommend going with Iaas. However, if you want to eliminate the need for an IT team completely and have simple access through the internet, it is best to go with Saas. Paas is a good mixture of both and is known as a hybrid cloud.
So, what are the advantages of cloud computing? We carefully crafted a list of ten reasons below.
1. Pay As You Go
If you use on-premise software, you will have to buy an entire system for your business. These can be extremely expensive. Whenever you need to change or upgrade something, that will mean spending significantly more money. Plus, you’ll need to factor in the time your IT team will spend managing and adding to it. With cloud spending, you can pay as you go! As your business grows and needs more application storage, you can start out small and add on quickly as your organization changes.
2. Easy Set-Up
On-premise takes a considerable amount of time to get set up. Envision a group of IT experts working day after day to set up and configure your new technology. But with cloud computing, you get on-demand computing services. The company will already have cloud data centers ready for you to use.
3. Flexibility
There is nothing more aggravating than spending a ton of money on new on-premise resources just to scale down or not need it a few months later. With cloud computing, you can continue adjusting and maintaining IT infrastructure as needed. Cloud service providers give you the ability to experiment with different services without financial risk.
4. No Experts Needed
You do not need to have a dozen IT experts and developers in your building to operate your cloud computing services. Your provider will deal with both physical hardware and software maintenance. Of course, this will depend on what service model you choose. Though no matter which you go with, your maintenance costs will go down because you typically won’t need to bring in more employees.
5. Security
With on-premise software, a major investment will be data security. Then, you will have to find someone to consistently manage it. Cloud hosting services are amazing in this department because they will do all of this for you! Additionally, their cloud computing security is 9 times out of 10 more secure than on-premises because they hold important and sensitive data for an enormous amount of companies throughout the world. They need their cloud security tools to be incredibly dependable to keep customers, which is a win-win for both parties.
6. Disaster Recovery
Similar to security, disaster recovery is something that cloud services spend a good deal of time perfecting. It takes a lot of money, resources, and energy to set up disaster recovery on your own, so why not just let a provider do it for you?
7. Access and Collaboration
COVID-19 has changed the way we do business across the globe. Employees have relished the ability to work from anywhere in the world, and many do not plan to stop. With cloud computing, you can have your employees access information and services from pretty much anywhere as long as they are within the cloud computing region and have WiFi. If you use the DevOps method in your company, this means more collaboration and teamwork for everyone who has access. With on-premise, everyone would have to be in the same building to get these resources.
8. Data Sharing
Not only can you access everything remotely, but you can also share data in the same way. Remember, these application service providers work by using the internet. So, you and your employees will share data via the Internet too.
9. Easy Updates
Do you ever wake up and see that your phone has updated apps automatically overnight? Cloud computing works in the same way if you want it to. On-premise requires your staff to manually update it. Especially if you decide to use Saas, it’s astonishingly effortless to keep your software up to date.
10. Provider Options
There are a plethora of cloud service providers to choose from. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Google Cloud Platform, Azure, Office 365, and Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) are all popular options. They all work a little differently, so you can pick one that benefits you the most.
In addition to the ten reasons listed above, we know there are many more cloud computing benefits for organizations of all sizes. Cloud adopters will have the ability to see their businesses grow and succeed without worrying about finding and buying the specific technology needed to do it.
At Improving, we can help you figure out which cloud computing service is right for you and how to use it effectively. Learn more about us here.
