You’ll no doubt have heard of cloud computing. It’s the big buzz word in IT at the moment and pretty much everybody is talking about it. But why is it so important and what are the benefits of cloud computing for businesses? What is it about those fluffy white pillows of water vapour that is making so many headlines?
What is it?
Cloud computing is something that has been around for longer than the term. Remember getting a webmail account in the nineties so you could access your email from multiple computers? That’s cloud computing.
Like how you can post to Twitter from anywhere just by logging in? Also cloud computing.
In a nutshell, any computer work done over the internet is cloud computing.
The idea is to have devices connected to each other, removing the need for each computing device to store its own data. Instead, data is stored centrally, with each connected device being able to access remote information as if it was stored locally. This strips away one of the great inefficiencies in IT: the need to store local data.
Why is it so important in the IT sector?
As more and more of our lives move online, it’s getting more important to be cloud-savvy. Cloud networking is now a huge market as businesses look to de-centralize their computer needs. It’s really no surprise that cloud consultancy firms are looked to so often, as getting things working properly can be transformative for even a small business and scale all the way up to the biggest ones. With the cloud, the world can be your office and that appeals to most businesses in the modern day.
Although it’s hard to acquire the appropriate competencies in Cloud computing, there are many online platforms like Cloud Academy that offer cloud certifications and allow you to learn or improve cloud computing.
Read also: Agility in Cloud Computing – Empowering the Future of Digital Transformation
Benefits of cloud computing for businesses
The old business nightmare of getting halfway to an important meeting and realizing you forgot a report is resolved simply by accessing that document on the cloud. There’s also a huge amount of redundancy with traditional computing.
Applications and documents no longer need to be stored locally on each device that needs them, they can simply be made available centrally, with users accessing them whenever necessary. This can save a business paying for unnecessary additional software licenses for a user that works both from the office and at home.
It’s also worth noting that the security of devices is greatly increased with the cloud. If data isn’t stored locally, then a potential thief won’t be gaining information by stealing a laptop.
That data could be worth far more to the business than the cost of the laptop itself so any business worth their salt should be doing everything possible to protect it from would-be fraudsters. Even if there is data stored locally on a device, with a cloud connection, it can be remotely wiped to keep hands off your important information.
Another huge benefit to business is a decrease in disaster recover time. Let’s say your building is victim to floods. You’ve probably prepared for that situation with a backup site and evacuation plan in place, but what about the data and software you need for running your business? The quicker your staff can regain access the better and with the cloud, it’s as quick and simple as logging on from a new location.
Read also: 10 Lucrative Cloud Computing Jobs: Skills and Salaries Unveiled
[Image via Google Images]
Storing information in the cloud I believe is important for businesses and personal use as well. I have had various computer issues over the years, and using the cloud has made it so much easier to recover. Great information, thanks for sharing!