All You Need to Know About Cloud Computing!
The author is Sanchita Bhat, Marketing executive at Extentia.
Many of you may know Marc Benioff, Founder, CEO, Chairman of Salesforce; when asked what cloud computing is, he said, “If someone asks me what cloud computing is, I try not to get bogged down with definitions. I tell them that, simply put, cloud computing is a better way to run your business.”
Well, isn’t he spot on with his statement? Cloud computing’s impact on technology and the IT industry, in general, is significant and long-lasting. It has become an essential technology that delivers software, stores files, and connects people worldwide. Over the years, it has established its footprint in virtually every industry, including auto, healthcare, e-commerce, and consulting among others. It has even found popularity among consumers via cloud storage applications such as Google Drive and iCloud.
In this article, we elaborate on what cloud computing is and explore its capabilities and benefits for businesses. We hope this piece adds a fair bit to your knowledge.
What is Cloud Computing?
The simplest definition of cloud computing is efficiently storing and accessing data and programs over the internet instead of a physical hard drive on your computer. Unlike local storage, cloud computing works on shared assets such as servers and hard drives located somewhere else, which can be accessed anytime and anywhere.
Cloud computing is successfully transforming how businesses and consumers store and access their data by providing a mechanism to centralize computer services. It is helping companies save exorbitant costs of owning and maintaining technical infrastructure. One does not need to own and maintain IT infrastructure — with cloud computing, they can follow the pay per use model.
Types of Cloud Services
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS is the elemental level of cloud computing services. It enables businesses to rent servers, networks, and storage for building applications from the ground up. It provides businesses with the most control over individual elements of the infrastructure. IaaS is used for testing and development, web apps, data analysis, storage, backup, and even website hosting. IaaS enables innovation and application development while eliminating the costs of preserving the entire infrastructure. However, the main prerequisite for IaaS is that companies need to have the technical skills to utilize and manage services.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS is the level up from IaaS. The infrastructure provides software and tools for web and application development such as database management, middleware, and more. PaaS providers offer businesses, a complete set of services needed for development such as building, testing, managing, and updating. Furthermore, organizations use PaaS for analytics, improving development framework, and enhancing workflow, security, and scheduling.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
This is the most popular type of cloud-based service. In SaaS products, end-users connect and use cloud-based apps over the Internet. SaaS is generally offered as per-user basis services such as Adobe’s Photoshop or Microsoft’s Office 365. SaaS today provides sophisticated applications to email, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM), among many others.
Advantages of Cloud Computing
According to , more than half of the global enterprises will move to complete cloud-based infrastructure by the end of 2021. Furthermore, worldwide spending on cloud services and infrastructure is also expected to more than double from $229 billion in 2019 to $500 billion in 2023 . As fewer organizations invest in traditional IT, we will see a rise in the host of cloud infrastructures — private in-house cloud, hybrid clouds, and public cloud services that cater to organizations and consumers. Here are the advantages of cloud computing, which makes it a compelling technology:
Cloud computing eliminates the lengthy procurement process of setting up the infrastructure from the ground up. Cloud enables quick set up times for using new applications faster and thus gain business agility.
By moving to the cloud, businesses eliminate the need to buy and maintain costly hardware and IT infrastructure. The expensive costs of running an entire IT infrastructure are also completely offloaded, saving on overheads, including workforce such as IT experts.
Cloud services offer high-level security settings based on user requirements. Features such as data encryption before transmission over networks and storage add additional levels of security.
With cloud computing, employees can access data from anywhere and anytime. In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with people working remotely, cloud computing has become more critical than ever before, delivering services that make accessing data and connecting with people seamless.
Hardware is not always reliable and can lead to permanent loss of critical data in case of malfunction. Information is much safer in cloud-based servers that have dedicated infrastructure and maintenance capabilities.
Cloud Computing with Extentia
Today, the possibilities that cloud computing offers are endless, from software and analytics to secure and safe data. Whether for developing enterprise-class applications or for backing up phone data, the cloud has become an integral technology in our lives.
At Extentia, we have been designing, maintaining, and implementing applications on the cloud for years. Our comprehensive cloud computing solutions, cloud infrastructure services, and other cloud-based services ensure that our clients get the best. We have the experience to help you effortlessly transition your IT infrastructure to the cloud to leverage benefits. Connect with us to discuss more!
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Originally published at https://www.extentia.com on February 8, 2021.
