Cloud is a familiar term used for cloud computing. In brief, cloud computing means the process of storing and accessing the data and programs over the internet instead of saving it on computers hard drives.
You can access, view, edit, upload the datas even from home, company, Internet cafes through various web-enabled devices such as computers, mobile phones, smart phone, iPhones etc. There is no necessity of carrying the physical hard drives always with you.
Cloud computing offers many benefits to your business. It allows you to set up what is essentially a virtual office to give you the flexibility of connecting to your business anywhere, any time. With the growing number of web-enabled devices used in today's business environment (e.g. smartphones, tablets), access to your data is even easier. There are many benefits in moving your business to the cloud.
Cloud has become familiar in many places and surprisingly grown into multiple business activities. It has become a popular topics for headlines on different newspapers and magazines.
Now a days people take advantages of cloud services to build a home network and other infrastructures rather than building the entire system hiring a technician. It`s very advantageous in terms of cost too.
In addition,due to the raise in Quality of service and security Improvement of technology the older technology has been faded by the cloud technology because of its robust features of data security.
Therefore, many company considers cloud services to be the major sources of business in these recent years.
Cloud services deployed in business are mainly classified into three types as below:
The licensed software package can be provided via Internet. With the use of this on-demand software you will be able to access the server without being installed on your computer.
Familiar e-mail services such as gmail, yahoo mail etc are the popular functions of SaaS.
As the name defines, it provides the platform and environment to allow developers to build and access applications and services over the internet. It allows users to create software applications using the tools supplied by the provider.
It is a service model that delivers computer infrastructure such as hardware, storage, servers and data center space, network components including softwares. Since the available infrastructure is virtualised and centralized on the cloud, users can access without having to own the physical hardware assets.
SaaS: Service to provide software services
PaaS: Service to provide platform
HaaS/ IaaS: Service that provides the hardware infrastructure
Cloud computing reduces the cost of maintaining and managing the IT systems. Various costs associated with purchasing server and deploying application etc exists. Rather than purchasing expensive systems and equipments for the business, the cost can be minimised through cloud computing since there’s no necessity to spend big money on hardware, software or licensing fees.
Taking advantage of the cloud, it doesn’t requires long time to start a business as they do not physically own the IT solutions they use since services are provided online within a short period. Later, the business can scale up or scale down the operation and storage needs quickly to suit the situation, allowing flexibility as your needs change. Rather than purchasing and installing expensive upgrades, it can be handled easily within a short period of time. Using the cloud frees up your time so you can get on with running your business. Cloud users can increase or decrease their use of cloud services according to demand and usage. You do not need to pay for services you do not require.
Protecting corporate data and systems is an important concern of business continuity planning. If you experience any troubles such as natural disaster, power failure or other crisis, having your data stored in the cloud ensures it is backed up and protected in a secure and safe location which is one of the major benefit of Cloud. Being able to access your data again quickly allows you to conduct business as usual, minimising any downtime and loss of productivity.
There are numerous updates that needs to be performed on periodic interval. Access to automatic updates for your IT requirements is managed by your cloud computing service provider so that your system will regularly be updated with the latest technology. This could include up-to-date versions of software, as well as upgrades to servers and computer processing power etc and you are always with the latest version.
