What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud Computing is an oft-heard term these days. What does it mean? In simple words, it means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer’s hard drive. The computing power of a network of computers located elsewhere and owned by third-parties, and their software, is provided to you as a service.
The ‘Cloud’ basically refers to a group of connected machines with storage drives and processors that becomes an extension of your local computer. While it is most frequently mentioned in context of data storage, cloud computing also allows you to access content and services, run applications, or develop software using web-based tools provided by other companies. Companies offering these services are called cloud providers, and typically charge users based on usage, much like utility companies.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines Cloud Computing as below:
“Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction”
Cloud Computing allows network access to shared resources, like networks, apps, services, storage, etc. from any place and at any time. Cloud Computing solutions are offered to organisations in the form of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS Solutions), and now, even Internet of Things Solutions (IoT Solutions). A Cloud Computing company offers resources like virtual machines, networking and storage capacity.
Cloud Computing: A Safety Hazard?
Research suggests that businesses these days are flocking to companies that provide SaaS solutions and IoT Solutions. As more and more companies jump onto the Cloud bandwagon, hackers too have trained their sights on it. The Cloud Security Alliance released a report which demonstrates the threats that an organisation might face after shifting to Cloud Computing. Indeed, for a few years, cloud computing progressed at a faster rate than cloud security could protect it. But 2016 has marked a turning point in closing this gap, with the advent of robust cloud security tools that outmatch their non-cloud parameter security architecture counterparts. Big Data security aggregators in the cloud have developed the intelligence to pinpoint and accurately assess breach attempts before major damage is done. With SDN advancements, IT admins can now see across entire networks, accelerating incident response times and providing early detection capabilities. Cloud service providers can also use their vast network to absorb the brunt of DDoS attacks much better than traditional networks.
Let’s Meet Up in the Cloud!
A Cloud Computing company offers a large number of advantages.
Synchronized backups: You might lose your computer for several reasons;however, losing your data is a bigger problem. Data that is stored on the cloud can be accessed from anywhere. So even if your system is beyond saving, you can still access your data.
Collaborative output: Your team members can collaborate with each other no matter where they are because, with the Cloud, any person can access information from anywhere and help deliver better results.
Software updates: The main reason as to why the Cloud has been so enthusiastically adopted is that the Cloud servers are not in your care. What this means is that these are maintained and updated automatically, requiring no effort, time or resources from your end.
SaaS Solutions, IoT Solutions, etc.: Businesses need to adopt and integrate SaaS solutions, IoT solutions, in fact, all the solutions offered by the incorporation of Cloud in order to optimise their operations and internal processes, as these are the need of the hour.
So, the next time you wish you had a system wherein you could store data and help deliver excellence, you can simply speak to a cloud computing company which offers SaaS Solutions, IoT Solutions, etc. Why wait, when you can simply take your organization to the Cloud?