Why Should Your Business Embrace Cloud Computing?

So, what’s cloud computing?

In its simplest form, cloud computing refers to the method of sharing software, information, resources etc via the internet. Cloud computing providers maintain and control physical servers where all the information is stored.

Key benefits of cloud computing

These days, businesses, regardless of their volume or industry, are turning to cloud services. Cloud adoption is accelerating quite faster than anticipated previously. The fast development of the workloads positioned in the cloud and a higher percentage of the total IT budget moving toward cloud computing. You may wonder why is cloud computing gaining so much importance? It’s simply because it brings a multitude of benefits. Have a look at the major advantages of using cloud computing.

Mass storage

This is probably the biggest advantage of using cloud computing. The sheer amount of files as well as formats we deal with are growing increasingly on a regular basis. For example, businesses work with presentations, prototypes, graphic documents etc and need storage systems of huge capacity. Even the smallest businesses need gigantic storage spaces to store their documents. With cloud computing they don’t need to think about running out of their local storage spaces.

Competitiveness

The cloud model helps businesses to improve their competitiveness levels and responsiveness, and to streamline operations. Without the use of cloud computing, higher levels of excellences are very difficult to attain through traditional models. The cloud not only improves engagement among teams and boosts cooperation, but also allows them to work on shared apps and documents simultaneously. It greatly helps in keeping track of regular business issues in real-time and thus, resolving them.

Flexible costs

The costs of using cloud computing are much more flexible compared to traditional methods. Businesses only need to commission, and hence only pay for the infrastructure and server capacity as and when they’re needed. In peak times, more capacity can be provisioned and then de-provisioned when it’s no longer needed. With the traditional method, businesses need to buy capacity sufficient for the peak times and allow that to sit idle the rest of the time.

Reduced costs

Cloud computing is generally inexpensive compared to traditional methods. Businesses don’t need to install the software themselves as it’s already installed online. There’s a significant number of cloud computing applications that are available for free and increasing memory and storage capacity is affordable. When a business needs to pay for a cloud service, it’s usually paid for incrementally on a yearly or monthly basis. By opting for a plan that comes with no contract or binding, businesses can terminate their use of the services when they don’t need it anymore.

Improved availability and mobility

The majority of the cloud computing service providers are extremely reliable in offering their services, with many of them maintaining 99.99% guaranteed uptime. As a result, the connection remains always on and as long as users have an internet connection, they can access the required applications practically from anywhere. With applications available to users all the time, they can take their work anywhere through smart devices, enjoying the benefit of mobility.

Business agility

Businesses with substantial investments in technology sometimes find themselves unable to respond to competitive pressure or reap the benefits of shifts in the market. The main reason is the people, time or capital are sometimes not available in the measure required to react. With cloud computing services, these barriers have been removed, enabling businesses to continuously adapt their technology requirements to their business operations without the costs which would generally need to be considered with their own datacenters.

Automatic software updates

Another crucial advantage of using cloud computing is that service providers take care of regular software updates. They make the latest versions of applications required to optimize business functions available to the users as soon as they’re released. Instant upgrades put latest functionalities at the users’ disposal, boosting their productivity.

Final takeaway

These are the main reasons for which most businesses embrace cloud computing. There’s also one thing that sums up all the foregoing – cloud computing is much more than just a service or tool to store information and experience other technology-related benefits. It actually changes the way in which businesses work, allowing them to enjoy more freedom, but keeping control over their every resource always. Though cloud computing is somewhat new technology, it can be only expected to become more widespread. So, if you’ve not already, perhaps this is the best time to move your business to the cloud.