What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing refers to the process of storing and accessing data and programs over the internet. When a user stores data or programs in the local disk it is referred as local computing or local storage. Cloud computing is meant to facilitate shared access and enable users to access cloud services from anywhere there is an internet connection.

Which cloud services can benefit Business?

Most businesses access cloud services as part of IT consulting from their providers. Businesses may choose to use Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) where they subscribe to a software application and access it over the internet. Most of these applications are often web services such as Office 365 and Microsoft OneDrive among others.

The business can use the cloud as Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Basically, business create its own apps and access them over the internet. Users access applications services and tools over the internet using Application program interfaces (APIs), gateway software or web portals. PaaS is mainly used for general software development while many providers will host the applications after they are developed. Examples include - Google App Engine, Salesforce, Force.com and Amazon’s Elastic Beanstalk.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is when large corporations such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft provide a cloud service that can be rented by businesses and consumers for their own use. Business users are allocated storage capacity and they are allowed to start, access and configure the virtual machine and the stored data as desired. IaaS providers target small, medium and large memory-optimized instances as well as customized instances for the varied business workload needs.

Deciding which cloud solution is best for your business can be difficult due to the many options available on the market. A Managed Service Provider (MSP) can help you decide which cloud service best fits your needs. The Tech Info Group is an MSP that has helped many businesses successfully move to a cloud platform. Reaching out to the experts can help save the business money and time.

Optional Cloud Services

Google cloud – it is a computing cloud service offered by Google for users to store, share and access word documents, slides and excel sheets. It has cloud apps such as Google Docs, Google slides and Google spreadsheets. Google offers most of its services through the cloud including Google Calendar, Gmail and Google Maps among others.

Apple iCloud – Apple provides a cloud service mainly for backup, online storage and synchronization for personal contacts, mail services and calendar among others. Apple also offers cloud-based versions spreadsheet (Numbers), word processor (pages) and presentations (keynote) for its iCloud subscribers.

Amazon Cloud Drive – They provide great storage service and integrates well with music player, MP3. Unfortunately, Amazon cloud lacks many features compared to other services. There are limitations on file sharing and offline access.

Advantages of Cloud Solution

Cloud computing is beneficial to businesses because it allows them to have the needed flexibility of connecting their applications anywhere. With the growing number of connected devices in today’s business environment, access to data is much easier. There are various benefits:

Reduced IT costs – the essence of cloud computing is to reduce cost of maintaining and managing IT infrastructure and systems. For many businesses, especially small business, purchasing an IT infrastructure is out of reach. Cloud services is an affordable method that can help manage a business at a lower cost.

Scalability – since cloud services are mostly shared across many businesses in a shared infrastructure from the provider, it is easier to scale-up or scale down operations and storage needs to suit business needs.

Business continuity – protecting business data is an important part of ensuring continuity planning. Business data need to be backed up online to ensure access in case of power failure, natural disaster, or other crisis.