What is Cloud Computing and its different benefits?

Cloud computing is based on the premise that the main computing takes place on a machine, often remote, that is not the one currently being used. Data collected during this process is stored and processed by remote servers (also called cloud servers). This means the device accessing the cloud doesn't need to work as hard.

By hosting software, platforms, and databases remotely, the cloud servers free up the memory and computing power of individual computers. Users can securely access cloud services using credentials received from the cloud computing provider.

Cloud computing benefits

Here's a list of key benefits an enterprise can expect to achieve when adopting cloud infrastructure.

1. Efficiency / cost reduction

By using cloud infrastructure, you don't have to spend huge amounts of money on purchasing and maintain equipment. This drastically reduces capex costs. You don’t have to invest in hardware, facilities, utilities, or building out a large data center to grow your business. You do not even need large IT teams to handle your cloud data center operations, as you can enjoy the expertise of your cloud provider’s staff.

Cloud also reduces costs related to downtime. Since downtime is rare in cloud systems, this means you don't have to spend time and money on fixing potential issues related to downtime.

2. Data security

One of the major concerns of every business, regardless of size and industry, is the security of its data. Data breaches and other cybercrimes can devastate a company's revenue, customer loyalty and brand positioning.

Cloud offers many advanced security features that guarantee that data is securely stored and handled.

Cloud storage providers implement baseline protections for their platforms and the data they process, such authentication, access control, and encryption. From there, most enterprises supplement these protections with added security measures of their own to bolster cloud data protection and tighten access to sensitive information in the cloud.

3. Scalability

Different companies have different IT needs -- a large enterprise of 1000+ employees won't have the same IT requirements as a start-up. Using cloud is a great solution because it enables enterprise to efficiently -- and quickly -- scale up/down their IT departments, according to business demands.

Cloud based solutions are ideal for businesses with growing or fluctuating bandwidth demands. If your business demands increase, you can easily increase your cloud capacity without having to invest in physical infrastructure. This level of agility can give businesses using cloud computing a real advantage over competitors.

This scalability minimizes the risks associated with in-house operational issues and maintenance. You have high-performance resources at your disposal with professional solutions and zero up-front investment. Scalability is probably the greatest advantage of the cloud.

I hope this information will be helpful!

Matt Henry