What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is a way of computing via the Internet. Applications and data are securely stored ‘in the cloud’ and accessed via the Internet from any web enabled device. The term ‘cloud’ is used as a metaphor for the Internet. Often this type of computing is referred to as ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS).

This setup enables many benefits, these are shown below.

What are the benefits of cloud computing for my business?

Cost: Capital expenditure is no longer required for expensive servers and software licences. Maintenance costs for these are also removed as the provider of the cloud based solution is responsible for providing its customers with a level of service set out in a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Upgrades and downtime of systems for these operations is also removed, as these are simply rolled out to customers seamlessly and at no additional cost. Costs are seen by way of operational expenditure and are usually a monthly or yearly subscription service.

Device and location independence: Users can access systems regardless of location via the web. As systems are not installed to a single device, any computer or mobile device can be used for access.

Maintenance: As systems are not installed and are delivered via the web, all maintenance of the system is taken care of by the company delivering the system. Support is therefore much easier as any changes reach all users immediately.

Reliability: Whilst traditional systems that are run from in house servers have limited redundancy built in and any single failure can result in loss of service, cloud systems are supported by a SLA guaranteeing a high uptime (typically 99.7%). Servers are clustered and there is always a high degree of redundancy built in to ensure continued service to all customers.

Scalability: With most SaaS systems, you only pay for what you need and as such if you need more users/greater capacity, you simply pay for the extra you need. The increments are small in terms of cost.

Security: As data is stored in the cloud, it is backed up regularly for disaster recovery by the system provider. Data is secure and generally is transmitted over https. Again, security is covered within the SLA of the system provider.

Sustainability: Because system recources are utilized more efficiently through cloud computing and as users do not need ‘always on’ servers at their business premises, cloud computing is regarded as being more efficient and thus a greener option.