In recent times, one of the most popular concepts mentioned in the IT environment has been, without doubt, that of Cloud Computing. This is a set of technologies based on infrastructure as well as on service, offering real advantages to important organizations whose main objective is to provide companies and/or end users with environments that are secure, flexible, personalized and dynamic.
In other words, Cloud Computing is essentially "Internet-based Computing", which provides its users with countless virtual services and resources. In this new concept, applications are considered as services that are accessible to the user provided you have an Internet connection.
Adopting the Cloud
It is a fact that the number of companies that decide to migrate their servers to the Cloud is growing, especially among small and medium sized enterprises. Lately, its adoption is growing exponentially, basically due to two main reasons: on the one hand, there is a clear need for IT firms to move all applications and documents used daily to Internet servers. On the other hand, IT companies wish to benefit from the many advantages offered by this new technological concept, to optimize their business and improve their operations with, consequently, increased competitiveness in the market, which is highly necessary these days.
Main Advantages and Benefits
A company, regardless of its size and features, can benefit in many ways from working in the Cloud. Among these advantages are flexibility, security, speed of implementation, an increase in performance and a significant cost reduction, as no investment in physical servers is required, among other factors, etc.
- Flexibility: When working in the Cloud, any demand is met almost immediately thanks to the remote servers´ capacities, in which all amenities are stored. The flexibility in this regard is vital and, indeed, the immediacy of response provided by this technology is one of the most valued and decisive reasons for adopting Cloud Computing technology.
- Disaster Recovery: This will no longer be a concern for companies that have opted for Cloud-based services, as this technology provides companies with all kinds of services geared towards information recovery after a disaster. These services keep an exact copy of the server, to solve any imminent problem quickly and effectively.
- Cost Reduction: The billing model of "pay as you go" used in Cloud technology can bring about a considerable reduction in overhead costs, such as those derived from software upgrades, servers for data storage, maintenance, etc. Cloud-based services are paid according to consumption and, therefore, the price will depend on the needs of each company and the use they make of these services. Thus, initial investment is much lower and overall costs are significantly reduced.
- Rapid Implementation: The simplicity of Cloud technology is perhaps one of its greatest advantages. The only requirement for a start-up is the availability of an Internet connection, but no previous installations of hardware or software are needed. Therefore, its implementation is fast, simple and agile.
- Automatic Updates: Cloud Computing allows automatic updating of all applications hosted on the server. There, all customizations and integrations previously performed during the upgrade are saved. In addition, Cloud providers themselves are responsible at all times for server maintenance and, therefore, all necessary updates.
- Promoting Teamwork: The Cloud allows all employees, wherever they are, to synchronize and work on the same documents at the same time while sharing the same application simultaneously. A study by Frost & Sullivan reveals that companies investing in collaborative Cloud technology get a return on investment of up to 400%. This means that collaborative work inevitably increases efficiency and, therefore, boosts a company´s profits.
- Service Integration: The nature of Cloud technology makes it much easier and quicker to integrate these applications with other enterprise programs, and this is true for both traditional software and infrastructure-based Cloud Computing, whether they are developed internally or externally.
- Competitiveness: The Cloud puts advanced technology within the reach of small and medium sized enterprises, which greatly benefit from these applications. They are able to enhance their processes, rapidly meet potential demands, and – quicker than larger firms – optimize their businesses. In other words, SME´s achieve a significant competitive improvement in the market, as well as an important cost reduction related to initial investments. This give these companies the possibility to compete with large organizations, which until now had much more resources than them.
Take Advantage of Cloud Computing
Clearly, this is a new technological concept, a new model of business services that represent a significant change in the way people work with respect to the traditional work system used so far.
However, despite the initial resistance to change shown by numerous companies, over the past years there has been a lot of progress made in this regard. Recent studies clearly indicate a greater adoption of Cloud Computing than was apparent from previous studies. For example, a study by Gartner Research, among others, reveals that the turnover in Cloud Computing is increasing exponentially worldwide, pointing to unprecedented and totally unexpected growth rates.
The question then is: How to make the most of the Cloud? Undoubtedly, as noted above, the benefits and advantages provided by this new work system are undeniable and numerous. And all of them make Cloud Computing an essential working tool for any company, regardless of its size. Therefore, companies should take full advantage of all these advantages, and the best way to do that is by maximizing its benefits of flexibility, efficiency, agility, profitability, performance, safety, cost savings, etc., while minimizing the risks.
Any company, whether an SME or large corporation, that is on its way towards progress and modernization can and should take advantage of the potential offered by Cloud Computing. To be increasingly competitive, these companies must adapt to the changing times and, with them, to the new technologies as they emerge.
Julio A. Olivares
DocPath CEO