Today, cloud computing is such an indispensable part of our lives that we are using it sometimes without even knowing that we are using it.
You can’t imagine even platforms like Facebook, Gmail, etc to exist without the existence of the cloud. You didn’t know this, right? Wait…wait…, there is still much more to surprise you!
Numerous companies, today, depend on cloud computing for services like document creation, backup to CRM, and much more…
So now the question that must have arisen in your mind is, what cloud computing is and why it is so important. This is what we have written this article for. You will get answers to all these questions below.
What is Cloud Computing?
Making use of hosted services for servers, data storage, databases, software, and networks over the internet is referred to as cloud computing. Here the servers are maintained by the company providing the cloud service.
A cloud computing user doesn’t need to manage the system resources he is using. Instead, the resources can be made available to the user by the provider of the cloud computing services as per the user’s specific demand.
Usually, the demand for resources like computing power, data storage, etc is different for different users at different times. So cloud computing stands as the best solution to match this kind of varying needs.
And, as far as the types of cloud computing are concerned, broadly, we can classify it into three types: infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS).
SaaS stands for Software as a Service. Any software that we can use through the internet comes under this category of cloud service. Examples: Google Apps, Gmail, Slack, etc.
PaaS stands for Platform as a Service. This model is used by organizations for developing their web applications or customized technical solutions through the cloud. Examples: IBM Cloud Foundry, Google App Engine, etc.
IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service. The IaaS model offers cloud-based resources like servers, networking, data storage, virtualization, data recovery, etc. Examples: AWS, MS Azure, etc.
Some SaaS apps also have PaaS functionality that allows users to develop their custom application extensions. Similarly, some companies offer both PaaS and IaaS functionality.
With that said, now we are ready to jump on the most important part of this article – the importance of cloud computing. So here we go…
The Importance of Cloud Computing
-Scalability
Scaling a business can have an instant and significant impact on revenues. But in the past when there was no such thing as cloud computing, scaling as per the demands wasn’t feasible.
With the cloud services available in the market, the scaling restrictions are no longer there. Companies can now anytime consider scaling processing power and size of their setup.
This revolution in the way organizations can manage their system resources fully owes its existence to cloud computing.
-Cost Effectiveness
With some extra benefits like scalability, agility, etc that come with the implementation of cloud computing in a business, cloud services prove to be far less costly as compared to the usual spending on the traditional types of setups.
So the cost of the cloud is another factor that makes it so important in today’s era.
The initial cost of migration to the cloud used to be high in the past. However, that too has been significantly reduced by the adoption of cloud-native technologies and multi-cloud strategies.
-Innovation
The use of cloud computing is important for executing innovations. And, Innovations can further help improve the performance level which is vital for the growth of a business.
Moreover, innovations lead to increased agility and reduced costs as well.
Industries like IoT (Internet of Things) are always in a race to innovate and launch more and more new products and it can’t be made possible if cloud computing isn’t in place for them to use.
-Better DevOps
Do you know why many companies or businesses have switched to DevOps models? That’s because it enables them to add new functionalities with maintained stability.
And, when cloud computing is also implemented in combination with DevOps, it opens doors to opportunities for faster development processes. Further, it also adds to the improvements in the business operations of an organization.
And, this enhancement in the capacity of an organization to add new functionalities with the aid of cloud services is another factor that adds to the importance of the cloud.
-Flexibility
As you know the tech industry is an industry that keeps evolving. So organizations need to adapt to the changes that have taken place in the market at a particular point in time.
Without being able to adapt to the evolution, it’s not possible for businesses to even survive, let alone the growth.
That’s where the implementation of cloud services can play a significant role. Cloud offers a flexible infrastructure which proves it to be a future-proof solution – another importance of cloud computing.
Moreover, the operational flexibility offered by the cloud is far less costly compared to traditional resource solutions.
-Compliance and Security
The industries like government, healthcare, defense, and pharma need to operate under tight regulations. The organizations that come under these sectors are bound to follow many compliance requirements.
It’s good news that major providers of cloud services take security and compliance seriously. They spend a considerable amount of their resources on developing security protocols and following compliance requirements.
Probably, that’s the reason why many reputed companies that need to strictly follow regulatory compliances are already using cloud computing. So better security and compliance that come with the cloud are other factors that make it so important.
-Multiple Models
Another reason that makes the cloud so important is that it is available in different service and deployment models.
There are mainly 3 types of service models in the cloud: SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. We have already described above in this article these models in detail.
And, concerning the deployment models in the cloud, there are 4 types: public, private, hybrid, and community.
Final Words
Cloud computing is the foundation of today’s digital world, which has already commenced to, and will continue to, impact the technological environment around us. The reasons we have reflected on above in this article are enough to highlight how important this segment (cloud) of technology is.
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