Is your head in the clouds? We are talking about cloud computing! In the past few years, we have seen a huge increase in the amount of cloud computing happening within businesses. So, what is cloud computing? It’s an option for increased storage without purchasing new hardware. It promotes improved collaboration through file sharing and social spaces while also ensuring increased security of your data with built-in features like encryption and access control. Cloud computing is flexible and easily scalable, allowing businesses to meet demands more quickly. More and more companies are seeing the benefits of cloud computing and are switching to it.
Cloud computing for businesses is usually used in one of three ways: infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS), and data analysis and storage. laaS is very common and ever-evolving. It delivers network and storage resources on demand, and it enables companies to save on the costs of acquiring, managing, and maintaining their own IT infrastructure. SaaS offers software to access online rather than IT teams having to buy and install it on individual systems. A third way organizations can use cloud computing is for data analysis and storage. A massive amount of data is collected daily by corporate endpoints, cloud applications, and the users who interact with them. This allows businesses to tap into vast quantities of data to harness deeper insights and extract business value.
How Cloud Computing Can Benefit Your Business
According to an article from Gartner, spending on public cloud services is expected to grow by 20% in 2023:
“Cloud Computing will continue to be a bastion of safety and innovation, supporting growth during uncertain times due to its agile, elastic, and scalable nature.”
There are many cloud computing benefits for businesses. From cost savings, to sustainability, to increased automation, the benefits are invaluable. We’ve put together a list of our top eight benefits that we feel your business can prosper from.
1. Cost Savings
You may worry about the cost of switching your systems to the cloud. Even though making the switch has some initial upfront costs, the benefit is the return on investment. Once you’ve moved to the cloud, you’ll have less maintenance downtime (downtime is rare in the cloud). The cloud makes everything easier to access, which in turn saves you and your employees time and money. Moving to cloud-based software reduces capital expenditure and your organization’s total cost of ownership, not to mention less purchasing and maintenance of equipment. Finally, most cloud providers — including Ironcloud Hosted Services — offer a pay-as-you-go structure, so you can save money based on scalability.
2. Sustainability
Cloud computing and powering virtual services use less energy than physical hardware. It also cuts back on paper waste. With the state of the environment, companies must think beyond the recycling bin. Working in the cloud improves energy efficiency, which in turn reduces your organization’s carbon footprint. Cloud computing also facilitates more remote work, which decreases the number of commuter-related emissions.
3. Security
The effects of data breaches and other cybercrimes can be devastating to a company’s revenue, customer loyalty, and brand positioning. No one wants to deal with cyberattacks. Cloud services have baseline security features, like encryption, authentication, and access control maintained by the provider. This means you can take advantage of added security measures that are unique to your business needs. A huge benefit of the cloud is improved access management, allowing you to tighten access to sensitive information. Limiting access to only the employees who need certain information reduces the attack surface for malicious actors.
4. Automation
Instead of an IT department performing an organization-wide update on all hardware, software, and applications, cloud-based apps refresh and update themselves. Not only does this ensure your software is always up to date and performing optimally, but it also allows your IT department to focus on other projects. New software versions can also be easily tested and deployed company-wide across the cloud.
5. Efficient Collaboration
With the nature of work environments now (hybrid and fully remote), collaboration has become the word of the year. Having a team of employees who are struggling to work together is bad business practice. Cloud-based applications promote efficient collaboration by allowing team members to view and share information easily. Cloud roles and permissions also enable better visibility for management to see who is doing what and when. Some cloud services even provide a collaborative social space for employees to connect, which increases interest and engagement.
6. Increased Storage
The cloud has unlimited storage capacity. You no longer have to worry about how much random access memory (RAM) your computer has or moving documents and data from hard drive to hard drive looking for space. The space in the cloud is infinite. The cost of storage usually increases based on the level of access needed and the frequency of backups. But having increased storage capacity also allows for more frequent data backups, thus improving disaster recovery procedures.
7. Flexibility and Control
The flexibility of cloud computing allows businesses to instantly meet demands. If your business is expanding and you need more data storage, you don’t have to buy hard drives and increase server capacity if you’re in the cloud. You just increase your storage limits with your cloud provider. It’s a quick and easy process. This flexibility also gives you more control over your business data. You can easily change which users have access to what data, instantly upgrade security measures, and control visibility.
8. Scalability
The biggest benefit of cloud infrastructures is their scalability. Cloud computing allows organizations the freedom to quickly and efficiently scale their IT departments according to business demands. Scalability also minimizes the risks associated with in-house operational issues and maintenance. This level of agility can give companies using cloud computing a real advantage over their competitors.
Why You Should Choose Ironcloud
Cloud computing puts high-performance resources and professional solutions at your fingertips. It is the pinnacle of innovation and safety while being elastic and still controllable. The benefits are endless, and Ironclad Tek can make switching to the cloud simple for your organization. Our Ironcloud is customizable to your unique business needs and our highly-trained technicians can implement a cloud infrastructure catered to your company. Contact us today to get started!
