The Cloud
The COVID-19 pandemic has further influenced the explosive growth of cloud computing, bringing data protection to the forefront for companies and customers alike.
Many successful businesses use cloud technology to set themselves apart in their specific industries. Work environments are fluid and ever-changing, yet innovative technology allows businesses to adapt and grow.
The cloud offers small and medium-sized companies access to computing power and software that was once only available to large corporations. It also gives large corporations the ability to stay ahead in their specific industries.
Cloud computing services provide many benefits that can’t be ignored. They’ve become necessary for your organization to stay up-to-date in today’s technologically advanced world.
Public Cloud Computing offers cloud services or infrastructure in a virtualized environment (such as the Internet). It is built using shared physical resources (including applications and storage), which are then made available over a public network.
Public clouds offer the highest level of efficiency, along with the flexibility to adapt your cloud to the future of your business. However, the public cloud may not be the right fit for every organization. For example, the public cloud model can limit configuration, security, and SLA specificity. This makes it a sub-optimal solution for those that require security for sensitive data that is subject to compliance regulations. Learn more about Security & Compliance.
Public Cloud Computing Benefits
- Scalability – Public cloud computing offers organizations high scalability by providing a model that is able to handle a growing amount of work effectively. Ultimately, the public cloud offers unlimited computing power and storage capacities for companies of all sizes.
- Efficiency – Public clouds are designed to allow a large number of users to share a provider’s computing resources, which makes it a highly cost-efficient solution for companies.
- Flexibility – Organizations that use public cloud computing have a higher level of flexibility because the company only pays for the computing resources that are actually being used.
- Reliability – The vast network of servers involved in public cloud computing services provides greater reliability for users. This means that if one data server was to fail entirely, the network simply distributes the load among the remaining servers, which makes it highly unlikely that the public cloud would ever fail.
For Small Businesses
For most small businesses, the public cloud provides an ideal solution to host their company resources. They are able to rent resources based on their specific needs. This eliminates the high upfront financial outlay for required to purchase equipment, and the time required to manage the service. Public cloud computing gives small businesses the ability to allocate their resources where they will provide more opportunities for growth.
For Mid-Sized Businesses
Public cloud computing can help accelerate a mid-sized business’ agility and responsiveness, enabling business growth and improving performance without breaking the bank. This allows you to accelerate your business strategy with confidence and respond quickly to changing marketplace demands.
The public cloud has leveled the playing field for mid-sized businesses, providing them with the technology that was once only available to large corporations. Unprecedented access to the latest server technology, speedy flash storage, and development tools provided by the public cloud affords your business more growth opportunities than ever before.
For Large Businesses
Though many small- to mid-sized businesses have begun implementing cloud computing technology into their day-to-day business activities, most large businesses have not. As large businesses start to make this inevitable transition, one of the main problems faced by the public cloud is security. However, this issue of application and data security can be solved by leveraging enterprise-grade public clouds. The ultimate goal with public cloud computing for large businesses is to give companies full control of their cloud-based infrastructure, while providing a new level of application management that will allow them to realize the cost savings, innovation potential, and agility that the cloud offers.
Private Cloud Computing involves a distinct and secure cloud-based environment that can only be operated by a specified client.
A Private Cloud offers the same features as a Public Cloud, but it removes control over enterprise and customer data, security concerns, and issues connected with regulatory compliance.
Private clouds offer power, efficiency, security, and control, giving businesses exceptional performance in a dedicated environment. A private cloud allows an organization to leverage the software-defined data center architecture, which provides the foundation for achieving highly available applications and services with a consolidated data center.
The Private Cloud for Businesses of All Sizes
When it comes to your business, no matter how small or large, a private cloud can greatly help your employees stay connected to business files and documents, while allowing them continued collaboration on projects and information from anywhere in the world.
The agility of an organization is often linked to the agility of the IT infrastructure. A private cloud provides automated resources allocation that lets you respond rapidly to changing business demands, keeping employees productive and able to stay responsive in the changing business environment. Loyal IT can move your organization to a private cloud and introduce self-service as an option along with auto-scaled environments.
Private Cloud Computing Benefits
If your business consists of dynamic or unpredictable computing needs, then the a private cloud is the most reliable solution for you. It gives you direct control over your environment.
- Security – Over the years, major cloud service breaches have dominated headlines, negatively impacting their customers’ reputations and bottom lines. Private clouds continue to prove to be less of a risk for many businesses when it comes to data security. With a private cloud, you know where your servers are located and that the proper security is in place to meet the needs of your company.
- Cost Effective – Private clouds not only provide you with the benefits of virtualization and security, but they can also be much cheaper then hosting your own servers or buying dedicated servers.
- Control – Businesses that require complete control over their critical data greatly benefit from a private cloud. Banks, law firms, hospitals, government agencies, and financial institutions are all examples of businesses that are required to follow strict security standards. Downtime and data loss could mean significant losses for your company, which is why a private cloud is the best way to protect the information of your customers.
Hybrid Cloud Computing uses a mix of both Private Cloud and Public Cloud Computing.
Allowing workloads to move between both Private and Public Clouds as computing needs and costs change gives businesses more flexibility and data deployment options. The solutions offered by hybrid cloud computing can provide your business with the flexibility and functionality that comes from the public cloud, while preserving the security and performance of a private cloud. Regardless of industry or company size, a hybrid cloud provides access to cost effective, secure, and scalable public resources and new opportunities to explore a far wider range of operational possibility.
Hybrid Cloud Computing Benefits
- Flexibility – Hybrid cloud computing allows businesses to quickly deploy workloads to the cloud with the flexibility of moving them between on- and off-premises environments depending on your current company requirements.
- Reliability – A hybrid cloud gives you the ability to write, utilize, and manage applications in the cloud by relying on the underlying platform to provide the same level of security, reliability, and performance you get from your current infrastructure.
- Efficiency – A hybrid cloud delivers the instant, self-service resources that your business needs in order to drive revenue. You can build faster, test quicker, and get your applications to the market sooner, allowing you to accelerate your success.
The Hybrid Cloud for Businesses of All Sizes
It seems that the hybrid cloud is quickly becoming the favored approach for many companies today. Businesses of all sizes are taking the leap into hybrid cloud computing, enjoying the advantages of elasticity and unlimited scalability that it provides. Since no organization is structured the same way, the hybrid cloud offers the ability to tailor it to your company’s precise requirements of applications, data storage, security levels, and compliance adherence.
The Hybrid Cloud for Small Businesses
Small Businesses can benefit from the hybrid cloud through the efficiency it will bring to their business. It provides a solution for many of their IT problems, where their files and applications can be handy at all times, being located locally at their site, while their email can be managed and maintained separately in the cloud.
The Hybrid Cloud for Medium Businesses
The hybrid cloud is an ideal solution for Medium Businesses, giving them the opportunity to reduce costs and overhead, improve operational efficiency, and generate a new level of business continuity and resiliency.
The Hybrid Cloud for Large Businesses
The hybrid cloud may prove to be the optimal solution for Large Businesses desiring to reproduce in-house services in the cloud or replicate redundant architecture for durability, redundancy and disaster recovery.