With the growing number of businesses that have taken the step of going online, business owners are continuously looking for strategies to maximize the greatness of technology. Naturally, businessmen are after low expenses and high revenue. Consumers are looking for quality, affordability, and convenience.
Cloud technology has perfectly covered this gap.
This article discusses the very core of cloud computing and the ways it can improve your online business.
What is Cloud Technology
Unlike the traditional data hosting, cloud servers have taken another approach. They host the data remotely at the network of computers developed in sole purpose of playing the role of servers. Cloud servers provide quick access and ability to manage the data stored at multiple servers from anywhere at any time.
This is where the term ‘cloud’ comes from. Imagine the server network that ‘floats’ between you and your cooperatives, clients and associates making it capable for everybody to access the data as necessary.
Company’s management can easily assign restricted access points allowing particular groups of employees to access nothing more than the necessary info.
Cloud is nothing more than a decentralized hosting technology where the client or end-user does not sport the physical access to data. The data is not stored at the single, physically determined server, but across the network of multiple servers. Servers in cloud are not necessarily physically separated but it is not unusual practice either.
Web Has ‘Cloudy’ Weather
If you have ever thought how cloudy weather cannot turn a bright day – Internet is a unique example how ‘clouds’ brighten things up for all of us. Cloud technology has drastically improved the data storage taking the advantages over the standard hosting in terms of security, storage limits, bandwidth, portability, scalability and budget size.
The fact that some of the biggest giants, web has ever seen, decided to take advantages of cloud technology talks for itself. Companies like Amazon have recognized the benefits and decided to switch over in the early stage of cloud development.
The statistics says that every Internet user is involved in some sort of cloud data exchange or receives Internet access from cloud-hosted provider.
Flexibility
Renting a cloud server, rather than purchasing standard one, does not only benefit business owners as financially more efficient solution, but technically too. Cloud technology brings in the benefits that standard infrastructure is not capable to offer.
Companies can now determine the exact amount of space and bandwidth they need, easily tailoring the whole system to their actual needs.
Software update process goes smoothly with the cloud hosted system. Administrators can now easily update the whole system at once, without need to physically approach each server computer to install the latest software version.
Once the new software has been released in the cloud, all the computers attached to it can install the latest version immediately. The amount of time necessary for the operation to execute is reduced to the time it takes for a single individual to perform the action at their personal computer.
This is the way to cut down the expenses of server management as well as to release the weight off the administration department that now sports more time to dedicate to another, possibly more important tasks.
Scalability
Scalability has always been utterly important feature of any online technology. The importance of ability of an online business to scale up with the dynamic traffic load cannot be stressed enough. Cloud technology successfully covers the scalability problem.
The very core of cloud technology – based on multiple servers, independent one from another – allows cloud-hosted business owners to offer their clients, visitors and associates steady and sustainable quality of service, regardless of circumstances.
Online businesses can now easily adapt their large scale activities like in-depth researches and analyses without having to extend their hosting package or even change provider prior to the activities.
Cost Efficient
When it’s down to business, this is the ‘cloud’s’ most important characteristic. Cloud technology successfully cuts the time necessary to manage the system, cuts down the expenses needed to manage and run the servers, and seizes the personnel expenses.
Small companies are now capable to easily enter the business and gain level of sustainability. Cloud technology allows them to scale the server features according to their needs. Once the company expands, it is not necessary to invest in infrastructure or hire additional administrators – it is enough to rescale the cloud according to the present circumstances and carry on.
Small Guide for Small Folk
For the end, a small guide for individuals on how to get a better grasp on cloud technology benefits in their everyday web surfing – at no cost.
Dropbox
Dropbox.com is a free to use cloud platform tailored to everyday needs of individual. According to the package you choose, you can even apply it to your small and mid-sized business. You can signup and choose the package accordingly. The registration process is free and easy to follow.
Upload
Once you have setup your profile you will be assigned 2 GB of free space. It is not much but observe it as a USB stick which you can use to deliver your friends and family music or photos at anyplace anytime.
Sounds cool, doesn’t it? You can even increase this space by ‘recruiting’ new Dropbox users via referral links. Hook your friends and associates on the service and you can supersize your account up to 16 GB, where each new user you have referred brings you 500 MB more on existing free space.
The upload is easily done. You can either navigate to files or folders you wish to upload or simply drag-drop them in the upload surface.
Share
Dropbox can be operated in two ways. Directly from website interface or via desktop application that you can download and share your files and folders with a single click.
You can choose who can see the files in your cloud. By making it either public, private or restricted to people of your interest, files are easily managed and shared at SSL & AES 256-bit strong encryption of Dropbox platform.
Wrap Up
As you can see, cloud technology does not benefit the businesses only but individuals too. It is a quick and convenient way to share files with mere link exchange. Think about Google Docs and how many times you have used it by now. This Google application works on cloud principle too.
Increasing number of companies offer cloud hosting these days making the competition fierce. You can choose the most suitable solution from various services. Different cloud services are better known by the acronyms: SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), HaaS (Hardware as a Service) and EaaS (Everything as a Service).
