Ready to launch your cloud journey?
Knowledge is Power. Embrace the cloud.
Learning to leverage the cloud is like learning to ride a bicycle.
are there clouds in your coffee?
The hardest step is to learn the basics.
Mastering them is much easier.
The Basics – Why the “Cloud”
A great way to explain complex concepts is with simple analogies. An illustrative cloud computing analogy would be the following – If you had a Mac Mini computer running in your car garage that was hosting podcasts that you were charging others a monthly subscription for access, we could say that your garage and Mac Mini are part of the public “cloud”.
In Business Terms
At first look, comprehending the concept of cloud computing can seem daunting, especially if you do not have a technical background. However, even without the technical aptitude, the premise of cloud computing is built upon the intuitive universal business precept of doing more with less. Cloud computing, in simplest business terms, is the outsourcing of technology infrastructure management to third-party providers. Similar to the relationship between a landlord and renter, your business technology infrastructure is organized as a secured entity, called a tenant, inside a data center facility that allocates shared hardware resources to isolated software-defined networks.
In Management Terms
The complex management of physical facility access and cybersecurity is offloaded to the third party, thus freeing up the tenant from these worries, and allowing them to focus on the business. This is not to say a business can ignore technology management altogether, but the business will no longer have to devote as many internal resources to a sometimes distracting support function.
In Real World Terms
We know – this all sounds too good to be true, an operational red flag, so what is the catch? The following points of discussion are the crux of cloud computing’s good and bad.
The Pros of Cloud Computing
- Cost efficiency, predictability with a Pay-as-you-Go pricing model
- Reduction of internal required resources and capital assets
- Enhanced accessibility, mobility, and improved scalability
- Better disaster recovery and business continuity capacities
- Improved real-time collaboration and centralized data access
- Advanced cyber security measures and automated updates
The Cons of Cloud Computing
- Initial sticker shock of subscription services and cost fluctuations
- Dependency on Internet connectivity and bandwidth
- Limited control with potential for service outages and data loss
- Security concerns and data breaches
- Cloud providers may not always offer adequate support
- Potential for vendor lock-in due to the complexity of switching