What is the cloud

Cloud computing is software and services that are accessed from the internet, rather than locally on your computer.

 Where once companies used on site servers to provide business services such as email, file sharing, databases, CRM, SharePoint etc, the cloud provides these same services from large data centres that are accessed across the internet.

Often Cloud services don’t require an application to work but use a web browser such as Firefox or Google. Many cloud services also have apps to make access convenient from mobile devices like smart phones and tablets.

Many cloud services have been around for years, for example Hotmail and Gmail are examples of Cloud email services. Other famous cloud services are iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix, Office365, Paypal, Vonage….the list goes on and on

 

Benefits of using the Cloud for business

• Flexibility
  Increasing system resources such as bandwidth or processing power can instantly be met using a cloud service
• Reduced costs
  Most cloud based services are Pay As You Go, meaning companies only paying for the resources they use. There’s also no capital expenditure and all the required systems are already in place for immediate use.
• Access from Anywhere
  As long as there’s an internet connection then the cloud service can easily be accessed from anywhere in the world.
• Increased collaboration
  Cloud computing allows for increased collaboration between employees as documents, information and shared apps are instantly synchronised between employees.
• High security
  Cloud providers specialise in the service they provide and know exactly how to secure their service and patch any potential security risks.
• ‘Greener’ Computing
  It’s estimated that using a cloud service can reduce the carbon foot print of a company by 90%
• Automatic updates
  All cloud system maintenance, including updates, is performed by the cloud provider which takes the burden from companies.
• Resilience
  Even the most basic Cloud solutions are configured to provide resilience, such as hardware and connectivity redundancy.
• Competitiveness
  The cloud enables small and medium sized businesses to access enterprise class technology.
• Low running costs
  Cloud services are maintained and managed by the provider, so when something fails it’s the cloud provider who resolves the issue.

 

Cloud Computing for Businesses

Cloud computing is growing rapidly in popularity allowing businesses of all sizes to have access to huge amounts of resources at the press of a button. No longer having to rely on limited in house resources such as servers.

 

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