Cloud computing is no longer simply a buzzword; it’s a $371 billion industry (and growing). The global cloud computing market is expected to reach $832 billion in value by 2025. (researchandmarkets.com).
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt created the term “cloud computing” in 2006 at a Search Engine Strategies conference, and the sector has exploded since then.
Cloud computing is significant for business for a variety of reasons, including large-scale data storage and analytics, web-based service delivery, infrastructure scaling, and disaster recovery (among many other uses).
The point here isn’t that you should be on the cloud; it’s how the cloud’s evolution will catalyze the expansion of your business. 90 percent of organizations are already on the cloud in some capacity (451 Research) — the point here isn’t that you should be on the cloud; it’s how the cloud’s evolution will catalyze the expansion of your business.
Here are nine of the most compelling reasons why cloud computing will be critical for businesses in 2021. (and beyond).
1. Scalability
The inherent scalability of cloud computing is one of its main advantages. Being able to simply (and quickly) scale an IT solution, for example, can have a significant and immediate impact on the company.
In the past, scaling an environment on-demand was impossible since businesses were limited by the size and processing capability of their hardware.
With the cloud, this constraint is no longer an issue. The cloud has completely transformed how firms handle their technical resources.
2. Innovation
Business growth is inextricably linked to innovation. Using old technology might limit an organization’s capacity to experiment with new solutions as well as adopt them on a large scale.
Combating back-end performance difficulties, particularly in the area of web applications, can be a serious challenge.
Using the cloud as a foundation for innovation can result in better performance, reduced costs, and more agility. In the field of IoT product development, for example, corporations are accelerating innovation at a rate that can only be achieved with cloud computing.
The IoT industry has been able to develop, produce, and launch new products that are changing the world thanks to cloud computing — and this is true across the entire digital ecosystem.
3. Cost-Effective
One of the key reasons why cloud computing is significant for businesses is its cost-effectiveness. While cloud migration can be costly, the best way to address the pricing issue isn’t to consider how much money you’ll save by migrating.
Instead, think about how much your company is already spending on IT services against how much it will be spending on the cloud.
Due to the wide range of project/solution needs, calculating the true cost of ownership for a cloud solution can be tricky. For an approximate estimate, it’s usually best to use a cloud partner.
The genuine value of cloud computing is found in the additional features that come with cloud environments:
DevOps with Agility and Scalability
4. Improved DevOps
The key advantage of DevOps is that it improves the quality and speed with which innovative solutions are deployed. This is accomplished through a flexible communication process that enables normally siloed teams to collaborate throughout the development process.
The ability to add new features while retaining stability is one of the key reasons why so many companies have adopted a DevOps strategy.
If a company doesn’t use cloud computing in conjunction with DevOps, they’re missing out on a huge opportunity for faster product development, as well as the apparent business operations improvements that the cloud brings.
Another significant reason why cloud computing is vital for business is the increased capacity to deploy new capabilities at a regular rate (while retaining application stability).
5. Enhanced Compliance & Security
Enterprise-level firms that apply strong security, compliance, and data protection standards are major cloud service providers.
Transferring critical programs (as well as company and/or customer data) to the cloud is one of the key worries business leaders have about cloud computing.
It’s crucial to remember, however, that all major cloud service providers invest a significant amount of time and money into creating advanced security processes and adhering to stringent regulatory and compliance standards.
To maintain application and data integrity, organizations in highly regulated industries like healthcare, government, pharma, and defense must adhere to a plethora of industry-specific compliance regulations.
Cloud computing services are used by nearly all of the leading companies in these industries (and adjacent verticals).
6. Flexibility
One of the most frequently cited reasons for the importance of cloud computing for businesses is its flexibility. The cloud provides more flexibility in terms of infrastructure. However, cloud computing’s intrinsic future-proofing architecture is sometimes referred to as flexibility.
Technology is a constantly changing field where adaptation is not only necessary for survival but also for corporate growth.
Business expansion used to be a costly process that required devoting a significant amount of people and financial resources to a single project (that may or may not end up generating business growth).
Now fast forward to today, and businesses have the technical ability to scale up and down as the market demands. The flexibility of cloud computing technology allows for this on-demand flexibility of growing capacities.
The operational flexibility of cloud computing can be achieved at a substantially cheaper cost (compared to more traditionally resource-intensive methods).
7. Lowered Complexity Of IT Infrastructure Management
Allocating resources to R&D of new solutions while still managing and securing their organization’s complex IT infrastructure is one of the main issues encountered by executives and business leaders.
Cloud service providers are in charge of securing and managing IT infrastructure, allowing businesses to focus their resources on operational scalability.
If a company migrates to the cloud, for example, it will surely have additional resources to devote to business development, increasing customer experience/relationships, or experimenting with new growth tactics.
8. Multiple Service Offerings
Public, private, hybrid, and community cloud deployment options are the most common. The various benefits and drawbacks of alternative cloud deployment types should be evaluated early in your cloud strategy.
Most organizations are adopting a hybrid approach to cloud computing, rather than being locked in with a single service provider, according to an increasing trend in the industry.
In addition, three major cloud service models exist: SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.
- Industry giants like Dropbox, Google Apps, Slack, or Gmail are examples of SaaS (Software as a Service) — any sort of software that can be utilized via the internet.
- Google App Engine and IBM Cloud Foundry are two instances of PaaS (Platform as a Service). Simply, PaaS providers enable businesses to create customized technology solutions on the cloud. PaaS allows businesses to construct web apps without the need for the infrastructure that is often necessary throughout the development process.
Certain SaaS systems (e.g. CRM and SCM apps) frequently have PaaS capabilities, which is utilized to construct bespoke app extensions. Furthermore, many cloud computing service providers provide both PaaS and IaaS capabilities.
- MS Azure, AWS (Amazon Web Services), and Cisco Metapod are examples of IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). IaaS providers, to avoid getting too technical, provide cloud-based computing resources at scale, such as servers, data storage, networking, virtualization, disaster/data recovery, and so on.
9. Continued Industry Growth
The cloud’s humble beginnings may be traced back to the 1960s, but it wasn’t until a decade ago that it began to find widespread adoption among businesses.
Cloud computing has grown into a large industry over the last decade, and it’s only going to get bigger (especially with the IoT industry set to experience a massive growth surge in the coming years).
The industry’s rapid development and evolution will continue as AI, machine learning, and edge computing become more widely used (particularly in the cloud computing landscape).
Over the next decade, this increase in computing capabilities and end-user functionality will have a direct impact on business in practically all industries and verticals.
Working With Cloud Service Partners
The major reasons why cloud computing is vital for businesses are that it helps them to scale, preserve flexibility, and concentrate their energies on running their businesses rather than managing complex IT infrastructure.
Working with a cloud partner is one of the best methods to optimize cloud computing for your business.
Transferring the creation, testing, deployment, and administration of your custom cloud computing solution to a trusted partner will free up your resources to focus on new business development.
Cloud computing allows businesses to scale, preserve flexibility, and focus on running their business rather than managing complex IT infrastructure. Working with a cloud partner is one of the best ways to optimize cloud computing for your business.
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