The cloud is characterized by its speed to reach the market and its ability to give business agility. This is because the cloud facilitates rapid experimentation and innovation, allowing companies to try and even adopt new solutions—including learning and development solutions—without significant upfront costs. The cloud can be an agile encapsulator for different systems and different behaviors, combining them all in a cycle of participation. Due to the change in the way people interact with technology, the cloud allows consumers to participate in a different way, expand collaboration within the value chain, and bring innovation to the main business models of companies.
Gartner believes the cloud will be one of the main investments in technology in the next five years. Many businesses already are making use of this technology.
Types of Cloud Computing
- Hybrid cloud: Organizations can host essential applications in private clouds and applications with relatively less concern about public cloud security. The simultaneous use of private cloud and public cloud is called a hybrid.
- Private cloud: The programming infrastructure is committed to an exclusive organization and is not shared with any other. Private clouds are costlier and are more protected compared to the public cloud. The private cloud is what used to be called the company’s network. This is mostly used by big organizations that have the financial strength to use this type of cloud computing.
- Public cloud: In the public cloud, the cloud provider hosts the programming infrastructure in its facilities. The client has neither visibility nor control over where the programming infrastructure is hosted. The programming infrastructure is shared with any organization.
Considering all this, and the fact that the cloud accompanies and affects businesses in all aspects and at all levels, there are several myths about cloud computing. People have developed this wrong perception of cloud computing because of the way it functions. Here are 10 of the myths:
Myth #1: Cloud computing is only suitable for technology companies. Nothing is further from the reality than this myth. Any organization can make use of cloud computing, irrespective of its size. A company’s size and industry are not determinants of whether it can use cloud computing.
Myth #2: I will be trapped by the “block” of the provider. It is true only to the same extent that it happens with the traditional software you have in the company. Nothing would prevent businesses from building their own applications and having multiple suppliers.
Myth #3: Everything works better in the cloud. Older applications that were designed to run on specialized servers are difficult to run in the cloud.
Myth #4: It is always cheaper to run in the cloud. Running in the cloud is not always less expensive, but it frequently can be more profitable. The cloud works better for demands and variable workloads when there is a lot of demand in some moments and less in others.
Myth #5: The cloud is dangerous to the surroundings. There is no doubt that centers of data make use of enormous amounts of energy. But when businesses move from on-site facilities to data centers in the cloud, they save energy and pollute less.
Myth #6: The cloud destroys employment. Instead of destroying jobs, the cloud creates them. Industry predictions suggest cloud computing will create more jobs worldwide. It requires experts with experience in the cloud whose skills and knowledge will help maintain and strengthen growth and development.
Myth #7: Migrating to the cloud is more complicated than the benefits reported. If you operate as a partner with a qualified hosting provider, it is a process that poses no problems. The whole process can be carried out quickly with minimum moments of inactivity. Apps developed by app developers can ensure you migrate to the cloud with ease. You can likewise migrate from one cloud computing service provider to another.
Myth #8: The cloud should not be used. Cloud computing can be used for all aspects of a business, including applications that are crucial to the mission of the business, for many reasons, including less downtime and automatic backup.
Myth #9: The cloud is virtualization. Virtualization consists of software that manipulates hardware, whereas cloud computing deals with the service that effects from manipulation.
Myth #10: Safety is the greatest risk. The security measures used by recognized cloud providers tend to be better than those of their clients. Cloud providers have the resources and the ability to update security measures. You can meet with app developers to optimize the advantage of cloud computing to your business.
The Promise of Cloud Computing
Understanding what will be next in cloud computing is essential for business at all levels because the cloud is no longer just for technology. Managers are leveraging opportunities offered by the cloud to make use of the technical knowledge of employees and partners, forge closer ties with customers, and develop new business models. Originating as technology that initially was adopted for reasons of cost savings and efficiency, the cloud has become a driving force of innovation in all organizations.
Cloud computing is here to stay, and the numbers support this idea:
- 91 percent of small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) made use of cloud services to satisfy compliance requirements.
- 75 percent of businesses reported improvements in the availability of their services.
- 94 percent managers of IT announced development in security with the use of the cloud.
- 75 percent of those responsible use the cloud in their businesses.
The next generation of cloud computing will generate value for businesses faster by automating everything from the application request to the configuration, and it will do it from top to bottom and throughout the infrastructure. Cloud computing is part of the “Third Platform,” according to IDC, along with mobility, mass data analytics, and social businesses, which explains why many businesses have incorporated the cloud to create innovative industrial solutions. Now, cloud computing is going further with the Internet of Things (IoT), which the cloud builds for the cloud.
Harnil Oza is a CEO of Hyperlink InfoSystem, a mobile app development company based in the U.S. and India, which has a team of talented app developers who deliver mobile solutions mainly on Android and iOS platforms. He regularly contributes his knowledge on leading blogging sites.
