Yes, you do, most likely. Some of the cloud technologies that the majority of businesses have used at some stage include Dropbox, Office 365 and Facebook and LinkedIn. And if you have had experience of using these systems and their storage services, then you will know that they are easy to use and often increase productivity and help to reduce costs.
If you are a business then you will likely be able to save money, depending on the current and future requirements of your business, but you need to understand that it’s not all about cutting costs. There are many other benefits that should not be ignored, including reliability, scalability, security and remote access.
This may seem like a good idea because you are meant to pay for what you use and it’s seen as being easy and inexpensive to set up. But what if we take a closer look? When resources are needed frequently other models can be more appropriate. This includes shared resources through a private cloud, which could be more cost-effective since your core requirements, such as security, performance, and availability, will be implemented.
Businesses require more and more from their IT infrastructure in order to cover the development of their business models. They want to cut costs, be able to adjust their service levels and deliver applications at greater speeds. But what is to be done with applications critical to the running of a business? When Choosing a Cloud system it is essential that you outline your needs for transition and future developments.
If the data isn’t stored on your PC then it’s at risk because of lack of security and reliability. But wait, no, in actual fact, if you lose that PC then it really is all the important data lost. But with cloud the data will be remotely accessible and protected by a service-level agreement, with strict security protocols in place to keep it secure.
No, in actual fact, business owners are able to take advantage of advanced applications and servers, with support from experts who will maintain their data through the latest security and hardware. Data becomes accessible remotely and provides greater access capabilities, thus working to actually improve productivity.
Virtualisation can improve the utilisation of existing resources and provide greater flexibility. However, cloud computing has the potential to reduce overheads and improve infrastructure, providing the ability to reduce time-consuming tasks and automate workflows without taking this initial step.
Once you get the cloud there will be no worries and everything will run smoothly and there will be no downtime. But we all know technology and that it can never be relied upon entirely. With that in mind you need to make sure that there is a service-level agreement in place to cover the occurrence of any downtime. And, also, remember to structure the SLA to a level that makes most sense for your business. So, if a supplier guarantees 99 per cent uptime be aware that this could mean your system or application process is unavailable for several hours a month.
There are different types of systems out there and they have differing levels of complexity. There are models that simplify management and require little change of how you do things, while others offer more control and will lead to further change in application architecture.
Not necessarily. There are different types of systems and as a result the levels and types of security will differ. Just think about how businesses have to follow varied guidelines in order to handle their sensitive data. As a result a private system may seem like the best solution, but it still has Vulnerabilities if there is an Internet connection. Insider attacks are also not to be ignored.
By Nick John
Nick is the managing director of FCP Internet Limited, providers of Evolve recruitment software via the Cloud, used across the globe within the employment and recruitment sectors.
