There will always be naysayer. Every time a new technology emerges, it’s soon followed by a long line of anti-supporters. Cloud computing services is no different. It’s new. It’s trendy. It threatens the business model of some companies so drastically, that many misconceptions have been perpetrated to try and debunk cloud computing and force clients back to traditional methods of computing.
Cloud Computing is Unreliable
A truly cloud computing system, one that has been properly designed and correctly executed, has many layers of redundancy built in. The network is constantly backed up. Most are self-replicating, ensuring that every bit of data is preserved in the event of a disaster. Cloud computing services by its very nature was conceived to increase reliability and availability to customers. Access to the data stored in the cloud relies on a connection to the network, usually the Internet, and the reliability of that connection can have a negative impact on the accessibility of the data in the cloud.
Remote Network Access
Cloud computing does require some type of remote access to the network. Such a connection is often supplied via the internet, but private options, such as a direct line to an off-the-grid cloud service can also be used. The reliability of the connections has a direct impact on the usefulness of the cloud. A connection that is unstable or not always available my give the impression that the cloud based service is malfunctioning. In fact, the cloud service is operating perfectly; it’s the user’s connection the cloud that is experiencing fault.
On Demand
The real advantage of cloud computing is its on-demand nature. Services can be scaled up to satisfy a sudden increase in network traffic. Likewise it can be scaled down during times of low traffic to conserve resources, which can help reduce operating costs. Cloud based systems are an ideal on-demand system. They can change size almost instantly to meet the needs of the users.
Self-service
Many modern cloud-based services have evolved to allow a certain level of self-service for the end users. Not only does this allow a user greater control over their cloud service, but it enables the users to make adjustments to their service without the need to contact their service provider directly. While the changes that a user can make are limited, as to avoid a situation where the client lacks the expertise required for a certain change, the ability to self-service the cloud service can be a big benefit to some companies.
By Deney Dentel
