Never Has the Cloud Been More Important

Over the past decade we’ve seen the rapid growth of cloud computing, but many decision makers and business owners were skeptical of the actual utility in cloud-based utility computing. With COVID-19-based stay-at-home orders lasting for over six-to-12 weeks in some places, these professional businessmen and businesswomen are seeing just how beneficial the cloud can be for their business. For the very first time cloud computing makes sense to them. Let’s take a look at why everyone is seemingly using computing resources in the cloud. 

Cloud Computing in the Context of Today’s Businesses

Even if a lot of business owners don’t always trust cloud computing for their most important computing needs, they have likely been utilizing some type of cloud platform for a while. The cloud is computing that is hosted on rented hardware and is broadcast over a broadband Internet connection. These computing options are normally managed and maintained by the service provider and are billed at a static monthly rate, whether that be per user or per gigabyte. Many businesses use Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which is the most popular (and expansive) cloud computing delivery method, but more businesses are now subscribing to other cloud-based tools such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), which delivers hardware solutions billed per gigabyte. 

For the modern business, cloud computing fits seamlessly. It provides them with the opportunity to get the computing resources they need, without taking on the huge financial investment that new hardware traditionally demanded. It also allows for dynamic scalability, a major benefit as to not waste money on computing resources your company doesn’t need, but giving your business the ability to quickly get the necessary resources when you need them. 

Cloud Options

As stated above there are options for most parts of your business, including:

Hardware 

Virtualized hardware is useful for a multitude of purposes. It can present options to host specific applications or a dedicated platform for application development. The main advantage of purchasing hardware in the cloud is that you can virtualize local computing resources and not waste money like many businesses that rely on onsite computing resources do. 

Software 

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options available: 

• Line of Business - Companies are hosting their line of business applications in the cloud so that they can be assured that people have access to this essential software from any place at any time. 
• Productivity - Productivity software has long been a driving force in cloud deployment. With titles like Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s G Suite available, businesses can get complete suites of tools they need to help them be productive and improve collaboration. 
• Communication - Solutions like Hosted Email and VoIP have changed the way that  business views its communications.
• Security - Security is extremely important and today’s cloud platform is more secure than cloud resources of the past. Not only are there full-fledged security suites available in the cloud, the cloud itself can deliver more security options, providing businesses with all the options they need to keep their networks and  cloud platforms secure.

The Internet of Things, a major innovation to the way people interact with products, is fueled, in large part, by cloud computing. There are quite literally dozens of secure and reliable cloud platforms available to run IoT, AI, and much, much more. 

If you are looking to outfit your business with more cloud-based platforms, contact the IT professionals at BNMC today at (978) 482-2020.