Has your business met cloud computing yet?

Being a kid is never easy. With all the homework they are expected to do every day, the tidying they are made to do at least once a week, all the things they are not allowed to drink as often as they wish, and now there is the Internet, which they desperately want to fit in with. We can only wonder what modern children would do if they were around fifteen years ago when you were left with nothing but a playground and the very first edition of the Sims being released. Do you or your children remember removing every program from your computer so that there would be enough space to install the game which has revolutionised the world of gaming? We do, and we know it would not have happened if cloud computing was on board.

While it is the hottest technology topic, cloud computing remains a mystery for some of us, making it impossible to profit not only as an individual but – what is even more critical – as a company. Put simply; cloud computing is nothing more than storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of a hard drive, which would enable us to run the Sims without saying goodbye to the rest of our games and which can enable your business to benefit in various ways. How?

You can use cloud computing as an individual, but there are several ways it can be applied when it comes to running a company, and they are:

1. SaaS means software as a Service. Being designed for end-users, SaaS applications are delivered over the web, which eliminates the need for downloading or installing anything on individual computers. You are provided with ready-to-go software or an application, and its configurations or updates are taken care of by the supplier.
2. PaaS meaning Platform as a Service. By purchasing this kind of cloud computing, you get access to a set of tools and services enabling you to create web applications quickly and easily. Being analogous to SaaS, PaaS is bigger and allows you to create more than just one application.
3. IaaS meaning Infrastructure as a Service. As a bespoke software company, we find this last method the most attractive one, and so should you if you are running a small to mid-size company. Half of what was taken care of by the provider is now your responsibility – or should we say a possibility – allowing your business to migrate workloads to a virtual machine.

It has been estimated that by the end of 2016, more than 90% of UK-based companies will be using at least one cloud computing solution. If you are still wondering why your business should be in that majority, let us provide the answers.

• The very first, and for some the most important reason, is cost reduction. Your employees probably do not need the newest hard drives or faster processors to run the Sims, but there are several applications and programs which may have greater requirements than their computers provide. Using cloud computing, you no longer need to invest in new devices; all the programs can be installed and run on the cloud, which means all you need is a good Internet connection.
• What a huge number of small companies have to deal with is securing the data properly. With cloud computing, you no longer have to worry. The very companies that provide you with cloud computing services, like Microsoft, are using data security themselves, making sure their clients get the same protection.
• The nine-to-five working model is becoming less and less popular, being replaced with flexibility. Whether we are too lazy or too busy, we prefer to adjust working hours to our private life, not the opposite. That is why cloud computing may be the perfect solution, allowing you to work remotely from anywhere.
• Another reason why you should be interested in purchasing one of our cloud computing solutions is the fact that it takes the burden off your shoulders. Not every business can afford or run a proper IT department. With cloud computing, you can spend more time doing what you are expected to do, collecting and administering all the IT-related things from one place.

If we managed to convince you to use cloud computing, there is another problem you can meet while purchasing the service, and that is the number of providers with Google, Microsoft or Amazon. Deciding which one is the best for your business may be hard, and that is why we decided to help. Look for a brief comparison of cloud computing solutions on our blog!