Though the term “cloud computing” has been around since the 80s, it’s only in the last few years that it’s become mainstream, though it seems to cause a lot of confusion. Many people don’t trust “The Cloud” and I’ve seen numerous businesses that are hesitant to leverage it in their IT path. However, these fears are largely unfounded, based on the thought that Cloud services are cutting edge and new, when they are as old as the internet.
What is The Cloud?
A Cloud is nothing more than a network that provides some sort of service. The internet is full of them. Most things trying to sell you on “Cloud” services are using it as a new buzzword for an old thing, renting you time on a computer or resources to do something. Companies have been offering “hosted email” for years before Office 365 began its cloud endeavors. These days, numerous businesses are offering web applications and mobile apps in place of programs you run locally on your machine. You could even run your own cloud. If your business has a bunch of servers, it can be thought of as a private cloud.
Why are companies moving to The Cloud?
Imagine you want to buy a server for your company. You estimate that you will use it 30% of the time, roughly 8 hours a day. You need to leave it running 100% of the time, consuming electricity and incurring wear. You also need someone to replace parts when it breaks, and you need a system to back up data. These costs add up, and many businesses don’t think to include the total cost of ownership to a system.
Now imagine that you can buy 100,000 servers, and sell time on them so that they are in use 99% of the time. Companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are building massive datacenters for just these gains. They have technicians onsite 24/7; ready to replace failing hardware and ensure that their customers have uptime above 99%. They are reaching scales that enable them to offer prices comparable or better than housing servers onsite.
Is it Right for Me?
As with everything in life, it depends! Many services such as email and phones, which would typically have multiple servers and lots of man-hours in setup and maintenance, have compelling and quality cloud-based counterparts. If you have a proprietary system, or something which has special requirements, it may be best to keep it onsite. While Microsoft does have Azure Active Directory, even they recommend having a server onsite in case you lose connection.
This brings up a major con in choosing cloud services: internet connection. If you tie your business to The Cloud, and your internet goes out, you may be out of business until it comes back online. Make sure that your plans have a backup for this, whether your office has a secondary ISP you can fall back to, a cellular connection for emergencies, or a good Starbucks within walking distance. Additionally, if your business is in a controlled field, it’s likely that there are regulations like HIPPA on how data is stored and maintained. Luckily, many cloud companies are also filling this need and offering facilities that are compliant.
There is no doubt that this trend will continue, and that more and more businesses will leverage this technology in new and fascinating ways. Will yours be next?