The digital age can be a puzzling maze if you’re not a tech-savvy person. In fact, it can be downright confusing. The jargon alone is constantly evolving: bandwidth, elasticity, RAM, phishing, scalability, encryption–the list goes on. Even the concept of cloud computing may not be totally clear. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to go back to school for a computer science degree to understand the basics of cloud computing and the advantages it presents for your company. In this post we look at why cloud hosting is better, while cutting through the jargon to discover the relatively simple truths about this 21st-century technology.
What is Cloud Computing?
Simply put, the term “cloud computing” refers to Internet-based computer services that are provided over a network by a collection of physical servers located someplace outside your company. Remember when an IT department had huge servers that they locked away in climate-controlled rooms? The cloud is performing the same jobs as those old IT servers used to do, except they are located somewhere outside the company. And while they may be performing the same tasks as the old on-premise servers, they’re doing so in a much, much more efficient way.
Why Cloud Hosting is Better
For the non-IT professional, here are several reasons cloud hosting is better and your company will benefit from cloud computing–minus all the jargon:
The cloud will save you money
While there’s no doubt that you’ll have to pay some sort of fee to a managed provider to obtain cloud services, your company will undoubtedly save money in the long run. Cloud computing eliminates the need to purchase physical components like those servers we mentioned earlier. Because you won’t have to purchase your own servers, you also won’t have to purchase the facilities or create a climate-controlled environment in which to store them.
The cloud will make it easier for your company to grow
Before cloud computing came along, IT departments typically had to buy new hardware and software to accommodate a company’s growth, all of which was costly and time-consuming. Cloud computing, on the other hand, gives your company the ability to easily scale up (or appropriately increase) the level of services you’re using, usually within a matter of minutes.
The cloud allows you to do business anywhere
For many of us, the days of sitting behind a desk from 9:00 to 5:00 seem as antiquated as an ice-cold room full of giant servers. Thanks to the cloud, you and your staff will be able to do business on virtually any mobile device, any time day or night, in any location.
The cloud will bring your company up to speed (quite literally) with the competition
We all know what it’s like to shop online, and how frustrating it is when a website is slow to load. It’s so frustrating, in fact, that it’s usually much easier to just choose another place to shop. That’s definitely NOT what you want if you’re the company that owns the website. Cloud hosting is better as it will provide your business with the very latest technology and ensure that your website will be fast to respond when customers are shopping for your products or services.
The cloud lets someone else handle problems
Before the cloud, we had to rely on our own IT professionals to resolve our computer issues. That often took hours, if not days, particularly if problems arose during non-business hours when IT staff wasn’t in the office. Cloud computing allows you to rely on the availability and expertise of your external hosting provider. Your problems are resolved faster, and that means your network will experience considerably less downtime.
In our digital age, we’re all impacted by computer technology in one way or another
And more and more often, we’re all utilizing some form of cloud computing. That’s especially true for business professionals. Fortunately, you don’t need a computer science degree to understand how the cloud can benefit your business. Once you cut through the jargon, you may be pleasantly surprised at how transparent the “cloud” really is.
Cloud Hosting is Here to Stay
If you’re still left asking “why is cloud hosting better?” we suggest contacting an outsourced cloud provider who can help you with all the key points listed above and more. We recommend the team at PointClick Technologies, providers of full service cloud & dedicated managed web hosting solutions.
