Biggest Cloud Tech in 2014 and Coming Trends in 2015
7 December 2014Cloud Computing — Separating the Myths from the Truth
11 December 2014Cloud computing has become a must have ingredient towards the success of every organization. Most organizations have greatly benefited from cloud computing, so much that almost every company out there wants to jump in to the band wagon. However, the reason why we have some organizations greatly benefiting from cloud computing compared to others, is because some have mastered how to have cloud work to their advantage, and they are thus reaping the full benefits. For others, they are reaping partial benefits because they never put in place strategies to help them realize the full potential of using cloud. This theretofore means that there are many industry players using cloud, but the extent to which each player benefits is dependent on how well they have laid out their cloud infrastructure.
How to Get the Most Out Of Cloud Computing
Identify the best cloud service for you
The key to a successful cloud computing system depends on first identifying your needs. For example, if you run an organization which requires a wide range of advanced applications for its day-to-day operations, the best thing would be to subscribe to a public cloud. This is mainly because a public cloud will provide you with a wide range of applications, at a cheaper cost. Moreover, since public cloud providers have the capacity to consistently update their applications, your employees will have the best apps to work with, and this will translate to more productivity, and also introduce a higher level of efficiency in the organization. Public clouds are also very effective for startup companies which are running on a tight budget. As a company, you benefit from great service delivery at an affordable cost, and perhaps this explains why we have more organization subscribed to public clouds compared to other types of cloud.
On the other hand, if data security is your biggest desire for investing in cloud, a private cloud computing system would the best choice for you. You are able to control your security, and thus if you need a more secure system, you should install strong servers and advanced firewalls which will prevent any security breaches.
However, if you need both file security and a wide variety of applications, a hybrid cloud would be the best choice for you, since you will benefit from both sides of the divide. It also ensures that you have a large storage capacity since you can use the private cloud for sharing and storage of only confidential documents, and use the public cloud for everything else. It therefore gives you more storage options, which is beneficial for big organizations which have more data storage needs.
Know when to scale up
Your organization’s cloud computing needs are dynamic. This means that they will be subject to change as time goes on, and you therefore have to keep up with the demand. The amount of space you need today will definitely not be amount of space you need tomorrow. Additionally, you will need to keep on upgrading your security firewalls, because the security threats that your organization is facing today, will not be same in a few years to come. Thus, if you have not been consistently upgrading the cloud firewalls, you will be exposed to a lot of threats, and your files will no longer be safe. This is why it is very important to learn what your organization needs at a certain time, because this will help you to determine when to scale up. If there are new and advanced applications in the market, scaling up will help you to keep up with the new market needs, which will go a long way in ensuring that you easily edge out your competitors.
Perhaps the best thing about using a public cloud is the fact it provides limitless possibilities to scale up. Whenever you need an upgrade, whether it is in terms of storage capacity, security or number of applications available for your organization, you only need to increase your subscription fee and you will be able to acquire what you need with a click of a finger, without any additional hardware infrastructural requirements.
Scaling up on a private cloud will always cost you more, in terms of software, hardware and personnel requirements. This normally happens because the organization will have to meet all the costs on its own, but it is always worth the investment.
Encourage your employees to learn about new apps
This is the best way to ensure that you are making good use of your cloud subscription. New apps always come with easier and more efficient ways of doing things, and sometimes you do not even have to incur any extra costs in order to acquire them. If you have custom-made apps which have been exclusively developed for use in your private cloud, this might give you a competitive advantage over other companies. However, most public clouds offer the same apps to all their clients, but if you want a competitive advantage you have an option to subscribe to an advanced public cloud package which provides more apps than what everyone else is getting.
The best way to get more out of cloud computing is by ensuring that you are making use of every service that is provided by the cloud. This way, you will reap the full benefits of investing in cloud computing.