Business Up In The Air? Land On The Cloud
Has bad things happened to you and your business? Perhaps it has been hacked, or maybe someone you work with spilt coffee on a server tower. Or has your website gone down due to too much traffic, something you would normally hope happens all the time. These can be frustrating when you are trying to run a business. It means you can’t always sit easy and when something bad happens you just end up kind of waiting there for something else to happen. As a business owner you need to do all that you can to keep your business running and all you can to protect its operational capacity. If you don’t certain things may happen that hurt you and stop incoming profits. Mitigating these issues are easier than they used to be due to the advent of cloud computing, which helps on multiple fronts. This article can inform you about the pros and cons of cloud computing so you can make an informed decision about which direction you want to take your business in. You may already know certain aspects, but others you may not, and they can give you other ideas regarding your business and how you want to run it.
So What Is Cloud Computing?
It is essentially running your physical computers from a virtual server. You don’t use server towers anymore, it’s all run directly online. The computers link up with the virtual server and connects to it, enabling you to link with it like you would a normal server. It seems no different to computing in a normal way, and has a glut of benefits that go along with it. Cloud computing has made some huge strides forward in the last few years and companies, both small and large, are starting to use it. You start by signing up to a provider, an example of which can be seen at VPSServer.com. You can arrange your terms with them and then you get started. Different cloud providers can offer different things, such as web hosting and network protection. It is a simple process, and one which you pay monthly for. The fee usually depends on how much space you need and how big your business is. So, why use cloud computing over the usual tried and tested methods? Read on for the benefits.
DDOS Attacks
DDOS stands for distributed denial of service, and it is where your website is overloaded with traffic that it can’t handle. It can sometimes be innocent. If you have a great product or service that becomes super popular and you were not expecting it then it could go down. But they are more often malicious attacks by a bunch of different computer networks aimed at bringing you offline. Some people do this for reasons, others do it for for simple fun. Their fun means you losing lots of sales while you try to get back online. The benefit of cloud computing means these attacks are mitigated somewhat. Providers offer higher levels of security. Meaning DDOS attacks aren’t as powerful because the virtual servers can handle the overload of traffic due to their high end systems. When you choose a provider, make sure you find one which can handle issues like these. You may think your business will never be threatened, but as it grows it could be. If you grow your business, website and customer base you need to tune up your host and servers appropriately to deal with the heightened strain.
Physical Mistakes
Around servers and towers they happen all the time. Someone can bump into them and send them crashing to the ground. A member of your workforce could accidently spill some coffee on one, then your whole system goes down. Maybe you don’t keep it ventilated enough and it overheats and shuts down. The physical issues concerning your server are real. They may not be a problem if you protect them well enough, though certain issues can’t be stopped. What if there is a fire at your place of work, or a great flood? One of the benefits of cloud based computing lies with its off site based systems. So whatever happens on site it doesn’t matter. You may destroy the computers in some way but the key data remains safe. It is a great way of mitigating these types of issues and saves you money because you won’t have to pay for pricey engineers to come out and fix or replace it for you.
No Server Upgrading
Just like you upgrade computers over the years you also upgrade servers. These are super expensive. You need to anticipate growth too so you likely always get some of the better and larger servers than you need. You can see some of the best reviewed here. With cloud computing you don’t need to upgrade your server. You just stay on the cloud. It is where the future is. There are some downsides, which will be explored below, but if you think about it, it is where the future lies. Music is now stored on the cloud. Games are now downloaded. Physical manifestations of products and items are becoming obsolete due to the ability to use the cloud. If you are wondering which way to take your business, go with the way that is future proof. A benefit is if you find yourself changing your business and not needing servers you can just cancel your cloud subscription.
The Key To Productivity
Cloud computing also allows a certain sense of productivity. With physical servers you need to be at your business location to access your key data and client files. But with a virtual server you can be anywhere to enter the cloud. It means you can access data from anywhere where there is internet. Employees can work from anywhere. No more lugging around hard drives or losing USB sticks. This is particularly helpful if your business requires you to go out to external based clients regularly because you have your whole business on the cloud and ready to dig into where needed.
Virtual Safety
They are better at repelling viruses and malware too. Employee mistakes are mitigated. For example, if an employee opens an attachments from an email containing a virus a normal server could be flooded instantly, but the one based on the cloud has less chance of being damaged because of the better protection it offers. This is a major pulling point and one of the reasons many businesses have moved across to the cloud. It is more secure and can stop threats before they turn into anything too nasty.
Downsides…
There are of course downsides to using cloud based computing facilities. Firstmost, your data is secure, but those on the other side can see it. Depending on what provider you choose, they may guarantee employee discretion. Just because they see key data does not mean they go telling people about it. It is however a sticking point for many users of the cloud. All of the information you store on their servers can be seen by them. There is also another issue, if you share a server with other business users you can sometimes notice it slowing down. This does not happen when you have your own physical server. Sometimes the slowdown is minimal, other times debilitating. It all depends on the provider you go for. It also means there could be downtime. The provider could end up having to perform maintenance on their server banks which means you can’t access your files and what you need to operate. This downtime may be minimal, but if you are always busy and operating it can cause serious issues. There are ways in which you can get around this though, find a quality provider who offer minimal downtime.
There are other downsides too, such as the issue of customer support. It things happen you need to go through customer support, who may not always be easy to deal with. It is another added strain on your business day. Even with amazing support centres, if the cloud goes down for whatever reason they’ll be swamped with calls, meaning you need to wait a long time before you get spoken too. You can find a more in depth look at the various downsides here.
The key with the cloud is in finding what suits you. You need to trawl the web for a provider that offers exactly what you need, even if you end up paying a premium. Find something that does what you need, that allows the data to be merged back into standard computing if need be, and a provider that gives ultimate discretion, security and space so that your speed does not flag and affect your business operational capacity. If you find the right cloud computing systems for you, your business could be jettisoned into the modern era and reap the rewards quite quickly. Good luck, and remember to give it all a decent amount of thought. Don’t rush into anything without weighting everything and working out what is best for you.
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