The vast majority of cloud services are available in an extended version – for business. For example, you use a free personal Google Drive. Small and medium-sized enterprises use a similar Google Drive but with a wider range of functions. This way, they get a ready-made solution for working with documentation, convenient access to it for employees, and the ability to customize access rights. They also use Trello and Evernote for personal records and the corporate version for collaborative work on tasks.
But besides organizing administrative work and data storage, businesses have other needs. Let’s take a closer look at what business services are, what they are, and which companies can use cloud technologies.
Who needs the cloud?
Cloud solutions are used by small and large organizations in various fields. They also have different goals:
- backing up data and then restoring it;
- program development and testing;
- analyzing large amounts of information;
- working with e-mail and setting up remote desktops;
- storing programs for the end user.
Companies use the benefits of the cloud in different ways. Video game developers have opened up the possibility for their users to play online and communicate with each other. Financial companies track fraudulent schemes in real-time. Security organizations and store owners can see what’s happening in the sales area and react quickly to the situation. But the cloud is used not only for this purpose.
Cloud services for business
SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS, which we discussed above, differ in how much influence you can have over the cloud.
If you are a business user and buy Software-as-a-service – SaaS, you have minimal opportunities to influence its operation. You can customize it to your needs or ask the supplier to add some functionality. When there are enough such requests, it will be implemented (or not). The quality of the software product and the availability of data also depend on the supplier.
The big advantage of SaaS as a business service is that you don’t need to understand the technical details or hire a specialist to keep the program running.
Examples of business solutions:
- Microsoft Office 365 and Google Drive;
- cloud computing for warehouse accounting;
- business process administration, such as Bitrix24 tools;
- Google Analytics statistics collection and marketing platform.
PaaS – platform as a service – is suitable for developers. By purchasing a certain amount of resources – RAM, disk storage, and a central processor – you get your computer in the cloud. Here you can install, customize, and add any software.
The platforms are provided by large service providers, so your virtual computer will be fast and stable. The advantage is that it is not necessary to determine the amount of resources that will be needed in the future. If you need to scale up, it’s easy to do so in the cloud.
Many providers offer tariff plans where you pay only for the amount of resources used: memory, disk space, and the number of operations.
This type of service is most often suitable for medium and large businesses: to create not just one virtual server, but, for example, a group of servers and run a serious program, you need a lot of resources, which you will have to pay for.
Since the company sets up all the components itself, you need to hire a staff of specialists who will do this.
Examples of services for business:
- computing power;
- application hosting;
- databases;
- data warehouses.
The most popular service providers in this area are Amazon Web Services, Windows Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
IaaS – infrastructure as a service – means that you rent a server: a dedicated physical, virtual, or even a shared data center. This option is suitable for experienced IT professionals or companies that have them on staff.
The service provider ensures the stable operation of hardware and virtualization programs. You get a configured server and access to management, as well as the right to install any operating system, and programs, and manage them yourself.
If the server is no longer suitable, you can change it to another one without worrying about spending money on equipment.
The future of cloud technologies
It is difficult to predict how the technology will develop, so let’s look at the trends that have emerged.
Businesses avoid buying equipment and prefer to place computing resources in the cloud. This trend will continue and intensify in the future.
More and more providers are entering the IT market in general and the cloud market in particular, so competition is growing, which is good for the end user, as services are becoming cheaper.
With the advent of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), employees have switched from desktop computers to laptops and tablets, and have become less dependent on a physical workplace. The trend is that more and more people prefer to work from home or in a coworking space, which adds to their mobility. The need to maintain an office is decreasing, and such a trend as digital nomadism is gaining popularity.
A positive point for local providers is that trust and interest in them are growing. Five years ago, many people focused on global giants in the cloud industry, but now “bigger” does not mean more profitable and convenient. It is easier for a local hoster to adapt services to market needs, which means it is easier to win an audience by providing a convenient product.
The concept of the Internet of Things is already widespread when home devices interact with each other via the Internet without human intervention or with minimal intervention. The ability to turn on a slow cooker, boil a kettle, or heat a boiler before you get home is looking more and more attractive. There is a demand for this, which means that this area will continue to develop.
Interest in cloud computing will continue to grow, and the technology will continue to evolve. At the same time, customers will have higher demands for service quality, and suppliers will have higher responsibilities to customers. The more work and daily life is tied to the cloud, the more expensive the cost of an error and the cost of a minute of downtime.
What to remember about cloud computing
- The cloud can be public, private, or hybrid.
- Cloud technologies combine a set of services that are provided in the form of software, platform, or infrastructure.
- The more the provider allows you to influence the functionality of the service, the more knowledge and skills you need.
- Thanks to the cloud, you can work remotely with documents and mail, write programs, and create your own virtual computers.
- Data can be stored remotely, without taking up space on a desktop computer, and used at any time.
- Businesses are shifting more and more resources to the cloud, reducing costs.
- Cloud hosting is becoming more popular. Companies are increasing their capacity and developing more advanced systems for the smooth operation of services.