Since the invention of computer, technological advancement has been in the most powerful gear. Technology is changing at a pace today that no one could fathom just a few decades back. From communication to how data is stored, everything is in its finest form today. Among other things, you have cloud computing technology that has been silently changing a how a lot of things work. This technology has proved equally useful for individuals and businesses. Let’s take a look at what it is and how it benefits people today with so many things.
Understanding Cloud Computing
Cloud computing technology is bringing several computers and their resources together in one place and making them available to the users over the internet. These computing resources can be of many different types. It could be space on a hard drive to store files, use of a software tool for rendering animations or the availability of a CRM. When you use this technology, you are using the resources of these clusters of computers that belong to a company that sells these resources. It solves many problems for businesses and individuals at home. More importantly, this technology is all around you and you might not even notice.
The Uses of Cloud Computing
As stated earlier, the technology is all around you and you might not have noticed it. Let’s take a look at some of the uses of cloud computing technology.
Storage of Data
Today, you can store your files in the cloud and access them from anywhere you want whenever you want. Microsoft Onedrive, Google Drive, and Drop Box are some of the most popular examples of these services. By using these services, you can store your important files in the cloud so you don’t necessarily need a copy on your computer. In a similar way, more and more people are installing home security systems where their cameras capture videos 24/7. An ordinary user cannot afford to store so much of the data due to the high costs. The best way to go about storing all the content is to put it in the cloud.
Scalable Website Hosting
If you don’t know, cloud-based website hosting is one of the wonders of cloud computing technology. Dedicated hosting is expensive whereas shared hosting is very limited. Cloud hosting comes as the best solution to all these problems. Companies can have their websites hosted in the cloud wherein the resources are flexible. At any given moment, if a website experiences spike in traffic volume, the resources will be increased to accommodate that change. It is fluid just like that. You don’t have to switch between packages to change your bandwidth, RAM or storage.
Big Data Mining
One of the biggest challenges for today’s businesses is analysis of the big data and making use of it. However, when dealing with big data, conventional software tools are not enough to go through thousands and thousands of gigabytes of data and produce results in adequate time. On the other hand, the use of cloud computing technology allows companies to use these resources from a third party. The tools required for this type of data analysis are running on third party machines that are clustered together and sharing their resources.
Benefits of Cloud Computing
There are some huge benefits of cloud computing technology and that’s why the world is adopting it so quickly. Here are some of the major ones.
Flexibility and Scalability
Flexibility and scalability are the two things that cloud computing technology can offer companies and individuals today. When you need more resources, you have access to more resources. When you need fewer resources, you will have access to fewer resources. In short, you have to pay only for as much as you need. You don’t have to sign up for an expensive package today just because you expect growth tomorrow. Why pay for features that you are not going to use today?
Accessibility
Nothing is better than accessibility in the modern world where people like to stay up to date with things on the go. Cloud computing technology makes it possible for you to access the resources in the cloud from anywhere you want. For example, the files you have stored in the cloud are available to you at home or even when you are on the other side of the world enjoying vacations. All you need is a device and an internet connection to reach your files from anywhere you like.
Size and Volume
The size and volume of resources available to you in the cloud is commendable. For example, the standard storage available on a smartphone today is around 64GB to 128GB. Even that’s available on the newest phones. The old ones still have 32GB on them. On the other hand, by paying a small monthly or yearly fee, you can have access to up to terabytes of space for your files. The best thing is that you can store any kind of files you want from audio songs and videos to your office documents.
Affordability
The use of cloud computing technology reduces your costs in many ways. First, when you use software or platform as a service, everything works in the cloud. You don’t have to develop an application in the house and even your files are stored in the cloud. You don’t need an IT department to take care of the maintenance of your software tools, their updates and upgrades. Everything is in the cloud and your service provider is taking care of that. In the end, you save a lot of valuable money when you use cloud computing technology.