In this article, we write about:

• The definition of cloud computing;
• Different types of cloud services;
• Top 7 uses and benefits of cloud services;
• 5 reasons why cloud computing is the future.

Some experts are convinced that by 2025 cloud computing will be pervasive. It seems like the cloud may not only drive cutting-edge tech solutions, but also become the foundation for overall business innovation.

What is cloud computing?

Microsoft, as a provider of one of the best-known cloud computing platforms, Azure, keeps the cloud computing definition simple:

Why is cloud computing important? The most innovative aspects of cloud computing are the pay-as-you-go pricing model and the enormous economy of scale, as well as the agility, elasticity and high availability that cloud solutions offer. There is no surprise that more and more companies are moving different areas of their business to the cloud and searching for cloud consulting. Cloud operations, commonly called CloudOps, help lower operating costs, run infrastructure more efficiently, and flexibly scale when a business needs to change. These are just a few cloud computing technology basics to start with.

Read more about CloudOps – solutions for cloud-based businesses on our blog.

What are the types of cloud services?

Customers’ needs may differ, thus cloud providers offer various models, types, and services to match solutions with the requirements. A type of cloud deployment and architecture to implement cloud services must be determined initially. There are 4 main types of cloud services to choose from: public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud.

• Public cloud – includes freely available cloud systems, such as Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure.
• Private cloud – a cloud solution based on local resources, dedicated specifically to a person or company.
• Hybrid cloud – a mix of on-premises infrastructure with cloud storage and computing services.
• Multi-cloud solution – a combination of multiple cloud providers; a solution that allows companies to cherry-pick the best features of many different cloud systems to optimise their needs.

Top 7 uses and benefits of cloud services

Cloud computing shows increasing competitiveness through cost savings, flexibility, elasticity, and optimal resource use. As a technology, cloud computing is a complex solution for businesses that want to benefit from digital transformation. Cloud computing enables cloud-native technologies, supports more efficient work, and unlock capabilities of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).

Here’s how organisations use cloud computing to increase business value:

1. IaaS and PaaS

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) delivers fundamental compute, network, and storage resources to consumers on-demand, over the Internet, and on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) provides customers with a complete cloud platform (hardware, software, and whole infrastructure) for developing, running, and managing applications without the cost, complexity, and inflexibility of building and maintaining that platform on-premises.

Benefits:

• Easily accessible cloud with wide cloud services offer.
• Lower costs of acquiring, managing, and maintaining IT infrastructure.
• Increased speed of development on a ready-to-use platform. Applications deployed with a predictable and cost-effective pricing model.

2. SaaS

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) goes even a step further towards fully managed solutions. It is a ready-to-use software accessible online via a subscription.. Thanks to this, IT teams don’t have to install it on their systems.

Benefits:

• Easy access to the software from anywhere, anytime, all you need to have is an Internet connection.
• Possible access to more advanced tools and capabilities (e.g. automation, optimised workflows and real-time collaboration from different locations).

3. Hybrid opportunities

Hybrid solutions and multi-cloud enable the connection between on-premises private cloud services and third-party public cloud services into one, flexible infrastructure for running critical applications and workloads.

Benefits:

• The optimal type of cloud for application or workload.
• Flexible moving workloads between different clouds.
• More effective and cost-efficient fulfilment of technical and business objectives.

4. Test and development

Cloud creates a great environment for software development as DevOps teams can invent, test, secure and produce solutions for specific needs. It is way faster, easier and more flexible compared to in-house testing and development.

Benefits:

• Speed up processes with cloud-based development tools.
• Creating apps and software faster and easier.
• Facilitated DevOps processes, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-native advancements.

5. Big Data analytics

Thanks to the numerous opportunities cloud computing technology brings, businesses get invaluable information that helps optimise different processes. Big Data analytics helps transform large volumes of data into useful insights and bring out true business value. 

Benefits:

• Easier extraction of useful information e.g. consumers’ segmentation or behavioural patterns.
• Detailed insights thanks to using Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) used in cloud computing services.
• Better business decisions based on data.

6. Cloud storage

Files being saved automatically to the cloud is what cloud data storage is about. All documents can be accessed, stored, opened or downloaded from any device with the Internet connection. As far as sensitive data is concerned, companies can store it on-premises, as part of a hybrid or private solution.

Benefits:

• Files easily available for those with access.
• Higher speed, scalability and security for the storage environment.
• Companies pay only for the amount of cloud storage they actually use.

7. Disaster discovery and data backup

Disaster recovery (DR) cloud solutions can be provided with much lower costs than traditional DR sites. By building in the cloud, companies can multiply data and configuration settings. Thanks to effective and secure processes, a lot of time and effort can be saved. Cloud-based backup enables companies to automatically transfer data to any location with the guarantee of high security, availability and capacity.

Benefits:

• Cost-effective and highly secure solutions.
• Faster recovery from different physical locations.
• Saving time and resources.

5 reasons cloud computing is the future

In 2023 many companies will need to continue their work to get through the current crisis, and create or improve their long-term strategies. They want to include business growth, despite the circumstances – that’s why cloud consulting popularity grows.

There are 5 main reasons why cloud computing is important to the future of technology:

Reason #1: Boosted speed & agility

Cloud computing technology helps respond faster and more accurately to changing business conditions. Different resources are available in a few minutes or even seconds, which enables companies to respond with a higher speed to customers’ needs and catch up with the market.

Reason #2: Cloud-driven innovation

Cloud computing helps develop new offers, evaluate a company’s place on the market and fulfil new needs quicker than the competition. It is way easier to experiment with new ideas with faster user feedback and automated processes that enable the development of new digital services.

Reason #3: Cost management

Procurement or operational processes usually generate a high resource and labour costs. The same processes, but automated in the cloud, can bring significant savings. And it’s not reserved for large companies with enormous data centres.

Reason #4: Application resiliency

Availability and reliability are the critical factors now, especially when more and more customers turn to mobile apps. Companies need to think about moving into cloud as most on-premises applications have relatively poor resiliency, while cloud computing enables infrastructure’s fast and safe recovery. 

Reason #5: Future of the workforce

Employees want to develop their skills on new, available technologies and modern candidates search for employers that offer authentic growth. Cloud solutions help automate repetitive processes, leaving space for more innovation and development.

Key takeaways

As the rapid development of cloud computing services shows, the future indeed is in the cloud. High expectations towards companies will grow on many different levels, and unexpected changes may occur, so there is no time to waste.

Cloud computing technology drives innovation and business agility, allows scaling and faster adaptation to dynamic changes, improves business operations, and decreases costs. If you want to prepare for the implementation of cloud solutions and choose the best partner to do it, use our free RFP template for Cloud Services. Those who already took the step towards the cloud, save resources and grow bigger faster. It becomes essential to step into the future that is already here.