What is Cloud Computing? Is Cloud Technology The Future?
Cloud Computing is the process of accessing computing services like data storage, servers, databases, network, security systems, and others from a cloud company. Cloud computing allows a pay-as-you-go method, which means that business companies can specifically choose the services they want to use and only pay for their expenses.
Cloud computing is a remote service. So, business companies can have fast access to their data through the internet. Top cloud service providers like AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud provide various cloud services that help reliability, flexibility, security, and data scalability.
Types of Cloud Computing
There are three major types of cloud computing. These types of cloud computing are classified based on their purposes. These cloud service options help the users decide and choose from different options according to their needs.
1. Public Cloud
The cloud provider manages public cloud service and is not owned by the end-user. The data and resources stored or accessed in a public cloud are shared with multiple users. A public cloud usually has huge storage space available, making data scalability easy. It is suitable for data that you do not have to access frequently.
2. Private Cloud
In a private cloud, the end-user owns the data and resources. No third-party access is allowed. The data is stored securely behind a firewall and internal hosting. There is single organization access, and the services reside within a private network. But the downfall of the private cloud is management and maintenance of the resources have to be done by the organization itself.
3. Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud is a combination of a private cloud with a public cloud. It is done to share data and resources between the two types of cloud. It offers flexibility for business organizations.
Benefits of Cloud Computing
Why is there a high demand for cloud computing? Nowadays, business organizations are willing to spend a lot on cloud infrastructure because they are dependent on it. With the help of effective implementation, cloud computing can help companies have exponential growth in terms of branding, marketing, and finance.
There are plenty of benefits that cloud computing can provide.
• Reduces Cost
Cloud Computing allows you to pay only for the services that business companies have used. It means that you do not have to buy the required hardware and software on your own, which helps save a lot of money. Cloud computing also helps reduce costs related to workspace, labor, security, and management.
• Data Security
It is a lot safer to store your data in cloud storage than on your hard drives. Your cloud data is stored and managed securely with the help of strong security mechanisms. Data encryption is used to protect data against potential threats.
• Data recovery and backups
Cloud ensures data recovery and backup for lost data. Any data lost due to system failure or disasters is backed up with a predetermined plan. Cloud service providers copy and store your data and resources on a server in a different physical location.
• Storage Capacity
Cloud computing offers a huge storage capacity for users. Personalized user data is also a key component of cloud storage. Also, the cloud provides public, private, hybrid options of data storage for flexibility.
• Edge over competitors
Cloud computing offers a business entity an edge over its competitors. If you invest more than your competitor in high-quality cloud services, you can have the edge over them.
That is why nowadays, business companies allocate high budgets for cloud services featuring storage, security, data analytics, and many more.
• Fast Access
You can get fast access to cloud data and resources from a remote area with the help of a good internet connection. Cloud ensures good maintenance and speed of its servers.
Why Cloud Technology is the Future?
The term “Cloud Computing” was first coined back in 1996. Since then, the growth of cloud computing has been huge. According to Skyhigh, Cloud computing apps have nearly tripled since 2013, from 545 to 1427 different services. Along with the growth in technology, cloud computing has become an immensely beneficial factor for the growth of IT and business companies.
A brief history of Cloud Service Providers:
- 2002: Amazon created Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- 2008: Google launched the beta version of Google App Engine
- 2010: Microsoft launched Microsoft Azure
- 2011: IBM released IBM SmartCloud Framework
The growth of cloud technology has been massive, and it is expected to be the same in the time to come as well. The prediction is optimistic for the future of cloud computing because it encompasses a wide variety of computing services for its users.
People who do not know much about cloud computing may think it is only for data storage, but that’s a big no. It is not just the storage. Cloud computing is evolving and encompasses many major computing services that each IT and business company seeks.
More developments will continue for sure in the cloud platforms as there is a lot of competition among the cloud service providers. As a result, users could access quality services at a low cost.
Cloud Certifications
You will have access to a multitude of career opportunities in the field of cloud computing if you earn a cloud computing certification. The other benefits of obtaining a cloud computing certification include increasing earning potential, job security, validation, and credibility. You can get some ideas about the most wanted cloud certification. It is beneficial to have a good understanding of cloud certification in order to have better career opportunities.
Reasons Why Cloud Technology is The Future
There are significant signs of the growth of cloud technology in the foreseeable future. Here are some of the reasons why the future of cloud technology is promising.
1. Investment and High Demand
The engagement in cloud computing is massive. According to findstack.com, at the end of 2021, 67% of all enterprise was cloud-based.
The investment that both cloud service providers and business companies put into cloud computing will continue to increase. The competition among top cloud service providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud means that they have to innovate and work on their quality of service.
There is also a high demand for skilled cloud professionals in the cloud market with high salaries. The demand for cloud professionals is one of the key indicators of how much the cloud industry has grown and will continue to grow in the future.
2. Quality and Performance Improvement
The growth in cloud technology will compel cloud companies to produce more quality computing services such as data storage, speed, security system, scalability, and flexibility. According to IDG, 71% of enterprises look for speed improvements, 63% want greater flexibility, and 57% pick improved customer support.
Cloud providers will invest more in artificial intelligence, machine learning, research, innovation, skilled professionals, and resources to ensure they meet the demand of users. There are two methods for cloud platforms to improve:
1) Quality and performance improvement and
2) Finding solutions for the limitations and errors.
Along with the growth in cloud technology, existing cloud companies are improving, and also, there are a lot of new cloud companies emerging. So, there is a lot of hot competition among cloud service providers, so quality improvement is expected heavily.
3. Storage Capacity Will Increase
Business organizations store more of their data in cloud storage because of the convenience, speed, and security. Cloud service providers are expected to increase the data storage capacity. This trust means that they will be encouraged to store piles of data and information, which will create a demand for more cloud storage.
More cloud data centers are expected to be created in different locations to ensure more data storage capacity. Along with data storage, cloud service providers are looking into providing more storage options, data backup, and recovery measures.
4. Data Security
One of the major concerns for business organizations is if their data is stored securely or not. There is a lot of confidential data as well, so the users do not want any other people to access that data.
According to cybersecurity experts, the most pressing cloud security challenges are misconfiguration of the cloud infrastructure (68 percent); unauthorized access (58 percent); insecure API (52 percent); accounts, services, or traffic hijacking (50 percent) and external data sharing (43 percent).
(data from https://www.cloudwards.net/cloud-computing-statistics/)
Cloud service includes strong security mechanisms like data encryption and private cloud storage with firewalls. But, cloud security mechanisms have to be constantly active on security duty against potential threats and hackers.
So, cloud service providers are expected to make significant moves to increase their security with the help of artificial intelligence, skilled security professionals, and advanced data encryption methods.
Conclusion
The growth of cloud computing is not a joke, and it is only getting started. The cloud computing market is estimated to excel by more than 390 billion US Dollars by 2038. The dependency on Information Technology has led to business enterprises needing more and more cloud data storage as time goes on.
Cloud infrastructure has become a key figure among all major business companies, and long will it continue. According to Forbes, by 2021, a staggering 83% of the company workload will be stored in the cloud. 83% is a huge percentile of data.
According to Salesforce, 94% of businesses say significant online security improvements after moving their data to the cloud. It means companies are now starting to shift their data to cloud data centers from their storage facilities.
