Cloud computing, or cloud computing, is crucial for the full functioning of your business in this digital era that we are witnessing.
After all, renowned companies seeking global growth such as Amazon, Netflix, Visa, Nuban,k, and Google already carry out all their activities with the help of this tool. In other words, the cloud is part of our lives without us realizing it.
Therefore, understanding how this resource works and its main advantages is extremely important for the best solution for your company. Understand, without complications, everything you need to know with this complete content we have prepared. Follow along!
What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing i one of the best resources that drives companies in the digital world this decade. After all, it is crucial to keep companies active and competitive in the current market.
In fact, according to research carried out by IDC, in 2021 investment in the cloud exceeded more than 3.2 billion and the growth projection will be 31% between the period from 2020 to 2024.
To better understand, cloud computing is an intelligent solution providing technologies through digital resources with data storage, website hosting,g and other networks, and a shared environment over the internet, all in a remote data center managed by the cloud service ( CSP). Therefore, the main objectives of this resource are:
- reduce technology-related costs by providing ease in installation processes;
- manage your on-premise infrastructure;
- scalability to the company in bringing fluidity in managing peak demand issues;
- taking advantage of your cloud provider’s global network, promoting greater functionality for any user on the planet;
- better agility in allowing you to use corporate applications in a few minutes instead of having to wait weeks or even months for support to respond to the request.
In short, the term cloud refers to the technology that provides a virtual infrastructure with operating system software and a server in which your company’s data can be grouped without the need for physical hardware, but in a network. This way, with the virtualization process, it is possible to get the most out of the data center.
To give you an idea of its great importance, 92% of companies in the world already use cloud technology. In other words, whoever does not pay due attention to this topic will lose out in this game.
How did cloud computing come about?
Although this technology looks like a “trend” of the digital age, be aware that it is very old. It began in the 1950s, when computer costs were quite expensive, after all, they were real machines and intended only for large companies. To understand better, one of these models occupied an entire compartment.
As information sharing was a necessity for better internal logistics, the mainframe center emerged, which was capable of integrating the company’s computers with a large volume of information. However, it was in the 1960s that it gained greater proportions, especially after the American John McCarthy devised a new way of allowing the use of information shared with more than one user.
Nowadays, we must live without this technology. This is because it saves space and costs and centralizes crucial company information in one place.
This way, everyone has access to applications (depending on the plan) that do not require installation and run on Windows, Android, IO, S, or macOS, requiring only an internet browser.
Why the name cloud?
Cloud computing is a technology that allows your data to be shared across six continents — you can even access it in the Antarctic because there is a small data center there — and it is this versatility that makes it so interesting. It is as if it were available in the air, hence the association with the term “cloud”.
Thus, the information and applications are suspended, without a defined size,e and can vary in shape, in addition to being able to be transported to any space on the planet. An example of a program that has a diffuse nature and that its form can vary is the CDN (Content Delivery Network).
The cloud refers to the content distribution network that makes important information — such as e-commerce — available in the best way possible with remote servers in different locations around the world, to meet demand and other factors.
When did it become commercially popular?
As we know, the beginning of the idea of cloud computing is old, dating back to the 1950s, however, it had not yet been implemented on a global and commercial scale as we see today.
The assumption of uniting processing power in several computers interconnected in a grid gave rise to LCG in 2003. This “grid” format was already discussed at the University of Chicago as a stable and efficient system for sharing data, with the detailed research carried out in 1998 called “Bible of Grids”.
From then on, it only progressed. Although it was already widespread throughout the world, its commercial exploitation has no defined beginning. In this way, he had a milestone at Amazon with its launch of the Elastic Compute Cloud service, in August 2006. After all, this company is one of the most famous cases of adopting the concept of cloud computing, since at the time, companies had processing and storing data on giant e-commerce platforms.
After Amazon’s great success, other global companies also embarked on innovation such as Google and Microsoft. In short, they had extensive networks that needed to be improved to keep up with the vast growth of technological innovations.
How does cloud computing work?
As you already know, cloud computing can contribute to your company’s scaling strategies more fluidly, contributing with good cost-benefit, agility in requests in minutes, and savings in infrastructure. However, it is its structure that makes all the difference. Therefore, understand how the types work and their structure, below.
Public cloud
This is a computational resource provided by third parties, as well as servers and storage. This way, it is available for anyone to access the information and finally, it will be the client who will be responsible for sending the files and the cloud provider will be responsible for managing the resources.
In other words, in the public cloud,d everything is available, but in a standardized way. By providing a unified solution, it ends up becoming the cheapest and most suitable option for companies that want to start in cloud computing.
Private Cloud
The private cloud, as the name suggests, refers to your internal domain, which is restricted to selected users. Therefore, it allows you to customize support according to the company’s needs. Additionally, it follows data security and privacy guidelines. This model is ideal for government and financial institutions.
Hybrid Cloud
This option allows you to integrate the two previous functionalities and thus favors the sharing of applications and data, in addition to being able to customize for a certain number of users when necessary. Therefore, some important resources can be used privately and public data can be shared with everyone normally.
Community Cloud
This fourth model emerged after the first three to provide an organization and infrastructure that have shared demands with the same security and data traffic. This way, no matter how many companies there are, they have the same cloud that meets their special needs. Its administration can be left to each member of that community.
HPC Cloud
This is an acronym that stands for High-Performancee Computing Cloud and refers to the model with an abundant supply of processing and high performance. From a financial aspect, they are interesting since it is not necessary to invest in other resources such as storage. They are one of the most specialized on the market today.
Big Data Cloud
The use of this Big Data format has been increasingly gaining ground in this decade as it provides strategic information management in various technology segments. However, it is the most complex of all mentioned so far, with many significant variables, in addition to a large amount and permanent investment.
What is cloud computing for?
As we well know, cloud services are offered by providers that maintain hardware and software infrastructure so that users can access them from anywhere in the world, without the need to invest in their infrastructure.
It can easily scale to meet users’ processing, storage, and networking demands without the need to purchase or configure new servers or devices. Additionally, cloud architecture ensures that businesses back up important data and recover that data in the event of a failure or disaster.
Another important point to highlight is the advanced security measures that protect user data against hacker attacks and other cyber threats, making the investment in this technology well worth it.
Finally, cloud computing can easily scale to meet users’ processing, storage,e, and networking demands, without the need to purchase or configure new servers or devices.
What are the ways of commercializing the cloud?
For the next step towards hosting a cloud computing system, you need to know how it is available on the market and, at least, two main formats that allow your company to transfer resources in the best way: the shared environment and the dedicated one. Understand, below, how each one works.
Shared environment
This format provides complete integration for other companies, however, more simply and cheaply. As the name suggests, it is divided for everyone. This way, each one presents its format and shares the same infrastructure. The advantage of this modality is that the cost is greatly reduced for implementation.
In other words, a company’s work is protected in the event of an unforeseen event such as a fire. Furthermore, the physical space will be better utilized, as it will be reduced to a room with excellent cloud computing, after all, nowadays everything is increasingly becoming virtual, and being aware of this tendency to adapt is a matter of survival.
Dedicated environment
The dedicated environment is a more complex model and has greater processing power. It is suitable for large companies with a high number of demands, as well as companies with high scalability. Although it is more expensive, it provides excellent value for money in the long term.
What are the advantages of cloud computing?
It’s not just the ease of finding your files that cloud computing has, but also an excellent cost-benefit in several company parameters. To better understand, we have separated the main contributions that this resource brings to day-to-day activities and migration.
Cost reduction
With the implementation of cloud computing, you will not need to spend on physical infrastructure in your company. Furthermore, the space in the environment will be better utilized with only the necessary items and these costs can be applied to other important demands in the company.
Greater efficiency
As we are witnessing an unprecedented digital evolution, having the cloud will be essential to efficiently align the company’s strategies by placing all computers on the same level. So, it doesn’t matter if the data is accessed by tens of thousands of users, cloud computing democratizes accessibility and often only a login is required to work on a request, for example.
Expandability
One of the biggest limitations of physical storage is the maximum supported limit for storing files. With cloud computing this will no longer be a problem, since the moment you need more space, just make the request and change your plan, with just one click, simple as that.
Agility
Another advantage that the cloud stands out is that you have the most innovative technologies available and are always updated. Another point where the model stands out is the integration with multiple servers with low maintenance.
In other words, you can quickly generate resources according to your company’s needs, such as the Internet of Things, machine learning, data analysis, and efficient backup. With cloud computing,g it will be possible to be efficient in greater demands and boost business exponentially.
Mobility
Migration to the cloud also promotes greater versatility by allowing work teams to access and collaborate on documents and projects from anywhere in the world, without the need to be physically in the same location. This can improve productivity and work efficiency in the organization and even allows for partnerships that extend the country’s borders.
Corporate access
Employees can collaborate in real-time on documents, projects, and other tasks, regardless of the location or device they are using. This can increase team efficiency and productivity in hybrid cloud computing.
Security
Cloud computing generally has more advanced security measures than most companies could implement on their own. This can include protection against cyberattacks, monitoring for suspicious activity, and automated data backups.
Strategic value
Cloud management can help companies reduce costs as they don’t need to invest in expensive hardware or maintain IT staff to manage on-premises servers. Instead, organizations only pay for the services they use, which can be more cost-effective in the long run.
Efficiency in mkt and sales operations
The benefits of the cloud can boost email marketing campaigns, lead segmentation, and data analysis. This can help reduce the time and effort required to perform these tasks, increasing the efficiency of the marketing and sales team due to system integration and the convenience of having data anywhere.
improvement in customer service
By storing information in the cloud, you can have quick and easy access to customer data anytime, anywhere. This allows employees to have accurate information, your needs, and purchasing history, which can help them provide more personalized and efficient service.
Increased competitiveness in the market
Cloud platforms can increase an organization’s efficiency as it can access data and applications anywhere, allowing staff to work remotely and actively. Furthermore, cloud computing can offer greater scalability, flexibility,y, and speed in implementing IT solutions.
Improvements in IT management
This is because it will be possible to manage large amounts of data more efficiently, organizing and analyzing it in real-time. This can help companies make more informed and accurate decisions, as well as allow them to stay up to date with the latest trends and innovations in the market.
What are the service models?
Nowadays, you can find a wide variety of cloud computing and you can choose the model that best suits your needs. Therefore, we have separated the main models for you to familiarize yourself with the topic.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
With the IaaS model, Infrastructure resources are rented, from data storage, such as hardware, data centers, racks, servers, and routers, and depending on the model chosen and the provider, the charge can be applied to the number of servers and amount of data stored or even transmitted. Therefore, only what is needed by the company and paid for in the plan is used.
A big advantage that we can mention in this model is the possibility of scalability because this way, you can optimize according to the demands of the month. In other words, if there is little work in one period and others it intensifies, you can adapt IaaS.
PaaS (Platform as a Service)
The PaaS model is a cloud version that provides a complete development environment in which it is possible to create and optimize the company’s software and applications and rely on Business Intelligence services, in addition to the ideal infrastructure to best execute the mobile web application.
The advantage of PaaS is that the development team is only concerned with application programming, in short, all maintenance, infrastructure,e, and administration are managed by the provider.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS allows you to use the software without having to purchase a license. Therefore, it is possible to use it in the cloud with unlimited resources. However, there are payments with a fixed rate, as they are accompanied by advertisements to help with monetization.
In conclusion, the company will be able to access the SaaS only via the Internet without the need to worry about installation, investment in licenses,s and more advanced configurations. Examples of public applications that use this model are Skype, Facebook,k, and WhatsApp.
DaaS (Database as a Service)
This service is capable of providing solutions for any volume of data for different applications in the company. When you use a data service for a database, you have better fluidity for expansion, and information exchange, in addition to data accessibility remotely.
CaaS (Communication as a Service)
This model boils down to providing communication services such as Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony. To explain better, CaaS is an integration of IaaS and SaaS with the implementation of networks and servers.
SeCaaS (Security as a Service)
This is a service provider that provides layered security for corporate infrastructure that does not have mechanisms, necessary expertise,e and human capital. In other words, it is an outsourced service in which a company takes care of and manages your security. A simple example that we can address is the use of antivirus.
XaaS (Everything as a Service)
This is a type of business in which the entire application or product is delivered as a service to the company. This cloud model has become a decisive factor in the transformation journey of companies in the digital world. You have a variety of applications on the internet. Thus, costs such as subscriptions and reduced complexity of traditional methods in data center and network resources.
How to choose the best option for your company?
The fact is that cloud computing promotes greater scalability for businesses due to its excellent optimization. However, despite its numerous benefits, many people do not know where to start in this endeavor. Therefore, to help with these issues, we have prepared a series of tips for you to adopt as a real checklist at these times. Check out!
Find out how technical support works
When you hire a clouding service, you are entrusting your information and data to another company and, therefore, knowing how it works and delivers its services will directly impact the company’s demand. After all, simple failures or incorrect use of resources will result in major inconvenience, especially loss of money.
Therefore, evaluate the availability of technical support specialized in the subject, as one thing is certain: you are subject to unforeseen events and this must be taken into account in your checklist. Evaluate the chosen company’s feedback on problem-solving before concluding a contract, as well as its service package.
See if the service offers scalability
The term scalability is one of the most used words in this decade. The forecast for growth with technology will be exponential and having a cloud computing service that supports the expansion of companies will be essential. Furthermore, it is essential to be sure that cloud storage will meet the team’s needs in these matters.
This issue must be observed mainly with IaaS services as they need to have the right demand to meet the company’s needs in peak situations, for example. In summary, it is essential to provide the quality and computational resources necessary for applications.
Learn about the security policy of the cloud computing service
Knowing the service policy is the factor that guarantees your company’s digital security. The service provider needs to promote 100% integrity to prevent unauthorized access. This is because data leaks cause great damage to the organization and some may even sell information for targeted advertising.
So, invest in a reputable company with good provenance in this matter that directly guarantees your Service Level Agreement (SLA) with strict protection with all digital security processes.
Evaluate service technology
Even though cloud computing technology promises to reduce the complications of an outdated infrastructure, you must ensure that the contracted service is constantly updated. This is because this sector is constantly updated and this is crucial for the business to remain consolidated in today’s very competitive market.
In other words, news must be constantly updated and available to your company, without complications. And, no matter how much time passes, this technology must always be up-to-date and available.
Relying on a specialized and excellent service is the secret to the best implementation of cloud computing. Therefore, find out more about how our services and guarantees work for excellent value for money.
What are the cloud computing trends for the coming years?
Cloud Computing has been developing strategically for 2023 and the coming years. IAscorporations discover the advantages of working with cloud computing, we expect cloud automation to be widespread in the future. After all, these platforms enable companies to benefit from the advantages offered by different cloud service providers to carry out different tasks.
We also cannot forget the popularization of Edge Computing, which will gain even more prominence due to the need for companies to process their data faster and closer to the sources. With advanced technologies, it is possible to reduce latency, improve performance,e and reduce cloud computing expenses.
To explain further, this distributed computing model allows data processing on edge devices, such as sensors, smartphones, and routers, among others, instead of centralizing processing on remote servers.
The hybrid work format is increasing demand for cloud-based productivity technologies as well as collaboration solutions. Tools that enable communication, project control, virtual conferences, and file sharing using the cloud will become essential for companies looking to support and improve the efficiency of their employees.
We also cannot fail to mention the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in corporate environments is becoming increasingly common as companies seek to develop innovations and improve the efficiency of their processes. In turn, cloud computing allows these investments in AI to be maximized.
According to the McKinsey & Company 2021 report, practically two-thirds of companies have plans to invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) by 2023. With few resources available to set up their own Artificial Intelligence infrastructure, more companies are increasingly depending on AI to perform fundamental tasks.
These services can range from managing networks to providing storage to your customers, regulating power and cooling systems in data centers, to powering cybersecurity solutions to maintain data security.
In short, relying on cloud computing service means you can be sure of total security and integrity with your data, in addition to enjoying a cutting-edge cloud storage technological model with scalability in any situation.
Do you want to know more about how it works and which cloud model is best for your company? click here
