While technology trends are always constantly evolving, few are as disruptive as cloud computing has been for enterprises. Not only has it changed the way enterprises manage IT resources, but it has also injected new life into stagnated business processes and workflows. Sid Nag, research vice president at Gartner, says, “Cloud services are shaking up the industry.” So what are these changes? Why are enterprises moving towards the change? What’s driving the global cloud spending? Let’s find the answers to all these questions.
Cloud Computing vs Traditional Computing
Cloud computing is a step away from traditional business computing and software architecture practices. In the past enterprises had to invest extensively in hardware-based systems to meet their computing needs. These systems were very rigid, which made upgrading and upscaling a major challenge for most businesses. Every enterprise desired a more flexible and cost-effective solution to align IT needs with the hyper-competitive and constantly evolving business environment.
How is Cloud Computing transforming business landscape?
Paul Maritz, CEO of Vmware puts it, “Cloud is about how you do computing, not where you do computing”. In layman’s term, cloud computing simply means storing and accessing business data (or any other data ) on the internet. Before the cloud, enterprises had to buy costly servers to host business data. The downside was that there was always a limit beyond which the server could no longer handle incoming customer queries and requests. A solution, that seemed plausible at the time, was to add some more servers. But enterprise services do not face peak requests 24*7. This means the additional servers or resources were more often than not wasted. Moreover, the servers would become outdated in a few years. This had forced the enterprises into an IT spending cycle that offered minimal business value and ROI.
On the other hand, Cloud computing is serverless computing. It frees enterprises of all the headaches associated with the traditional server-based computing. So the technology is used because:
- Cloud computing is flexible.
- Cloud computing is accessible 24*7.
- Cloud computing is cost-effective.
- Cloud computing never turns redundant or outdated.
Netflix: A Cloud Computing Pioneer
Cloud computing’s impact on the business landscape is all pervasive. It is difficult to single out even one successful business that is not using cloud hosting or planning to adopt it. A popular example in this regard is that of ‘Netflix’, an online video streaming service. Cloud pundits regard Netflix as one of the early pioneers of cloud technology. They prepared the cloud roadmap for other business owners to follow.
Netflix requires a robust IT infrastructure to keep its millions of online subscribers hooked. If Netflix had followed the traditional hosting model, it would have been virtually impossible for Netflix to cater to its audience in America itself, let alone the global audience. And most probably it would have been out of business by now. Netflix has not just survived but emerged as the standalone leader in its industry. Here is the primary reason for Netflix’s success:
- Cloud computing (AWS in the case of Netflix) made it easier to meet variable demands on a real-time basis.
- Cloud computing saved Netflix a lot of money in capital expenditure as cloud costs vary depending on demand and usage.
- Cloud computing saved Netflix time and resources it would have spent on maintaining and managing traditional IT infrastructure.
The Changes
Netflix is a perfect instance of how cloud computing has transformed the traditional business landscape.
- Cloud computing services are designed to be automated. Users can scale their needs up and down without manual intervention.
- Cloud computing services are cost-effective. Users have to pay for only those computing resources that are being used.
- Cloud computing services eliminate the associated costs of in-house IT services like wages, electricity, etc.
- Cloud computing services promise 24*7 business continuity. Business data is backed-up, stored and secured. Disaster recovery is easy, and there is a minimal business loss.
- Cloud computing services offer greater flexibility to the workplace. Upon authorization, employees can access data and important documents from anywhere anytime.
More Than Just Computing
Today cloud computing entails a wide range of services. Experts say that this is just the beginning of the enterprise reliance on cloud computing services and by 2021 nearly all enterprises would have migrated to the cloud. Pratham Software is a leading enterprise mobility solution provider . We help enterprises embrace cloud computing benefits with a cohesive cloud solution framework that perfectly aligns people, data, and technology. Whether you are looking for a cloud storage solution for specific business applications or considering an all-inclusive 360-degree migration, we can be your ideal technology partner.
