Cloud is the latest IT development that is starting to be widely used by business people. The traditional IT model usually requires you to purchase a physical server and install the necessary software. However, cloud computing does not require the provision of physical servers, physical infrastructure maintenance, space as a data center, and other expenses that come with the server hardware.
A cloud server is a virtual server that runs on cloud computing. Cloud computing is a technology for storing and processing data using the internet. Simply put, cloud server technology utilizes the internet as a central server for data management. When deciding whether to store your business information locally or in the cloud (or to migrate from one storage to another), just thinking about it can be cumbersome and complex. However, many companies, large and small, are opting for cloud solutions.
Local storage means that your company’s servers are hosted within your organization’s infrastructure and, in most cases, in a physical location. Servers are controlled, managed, maintained, provided, etc by your company and internal IT team, or IT partners. Data and other information are shared between computers over your local network.
A survey in 2020 found that 41% of companies operate in the cloud, and 22% use hybrid. The study also predicts spending will decline by up to 10%.
Small, medium and large businesses are turning to cloud storage because in general cloud storage is the best solution based on several criteria, but there are several reasons that they consider not using the cloud.
Cloud systems are divided into public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud.
A public cloud is a service that anyone can use. Anyone who uses the public cloud is like renting a portion of their server space, so the public cloud can be seen as a shared environment, like a large office but everyone has their own desk and cupboard.
A private cloud is the use of virtual machines and all cloud infrastructure dedicated to a single customer. You can host over the internet, but the server hosting your data will be yours alone. Some people choose to use a private cloud for security reasons.
A hybrid cloud uses a private cloud and a public cloud, so you can store general documents in the public cloud and you can use the private cloud for larger or private documents.
Multicloud is when a business uses several different public clouds. This generally happens because different cloud services will offer different services so that they can complement the needs of the business.
There are several reasons that make traditional servers no longer promising, besides the fairly high operational costs are security issues. Procurement of backup and recovery must always be maintained, especially if the server is full then you have to buy another server to match your needs. Otherwise, the security of the company’s data will be threatened if it cannot anticipate hardware failure. Therefore, switching to cloud-based software or applications will greatly help the smooth running of your business.
You can read some of these considerations before making a decision:
- Cloud Fee
As discussed briefly earlier, buying your own server will be more expensive than leasing a cloud in the long run. You should also hire employees who understand hardware and software to be able to maintain it. If you use the cloud, your business only needs to pay monthly rent with a fairly fast onboarding process too.
- Flexibility or Scalability
Flexibility in using the cloud makes it easier to upgrade both in space, memory, and processor. The upgrade process is not done in hardware but in software. If your business continues to grow, using the cloud will give you the convenience of adding users, warehouses, and customers easily because of its high scalability aspect. The cloud will evolve according to your business needs because it is very easy to leverage the resources that are already available.
- Multi-user and Multi-Region
If your business and its branches are not located in the same area, then having a physical server will make it difficult for you to manage data in different places. The cloud makes it easier for you to perform better business performance and decision-making because the data stored in the cloud is real-time and is not limited to hours, space, and workers.
- Cloud Backup and Recovery
The thing that most businesses fear is the loss of company data, or when the server does not respond which can cause it to take more time to solve the problem. Cloud servers are much better than dedicated servers for this. You only need to equip your cloud server with cloud backup or cloud disaster recovery services, so you can rest easy because data will not be lost, just like if you use cloud-based applications from Amazon Web Services (AWS), with a very high level of security.
