Organizations are increasingly looking at ways to stay ahead of the competition and see leveraging technology as one prime focus area as they strive to drive their business performance to the next level. Typically, for organizations embarking on business expansion, often grapple with roadblocks such as small team size, the unpredictability of demand, limited resources, etc. And to address these challenges, cloud computing solutions are considered the most preferred route for organizations in pursuit of business excellence. Let us try and understand all the buzz surrounding cloud computing and why companies are so excited about shifting to a cloud computing model from an on-premise model. Cloud-based services offer on-demand computing services over the Internet on a pay-as-you-go basis, which effectively means that organizations instead of having to manage their files and services in a local storage device, would be doing the same over the Internet in a cost-efficient manner.
An on-premise model has far too many limitations, in terms of scalability. Companies end up shelling out a lot for an on-premise setup and are also bogged down by lesser options. Further, organizations find it exceedingly challenging to scale down when a need arises in an on-premises model and are hit hard by lack of flexibility. This also has the potential to trigger heavy losses, in terms of infrastructure and maintenance costs. Cloud-based solutions enable organizations to avail the pay-per-use model, wherein they only pay for whatever service they leverage – not just that, cloud solutions provide easier and faster provisions for scaling up and scaling down. There are many other factors why an on-premise model is witnessing a steady decline. On-premise systems require a lot of space for storing servers not to speak of power and maintenance issues that go with it. Cloud computing solutions are offered cloud service providers who take the responsibility of managing and maintaining servers, thus driving significant savings, in terms of space and money for organizations. Dealing with the frequency of scheduling software releases can be a big task in an on-premise setup, but a cloud environment facilitates automatic software updates.
Data security is a big focus area for organizations, and this is where on-premise setups are losing out to cloud-based solutions. On-premise systems have lesser data security owing to the complicated combination of physical and traditional IT security measures. Cloud solutions offer better security as well as eliminate the need for constantly monitoring and managing security protocols. In scenarios of data loss, cloud computing has robust data recovery measures in place and can offer faster and easier data recovery unlike on-premise setups, where the data recovery chances are far lesser. In addition, data cannot be accessed remotely in an on-premise setup, while data can be accessed and shared anywhere over the Internet in a cloud environment. On the maintenance front, an on-premise system requires dedicated teams for hardware and software maintenance, thus loading up the cost of organizations substantially. Cloud solutions, on the other hand, are maintained by cloud service providers and thus saves your maintenance and resource allocation costs by a considerable degree.
Cloud-based solutions have three deployment models – Public Cloud, Private Cloud, and Hybrid Cloud. Public Cloud offers a cloud infrastructure to the public over the Internet and this infrastructure is owned by cloud service providers. Private Cloud refers to the cloud infrastructure being exclusively operated by an organization and it can be managed by an organization or a third party. A hybrid cloud is a combination of the functionalities of public and private clouds.
Cloud computing essentially offers three service models – Infrastructure-as-a-service (IAAS), Platform-as-a-service (PAAS), and Software-as-a-service (SAAS). IAAS is a cloud service model where users can access basic computing infrastructure – it is commonly used by IT administrators. IAAS will be the go-to-service model for any organization requiring resources such as storage or virtual machines. Under the IAAS service model, the onus is on organizations to manage the application, data, runtime, malware, and o/s, whereas components such as virtualization, server, storage, and networking are handled by cloud service providers.
Another cloud service model is Platform-as-a-service (PAAS) that provides cloud platforms in runtime environments for developing, testing, and managing applications. This service model enables users to deploy applications without the need to acquire, manage, and maintain related architecture. The PAAS service model will be the go-to-service model for any organization that needs a platform to create a software application. Under the PAAS model, you are required to handle the data and applications while cloud service providers handle the other components such as runtime, malware, o/s, virtualization, server, storage, and networking.
The third and most popular cloud service model is Software-as-a-service (SAAS) that offers cloud services for hosting and managing software applications. SAAS addresses all software and hardware requirements and saves you the hassle of owning IT equipment. Unlike the IAAS and PAAS services models, the SAAS service model handles all the components of the solution – data, applications, runtime, malware, o/s, virtualization, server, storage, and networking.
Clearly, the popularity of cloud-based solutions among organizations is immense and only indicates its significance in driving digital transformation among businesses. In fact, a recent study revealed that the global cloud computing market size is expected to grow from $371.4 billion in 2020 to $832.1 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.5% during the forecast period. These projections sum up of the massive potential of cloud solutions going forward.
