Everything You Need To Know About Business Cloud Services In One Place

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The cloud is an online data storage center. It is absolutely everywhere. It is used professionally and by ordinary people. The cloud is used by businesses from all over the world, regardless of sector. This article will tell you everything that you need to know about cloud services, and how they can be of benefit to your business:

Origins of the Cloud

The cloud in its modern sense began in 2006, on August 9th precisely. Google CEO Eric Schmidt introduced the term at a conference. It dates back to the 1960s, however. It was post-2006 that the cloud became popular. It first became available to businesses, then ordinary people. Over time, tech market leaders began incorporating the cloud into their devices and software, and ordinary people became familiar with it.

What Is the Cloud?

While most people have heard of ‘the cloud’, they are still probably unaware of what the term actually means. The cloud offers people the ability to store data online instead of physically or at onsite facilities. Rather than hard drives, your data is instantly accessible from anywhere in the world. Hard drives can break and deteriorate over time. The cloud neither deteriorates nor breaks and is always backed up. You can have cloud software on your phone, tablet, or computer. Most phones, like iPhones for example, will come automatically connected to the cloud.

How is the Cloud Used in Business?

The cloud is used in business to hold huge amounts of data and information, from customer details to lists of vendors. This has helped many businesses to grow. A few examples of cloud computing that you might be familiar with are Microsoft Azure, Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, and Amazon Web Services. These can all be used by businesses, and regularly are. Businesses also store data on the cloud so that their local hardware is kept free.

Is the Cloud Secure?

The cloud is much more secure than hard drives and on-computer storage. If your hard drive were stolen or broken, and your laptop lost, you would lose all of your data. If you are a business, this data can be worth millions of dollars. Cloud computing enables you to store your data online without fear of it being stolen. The cloud can also be accessed remotely and your data backed up if a breach has taken place. If you are careful with your passwords and use two-factor verification, then breaches are very unlikely.

Who Owns the Information Saved Inside the Cloud?

For businesses, data ownership is a concern. Because of this, it is important that you carefully inspect the service user agreement so that you can ensure you own all of the data stored online. Google, Amazon, and Office all stipulate in their user agreements that the data stored on their systems belongs exclusively to you, which for businesses is a great relief. With market leaders, you do not need to worry about your data being seized. With lesser-known companies, however, follow our advice and always read the user agreement and terms of service.

Cloud Cost Management

As with all areas of business, managing the cost of cloud solutions is very important. For cloud cost monitoring, you can use software or hire expert consultants to help you to cut down and reduce your cloud expenditure. These services will monitor your cloud usage against the plan that you have to ensure that you always get the best deal.

The Benefits of Using the Cloud

Convenience

Using the cloud is, above all, convenient. No longer do you have to risk losing your data or have to worry about your data being compromised or stolen. The cloud is instantly available from wherever you are in the world, and your data is always secure. The cloud’s convenience is part of the reason that it became so popular among business people and ordinary citizens alike.

Affordability

Cloud packages are generally quite affordable. This means that you can cut down your spending on on-site storage and hard drives and integrate everything onto the cloud. You pay for the cloud monthly, which means you are not tied down and if you should wish to cancel your subscription, you can. You can often gain access to the cloud for your business for less than a hundred dollars a month. That’s nothing compared to the cost of hardware and hardware maintenance.

Collaboration

The cloud allows you to collaborate with other businesses and individuals from overseas. The cloud, as we have already mentioned, is instantly accessible from anywhere in the world. This means that if you are sharing data or information, that you do not need to send any emails (which could be intercepted) and you do not need to physically visit the person to show the data.

Mobility

The Cloud allows you to set your office up wherever your laptop is. You are no longer constrained to a traditional office setting, where you sit by your desk from nine to five. You can take your business wherever the money is. Cloud software also means that you do not need to lug around heavy bags filled with hard drives and information!

What Are Other Benefits of the Cloud?

  • Other benefits of using the cloud are:
  • You only pay for what you need;
  • You have access to much more storage than would ordinarily be possible;
  • System performance is no longer your concern as it is handled off-site;
  • It is cheaper than hardware;
  • You can increase your scalable capacity at short notice.

A New World

The Cloud has changed the world for the better. It has changed business, our personal lives, and has secured our data in ways previously unimaginable. It has allowed an entire generation of people to work remotely and independently. Freelance writers, content creators, and business people are all able to travel the world, with their offices stored securely inside their laptop bags. The world of business is new and unrecognizable from how it was just twenty years ago. The cloud has provided both opportunity and security to its users.

Integrating cloud solutions into your business may be one of the best decisions that you will ever make. We hope that this comprehensive guide has taught you something that you might not have already known about the cloud.