There’s been a fair amount of controversy and discussion surrounding cloud technology recently — and not too surprisingly, especially considering the cloud hack that led to the personal images of many celebrities being distributed online. For the most part, though, cloud solutions have become widely adopted; not just by tech companies, but by schools, government, and small businesses around the country as well.
How can businesses adapt a cloud solution that isn’t going to fail? The basic, inherent problem many companies encounter is not learning to differentiate. There are cloud solutions for bottom-line improvement, and then there are cloud services for top-line improvement. These two services can’t always be interchanged — different types of cloud are good for different services and industries. Here are three things you should keep in mind if you want to have a successful cloud adaption.
1. Apply it to the Right Services
There’s often a prevailing belief that cloud is always better, no matter what. This can lead to enterprise IT organizations completely revamping their entire infrastructure so that it can be a “private cloud.” However, not every IT service receives benefits from cloud. Not all services, for example, need to be able to rapidly scale up and down, or have even faster speeds. And sometimes, the customization needed for a particular enterprise deployment isn’t going to work well with cloud.
2. It’s Great for Innovation
Cloud computing is conducive to both start-ups and innovation thanks to its low barrier to entry. It can help even large enterprises act like start-ups when it comes to new services they can roll out. It’s less difficult to try out new things without committing to them, which can be a helpful, experimental way to more forward. Companies that prioritize this innovation, though, need a strategy for a clear path to the future. The “innovation anarchy” promoted by cloud needs to be balanced so that long-term operational effectiveness is possible as well.
3. Saving Money
Can cloud save money? Yes, it certainly can. When you examine the economies of scale compared to more traditional tech, cloud tends to come out on top. But there is a danger in assuming that cloud hosting services are always cheaper. It’s worth noting that standardization is what really helps save money over time when used with cloud or anything else, and it’s a lack of standardization that tends to make things expensive, when programs and applications have to be retrofitted to do different tasks. Cloud computing can definitely save companies money, but for some services — not all.
What cloud computing solutions does your business invest in? Let us know in the comments. More research here.