Cloud Defined: The top 10 benefits

Summary

This blog post, "Cloud Defined: The top 10 benefits", is a blueAPACHE article from 2015 covering backup. Cloud computing, often referred to as simply ‘the cloud’, is the delivery of on-demand computing services – everything from applications to data centres – over the Internet on a pay-for-use basis. These services can include software, compute and storage, or computing platforms. It is written for readers evaluating emPOWER Cloud, Advanced Infrastructure Managed Services. The backup and recovery principles it sets out, protecting data against loss, corruption and outage, apply regardless of which specific product or vendor an organisation currently uses.

Key facts

Article

Cloud computing, often referred to as simply ‘the cloud’, is the delivery of on-demand computing services – everything from applications to data centres – over the Internet on a pay-for-use basis. These services can include software, compute and storage, or computing platforms. Cloud enables companies to consume these services as a utility – similar to electricity or a telephone service – rather than building and maintaining computing infrastructure in-house or in data centres themselves. The accepted official definition comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the US Department of Commerce; “Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction”.

Cloud examples

Most of us already use cloud technologies today. Many well-known internet-based services like Gmail and Hotmail, Google Docs, Apple’s iCloud, Microsoft 365, Basecamp, Xero, and Salesforce are all cloud-based services. But this is only scratching the surface. Cloud also includes computing resources companies can rent or subscribe to, in addition to or as a replacement for the IT systems they may already have running in their office or data centre. We will delve more into these in another article on the cloud stacks.

Cloud benefits – the top 10

Cloud enables businesses to treat technology as a utility service, using as much as they need when they need without capital investment or the extensive human resources and planning that are normally required. Put simply; cloud offers businesses:

1. **Rapid elasticity and scalability
   ** Organisations can quickly and easily increase or decrease their technology usage without the need of costly in-house infrastructure and resources, or time-intensive planning and coordination.
2. Capital expenditure becomes an operational expense
   As technology becomes a pay-as-you-go model; capital expenditure on hardware, software and licensing can be diverted away from technology investments into things that can grow the business.
3. Improved agility
   Organisations can rapidly change direction or pursue new opportunities with far less concerns about technology investments, resources and financial commitments.
4. Improved business continuity
   Organisations can cost-effectively protect themselves from natural and man-made disasters by having their systems and data securely backed up in the cloud, and are able to quickly reinstate their operations to business as usual to minimise downtime and mitigate potential loss of productivity.
5. Globalise workforces cost effectively
   Organisations can quickly and easily expand around the country (and the world) by using the cloud to securely deliver software, services and business processes.
6. Improved accessibility and collaboration
   Staff can have access anytime, anywhere to cloud-based services meaning securely working remotely and collaboratively becomes a lot easier to facilitate.
7. Economies of scale
   Organisations can increase volume output or productivity with fewer technology and human resources enabling them to reduce cost per unit, project or product.
8. Fewer technology resources
   Less specialist technology personnel are required in-house, enabling organisations to divert salaries and sourcing efforts to growing their business.
9. Improved software licensing alignment
   Organisations no longer need to buy volume blocks of licenses – they can easily ensure their licensing is directly aligned to their business need by paying only for what they need, when they need it.
10. Automatic updates
    Time and resource intensive processes like software updates become a managed service that usually happens seamlessly in the background; mitigating resources, planning and loss of productivity.

For more information:

To learn more about private, hybrid and public cloud and how they can benefit your organisation, contact your account management team.

Disclaimer:

blueAPACHE are one of a handful of organisations who provide their own Australian cloud services to organisations wanting to guarantee data sovereignty in line with the Privacy Act amendments.

Related

• emPOWER Cloud
• emPOWER Cloud (pillar hub)
• Advanced Infrastructure Managed Services
• emPOWER Managed Services (pillar hub)
• emPOWER Microsoft Practice (pillar hub)

Frequently asked questions

How does the article define cloud computing, and what official definition does it cite?

As the delivery of on-demand computing services over the internet on a pay-for-use basis, citing the National Institute of Standards and Technology's definition as "a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources."

What everyday services does the article give as examples of cloud technology already in use?

Gmail and Hotmail, Google Docs, Apple's iCloud, Microsoft 365, Basecamp, Xero, and Salesforce.

What does the article say is the first of its top 10 cloud benefits?

Rapid elasticity and scalability, letting organisations quickly increase or decrease technology usage without costly in-house infrastructure or time-intensive planning.

How does the article describe the capital-to-operating-expense shift as a cloud benefit?

As technology becomes pay-as-you-go, capital expenditure on hardware, software and licensing can be diverted into activities that grow the business instead.

What business continuity benefit does the article attribute to cloud?

Organisations can cost-effectively protect themselves from natural and man-made disasters by having systems and data securely backed up in the cloud, minimising downtime.

How does the article describe cloud's benefit for expanding workforces?

It lets organisations quickly and easily expand around the country and the world by using the cloud to securely deliver software, services and business processes.

What licensing benefit does the article list among the top 10?

Organisations no longer need to buy volume blocks of licences, and can align licensing directly to business need by paying only for what they use.

What does the article say about automatic updates as a cloud benefit?

That time- and resource-intensive processes like software updates become a managed service that usually happens seamlessly in the background, reducing resource and planning burden.

Source

• origin post (2015)

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