How the Cloud Can Save Your Enterprise Time and Money

Cloud computing is saving businesses of all sizes time, money and stress. In addition to the structural and infrastructural advantages of cloud computing, the cloud’s flexibility, elasticity and self-servicing computing resources, the cloud is easy to use and greatly relieves the need for IT personnel.With cloud computing, substantially less time is spent maintaining and patching software, deploying client solutions to end users and on other more mundane IT tasks. Emphasis can be placed on higher-value tasks like testing, development, sales, training and infrastructure improvements. Regardless of the type business an enterprise is, time is, and always will be, money.

Choosing a Cloud Computing Type

IT is a way “to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software.” These qualities make cloud computing particularly desirable for small and medium sized enterprises. In terms of return on investment (ROI), SME’s using the cloud can gain access to hardware and software at a fraction of the cost of internal purchases that always need updating.Today, there are three recognized cloud computing models; the private cloud, the hybrid cloud or the public cloud.The Private Cloud – The private cloud is especially desirable for enterprises that value security, compliance and feel the need for total control over mission-critical applications. The private cloud provides the most secure cloud computing option.Private clouds are designed for a specific organization with a specific security protocol. Only members of that organization have access to the private cloud. All data and resources of that organization are stored in the private cloud and never leave the network.The Hybrid Cloud – A hybrid cloud is a composition of two or more clouds. This type cloud computing permits companies to implement a strategy that places select workloads in a public cloud while preserving the security apparatus of other data in an in-house cloud.Hybrid clouds have gained great popularity for the combination of reduced expenses and improved security. Tremendous flexibility and customized programs can be achieved with hybrid cloud computing.The Public Cloud – Public cloud computing is the traditional form of cloud usage. All the company’s applications, storage and data are shared in a public pool of resources. This is cost effective because all services are provided on an as needed basis “as a service” over the Internet.In a public cloud, all data and applications are hosted by the same server along with many other businesses using the public cloud host. In this type cloud, the user has the least amount of control. The public cloud is the preferred cloud for smaller enterprises who want to avoid IT expenditures, hardware purchases and enjoy a high level of efficiency.

Four Ways Cloud Computing Save Money

The four primary ways cloud computing can save a business money are listed below.Only Pay For Necessary Services – Businesses sometimes overspend when purchasing hardware. With cloud computing, many providers also provide the hardware, but in any case, the company uses much less hardware than if they have their own IT department. Companies can also increase or decrease the amount of hardware they use depending on their needs, which can be seasonal. Backup is effective because cloud providers typically backup all data at more than one data center.Much Lower Maintenance and Updating Services – Maintenance services are provided by the host and are included in the usage fee, providing an appealing fixed rate cost for this service. Additionally, all software updates are included in your cloud hosting package, completely eliminating any expense for upgrades.Lower Energy Costs – The expense of running internal servers can be prohibitive and uses a good deal of energy. By using the cloud, these expenditures are almost eliminated as the host bears the costs relating to server management. A cloud service provider factors in a much lower cost of the server than an internal system would cost. In most cases, this is a savings due to shared services or economies of scale.Reduced Staff and New Staff Allocations – The cloud allows the enterprise to greatly reduce the need for full time IT staff and in some cases eliminate the payroll expense altogether. The savings can be almost immediate. Furthermore, personnel will save time and be more productive due to far less interruptions of service. Company employees can concentrate on what they were hired to do rather than worry about how their system is operating today. It is hard to put a price or value on how much increased productivity means to an enterprise.Cloud computing is an expanding technology that will only become more cost-effective as the technology improves. For questions about the technology and how much your enterprise might save and about security or the best type cloud for your business, consult with a cloud computing professional at Tricostar today.