What is Cloud Computing, and Why Do You Need It?

Is your business struggling to scale or advance due to the limited budget for managing and upgrading your on-premise server? It might be time to consider embracing a modern technology — cloud computing.

What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing has been around for over two decades and many organizations have been enjoying its numerous benefits. However, some businesses still prefer traditional IT methods for running their operations despite the drawbacks such as cyber threats, inefficient data management, high management costs, and more.

According to Fortinet’s cloud security report (2022), 39% of businesses had a larger percentage of their workloads in the cloud, while in 2023, 94% of enterprises used cloud-based computing services, with 80% reporting improved operations. This 55% increase within a year indicates businesses are embracing the benefits of cloud computing.

Nevertheless, there is still a significant gap to fill for businesses that continue to use on-premise computing. In this article, we will explore the top five benefits of using cloud computing services. Keep on reading to learn more.

Why Do You Need Cloud Computing?

Scalability

Think about your business growth in the next five years and compare it with the level of on-premise/traditional IT infrastructure you currently run. If you still run a self-managed computing process, one of the strong limiting factors you’re likely to experience is the high cost of buying and setting up additional software.

Many business owners have yet to see this limitation, but research conducted by Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company revealed the current level of cloud adoption and its outcome in a few years. The study concluded that organizations that make cloud computing an essential aspect of the business will outrun competitors.

This is because those businesses will be able to access large amounts of data over a secure cloud connection to support their ever-changing business needs and reach more audiences. Revealix, an Austin, TX-based digital health firm, encountered one of these instances when it needed to expand the reach of its diabetic foot healthcare product.

Source: Success Stories

Security

Security has been a major concern for many organizations, even as technology advances. With the increase in insider threat, having expensive and sensitive data overseen in-house may expose your business to unforeseen cyber attacks. Aside from insider threats, imagine moving your physical location due to expansion and having to move with your local servers. How do you guarantee data security or component safety?

All of these security concerns have led over 80% of businesses to leverage cloud-based computing services to store their sensitive data, according to Netwrix’s survey. Although data security is important for every technology/internet-based operation, cloud computing provides higher security than on-site solutions.

Investing in cloud services also enables you to recover data quickly in the event of hardware failure or loss. Providers engage in frequent system updates to provide organizations with bug-free, highly secure technology. Some of these cloud security measures include the shared responsibility security model, API keys, upgraded encryption, and threat detection among others.

Cost Savings

If you’ve ever considered cloud computing as a capital-intensive project to embark on, you may be right. At the same time, when you compare the upfront cost of deploying an extensive and secure traditional on-premises IT infrastructure, you’ll likely notice a significant difference.

Likewise, maintenance costs in terms of hardware replacements, components/utilities, and upgrades as you expand may exceed your budget. This unexpected spending may also impact other business goals as IT infrastructure could greatly affect the smooth running of your business.

Cloud computing service adoption is growing, and one of its key growth drivers is tied to the fact that businesses now see the rate at which it helps save costs. According to a recent cloud services market analysis, companies that adopted cloud storage solutions — a subset of cloud service — experienced a 35% annual operational cost reduction.

Another intriguing element about choosing cloud services is that it saves you from overbuilding by allowing you to only pay for resources needed as you grow. Its pay-as-you-go model empowers you to save costs even when you need to scale, as you don’t need to spend heavily on servers and other equipment.

Enhanced Collaboration

Team collaboration is a key driver of business growth and success. Teamwork and the actual ways in which we work together have evolved in response to technological advancements. This became clear following COVID-19 when many companies needed to support their teams with cloud-based communication and project management solutions to keep operations running. While on-premise facilities can achieve this purpose, they have remote access and scalability restrictions.

One of the outcomes of having a highly-collaborative workplace is increased productivity. With the use of cloud-based processes, accessibility to work tools improves, allowing team members to work on the go. In fact, 68% of businesses reported a boost in productivity after implementing the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) strategy which allowed their team to work and collaborate from anywhere.

Innovation

Lewis Duncan, the former President of Rollins College, said, “Innovation is the ability to convert ideas into invoices.” Many times, the short quote above could be the difference between many leading organizations and the struggling ones. Having an idea isn’t enough; using the correct tools and technologies is crucial.

A mind-altering analysis of Infosys revealed how using the cloud for business growth can bring about $414 billion in profit. The study elaborated to show there’s a strong profit-making link between business innovation reaching the market quickly and cloud usage. With access to cloud-based solutions, your business will be able to innovate new solutions using advanced technologies like AI and machine learning.

For example, Commerzbank, a well-known German bank, used Google Cloud’s data analytics, AI, and machine learning capabilities to innovate customer-centric banking experiences.

Likewise, at GAP, one of our clients in the oil and gas industry benefited from our cloud services when we created a robust system that uses extensive oil and gas-related data to generate comprehensive reports. The client’s previous legacy system struggled with managing and processing huge amounts of data, leading to inefficiencies and delays.

By migrating to a cloud-based solution, the GAP team empowered the client to handle large datasets with ease, leveraging the scalable nature of cloud services. This transformation not only improved their data management capabilities but also enhanced their ability to generate timely, actionable insights, driving more informed decision-making and operational efficiency.

Common Use Cases of Cloud Computing

We’ve highlighted several benefits of using cloud computing as a service as opposed to the legacy method. There are numerous ways to optimize your business operations with cloud-based technologies.

• File Storage: A common example of cloud storage services include Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and OneDrive. What makes them unique compared to the traditional storage method which uses a hard drive or USB drive, is accessibility and data security. Compared to having heavy business data on physical devices and spending hefty amounts on maintenance, a cloud service can help in storing and protecting your data.
• Disaster Recovery: While businesses use cybersecurity solutions to protect data from cyber-attacks, having a recovery plan in place is critical. With the help of cloud computing, you can have a disaster recovery to back up your data in case of data loss due to hardware failure, cyber-attacks, or natural disasters. An example of this disaster recovery approach is Amazon’s practical resilience engineering, which was developed to protect the system in case of any unexpected situation.
• Big Data Analytics: Today, access to relevant data is vital for business growth and innovation. You need them to understand customer behavior, current trends, and future trends. Also, collecting and analyzing large amounts of data requires the use of expensive computing resources. However, a cloud-based computing service’s pay-as-you-go strategy can alleviate the financial burden by allowing you to pay only when you need data. An example of cloud-based services that help with big data are Google BigQuery and Amazon Redshift.
• Software Testing: The days of taking months to complete a basic software development job are over. Cloud computing now provides a variety of technologies that speed up and reduce the cost of software development. For example, developers may use Google App Engine to build and deploy applications more quickly without having to invest substantially in infrastructure. This is an example of a platform as a service (PaaS).

Experience the Benefits of Why You Need Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is evolving, and it’s here to stay. Businesses are experiencing faster innovation processes, reductions in annual operational costs, improved productivity, and agility.

It can be easy to imagine the positive impact cloud computing could also have on your organization. However, despite the widespread availability of cloud computing service providers, many businesses still face challenges in implementing cloud services.
Some of these challenges include:

• Selecting the right platform and migration challenges
• Cloud automation and optimization
• Implementation of useful cloud technologies
• Choosing the right cloud computing providers

As a result, Growth Acceleration Partners offer comprehensive services to address these concerns, from initial planning to full implementation. Additionally, we are transparent about situations where moving to the cloud might not be beneficial and can provide recommendations to make the transition viable. We are here to support you at every stage.

Reach out to us today to set up a free consultation to uncover how you can start benefiting from cloud computing and increase your business profit margin.