Cloud hosts provide hosting on virtual servers that pull their computing resource from different networks of physical web servers. Clients can use as much or little of the cloud storage as they need, and they can access it at any time. There are public clouds and private clouds, and the type of information being stored will dictate the type that a company or individual requires.
There are several main benefits of cloud computing: flexibility, ability to work from anywhere, security, disaster recovery, automatic software updates, saving on capital expenditures, increased collaboration, and document control. Keep reading to learn more.
1. Flexibility
For businesses with increasing or fluctuating bandwidths needs, cloud-based services are ideal. If the company’s needs increase it is easy to scale up cloud capacity; if its needs decrease, it’s easy to scale down. Operational agility is the main reason for companies choosing to switch over to cloud hosting.
2. Ability to Work From Anywhere
If a person has Internet access and cloud hosting, he or she can work from anywhere. With the availability of apps offered by most serious cloud hosts, an individual has a range of options when it comes to the device from which he or she can work.
This all means that businesses are able to offer more flexibility when it comes to employees working from the office or at home. A worker’s productivity won’t suffer, and in many cases, employees are willing to actually take a pay cut for the ability to telecommute.
3. Security
Laptops are expensive to replace when lost, damaged, or stolen, but what’s even more costly is the loss of the sensitive data inside it. Because data is stored in the cloud, when loss, damage, or theft occurs, that data can still be accessed by those who need it. It is also possible to remotely wipe sensitive data from stolen or lost laptops so the information doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.
4. Disaster Recovery
All businesses should have robust disaster recovery, but smaller businesses that don’t have the expertise or necessary cash don’t necessarily have that option. Cloud hosting helps because cloud-based backup and recovery solutions help businesses to avoid huge up-front investment, save time, and gain third-party expertise as part of the package.
5. Automatic Software Updates
Since servers for cloud hosting are off-site and out of sight, suppliers do all the necessary work when it comes to regular software updates and security updates. Companies that take advantage of cloud hosting don’t have to maintain the system, which allows them to spend more time growing their business.
6. Avoid Capital Expenditures
The decision to go with cloud hosting means a company cuts out the cost of hardware. Instead, they can just use a subscription-based model that works for their needs and within their budget. In addition, the company will save on management since there is overall less to do when all the storage is kept off-site and maintained by the cloud host.
7. Increased Collaboration
A work team can edit, access, and share documents from anywhere, at anytime. This means they can work more efficiently and easily. File sharing apps and cloud-based workflow provides the opportunity to make updates in real time.
8. Document Control
When a number of partners and employees work together on documents, document control needs to be watertight. Instead of sending emails back and forth and working on documents one person at a time, all files are stored centrally and everyone sees the most current version. This is a huge difference from emailing attachments, because it is common for collaborators to end up with conflicting formats, titles, and file content.
