Seven Cloud Advantages You Should Know About
Posted by Killian McAleese, 1st August 2011
What is cloud computing? The question reminds me of a time around ten years ago when my grandmother asked what Amazon was. “A big warehouse full of books”, my cousin answered. “You use the internet to order a book from the catalogue and they post it to you.” Simple as that. Well... almost as simple as that.
Mobility and Storage
Cloud computing is all the rage these days, and rightly so. Think about the way you do business: you're on the move all the time, with smaller, more portable devices. What's more, today's storage needs are considerable. Add to this the reality of seasonal peaks in most retail businesses and ask yourself: do I really want to pay a third party for the price of Christmas shopping peaks all year round?
Of course you could always look into allocating one of the rooms on your premises as a (100% physical!) storage space for a wall of intimidating, humming hardware that your staff are terrified to work near for fear of unknown repercussions psychological and physical.
In the world of cloud, the vast majority of us would retire comfortably never having seen that room.
Seven Advantages
Here are seven of the most striking advantages of cloud computing that the Open Plus team would like to share with you.
1. Conquer your Seasonal Peaks
Cloud servers can be scaled up and down in a matter of minutes. Most online retailers will know that you need a lot more space at certain times of the year, especially ahead of the holiday season. Rather than having to commit to your Christmas peak needs all year rounds, cloud allows you to operate under a 'pay as you go' model, which can be changed by the hour as it is literally charged by the hour!
2. Reduce your Liability
Because cloud is billed by the hour, you don't need to sign a yearlong hardware contract. E-retailers don't need to fear rapid growth because cloud's flexibility allows you to scale up quickly without committing to your short-term needs for the rest of the year.
3.Don't Keep a Locker Full of Spare Hardware
Cloud technology allows your supplier to rapidly migrate your environment away from failing hardware, usually with no noticable interruption of service. Not on your premises? Not your problem!
4. Flex and Grow
Don't buy a system as big as your ambitions. Cloud systems can scale at a moment's notice.
5. Reduce Backup Complexity
Cloud systems allow you to take snapshots of the entire server, so no more flakey scripts copying parts of systems around.
6. It's Greener!
Cloud infrastructure is more densely populated, so your system uses less hardware and power for the same output.
7. Turbocharge your Productivity
All of this optimisation of your technological resources can only mean one thing: greater productivity.
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