Monday 4 March 2013

Cloud Computing - How It is Changing the Rules of Business?

Businesses have fast undergone change in the last two decades. With the advent of the Internet businesses started investing in information technology to gain the competitive edge. As reliance of digital communication increased businesses had to invest lot of capital on purchasing expensive servers and computers.

This gave the big businesses with large purchasing power an undue edge over their smaller competitors. However, cloud computing has completely changed the rules of the game and created a new ecosystem for information based industries. Businesses around the world are opting for this revolutionary technology which has added flexibility to business. In this brief write-up we shall take note of the advantages that Cloud Computing brings to businesses.

Cloud Computing
Reduced Server Cost

Perhaps the biggest advantage that Cloud Computing has to offer is in terms of reduced costs. Gone are the days when one would have to invest heavily on purchasing in-house servers and their upkeep. Today businesses are able to keep the same level of computing in their organizations by outsourcing their storage processing needs to the cloud servers. Also businesses don’t need to worry about upgrading their IT infrastructure every few years which used to be an expensive affair. Cloud computing is based on the concept of sharing resources which cuts costs substantially.

Reduced Infrastructure Cost

Not only did the cost of servers hurt business they also occupied large spaces and had to be maintained in controlled conditions. With Cloud Computing coming into the picture businesses no longer need to maintain expensive server rooms. They can operate from small offices or increase their headcount without having to worry about the office space. And all of us know how every inch of space can add to the operational cost of a business especially when it operates out of the upmarket areas. This has created level playing fields for small and big businesses as innovative ideas can materialize into big businesses from any corner in the world.

Flexibility of Work Location

In the last few years we have seen large number of people preferring to work from home rather than commuting to the office every day. This has not only added to the productivity but also reduced costs related to transportation and infrastructure for organizations. Cloud Computing makes it even more convenient for employees to work from home and access secured servers on the cloud.

In the cloud employees don’t need to be armed with expensive work-stations as all the data can be accessed from the cloud. The same project can be handled by a large team sitting in different locations across the globe without any hassle. No subscription to expensive VPNs is required for this purpose.

Cloud Computing is still at a very nascent stage and many more developments are expected to come into the picture in the next few years. When more businesses join the fray the costs will come down further adding to the competition which will eventually take the IT industry forward.


Author Bio:


Ashish Mittal is General Manager - IT with Daffodil Software Ltd. Connect with Ashish on Twitter at @mittals.

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