By Mr. Arun Prakash
When Alan Turing’s groundbreaking work at Bletchley Park was declassified, and the subsequent rise of IT giants IBM, Microsoft and others took place, the world was forced to grasp at awe. Artificially computing complex engagements was no longer a difficult task.
With the advent of personal computers, and their transformation to numerous new-age technologies — the impact on the global IT domain was profound, but the pinnacle was yet to come.
The innovation of computers was a significant milestone. However, what was even more critical was the following development. As we stand in the 21st century, cloud computing is being considered the pinnacle of IT innovations that have been able to establish a self-sustainable domain. From research & development to testing and market introduction in various forms, Cloud Computing has proved to be a critical enabler of the general IT industry worldwide.
This new-age technology is not only reducing the dependency on hardware but is enhancing business outlook, storage systems, operations and data processing through remote servers hosted on the internet, as compared to before. This profound transformation has resulted in new challenges and opportunities – redefining the scope of work in the global IT domain.
Versatility is one of the crucial aspects of Cloud Computing that has transformed the resource management outlook at IT firms. What was previously perceived to be a challenging and difficult task, to manage the hardware and supplementary infrastructure, is quickly becoming less significant. Researchers reveal that the worldwide Cloud Computing market will overtake $1 trillion in the next 4 years, up from a meager $24.63 billion in 2010. Detailed statistics reveal that approximately 44% conventionally small businesses are dependent on Cloud services, including 66% small tech businesses and 74% enterprises. By 2025, public cloud services will host 63% of the total SMB workloads, along with 62% of all data. This highlights how Cloud service providers are now undertaking the responsibility of sustaining Cloud infrastructure, helping to optimize resource management at businesses, as well as IT departments to generate a value-driven outlook.
Understanding Cloud Computing
The term Cloud Computing refers to extending IT services through the internet, a paradigm shift from conventional software and hardware that is used to complete similar tasks. By using the internet, the dependency on software and hardware is reduced, and users can access complex software without thinking about system requirements, promoting versatility, scalability and affordability. This helps businesses to bifurcate resources to raise IT efficiency driven by demand.
For example, businesses expecting enhanced website footfall can look to increase their server storage for a strategic period by simply notifying their cloud server host. Compared to traditional means where a similar operation would require replacing old servers with new hardware – it’s not just more affordable but saves time and human resources as well.
Let’s take a brief look at how Cloud Computing can act as a critical enabler of the global IT sector below:
Optimizing Data Storage and Administration
Cloud technology is revolutionizing data storage by reducing dependency on physical hardware. In conventional methods, data is stored on servers, a part of data centers or farms. Maintaining data centers is expensive, not because of the hardware but also the huge energy consumption and requirement of land. In contrast, Cloud services help to store data online, rendering storage devices like servers useless. Storing data in the Cloud helps to access data from anywhere, offering a versatile and cost-efficient solution to businesses.
Furthermore, as discussed before, IT companies enhance their operational agility by utilizing Cloud services strategically, driven by demand. The cloud can host or increase website storage, or new applications without the need for new hardware, helping IT companies to adopt a multipronged approach to remain competitive.
The absence of infrastructure limitations also helps IT companies to enhance their innovation in products or services, leading to business continuation and growth. Cloud services are more prompt in recovering data, a critical aspect that enables IT companies to go the extra mile.
Achieving Operational Agility
Through Cloud services, IT companies can effectively align to market dynamics, and rapid innovation and adapt to shifting customer requirements. It also allows them to scale operations without focusing on establishing infrastructure, thus helping cater to customer needs. By enhancing operations, IT companies also ensure rapid scalability, leading to long-term growth.
Additionally, Cloud also helps businesses to effectively align to periodic IT usage of IT resources in an affordable manner, helping in prompt launches of applications or services without spending on procurement, configurations or testing. This usage of spending man-hours or groundwork becomes obsolete by the usage of Cloud technology, fostering original and creative solutions.
However, apart from these aspects, Cloud also helps IT companies achieve operational agility by reducing risks regarding data redundancy or accessibility. This new-age technology is entirely hosted on the internet, meaning it can be accessed irrespective of time or location, and can be retrieved using less conspicuous methods. It also helps employees to cater to operational requirements from anywhere, helping to garner business continuation in case of natural disasters or any other emergency. This flexibility extends not only to businesses but to individuals as well, ensuring flexibility and ease of usage.
(The author is Mr. Arun Prakash, Founder & CEO of GUVI, and the views expressed in this article are his own)
