You’ve probably already got a reasonable idea of what the cloud is all about. But just to be sure, we’ll start by explaining it in simple terms.
Cloud computing is the delivery of IT services like storage, servers and business software over the internet. It’s everywhere in technology, so even if you’re not using the cloud at work you almost certainly will be in other areas of your life. Emails, messaging apps, online banking and much more all work in the cloud, and the opportunities for instant communication are practically endless.
The vast majority of organisations are already using the cloud in some way. For most companies, the two biggest benefits of adopting cloud services are simplicity and cost.
Moving to the cloud can also mean there’s less downtime, not to mention all the productivity boosting benefits that come with being able to work remotely.
Organisations suddenly become more streamlined, more efficient, and more flexible than ever before.
In short, using the cloud is great for business.
Of course, there are concerns too. Worries around security, loss of control and the willingness of long-standing staff to adopt a new way of doing things all play a part.
And although most people now understand the concept of the cloud, there’s still a lot of confusion around the different offerings and what they mean in practice.
Each type of cloud service and the method of using it comes with different levels of control, flexibility, and management. Understanding the differences between them, as well as knowing a bit about the different strategies used to bring them to life, are essential in the decision-making process.
We’ve written this educational guide to explain the different options that are open to you. This guide might reinforce that your current set up is spot on. Or it might give you some powerful ideas to explore, to gain greater flexibility and productivity.
