Is it time for you to move to the cloud? (Pros and Cons)

For some, cloud computing is the answer to many problems posed by traditional hosting. For others, cloud hosting is still an unstable, unreliable technology that still needs work. If you used to belong to the second group, you may be missing out by dismissing the cloud that easily.

As cannot be avoided, cloud hosting does have its drawbacks, with one of it being high initial costs for setup. But based on real-life experiences of small to medium sized businesses, cloud computing, even at its current state, has already brought various advantages, such as reduced computing costs and improved efficiency. Both are advantageous during a recession period. In fact, a number of SMEs who have taken a leap of faith and invested in cloud computing systems have testified to enjoying great benefits from it.

The Pros

Savings on upfront costs. According to early users of the cloud, the new cloud hosting option helped them save on their upfront costs by moving their e-mail, web hosting, and virus protection – basic hosting fare – to the cloud.

Savings on utility bills. Due to the absence of physical hardware to run, cloud hosting also helped companies save on their power bills.

Eliminates hardware upgrades and maintenance. Again, since there is no need to invest in hardware, there is also no need to upgrade and maintain hardware. Hardware requires a lot of maintenance, otherwise it will cease to work properly. Thankfully, cloud computing has eliminated this problem.

Protection from server crashes. Physical servers are highly vulnerable to crashes, which translate into downtime and additional costs for data recovery, if needed. Cloud computing helps prevent such problems by keeping data in the cloud, not dependent on any physical hardware, which may eventually run into physical problems.

Improved productivity. Due to the consistency and the resiliency of the cloud, it tends to result in an improved company productivity.

All-around access from anywhere. The cloud allows all team members or company employees to access data files from any location, as long as there is connection.

Secure storage. Cloud computing is not as vulnerable as traditional hosting options, making it the more secure choice of storage.

Easier internal collaboration. The robustness of cloud computing and its flexibility and convenience all help colleagues collaborate more easily.

The Cons

Not 100% immune to security breaches. As with any kind of hosting platform, cloud computing is not 100% immune to breaches in security. Keep in mind, however, that this should not be taken solely as a point against the cloud since all forms of computing have their own vulnerability. The cloud, in fact, has managed to minimize its vulnerability.

Level of privacy from cloud companies. The one major problem companies have with cloud computing is that they need to turn their data over to third parties.

Dependence on Internet connection. The cloud is rendered unusable if there is no Internet connection. This is a major drawback that is keeping many interested users from taking the final plunge to cloud computing.

Data loss due to inexperienced, low-quality cloud hosting services. The quality, reliability, and security of cloud computing is currently still dependent on which cloud hosting provider one chooses. This means that if you choose a low quality provider, there is always the risk of losing data or encountering some other problem.

The Conclusion

This comparison shows that cloud computing has more advantages than disadvantages. It is therefore simply a matter of deciding whether you are willing to accept the cons in order to enjoy the pros.

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