Have you wondered: What is the Cloud?
There are three words in the computer business world that are over used but almost no one knows what they mean. These words, Cloud, cyber, and crypto are quite powerful and loaded words. Today we demystify Cloud and talk about what is the Cloud?
Definition of the Cloud
For businesses, cloud computing is on demand access to computer and IT systems. These services are offered as pay as you go, which minimizes up front IT costs. Typical options include scalable and elastic resources such as computing, storage, or security. These services are often offered globally with local locations. For many companies, this allows them to use solutions that they ordinarily could not afford or support.
On Demand Model
Traditional IT computing has involved purchasing server and network hardware upfront. Then you purchase the software from both Microsoft and your software vendor (i.e.: Sage or SAP or Intuit) to run your line of business software (i.e.: Simply Accounting, SAP Business One, or QuickBooks). On top of this, you need to have your IT team install and configure this software.
Cloud computing changes all of this.
- You pay a monthly fee for what you use.
- You can add compute power (CPU), memory (RAM), or storage (SSD or Hard drive) as you need to.
- You also rent out the software licenses, so you pay as you grow.
Cloud computing companies offer these services by sharing out the capacity of their massive data centers.
Computing As A Service
Cloud computing has several methods, ranging from your company renting a virtual server to renting a software program a service. Many vendors now offer their software as a service, ready to use and without needing to install any software on a server. Common examples of this are Microsoft 365 or Google’s Gmail.
Global Footprint
Many Cloud computing providers have a presence around the world. Some of the larger providers have several locations within the country. For example, Microsoft has a datacenter in Toronto and Montreal. This allows for geographic redundancy against outages (think power failure or storms). It also allows for data sovereignty by keeping your data within Canada.
Your Comfort
Cloud computing is an economical way to tame your IT budget. Take advantage of our free IT consult and talk to our experts to see if it makes sense for your company.
