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Cloud Computing: The Future of Business Innovation

Brandon Allred

ISM4011: Prof. Aguilar

Cloud computing. We’ve all heard the term before, it’s the future, it’s the new thing

everyone’s talking about but what really is it? More importantly what does it do for my business?

Let’s start with what cloud computing really is: Cloud computing or “the cloud” is the delivery

of on-demand computing resources – everything from applications to data centers – over the

internet on a pay-for-use basis (IBM What is Cloud Computing n.d.) As complicated as that may

sound it’s not as complicated as it sounds, it just allows your business to run some or all of its

software programs over the internet through a hosted service. There are also many types of cloud

computing along with advantages and disadvantages that come with this service. As we delve

deeper into this new technology will come to understand why cloud computing has taken the

business world by storm and maybe give you a reason to implement it into your business as well.

As stated above cloud computing comes in many forms, but for ease will break it down

into two types, the location and service. Location is simple, where is the cloud located? Is it a

public cloud, that has all the computing done through the cloud hosting company? There’s also

private cloud where you are hosting all the services inhouse allowing for high levels of control

and security. Maybe it’s a hybrid of the two, with some being inhouse and others being hosted,

or even a community cloud where the cloud is shared between organizations for common goals.

So now that location is sufficed, lets move onto service. Service can be broken down into 3

types, IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Let’s start with Software as a Service (SaaS), simply put it is
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applications or software that are run by the hosting service offsite and are used by your business

via connection to the cloud. This service allows people to connect anywhere and at anytime to

your business apps without the fear of losing data or needing a high-end computer to run it.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud-based service that provides the infrastructure required to

develop, test and manage software without needed to have servers or networks set up

beforehand. This allows companies to get developed applications out to customers faster without

the hassle of setting up all the services required to create them. Lastly Infrastructure as a Service

(IaaS) this is the most basic of cloud computing service, its simply a way for your company to

rent out anything you would need computing wise, servers, storage, and networks. It allows your

company to grow and expand without the need to invest in all the infrastructure, it can also be

scaled to support you needs so big or small you only pay for what you need.

Okay, okay cloud computing sounds like something everyone should be investing into

but I’m more concerned about what it does for my business, what are the pro’s and con’s and

how can it help my business grow. There are many advantages to the cloud computing service,

ease of access, reduced costs and flexibility are the obvious ones but let’s go deeper into the

advantages for your business. One of the big ones is the use of new age software for fractions of

the price. With SaaS, businesses can get the latest software’s for fractions of the price, allowing

you to gain advantage over competitors with older outdated systems. Cloud based services are

also much more reliable with a lot of them having little to no downtime which allows businesses

to stay in touch with not only each other but their client base anywhere and at any time. File

storage and backups are a big concern in todays business world, but with Cloud Computing it
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takes away that burden. You never need to worry about losing your data with everything being

saved to the cloud all your files are safe and secured in the event of a system failure. Storage is

another component that is levitated with the cloud, being able to move and save big projects off

your inhouse systems saves room and reduces the overhead costs require for big hard drive

space. The advantages of cloud computing far outweigh the disadvantages but there are a few

concerns when it comes to the cloud. The biggest concern today for cloud users is security, with

big name companies getting hacked and DDoS’d left and right its hard to put your faith and your

businesses in the hands of a cloud computing service. The truth is that most cloud computing

services are more secure than keeping your files inhouse. They just have more resources and

security measures than most mid to high level companies and below can afford. The other big

concern is cost efficiency. The cloud computing services can offer you the latest and greatest

technologies, but it comes at a price, and before a company or business thinks about converting

to cloud based systems a check of the risks vs rewards should be done along with research into

the many available services to find the right fit for your business should be done.

So, we’ve talked about the types of cloud computing services that are available and

we’ve even gone into the advantages and disadvantages that is associated with this type of

service. Let’s investigate the real-world application of cloud computing. One of the biggest tools

used today is the clouds flexibility, with the pay what you need for mentality you only pay for

what you use. Companies like Etsy used cloud computing to run cost-effective data analyze of

their website viewers to help streamline the product recommendations to their customers, which

were available without the high prices of inhouse software’s. Another feature is scalability,

which cloud computing can adjust to sudden growth or traffic without having to set up backup
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server in advance. Companies like Netflix use cloud computing to stream most of their services

and with peak times and large surges of traffic used by streaming Netflix doesn’t have to spend

extra revenue setting up multiple data centers and servers to account for this traffic. Allowing

them to grow into the giant they are today without the overhead of building and supporting their

own data centers. Siri, your personal assistant if you own an iPhone uses cloud computing as

well. With the endless amount of information Siri can learn, store and keep track of its no

surprise that Apple is using cloud computing to store most of this information, this also allows

Siri to learn and access a more personal customer experience without the need for Apple to

invest into servers and systems. Collaboration is another big example of its real-world

capabilities, by seamlessly allowing the sharing and collaboration between companies.

HealthHiway, is an online healthcare information network that uses cloud computing to

exchange health information among 1,100 hospital and 10,000 doctors (Forbes, 6 Shining

Examples of Cloud Computing in Action, J. McKendrick 2012) allowing for improved

healthcare at an affordable price.

So, cloud computing is really starting to sound good isn’t it? It can lower your costs

without losing the customer to supplier intimacy. A system that allows your company to grow

and expand itself without all the hassles and overheads that come with inhouse data / system

management is what cloud computing offers. It’s really a case of having your cake and eating it

too. The modern cloud computing services are more secure, streamline, accessible and cost

effective than they’ve ever been and with technology only getting smarter this cloud will only

get bigger. So, if having competitive advantage or getting new products, services or business
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models out to your clients sounds like a good idea, maybe investigate what the “the cloud” can

do for you and your business.

Reference Page:

 Blasingame, J. (2017, November 20). How "The Cloud" Can Empower Your Small Business.

Retrieved September 22, 2018, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimblasingame/2017/11/19/how-the-cloud-can-empower-your-

small-business/#48a36d044858

 E. (2018, July 06). Cloud Computing – Types of Cloud -. Retrieved September 22, 2018, from

https://www.esds.co.in/blog/cloud-computing-types-cloud/#sthash.XFfDETDS.dpbs

 Coles, C. (2018, July 30). 11 Advantages of Cloud Computing in 2018 | Skyhigh Networks.

Retrieved September 22, 2018, from

https://www.skyhighnetworks.com/cloud-security-blog/11-advantages-of-cloud-computing-

and-how-your-business-can-benefit-from-them/

 Gregory, A. (2018, April 5). 5 Ways to Use the Cloud in Your Small Business. Retrieved

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 Lynch, J. (2016, June 17). What Are the Benefits and Drawbacks of Cloud Computing? Retrieved

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the-benefits-and-drawbacks-of-cloud-computing
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 McKendrick, J. (2012, February 29). 6 Shining Examples of Cloud Computing in Action. Retrieved

September 22, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2012/02/22/6-shining-

examples-of-cloud-computing-in-action/#6c5ddea54bfc

 Ward, S. (n.d.). Cons of Cloud Computing for Business. Retrieved September 22, 2018, from

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/disadvantages-of-cloud-computing-4067218

 What is cloud computing? | IBM. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2018, from

https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/what-is-cloud-computing