Cloud Computing :Future of Business & Services

2013 has mustered the popularity and growth for Cloud Computing within world’s business ecosystem. According to an independent survey, more than 60% of the enterprises have a dedicated budget assigned for Cloud Computing.

This trend is expected to grow further in 2014 and by 2016, 2/3rd of the all workload shall be shifted to the Cloud. These predictions and insight proves that Cloud adoption heightens performance and agility in organizations. It extends a competitive edge to businesses at a crucial juncture when market is dynamic and consumers are empowered. Despite the great deal of buzz that Cloud Computing has created in last few years, there is a section of the business community who is still clueless on how to incorporate Cloud Computing to their operations.

To put an end to all woes, this article attempts to highlight the advantages of Cloud Computing and key areas in which the technology will truly standout. In 2013 alone there is a 13% rise in Cloud storage and database. There is also a 6% rise in Cloud sourced software and 8% rise in Cloud driven infrastructure. These figures clearly indicate that Cloud Computing has a long stint and more and more businesses are going to rely upon it.

The benefits of Cloud Computing can be broadly classified into primary and operational. The primary benefits of Cloud Computing are as following:
1. A great deal of reduction in IT cost: Managing & Maintaining IT infrastructure and resource is an expensive proposition. The task of purchasing expensive systems and hiring requisite resource to manage them along with payment of hefty license is a lot to withstand. However, with Cloud Computing these expenses are greatly reduced as it only requires organizations to spend on cloud computing service providers. It is cost effective as well as reduces the hassle of accountability and maintenance.
2. Quickens Recovery Process: Loss of data is the due to human error or otherwise is the most dreaded scenario is any organization. Thanks to cloud technology, information and data can be stored on the cloud, and in case of an unforeseen situation, data can be quickly recovered.
3. Centralizes Data Storage: This is yet another advantage of cloud computing which allows storage of all data in one place in a very highly secured environment.
4. Streamlines Process: Accessibility is one of the biggest advantages of cloud computing. It reduces human effort as all information can be accessed anytime, anywhere.

From primary, let us now shift focus to some of the operational benefits of Cloud Computing. The four major component of this aspect is as under:

1. Scalable & Flexible: Our businesses are quite dynamic in nature. The scope of business can transform with time. Therefore, we need to have a system that is both scalable and flexible. With Cloud Computing worries about the future growth of business can be put to rest. It relieves one from the tension and helps them focus on the core competency of their businesses.
2. Big Data Management: Big data management is one of the biggest challenge and concern of contemporary businesses and ventures. Due to the excessive use of internet, a great deal of data is accumulated on the web. Proper storage of such data is crucial from the perspective of business lead generation and analytics. Doing away with the data is not an option and there is a need to manage it well. Fortunately with onslaught of Cloud Computing Big Data Management is a lot easy and affordable.
3. On Demand Processing: Cloud computing minimizes effort associated with Data access. Upon request any query can be processed without delay. This quickens business decision and creates better customer relationship management.
4. Increases Collaboration: For a business to operate well, inter department dependency must be smooth. That is exactly the advantage Cloud Computing bestows in an organization. It facilitates better collaboration and allows real time data update.

The popularity of Cloud Computing is not a fad. It is something that will only progress with time. It is being predicted that by 2016 Cloud Computing traffic will increase by manifold. For example in North America the Cloud Computing traffic reported in 2011 was 216 Exabyte, which is expected to grow to 1.1 Zettabyte in 2013. Growth of similar nature is also forecast for rest of the world namely South America, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Therefore, it is not a exaggeration to predict that future of businesses and service will be in the Cloud.