More businesses are realizing the benefits of cloud computing for their network-computing needs. It is fast becoming the choice of business leaders as they find it has benefits of a hybrid of on-premise software, on-demand computing, and the virtualization offered by a web hosting service.
It helps to reduce costs, improve efficiency and offer managed services. The concept is to offer solutions that will work with IT resources, the customer, and security, all in one solution. While this sounds simple, it is not an easy task and there are a number of challenges that the business should take into consideration before making the switch.
Services such as this come with an on-going investment, so you need to weigh up the differences and savings. There are many ways to integrate a web hosting service and the Cloud Computing platform. It is a good idea to take time to review these and think about what the benefits are of each option.
Since this is a hybrid of technology, there is the added cost of security, but this is not something that is implemented straight away. Some of the questions to ask are who controls the platform and does it use external storage or an on-site environment? What is the level of encryption provided? What will happen if the company is hacked and what is the response plan?
Having a strategy for firewalls, intrusion detection and protection and sharing of customer information is vital to business success. Some businesses find that the move to the Cloud Computing environment can be risky without a plan for restoring data should disaster strike.
Managing the Platform is best done through dedicated support which will give you the power to control what is happening and who can access it. The way the platform is set up, it is important to have a control panel to provide IT staff with access to make sure that the right information is shared. Of course, if security is compromised, this would mean the loss of data.
This means that some of the maintenance work can be outsourced so that the workload is split between a pool of web server instances. This gives you the control and expertise to concentrate on other aspects of the company. Another benefit of hosting in the Cloud is that it offers remote assistance if the need arises.
Having your own hosting is still an option, but if you are going to outsource hosting, it makes sense to make sure that the managed server is up and running and should be well suited to the client’s requirements. It is essential to take the time to understand the flexibility and scalability that Cloud Computing provides as it is a market that is not going to go away.