Exploring the Applications of Cloud Computing in the IT Industry

Cloud computing has redefined how businesses are staying ahead of the competition by using the latest innovations while keeping the costs low. It is one of the ideas that has led to a huge paradigm shift in business processes across various industries but the industry that has benefitted the most from it is the very industry that created it – IT – Information Technology industry.

IT industry benefits from multiple services that Cloud Computing offers. This industry makes the most of it through cloud solutions, cloud integration and cloud adoptions across departments. Let us explore the key uses of cloud computing in the IT industry and find out the ways your business can benefit from it.

Real World Application of Cloud Computing in the IT Industry

Data Storage and Backup

Data is prone to attacks from viruses, cybercrimes and even human errors. While traditional methods of data backup were effective for long term data storage, they were prone to these losses. Cloud computing in data backup offers robust security along with astounding archiving facilities that make for almost fool-proof data security.

This is the reason businesses now use cloud for all their data storage or atleast for their sensitive, very important data. IT industry enjoys multiple benefits of cloud-based data storage, including:

• Efficient backup and disaster recovery
• Better collaboration across teams
• Latest data loss prevention strategies
• Cost savings in both data storage and security
• Cross functional flexibility and scalability

Big Data Analysis

Data is the new gold. Today, companies of all sizes use big data for a myriad of reasons. Use of cloud computing in big data analysis allows businesses to manage their costs while working with the best of computing resources. It gives them the convenience of pay-as-you-go pricing strategy and save a lot of time and efforts otherwise needed to manage human resource as well as infrastructure.

Key benefits that come from using the cloud for data analysis are:

• Centralized data access
• Efficient governance and security
• On-demand scalability
• Ease of data availability and sharing
• Cost savings

Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery is one of the critical requirements of IT industry and it is well served by cloud computing. It enables business continuity by offering disaster recovery infrastructure on a cloud through duplication of production site and constant duplication of date and configuration settings. This kind of planning and prep enables businesses to quickly relaunch application and services on the cloud and get the business up and running in no time after a disaster.

Key benefits that disaster recovery aspect of cloud computing offers to IT industry include:

• Minimized infrastructure dependency
• Cost-effective and easy scalability
• Geo independence of infrastructure
• Built-in orchestration and automation
• Lower resource expenses

Software Testing and Development

Software testing and development are probably a few of the most efficient applications of cloud computing in the IT industry. In this segment, cloud computing eliminates the need for installing and configuring sophisticated resources for the purpose of software testing and development. It also reduces the time needed to finish projects and in-turn time-to-market.

Following are the key benefits that cloud computing offers in software testing and development.

• Customized on-demand applications
• Scalability of infrastructure and services
• Reduced time-to-market
• Reduced infrastructure costs
• Access to latest technology

Communication

Cloud computing finds its use in some of the most popular communication tools used across the globe. Big names like Whatsapp and Skype have been built on cloud infrastructure because of the very beneficial data storage facility that the cloud provides. Cloud’s application in communication in IT industry relieves the businesses from the burden of investing in storage and of course, maintaining it.

Top reasons why cloud computing is famously used in communication are:

• Ease of communication across devices
• Quick and easy data recovery
• Scalability on-demand and in-budget
• Improved data security
• Access to latest software

Social Networking

Social platforms have been using cloud computing since the very beginning. The Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud model comes into the picture every time we talk about LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. All these social giants use computing to connect you to your friends and colleagues. Did you know about this application of cloud computing in the IT industry? Social media is also a great example of consumer-driven usage of the cloud.

The key benefits of using cloud for social networking include:

• Improved data security
• Better data backup and recovery
• Cost effective resources and services
• Scalability on demand
• Flexibility access from anywhere

Business Process

Cloud computing has been helping with businesses processes for quite some time now. Yes, we all have used it in common management applications such as CRM – Customer Relationship Management or the most popular ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning. Management application of this type provide businesses with ease of maintenance, security and management while offering optimum efficiency to both sides.

The key benefits offered by cloud computing in IT business processes include:

• Reduced operational costs
• Increased flexibility in parameters tuning
• Improved security from DDoS attacks
• Enhanced collaboration among all stakeholders
• Reduced capital and manpower costs

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is one of the most popular cloud computing models that is preferred by businesses looking to save both time and capital. This model works for public, private and even hybrid cloud setting and offers businesses a chance to focus while their storage, network and server requirements are taken care of.

IaaS is scalable and offers robust infrastructure support to businesses in a metered format. The key benefits of Infrastructure as a service include:

• Better scalability
• Reduced time and effort
• Easy automation across verticals
• More security for critical resources
• Improved data management and interoperability

Platform as a Service

Platform as a service (PaaS) is an end-to-end cloud service that takes care of hardware, software and even the infrastructure through a complete cloud platform. This incredible cloud services enables businesses to rent the infrastructure for their business applications without having to worry about first building the infrastructure (time) and its cost.

PaaS solutions can include operating systems, middleware, servers, storage, networking, application frameworks, databases, debugger, compiler, programming languages, source editor and more. Its key benefits include:

• Streamlined application cycle management
• Shorter development and overall turnaround times
• Automatic scaling as and when needed
• Automation and standardization of processes
• Complete operational support

The Wrap

Cloud computing has managed to simplify a number of processes and hence, you will find it everywhere these days. This list itself is proof of how efficient cloud computing is and how it has become a trustworthy enabler for IT industry by minimizing the costs and efforts. IT businesses can now truly focus on delivering while cloud computing takes care of all their software, hardware and even the data. Doesn’t cloud computing sound like a digital genie?

TechnoMark Solutions offers resilient cloud solutions to its customers. your discovery call today for customized cloud computing solutions for your business.