Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is basically computing services like servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics and more - over the internet ("The Cloud"). Companies offering these services are called Cloud Providers and they charge their users according to their usage. Cloud computing services all work a little differently, depending on the provider. But many provide a friendly, browser-based dashboard that makes it easier for users and developers to order resources and manage their accounts. Cloud computing makes data backup and storage, data recovery easier and less expensive, because data can be mirrored at multiple sites on the cloud provider’s network.


Benefits of Cloud Computing

• Cost -  Cloud Computing eliminates the expenses of buying new hardware and software, setting up computing centres, hiring IT professionals to manage the network infrastructure etc. When all the data is stored over the internet, people can make full use of device hardware like RAM, Processors and Disk Space. You don't need a high-powered and high-priced computer to run cloud computing's web-based applications. Since applications run in the cloud, not on the desktop PC, your desktop PC doesn't need the processing power or hard disk space demanded by traditional desktop software. When you're using web-based applications, your PC can be less expensive, with a smaller hard disk, less memory, more efficient processor. Most cloud computing applications today, such as the Google Docs suite, are totally free. That's a lot better than paying Rs. 12,000+ for similar Microsoft Office software—which alone may be justification for switching to cloud applications.

• Speed -  Most cloud computing services are provided self service and on demand, so even vast amounts of computing resources can be provisioned in minutes, typically with just a few mouse clicks away. The more we enter the digital world, the more we realize that speed is critical for decision making, whether positive or negative. Everything in cloud computing is connected and allows immediate interaction, changes are applied at the time irrespective of the location.

• Access - All the data being stored on the Cloud, users can access it from anywhere provided they have an internet connection. It reduces the effort of actually carrying external storage devices with you everywhere. It can offer large storage spaces which users can subscribe to. Data can be accessed through any internet connected device like smartphone, tablets etc. Any change in the data is real-time and consistent which improves the collaboration among multiple users and virtually connects them despite geographical differences.

Tech giants like Google, Microsoft are already providing cloud services for storage, analytics, networking etc. Talking about Google Drive, the most used cloud service in India, provides cloud storage for its users. They are provided 15 GB of free storage initially, which can be upgraded with subscribing to additional packages. It lets the user store files of almost every format, edit document files like Spreadsheets, Presentations; view files like PDF, JPEG and also other multimedia formats. 

THE FUTURE

Cloud computing has come a long way over the last several years. Innovation is increasing at rates never experienced before and will continue to do so. Cloud computing can open a whole new world of jobs, services, platforms, applications, and much more. There are thousands of possibilities beginning to form as the future of cloud computing starts to really take off. Cloud computing started as a way to abstract physical infrastructure and data centers. The next generation of cloud computing will focus on abstracting virtual infrastructure and the operational processes that go along with managing that infrastructure. Complex technologies like machine learning will be made simple, so data scientists can focus on the data, and developers can enable the data scientists without having to become experts at the underlying machine learning technologies.

As demand for cloud increases, it will be mandatory for the IT sector employees to have the understanding of Cloud. Basic knowledge of cloud, analytics and orchestration will become mandatory among the IT employees for a long run in the industry. Beyond the existing employees, the future employees should have basic knowledge on the concepts of cloud computing. There will be new companies offering cloud services and compete with its counterparts.

Companies will save a lot of financial capital which can be later invested into Research and Innovation, because the need for hardware and physical storage devices will decline.

Educational institutions will soon start using cloud services because:

• Ability for the students to access data anywhere, anytime, to enroll in online classes and to participate in group activities
• The value of combining business processes to streamline subscription, class enrollments and assignment tracking, thus reducing expenses.
• Ability for the institutional body to leverage the storage cloud to store the daily data securely and without the need to cater to a complicated infrastructure
• The benefit of process billing and charging for education and non-education related activities.

As the cloud grows, the need for hardware, datacentres will reduce and companies, professionals, individual users will focus on data collaboration, access, work efficiency, innovation and research. 

That's why,

A simple internet connection can go a long way.