Cloud technology has been gathering steam for some years in the world of business. It invariably involves the use of remote servers to store and route data, which can then be accessed over the internet using an authentication portal. This article focuses on some of the popular uses of cloud computing technology, with a particular emphasis on business applications.
Upgradable Storage
Upgrading the storage capacity of a business used to be extremely time-consuming and expensive. Vast servers had to be installed by specialists and maintained regularly. They had a finite amount of space and needed to be expanded or swapped if they became full. Cloud storage providers use a completely different model. A company no longer needs to physically install more storage. Instead, they simply upgrade their account with a provider and instantly gain access to more remote servers. It’s easily expandable. Cloud storage has contributed hugely to the simplification of storage expansion. With that being said, cloud storage is never truly infinite. It still relies on physical servers existing somewhere in the world, and there is not an infinite quantity of these. Cloud computing simply takes the weight off the shoulders of the end product user: the business that requires storage.
Phone Calls
Unlike traditional telephone exchanges, a cloud based phone system allows you to place calls over the internet. This makes it far easier to gather important data from phone calls such as length, conversion rate and customer satisfaction. Cloud based phone systems allow businesses to feed all of their telephone-gathered data into an integrated database. This rids companies of information silos that can seriously hamper the effective and efficient use of data. Data silos contain stored data that is only accessible from one place or in one department.
Big Data Analytics
No phrase has been as hyped in business this decade as ‘big data analytics’. While it sounds complex, the basic meaning of big data analytics is simple. Using the huge swathes of data created by modern people and organizations, highly accurate forecasts and predictions can be made by analysts. Cloud computing makes this possible by lifting the cap on storage available to business strategists. No longer do analysts have to work from a small pool of data. Instead, they now have access to all available data and can swiftly analyze and visualize it using powerful software.
Disaster Recovery
In business, despite everybody’s best efforts, disasters do sometimes occur. A server can crash, a fire can damage an office or hackers can compromise your on-site IT security.
Many businesses have started to back up all of their data on remote cloud servers so that in the event of a catastrophe they can recover quickly and cheaply. Because cloud servers are remote, they are not subject to the dangers present on site. Cloud storage can also be insured, and cloud storage providers have it in their interests to keep data as secure as possible so that they can retain and grow their customer base.