Attributes of Cloud Computing that Differentiate Cloud Hosting from Legacy Hosting

It is very common nowadays, to learn that more and more enterprises are embracing cloud technology by adopting cloud hosting or by leveraging cloud based applications. Some individuals are however skeptical about cloud adoption and may wonder as to what is meant by moving to cloud.

Understanding cloud adoption

Cloud adoption is a broad concept that may encompass migration of enterprise IT resources and workloads including digital assets, applications, software, and email just to name a few. Cloud adoption is increasingly being sought after due to unrestricted accessibility and seamless availability of resources to end users.

Cloud is an omnipresent entity and most of the end users of cloud technology are unaware of the fact that they are leveraging cloud computing technology while accessing online apps, listening to music or watching movies on Netflix. Cloud technology not only enriches our daily lives but can also transform businesses and online enterprises.

Business scenarios that prompt cloud adoption

There are multiple reasons why enterprises choose to move their IT infrastructure to cloud by abandoning traditional systems. One of the commonest reasons is to meet exponential growth in customer base that may have caused traffic spikes or slow page loading issues.

Hosting requirements of any growing business can multiply over the period of time, thereby necessitating a more resourceful hosting environment. The need for highly scalable and accessible hosting environment can even surpass the most premium types of hosting such as Virtual Private Server or dedicated server hosting.

Boosting the server’s uptime

It is no secret that a server that can deliver outstanding performance, only if it is backed by guaranteed uptime. In a cloud hosting environment, an array of inter connected servers offers assured redundancy to deal with ant situation that may lead to failure of one of the servers.

In contrast, a conventional hosting arrangement provides only a single server and cannot guarantee seamless uptime in case of a server crash. The websites cannot provide dependable performance due to chances of hardware failure in a traditional hosting setup.

Assured economy

Cloud adoption is mainly sought after due to its excellent cost efficiency as it obviates the need to procure costly hardware equipment and purchase of cost intensive licensed software programs. Moreover, the utility style billing system guarantees payment of cloud services and resources as and when these are consumed.

If you shift your onsite IT infrastructure to a cloud hosting environment, then there will be no need to employ software professionals to look after operation and maintenance of the on-site systems. This is because all these tasks will be performed by providers of cloud hosting services in a remote data center facility.

Freedom from confinement

All types of conventional hosting arrangements are managed at fixed locations. This underlines the need to choose a right hosting location by considering your site’s visitor base. However, in a cloud hosting setup, users can operate independent of the location of cloud hosting provider.

Cloud servers are positioned across a wide geographical area to eliminate dependence on host’s location. This will help support future expansion plans to cover extensive customer bases. Cloud hosting can also improve site’s speed of loading due to assured availability of cloud servers in a wider area. Users can access cloud servers from any location and by using any device with internet connectivity.

Resource scaling

In a highly competitive environment, businesses must be empowered with on-demand scalability of resources to cater to needs unexpected traffic additional spikes. Unlike a traditional hosting arrangement, a cloud hosting is designed to provide incremental resources to address traffic surges. Alternatively, resources can also be scaled down after the traffic returns to normal.

Sharing and collaboration

Since the cloud servers are designed to be accessed from any given location and at any time, it is possible for diverse teams of an enterprise to collaborate with each other on a particular project. Employees from different locations can also share vital documents or spread sheets to update each other. Cloud computing has enabled employees work from the comforts of their homes or even while on the move.

Secured and safe

Since cloud hosting is not confined to a specific location, users need not be concerned with natural disasters blocking their server infrastructures to cause unexpected outage. In contrast to shared or dedicated servers that need adoption of individual security measures, cloud hosting features multiple security arrangements at physical as well as network levels.

Clients can be assured about data level security, application level security, and network level security with help of sophisticated technologies such as data encryption, backup recovery management, user identification, firewall applications and much more.

Committed to environment protection

Since there is far less dependence on in-house servers, a cloud hosting setup can significantly minimize the carbon emissions. Moreover, by adopting cloud application, one can also save energy and contribute to a greener environment.