Organizations typically take time to incorporate new technology but are quick to add cloud computing to their operations. As of 2022, 94% of businesses use cloud services, while 92% have a multi-cloud strategy or are working towards it. The global market size for the innovation reached $445.3 billion by the end of 2021 and is expected to be $947.3 billion by 2026.

The popularity is understandable since cloud computing is versatile and has significantly optimized business operations. This blog will briefly describe cloud computing and its capabilities before listing several benefits that lead to business progress.

What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing refers to services that provide online servers, databases, intelligence, analytics, and similar IT resources. This technology is an upgraded version of the traditional ERP system, which requires businesses to set up sizeable servers on-site to provide these facilities.

With cloud computing, organizations no longer need to do that. Technological advancement allows the hardware to establish an online space that users can deploy to get IT resources. Entities purchase this hardware and rent the services to businesses needing cloud technology.

These services are usually on-demand and pay-as-you-go to make it convenient for the parties to maintain the partnership. The most famous cloud service is Google Drive, an online database that allows people to store their documents, media, and other information.

Types of Clouds

There are four different types of clouds available:

1. Public Cloud – cloud environment owned by the provider, like Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, etc. It is public and accessible to multiple end-users.

2. Private Cloud – cloud environment’s IT infrastructure is dedicated to a single user and protected by their firewall.

3. Hybrid Cloud – cloud environment is shared between private and public clouds where apps connected to separate environments can move in or out.

4. Multicloud – a cloud environment made up of multiple cloud services connected through integration.

Cloud Computing Benefits

The Google Drive example is accurate but only presents one facet of this versatile technology. Cloud computing has been central to the digital transformation of procurement or logistics. Following are the key ways in which it benefits organizations and leads them towards progress:

1. Cost and Time Efficiency

For several reasons, cloud technology is significantly more affordable and efficient than its traditional alternatives. Firstly, the current advancement does not require businesses to set up the hardware on-premises. They can get dedicated cloud environments by renting from the provider, saving them the cost of organizing and maintaining space for the hardware.

Secondly, cloud technology starts immediately and doesn’t need extra time for configuration. This feature makes the technology efficient, allowing employees to get to work immediately.

2. Flexibility

Flexibility is one of the best parts of cloud computing, and it plays a critical role in its quick uptake. The services are versatile and allow businesses to customize their servers, databases, applications, etc. Hence, each cloud environment is suited to the business needs and integrated with services relevant to their operations.

For example, the database is great for procurement, but it would be ideal for getting applications that connect you to public clouds to access vendors, clients, etc. It will also be optimal to incorporate analytics and intelligence to conduct cost-benefit analyses and vendor evaluations to facilitate decision-making.

3. Remote Access

Unlike traditional ERP systems, cloud technology uses the internet as the base, allowing users to access it anytime and anywhere. Employees do not have to be on premises to get the required data, upload information, or issue approvals. They can use their digital device to access the system by entering credentials and completing the task.

4. Optimized for Collaboration

As mentioned above, there are several cloud types, and all offer collaboration opportunities except for private clouds. Hybrid, multi-cloud, and public clouds accommodate several public and private clouds that can become interconnected through environment-sharing applications.

These applications create an internet-based marketplace where businesses can view potential partners, collect information for due diligence, and suggest partnerships. The integrated system also optimizes order placement and payment by digitizing and automating the process.

5. Reporting and Analytics

Data analytics and artificial intelligence are up-and-coming technologies with the same significance as cloud computing. The combined power of the three has revolutionized risk analysis, need analysis, and forecasting because of their respective attributes.

Cloud technology optimizes data organization, storage, and interconnectivity. Data analytics leverages the internet-based system to extract relevant internal and external information to provide data-driven trend analyses. Artificial intelligence leverages all available information, incorporates machine learning, and provides an intelligent report on optimal decisions the business can take.

6. Disaster Recovery

Natural and human-made disasters are becoming more common with each passing day, and cloud technology is the best solution. The system stores backups on the internet, protecting them from physical damage.

The system can also optimize incident reporting, allowing relevant personnel to take immediate action. Although you may have to face a slight downtime, it will only last until the backups restore data, enabling operations to resume.

7. Security Features

Cybersecurity is a reality in today’s world, and businesses go to extreme lengths to protect their data against cyberattacks and data breaches. The good news is that cloud services offer some of the most secure environments, creating multiple layers of security to prevent breaches.

They also leverage detailed access management to ensure that only authorized people can review information. This setup ensures internal and external security and minimizes cyber risk.

8. Scalability

Cloud services are scalable, so you can adjust their scale when the business or workload increases. You will not need to worry about adding hardware and incurring humungous costs and only need to make the right order adjustments with the provider to fulfill your requirements.

Wrapping Up

In a nutshell, cloud computing is convenient, efficient, affordable, and optimal for data management. It also facilitates interconnections and has transformed risk and needs analysis for the better.

Percento Technologies is a leading provider of IT consultancy services, and cloud computing is part of our expertise. Don’t hesitate to contact us to incorporate cloud computing in your organization or get similar services. We will be happy to help.