The advantage of moving to cloud computing is not difficult to see. The best touted reason in favor of cloud computing is that they are accessible anywhere around the world. Another advantage is that businesses don't have to worry about hard disk space and attendant expensive software requirements of the enterprise. Still another advantage is the scalability and cost factor.
Scalability ensures that users can buy space as and when the need arises, thereby reducing the cost of owning and maintaining hundreds and thousands of megabytes of disk space.
Since resources in cloud computing are shared, the cost also comes down heavily, especially when large volumes need to be stored and retrieved frequently.
Another feature in favor of moving to cloud computing is the software cost. But cloud computing is not without its own share of woes, and the worst of all is security issues. When enterprises store data on an external computer, in this case the cloud computer, they are also putting sensitive information in the hands of people they don't fully know. There is always the possibility of data falling into wrong hands, and worse still in the hands of competitors.
Another nagging issue that cloud users complain about pertains to data loss. Imagine what it did be like if one fine day there is a power outage in one of the cloud computers and all those data you have painstakingly gathered and stored disappears. Chances are your enterprise may lose millions of dollars in lost revenue or even shut down for good. Besides, these and many other issues, and after weighing the pros against cons, cloud computing can still work wonders for enterprises. All that is needed to make cloud computing a grand success is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best by adopting a workable plan.
Here are some ways in which you can make the transition to cloud computing safe and smooth:
- Even though you may be convinced about your cloud service provider's ability to protect your data, keep a local copy in a computer located within your enterprise's premises. Let all the data be copied simultaneously here as well as on the cloud resource.
- Do not rely on a single cloud service provider for all your storage and software needs. When you sign up for cloud computing, see that you do it with at least two trustworthy providers. Even big names in the cloud computing industry are known to have experienced difficulties in the past. Talk to the providers and find out how they propose handling exigencies, should one arise.
- Cloud computing is workable only if you have a reliable public switched internet connection, and better still if you can get connected on a virtual private network (VPN). It can mean substantial expenditures for the service. So, to make the transition painless, discuss your connectivity issue with your ISP and ensure that the cost does not shoot to abnormally high levels.
- Finally you will have to understand the cloud service provider's policies pertaining to privacy, non-payment of fee, and issues like bandwidth, server downtime and service cessation. There are different ways in which you can be billed. Some of the common billing criteria are, per user charges, bandwidth usage and special backup services if requested. Negotiating everything in advance and making a firm contract will make the transition easier and smoother.
About Author: George Webber writes about Technology, Internet and about the Business world. He is writing for www.1800cabletv.com - your gateway to the best cable companies across the nation.