3 reasons why your business should transfer to the cloud

This second blog in our series of explaining the basics about the cloud and Google Cloud, in particular, depicts the three main advantages of the cloud and why businesses should move their workloads to it. According to a survey conveyed by Logic Monitor, about 83% of enterprise workloads will be run in the cloud by 2020. More and more companies are moving from in-house servers to it.

But what exactly is the cloud and what are in-house servers? Where are the differences between the two? Also, why is an increasing amount of businesses believing in and transferring to the cloud?

Cloud vs In-house Server

For everyone who is still wondering about the differences between the cloud and in-house servers, we shortly explain the two in this paragraph. In case you already know about the two options you can skip this part.

An in-house server is located within the company and therefore provides the business complete control. It is not dependent on a second party, and the business knows where its data is stored at any time. On the other hand, the enterprise needs a separate room for the server and technical staff for maintenance and security.

Cloud computing services consist of various data centres with servers that are accessible with an internet connection. Involving another party and trusting it with the company's data issues the main arising concern of missing security. Especially governments and enterprises like hospitals rather like to have full control over their sensitive data.

So why would your business move to the cloud then? There is not a simple answer to this question. Businesses' goals and priorities will influence this decision. To give you an impression of why a growing number of enterprises move their workloads to the cloud, here are the three main reasons why:

1. Pricing

While there is a chance of in-house servers being more cost-efficient in the long run, there are still significant advantages for cloud computing services when it comes to the aspect of pricing.

The reliability, for example, can counterbalance the higher price in the long run. If your business is dependent on its uptime, moving to the cloud is probably the right decision.

Furthermore, cloud computing appeals more to smaller businesses and startups because it doesn't require any significant capital investment as in-house servers do. Smaller enterprises might lack the liquidity to acquire the new technology, allocate an extra room for the server and hire IT staff for management and maintenance.

Also, cloud computing services like Google Cloud often operate on a subscription model that lets your business only pay for the computing services needed and used.

2. Reliability

When it comes to accessing the data and computing services, a stable internet connection is needed. In times of even further increasing interconnectivity and growing demand for a fast and steady internet connection, the reliability of the internet is rising.

In terms of uptime cloud computing services are more reliable than in-house servers and therefore especially interesting for businesses much dependent on a running system. Moreover, data can be backed up in a rhythm of up to every 15 minutes, so no critical knowledge or work gets lost.

When talking about security, imagine a disaster like a leaking water pipe or a fire. The data stored on in-house servers would be lost quite easily while the data stored in the cloud is protected against such scenarios. Overall, cloud computing services are more reliable than in-house servers. The only downside is that a stable internet connection is needed.

3. Availability

When it comes to availability, there are two considerable advantages of cloud computing compared to in-house servers. The first one being its accessibility from anywhere in the world. Authorised workers can backup and restore the workloads from wherever they might be and on whatever device that may be available at that time.

Also, while servers have a static capacity, the cloud storage can be adopted at any time through just a mouse click. If a business demands more data storage on in-house servers, the equipment would have to be bought, transported and installed first. There might even be a potential downtime added while the upgrades are carried out. While installing on-site storage, possible ramp-up time should be considered as well.

So the immediate availability doesn't only save time but costs, too.

Option Hybrid Cloud

If your business doesn't want to share its data with another party while still being able to make use of the advantages of the cloud, it can transfer to a hybrid cloud environment. It is the mix of a public cloud like Google Cloud and a private cloud that can be on-premises or through a hosted private cloud provider.

The hybrid cloud offers the possibility of storing sensitive data on in-house servers while being able to use the advantages of the cloud. Whenever more computing power is needed, the business is capable of upscaling its infrastructure to the cloud for possible overflow while still possessing control over which data can be shared with another party. This model is especially interesting for bigger organisations that want to have control over confidential data while being able to upscale their computing power at any time.

If you want to move your enterprise to the cloud and need more information about the way to the public cloud, read Google's latest whitepaper here:

In the next blog we will tackle the topic of data safety and how Google Cloud ensures it. Therefore, stay updated and follow us on LinkedIn.

ABOUT CRYSTALLOIDS

Crystalloids helps companies improve their customer experiences and build marketing technology. Founded in 2006 in the Netherlands, Crystalloids builds crystal-clear solutions that turn customer data into information and knowledge into wisdom. As a leading Google Cloud Partner, Crystalloids combines experience in software development, data science, and marketing making them one of a kind IT company. Using the Agile approach Crystalloids ensures that use cases show immediate value to their clients and make their job focus more on decision making and less on programming.