Switching to cloud software is something that makes a lot of business sense.  It increases efficiency in operations, allowing a company to do more with less.  The advantages of cloud software can be felt in a number of different applications and areas of business, and can help to reduce risk and reduce costs.

Cloud Computing

Simply put, cloud computing is a form of computing that takes place on the internet rather than on-premises servers.  The medium of computing is one of the fastest growing in the world of business; services and software available can be seen at http://www.mclarensoftware.com/.

Cloud Security by perspec_photo88, on Flickr.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Reduce Risk

There are a number of security benefits of storing files in the cloud as opposed to traditional computing.  In traditional computing it is necessary to use physical hardware on which to store data.  This can be problematic in a number of ways.  For instance, the hardware may malfunction, which can result in at least partial data loss, or the hardware may be misplaced, never to be retrieved, along with any data stored on the device.

Losing data is not a problem in the cloud.  Cloud hosting comprises multiple servers, so should one server go down, others are there to act as a virtual safety net.  This helps to massively reduce the potential for data loss.  In the cloud, data is backed up automatically and can be recovered fully in the unlikely event of a malfunction.  Moreover, the cloud recovery process is four times quicker than traditional data recovery, while the failure can be traced back to the source and fully investigated.

When it comes to keeping data secure in the cloud, intrusion detection systems (IDS) can be used to monitor network traffic.  These detection systems look out for suspicious activity on a site, notifying the network administrator should any issues be found.  There are also regular, scheduled security updates carried out automatically in the cloud, ensuring a business has the best security as soon as it becomes available.  Reducing data loss is a huge advantage.

Reduce Costs

One of the primary advantages of cloud computing is the reduction of costs for a business.  Cloud computing exists in the virtual world, on the internet.  Here there is no need for discs.  This can help to reduce production costs for a developer, and, in turn, reduces capital costs for a business.

In addition to this saving, cloud computing brings economies of scale, with a server infrastructure shared with a number of other organisations.  This shared server also means that an organisation no longer needs to hire a team of IT engineers to look after their on site server, freeing up a lot of capital from the staff budget.  Moreover, the shared servers are in constant use, reducing energy wastage and reducing the cost that a cloud service provider needs to charge for use of the facilities.  The remote server infrastructure also mitigates the need for a company to use security and storage resources looking after an on-site server.