Cloud Adoption – why are organisations moving to cloud computing?
We are witnessing a massive change in IT as companies and organisations move their digital resources to cloud services. But what does this technological innovation mean exactly? And how could cloud computing benefit organisations across the public and private sector?
To start with, it is helpful to understand what exactly cloud computing is. , If you have ever used one of these:
- Google Docs to write a letter
- Adobe CC for design work
- Music streaming over Spotify
Then you have already used a cloud hosting service. Unlike previously, where you accessed your resources and data on your computer, you access those via the internet with cloud services. Your resources are kept on a server – “in a cloud.”
However, businesses and organisations have different needs for personal users. We must understand what cloud services can offer us.
SaaS, PaaS, IaaS and Serverless Compute
Just about all cloud computing falls into one of these four categories. Which one you choose will depend on your business needs.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
This service is closest to the ones we may have for personal use, and so they’re easiest to understand. A provider supplies you with the software that you need for your organisation. In other words, the software already exists, and you buy it “off the shelf”. Examples that you might have heard of (or maybe already use) include
- Office 365
- (outlook is included in Office 365 We Transfer/DropboxAsana
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
It starts to get a bit more technical from here. PaaS is an environment or “space” that enables you to develop and deliver your web applications. It includes tools such as:
- Development tools
- Database Management Systems
- Business Intelligence Services
PaaS is the ideal service if you need the tools to help you with your web application development, such as:
- Design
- Building
- Testing
- Deployment
- Testing and updating
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
This service manages the computing infrastructure for you while you purchase, install, configure, and manage your software. Most IaaS services consist of:
- Servers
- Storage
- Firewalls and other security
Some of the well-known examples is Microsoft Azure, AWS
As explained, which service you choose will largely depend on how involved your organisation is in creating, developing, and maintaining your applications.
If you want someone else to take care of everything for you and can find the appropriate apps (you usually can), then SaaS is for you. PaaS is a good fit if you need to develop your unique web applications. IaaS is similar, except your provider will be even more “hands-off”.
Serverless computing
Also known as serverless runs your application code on a on demand (per-request) scaling the underlying infrastructure up and down automatically based on each request. As a result, customers pay only for the resources being used when the application is running.
Serverless computing offloads all backend infrastructure management tasks with the providers responsible for provisioning, scheduling, scaling and patching of the platform.
The Benefits of Adopting Cloud Services
The benefits for an organisation moving to cloud services can be broadly summed up as follows:
- Flexibility/Reliability
- Cost
- Security
Flexibility and Reliability
This is perhaps the single most helpful feature of cloud computing for organisations. Cloud hosting is flexible in many ways. First, your users can access your resources from any kind of device with an internet connection, be that a:
- Laptop
- Tablet
- Smartphone
And flexible access to resources means a flexible workforce. They can work anytime from anywhere, helping them with their work-life balance. Also, cloud computing is flexible enough to change as your business needs change. (This is sometimes called elasticity to prevent confusion). Maybe you need new apps, or new staff require access to your data. Whatever your reason to scale up (or scale down) your IT resources, it is a simple process when they are all in the cloud.
Furthermore, you will save on storage space because you don’t need any other hardware or another program to hold large amounts of data. Also, because resources are in one location that all your staff can easily access, your employees can work together more efficiently. This is important when organisations are watching (and justifying) their budgets.
Cost
There are many cost-saving benefits to be had when you adopt cloud services.
Cost savings include:
- Hardware costs
- IT maintenance costs
- Usage costs
Not having large hardware (such as servers or storage) on your premises saves office space – and, therefore, money. What’s more, you have effectively outsourced your IT department, reducing that cost too. We’ve already mentioned how cloud computing services can expand and contract according to your needs. What this means is that, in effect, this is a pay as you use service. You only pay for the services you use.
Security
There is no room for compromise on robust security, especially with constantly evolving and more sophisticated threats. Fortunately, cloud services are secure because they offer:
- Centralised security. All devices and resources are managed from a single point, which is easier to protect
- Reduced cost and administration. This simplification means that security is easily maintained, and costs are significantly reduced.
- Because it is easier to maintain, your cloud resources are more reliable.
More and more businesses and organisations are reaping the benefits of moving their systems to the cloud. It allows them to operate at scale and use agile systems that gives them a competitive edge, while maintaining high levels of security and reducing costs. The majority of public sector organisations in the UK have launched digital transformation initiatives to move on premise data warehouses to the cloud. These initiatives include the use of micro services for business services that the public can access.
I-MORAN Consultancy have cloud architects and cloud hosting capabilities in-house to design and support public sector organisations with cloud strategy. We work with a range of organisations from central government to local councils and our service offering meet high standards of security and compliance. To find out more about how your organisation could benefit from our cloud computing offering, contact I-MORAN Consultancy at info@i-moran.co.uk or call us on 02045386562
