Table of Contents
Introduction
What is Cloud Computing?
Understanding Cloud Computing
Why is Cloud Computing Important – what is the Benefit for Entrepreneurs?
Type of Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing Delivery Models
Cloud Computing Business Model
Introduction
The concept of the Cloud is a lot confusing especially for none tech-savvy persons like the business owner. If you want to understand what cloud computing is about and how it benefits your business, then this article is for you.
Most of the articles you will find online will approach Cloud Computing from a very technical standpoint: Server, Storage, networking e.t.c which is not helpful for the everyday individual.
This article is written with the entrepreneurs in mind which means, I will be dealing less with technical jargon and approach it from a business perspective, focusing more on digital concepts that you can easily relate with.
What is Cloud Computing?
Let’s start by taking the definition from a technical perspective and later on give a definition that an entrepreneur can relate with:
Simply put, cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale. You typically pay only for cloud services you use, helping you lower your operating costs, run your infrastructure more efficiently, and scale as your business needs change. – Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Azure’s definition is a bit close to the earth. But let’s take another one from Amazon Web Service:
“Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. Instead of buying, owning, and maintaining physical data centers and servers, you can access technology services, such as computing power, storage, and databases, on an as-needed basis from a cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS)”
AWS’s explanation is confusing and purely technical because more than IT resources can be accessed using the internet such as online courses and digital products
I got confused during my three months of training as an Associate Cloud Engineer with Amazon Web Service because before that, I was already into Linux Server administration using Apache Virtual Private Server for a private web hosting company I manage.
To us the techy guys, the two definitions are pretty awesome but the problem is, it’s not so awesome for the less techy person who is concerned with how this technology is going to benefit them.
It may interest you to know that I have a really hard time making some of my programmer friends understand what Cloud Computing means and how it impacts us. Yet Cloud Technology is everywhere. The Facebook platform that you use for example is built on cloud technology, Whatsapp, Netflix and everything you do online is all running on top of Cloud Technology.
Cloud Technology has been with us since the beginning of the internet, but like everything other things in nature, it went through an evolution, taking up more complexity, and features and eventually getting a new name.
Jeff Bezos did a really good job of making Cloud Computing popular by adding new features and benefits that customers are willing to pay for. This is what the New Economy is about: innovation; creativity and deep industry insight guided my customer pinpoints.
Understanding Cloud Computing
In other to have a better grasp of this abstract digital concept, I will want you to think of Cloud Technology like the internet itself. Yes, it is! A metaphor and another name for anything that can be stored and accessed using the internet, without you having to store any data on your local computer or mobile device.
The main purpose of cloud computing is to give access to data centers, products, services, software, and whatever you can think of too many users use remote means (Browsers and Mobile App most of the time). You don’t need to own the infrastructure or own the source code; instead, you build on already existing infrastructure or platforms to deliver your business value to customers. This is the beauty of Cloud Computing. Leveraging what others have built instead of building from scratch and this in turn increases your ability to get into the market very fast and scale-up when necessary.
For example, in other to get a website for your business, you only need to purchase a web hosting package from a service provider without you ever worrying about setting up your hardware, maintenance, and security. You simply buy the service and upload your content. What about WordPress CMS? This operates on “the cloud” since you do not need to install the software locally on your personal computer to build and manage a website for customers to interact with, you simply do so from the internet. i.e your cPanel.
Key takeaway: Cloud computing is a digital technology that allows business users to access important information, tools, programs, and data stored on a remote server (such as documents, databases, software, services, computing power e.t.c) anywhere they have an internet connection.
Why is Cloud Computing Important – what is the Benefit for Entrepreneurs?
Cloud computing comes with a lot of benefits for small and medium-sized businesses. Let’s take a look at some of them:
1. On-demand access to data
With Cloud Computing, businesses can access important data and information on the go without having to be restricted to a physical location of the device. A manager or CEO can get instant access to staff details, or customer information stored on Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM), or private documents be retrieved instantly from Google Drive or Google Doc.
2. Potential cost reduction
Setting up a brick-and-mortar business can be as expensive as hell, making starting a new business expensive and discouraging. With Cloud Computing, most offline business processes such as paperwork, server management, marketing, and even in-house staff management can be migrated to the cloud.
3. Mobility:
Businesses are no longer limited to space as you can work anywhere, anytime, and collaborate remotely with other stakeholders. An employee can work from anywhere and businesses can connect with partners, suppliers, and customers all on the go using an internet connection.
4. Automatic Software Update
As you implement more digital technology into your business process; you will realize that the need to update business applications is no longer required. For example, you simply focus on building your online presence without having to worry about server updates and security patches.
Promote efficiency
With more online tools and productivity software to choose from the Cloud (internet), entrepreneurs become more productive.
Increase Competitiveness
Cloud Computing empowers Small and Medium-sized businesses including startups with the means to disrupt the market. The application of a lean and agile approach to market penetration helps startups to compete favorably in the marketplace without huge budgets, Cloud Technology is about the right business tools and software for your enterprise. Search for these cloud tools and use them without apology.
Data Security
Storing valuable data on your phone or personal computer has been prone to loss of various degrees, from data corruption, accidental deletion to virus attack, all of these poses a great threat to business data integrity. With cloud technology, a business can outsource data storage with no fear of loss or corruption and such data can also be accessed anytime and from anywhere.
4 Types of Cloud Computing
Private Clouds
Private Cloud infrastructures are exclusively owned by a business or organization. It can be hosted on an On-premise location or hosted privately on a cloud service provider infrastructure. This type of service is usually deployed for high-level security especially by the military or governmental organizations to prevent any form of external access.
Public clouds
Public Cloud services are usually hosted and managed by cloud service providers and accessed remotely over the internet. This is usually the type of service we mostly refer to when talking about cloud computing. In this model, multiple tenants share the cloud provider’s infrastructure.
Hybrid cloud
A hybrid cloud computing model is a combination of a private and public cloud model. For example and the web server can run on a public cloud model whole database which can only be accessed by an organization user is provisioned on the private cloud thereby improving the security level of the entire infrastructure.
Multi-Cloud
Multi-Cloud is a model of cloud computing where a business or organization utilizes a combination of cloud technology, which can be two or more public clouds, two or more private clouds, or a combination of both public and private clouds.
Cloud Computing Delivery Models
Below are the three types of Cloud Computing service models also known as the deployment method.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Infrastructure as Service (IaaS) also known as Hardware as a Service, means a Cloud Service Provider manages the hardware infrastructure of an organization such as web servers, virtual machines, storage, network services e.t.c usually on a Pay As You Use pricing model.
Examples of such services are Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Service (AWS) e.t.c
Software as a Service (SaaS)
In the Software as a Service delivery model, a vendor hosts and manages a software product on the cloud (internet) and leases it to businesses or organizations on a subscription basis. Such software can be accessed through a web browser or mobile applications.
Examples of such services are Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Dropbox, Slack, Hubspot e.t.c.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
This delivery model may not directly concern the entrepreneur as such services are usually utilized by web developers and DevOps engineers. It allows programmers and engineers to build and maintain software applications quickly and more efficiently.
The examples of Platform as a Service includes AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Heroku, Google App Engine, Apache Stratos, Magento Commerce Cloud, and OpenShift.
Cloud Computing Business Model
When we look at Cloud Computing from the lens of an entrepreneur, one can begin to see it as more than technology but a new digital business model with vast opportunities for an entrepreneur to tap into.
A coach, teacher, or an instructor for example is using cloud computing without even knowing it. He creates an online course or ebook and makes it available via s website or Google Drive (cloud storage) and continues to sell this over a long period without having to teach the same topic to new students
In Summary
Cloud computing lies at the heart of the internet. Like the motherboard of a computer, nothing works without it. The main purpose of cloud computing is to give access to data centers, products, services, software e.t.c to many users using remote means (using browsers and mobile apps most of the time). This is achieved through three major types of Cloud Computing: Private, Public, and hybrid clouds.
Cloud products and services can be delivered through any of the following digital business models Infrastructure as Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Platform as a Service (Paas)
Emmanuel Okaiwele is a Freelance Web Developer with Experience in Front End and Back Website Development, Linux Servers Administration, and Digital Strategy.
