Cloud computing has gone mainstream for a decade or so. Yet, not many utilize this powerful technology. As new startups are more tech-savvy than ever today, it’s important for founders to learn more about the cloud and consider adopting it as their startups’ leverage.
But first things first, you should know the cloud basics, as well as things to consider when deciding whether the cloud is for your startup. Read on.
The basics
What is cloud computing? First of all, let us understand what Cloud Computing is. Cloud computing is of 3 categories;
- Software as a service – This is also known as software on demand. It is a way by which customers can access their software through the internet without going through the process of downloading and running the software.
- Platform as a service – This is a way by which a computer platform can both deploy and develop websites and services through the internet.
- Infrastructure as a service – This provides simple computing building blocks that all platforms and services can be built on.
Tips for considering cloud computing includes the following:
Planning and Need Consideration
Before you decide to move to the cloud, you must first determine your needs, expectations and requirements. You must decide if your organization really needs a cloud provider that allows you extra support and service. Also before deciding to implement a cloud technology, you should perform a proper investigation of the cloud provider to be sure it will fail in the nearest future because the failure of a cloud provider brings about obstruction of the plans of the organization and ensures unnecessary expenses the organization might not be ready to handle.
Your Budget
Cloud computing is not actually cheap even though it saves you the expenses of obtaining a hardware, so understanding the way cloud pricing works is very important. A lot of cloud-based vendors do not make use of the pay-as-you-use payment system. So a proper understanding on the type of cloud payment service you are involving your organization with is very necessary to avoid an unpredictable increase in price in the future because nothing actually stops the Cloud provider from increasing its fees anytime they decide.
Security
Cloud computing is not actually a very safe way of protecting your organization data and privacy, but finding a cloud provider that can secure and follow certain standards like HIPAA which protects the privacy and data resources of clients is very important.
Before choosing a cloud provider, your organization can take up the task of checking reviews, rates, and even present deals of many cloud providers to help you reach a decision. You could also research on the cloud providers financial stability and longevity.
It is not usually advised to use small-scale cloud providers in this respect because along the way it may bring about issues and complications such as when a larger scale cloud vendor buys out the smaller one, it ends up discontinuing its use and disrupting your organization’s activities.
Maintenance Consideration
Maintaining and upgrading these cloud-based applications can be really high maybe even higher than you may expect. So it is usually advised that you consult and hire an IT specialist to review the details of the application, know how the applications work and how they integrate with each other.
Backup
While some cloud vendors are now providing it as an option, cloud computing does not usually provide backups for files or data. So the risk of losing all your organizations data is very possible. Furthermore, it picking a backup option from your provider might lead to an increase to the cost of the service.