IT ADVICE

Cornerstone Business Solutions MD Chris Petty ( pictured ) delves deep into the issue of cloud software solutions for businesses …

What is cloud computing ? Cloud computing is storing or accessing programmess , apps and data via the internet , instead of directly on your computer or server .

The most popular examples of cloud computing are Software as a Service ( SaaS ), Platform as a Service ( PaaS ) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS ).

Still confused ? Well , let ’ s make it a little more confusing ! You can have your data or apps either in a public cloud ( delivered via the internet and shared across organisations ), private cloud ( cloud computing which is dedicated solely for your organisation ) or hybrid cloud ( any environment that uses both public and private ).

We often get asked , “ Should we be in the cloud ?” But when we ask why , the customer doesn ’ t really know , it ’ s just a buzz word they ’ ve heard . What they don ’ t realise is that some part of their business is probably already in the cloud .

Most users will now have their emails in the cloud with Office 365 , Google etc , and maybe some data in SharePoint , Dropbox and iCloud . This is called the public cloud , services that everyone can use .

So where is this cloud ? Ultimately , everything that you access on the internet lives on servers . These servers are housed in very secure buildings called data centres , which are big rooms , with lots of servers that look like something out of a movie .

But these rooms need to have very high levels of security and redundancy which includes multiple connections for internet and power , air conditioning systems , fire solutions etc , all of which add up to no single points of failure . So if something breaks or goes down , another one kicks in to ensure you have an uptime of as close to 100 per cent as possible .

A private cloud is when your server ( either your actual physical server , or computing power from someone else ’ s infrastructure to provide you with virtual servers ) is hosted in someone else ’ s data centre . So although you are using shared resources , memory , hard drives , processors , you have your own virtual environment that hosts your data and applications .

Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 23.1 per cent in 2021 to total $ 332.3bn , up from $ 270bn in 2020 , according to the latest forecast from Gartner .

With this sort of growth predicted , they are expecting lots of us to continue our migration into the cloud .

But what is right for you ? Every organisation is different . The pandemic has seen us change how we work , hybrid working becoming the norm , meaning that the use of cloud services has increased . But should you move your whole infrastructure to the cloud ? Will that suit your business and staff ?

There are a few things to take into

account when looking at this . One of the main factors is connectivity . If all of your data and applications are in the cloud , how will you access them if your internet is poor ? What would happen if your internet went down ? Thankfully , there are more options to improve connectivity now – more readily available fibre , 4g / 5g being available with unlimited data packages , reduced leased line costs etc .

Then there ’ s geographical location of sites and staff . Are all of your staff in one building , with a few who require remote access or do you have multiple sites and flexible working ?

And do you have applications that require local servers , or do you only need data storage for files and folders ?

Once you have factored in all elements , and know your options , then you can make an informed decision that will provide what you need for your business , and provide you with a robust scalable solution .

Most companies we know have a mixture of solutions , with servers on site for applications , security control etc , and emails / data in the cloud . But there are more options than ever now . So on your next IT refresh , speak to your provider , and they can look at the options available and advise what suits you best .

Most companies provide on-premises and cloud solutions , so should be able to help .

And guess what ? Cornerstone do ( I had to get that one in !).

CORNERSTONE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD MAP HOUSE , 3 GEORGE STEPHENSON COURT , OFF WESTLAND WAY , PRESTON FARM , STOCKTON-ON-TEES , TS18 3TG

The voice of business in the Tees region | 47