Cloud hosting has become very popular recently, opening up new opportunities for suppliers and bringing about a shift in traditional IT offerings. By the year 2012, global spending on cloud hosting will touch the $ 42 billion mark, which will be almost three times more than the present spending, as predicted by IDC. Cloud computing in India is still in its very early stages and enterprises are yet to fully comprehend the actual benefits of private clouds, public clouds or even IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. In simple terms, cloud computing/hosting, or enterprise cloud, is a service provided by a network of servers. These servers are placed at various data centers which are situated at different geographical locations. A simple application of cloud hosting is Internet service, which is provided by a host of computers, all operating under a cloud.
Cloud hosting is perhaps the best option for companies that wish to improve their performance without spending a fortune. Traditional hosting services, whether dedicated or shared, were restricted by the capabilities of a single server.
Benefits of this technology can be summed up as follows:
It follows the concept of pay-per-use. Hence it is highly cost efficient.
Scalability in terms of hardware/software upgrades, load balancing, etc., is simple.
Technical migration to a cloud hosting environment from the traditional set-up is simple.
No more worries about server crashes.
Website expansion can be done easily with little restrictions.
Some of the challenges faced by the Information Technology division of a company can be resolved by the implementation of cloud computing. Here are a few of them:
The computer resources can be increased or decreased easily as per the business’ requirements without the hassle of hardware management.
The company can contribute to a greener earth by subscribing to a service rather than engaging in-house resources which can often be underutilized.
Companies will not be required to spend a huge amount on hardware and software and still maintain the applications. With the recent growth in this sector, a number of cloud computing providers have come up. To figure out the one which can meet your requirements, consider the following factors:
Price: Look out for the one that gives the best value for your money. If a provider has flexible price schemes, you will be required to pay only for the services that you utilize. Also check which provider provides high computing power at prime time while charging the least. A comparison of the prices of various providers will help you select the best option.
Security: Data security is the top-most priority of any company. Check if the provider has implemented sufficient measures to keep data safe from all kinds of physical danger and security breaches. Many times attackers benefit from the loopholes left due to poor configuration of the physical and cloud-based asset.
Support: Apart from the price and data security, a good support system is very important for success in today’s networked environment. The provider which can offer dedicated technical support and services should rank high in your list of shortlisted providers.
Cloud hosting service thus eliminates the limitations of a single server and gives the opportunity to utilize the power of multiple servers with the option of scaling up with a new server as and when required. It thus provides improved security, better performance and a great deal of convenience with little monetary costs.
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