In the digital age, Cloud Computing businesses and individuals have witnessed a fundamental shift in how data and applications are stored and accessed. Cloud computing, a widely adopted technology over the past decade, has revolutionized how we manage and use computing resources.
This article examines the pros and cons of cloud computing. It comprehensively analyzes the technology’s impact on various aspects of our lives, including business operations, personal convenience, and data security.
Cloud computing pros
Overall
Cloud computing reduces IT operating costs because the provider manages the underlying infrastructure, including hardware and software. These managed components are typically more reliable and secure than the standard enterprise data center because it is the provider’s core business. These benefits allow IT teams to focus on tasks directly benefiting the company.
The cloud is also global, convenient, eminently scalable, and accessible, accelerating the time to build and deploy software applications.
It opens organizations to newer services that support the most popular trends in application buildings and uses, including microservices, ampules, serverless computing, machine learning, large-scale data analytics, IoT, and much more.
Unlimited storage capacity
No matter which cloud you use, you can buy all the storage you need, and it costs a lot less than purchasing new storage hardware and software regularly. Just be aware of the provider’s rules when adding and removing files.
Automated backup/restore of files and data
Cloud backup is a service where data and applications are backed up from a company’s servers and stored on a remote server. Businesses return to the cloud to keep files and data available in case of a system failure, outage, or natural disaster.
Users can also do this on secluded or corporate servers, but cloud service providers do this 24/7 as standard, and users don’t have to think about it.
Fewer administrative and management problems
This is all left to the cloud service. Your only requirement is that you trust your supplier to get the job done daily.
Cloud computing cons
Overall
Although IT teams reduce their capital expenditures with cloud computing because they are not purchasing hardware or software, they also add considerable operating expenses to their budgets, often enough to offset most or all of their operating savings.
Complex pricing and security models can also create significant problems if IT teams don’t adapt. IT teams often need to learn new skills or hire employees to navigate the cloud, and there are limits to the flexibility and control of some cloud resources.
Relies on an internet connection at all times.
While most connectivity providers produce 99.99% uptime or are virtually out of business, there is always the possibility of a natural disaster, billing issue, line outage due to local construction activities or similar, or more significant regional disruption, may reduce costs.
Stop and pause every online activity you do. Although hackers causing chaos in interconnected data centers are rare, this more significant problem could also arise.
It’s best to make sure you have a backup hotspot (or personal storage backup hardware) if you’re working from home.
Files are easy to store but not as simple to recover and download
When working with files, images, videos, data logs, and other objects stored in a cloud, make sure you understand the input and output rules and limitations.
Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) service controls have a series of ingress and egress rules to allow access to and from resources and clients protected by service perimeters.
For example, the Google Cloud Platform storage entry and exit rules are pretty detailed and explain many subtopics.
Including policy templates, sample API requests, and more. You can find an overview of Google’s VPC service controls here.
Cloud management can be complicated to monitor
Cloud computing management raises many information system management issues, including ethical issues (security, availability, privacy, and confidentiality), legal and jurisdictional issues, data lock-in, lack of standardized services (SLA), and bottlenecks in personalization technology.
Denial of service attacks
A denial of service (DoS) attack is intended to shut down a machine or network, making it inaccessible to the intended users. DoS attacks accomplish this by flooding the target with traffic or sending it information, causing an outage.
Cloud service users have little or no control over DoS attacks. This once again illustrates the importance of protecting personal data.
Potential Drawbacks of Cloud Computing
Security and Availability
Security and availability remain the primary concerns for most users when relying on cloud-based services. You’ve probably heard about the many high-profile news stories about security breaches in cloud-based services.
While you should think about the implications of a data breach for your organization, you should also consider that in both on-premises and cloud software, most security breaches are attributable to human error. This is one of the reasons why we published our 12 tips for being safer online.
When thinking about cloud security and availability, it is also necessary to have a realistic idea of the current technological situation. Fears around the cloud are sometimes based on a utopian vision of an organization’s current situation.
Chances are your security is not perfect. Your system is not 100% available, and you may not have dedicated human resources for IT management. In the cloud, security, and management are in the hands of trained and dedicated experts.
Cloud Vendors Going Out of Business
Cloud computing remains a rapidly evolving field, and there is always the risk of a new company closing or drastically changing its service.
A sudden change in service might not be too disruptive if you were only using the app for a single project, but it could be disastrous if you were using it for your entire donor database.
The Need for Reliable Internet Service
Finally, you will depend more on a good internet connection if you rely on the cloud. As more and more critical tasks are performed over the Internet, organizations will need significantly more bandwidth and little, if any, interruption in Internet connectivity.
If constant internet access, connection speed, or bandwidth is an issue for your organization, cloud solutions may not suit you now.
Conclusion
Cloud computing is a rapidly evolving field that will undoubtedly continue to play an increasingly important role for non-profit organizations.
Charities, and libraries and their IT systems.
However, which elements of your IT infrastructure you should migrate to the cloud (and when) vary widely from organization to organization.
Finally, as technology is constantly evolving, cloud solutions cannot be evaluated just once. A problem that may make cloud computing difficult or impossible for you today can be solved in six months.
More and more tools are being developed in the cloud. So, even if you’re not ready for the cloud yet, you might find a good cloud solution in the future.
