Ways the Cloud has Come a Long Way for Businesses

Cloud computing offers virtual storage and applications to businesses who don't have the money or infrastructure in place to handle their own computing needs. Cloud-based storage and software solutions help businesses move spending away from developing and maintaining an internal computing network and outsources the tasks to cloud-computing companies like Google and Amazon Web Services.

Better Encryption

In reaction to the security leaks revealed by Edward Snowden, many businesses became skeptical of their cloud-based data solutions. In response, cloud-storage providers like Google, Outlook, and Windows Azure took steps to begin encrypting data they receive before it is written to disk. These efforts are bolstered by all data also being re-encrypted before it's transmitted. While the Snowden revelations scared many businesses from using cloud=based data storage, it became the catalyst for a change to the way cloud-providers handle secure business data.

More Spanish Data Centers

At the end of last year, IBM announced that they would introduce more cloud computing centers in Spain to the tune of $8 million. These new centers help keep costs down for European data center coverage, as well as offer more services to European and Spanish clients. While the investment isn't huge, IBM hopes to compete with Amazon and Google's ever growing European data presence to drive down costs in the European business community.

Amazon Unveils New Start-up Helper

As part of a program to help start-ups migrate their services to a cloud based environment, Amazon unveiled plans to let businesses use their Amazon Web Services program for free to move their data and application needs to the cloud. The free service offers basic cloud storage and applications to businesses, but can be upgraded to handle larger enterprise tasks as well.

Cheaper Implementation

A key financial benefit that the cloud offers many small businesses is the ability to introduce new enterprise-wide applications and services via the cloud for a fraction of the cost of building a new IT department within a business. Slow moving IT departments and CIO's have long been complaints of the traditional business environment because the IT department handles so many facets of a business' technology needs. Companies like TAMCO, which offers cloud-based VOIP services, allow companies to outsource their enterprise computing needs and have dedicated servers up and running in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the cost of building an intranet phone or server system.

There's little question that the cloud is going to be the future of data storage for many businesses. Changes in security and investments in server infrastructure have helped cloud-computing companies attract more business and drive down costs for businesses looking to make the switch to the cloud. As more companies begin offering cloud-based solutions, even greater changes are expected in the coming years.

Information Credit: http://www.tamcocorp.com