Cloud computing is now commonplace in companies. It’s a great option to boost productivity, create a mobile-friendly environment, save money and increase accessibility. More than just file storage, the cloud offers many additional benefits, especially for your remote workers – now more and more common as we restructure our businesses in light of COVID-19 to keep employees safe and manage costs.
What is Cloud Hosting?
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power. In its simplest form to understand what is cloud hosting, you can envision it as a network of virtual servers (the cloud) that tap into an underlying network of physical servers. The extent to which you tap into this network depends upon the needs of an organization.
What are the Benefits of Cloud Hosting?
Increase Access
Since the cloud is accessed through the Internet, your employees will have access from any location or device with Internet access. For your remote workers, this is essential for their productivity and for staying connected to their on-site colleagues.
Saves Space
Many businesses have moved to remote work models in recent months, resulting in the need for less physical office space. Cloud hosting allows organizations to further reduce their physical footprint by freeing up valuable space devoted to IT infrastructure. The cloud allows for a much smaller IT footprint with wireless devices and limited to no onsite hardware.
Reduce Capital Investment and Save Money
With cloud computing there is no need to purchase physical servers, buy software licenses or install cables. It does not require the large upfront capital investments that onsite hosting requires. With the cloud model, you will pay a monthly fee to your cloud provider. You can rest easy knowing that it’s your cloud hosts job to manage the costs of purchasing, managing and maintaining the IT infrastructure that supports your cloud hosting solution.
With cloud hosting you also eliminate the physical costs of backing up data and the associated hardware and software costs used to do so. Cloud hosting also saves in not requiring in-house staff to manage the IT infrastructure.
Essentially, with cloud hosting, you pay as you need additional resources. Your costs go from expensive up-front capital equipment investment and ongoing maintenance and personnel costs with on-site hosting to a monthly fixed operational expense that you can budget.
Increase Security
One of the main concerns we often hear is the idea that the cloud is not as secure as on-site hosting. With the right IT cloud host partner, your data is actually more secure in the cloud, as you can count on the professionals and IT experts you’ve hired to keep current on the constant changes and threats in the IT landscape. Furthermore, the cloud’s backup system is designed to prevent data lose with multiple redundancies built into it.
Promotes Scalability
The ability to scale economically and as needed is ideal for most business. By understanding what is cloud hosting, you see how it provides a perfect environment for economic scale. As you need more storage, you simply rent more. If you need less, you scale back. Your cloud network can expand or contract as needed.
Supports Collaboration and Productivity
For employees, especially your remote workers, the cloud will help keep them connected, notably like when you layer in additional tools like the Microsoft Office 365 suite of solutions that support collaboration and teamwork. With cloud hosting and the right software solutions, your employees can work anywhere and coordinate with their remote teammates for meetings, file sharing, co-authoring documents and more.
Be Greener
More and more companies are becoming more energy conscious and wish to help reduce the impact of their business on the environment. Cloud hosting can contribute to a reduced carbon footprint. By its nature, cloud hosting is much more efficient than maintaining onsite servers, where you have to keep the room cool, so the servers do not overheat.
We hope this article has helped to demonstrate how cloud hosting is – for most companies – a better hosting option. For a workforce this is entirely remote or even with some workers remote, we think cloud hosting is the only option to keep employees connected, satisfied, collaborative and productive.
To learn more, please visit our cloud hosting options. We’d love to help you discover how cloud hosting can support your business’ goals and growth.