Are you thinking of moving your business over to the cloud? 

If you’re in two minds over whether it’s a good idea or not, the answer you’re looking for is “yes”. You’d be joining a myriad of other businesses all across the world who are using the cloud. In fact, research suggests that by the year 2021, the cloud will be processing 94% of the internet workload.

If you’ve been doing your research, you’ve most likely come across all sorts of reasons to transfer to the cloud. But you’re also probably wondering how safe it really is to make the jump. Can the cloud be depended upon? We’ve taken the time to write a little something to show you that it absolutely can. But first, let’s explain what a cloud server actually is. 

What is a cloud server?

A cloud server is a centralized, pooled server resource that is hosted and delivered across a network (usually the Internet) and accessible by multiple users on demand. Cloud servers can supply all of the processing power, storage, and apps that a regular physical server can.

A cloud computing infrastructure allows cloud servers to be located anywhere in the world and deliver services remotely. On the other hand, traditional dedicated server hardware is often put up on premises for one organization’s exclusive use.

Cloud computing is dependable, scalable, and cost-effective in most circumstances. What about in other areas, though? In terms of performance, connectivity, and security, how trustworthy is cloud computing?

How reliable is cloud computing?

It’s fair to suggest that cloud computing’s performance, connectivity, and security can all be problematic. Some of the problems are due to cloud computing in general, while others are due to the actions of customers. Whatever the problem comes down to, there is usually a solution that leads to dependable cloud computing. All you are required to do is deduce the presence of an issue, find the root cause, and generate a solution.

Performance

Numerous clients’ applications and data are hosted on a single architecture due to the public cloud being home to multiple users. When one Virtual Machine (VM) or application on this architecture consumes the majority of the shared resources, it is at the detriment of network performance for all other VMs and applications on the architecture. 

If you notice a performance problem, ask your provider to move the asset to an alternative zone of availability, where the asset is installed right on to hardware rather than within the host operating system, to check if it’s due to a “noisy neighbour.” If this does not address the problem, the problem is most likely due to the asset being under-provisioned.

Connectivity

You won’t be able to reap any of the benefits of cloud computing if you can’t connect to your cloud service provider’s data center. Majority of these service providers have legal agreements in place in which they promise to deliver “99.9% uptime”. If they don’t deliver on their promise, you get what is called a ‘service credit.’

Receiving a service credit for a service you didn’t get is commonplace in the business world, but, when the service you didn’t get negatively affects your business, the loss is incredibly greater than the credit’s value. Because of the redundancy precautions used by cloud service providers, service outages are rare. 

Thus, connectivity might not be completely guaranteed all of the time, but it is significantly reliable.

Security

One of the biggest obstacles to cloud migration is the perception of cloud security, which is partly due to the fact that you have no ownership or management privileges with regards to the infrastructure on which your data is housed. 

Generally, the cloud security concept is what is unstable, not the procedures thereof, as cloud-based solutions are typically constructed more securely than on-premises systems secured by firewalls.

Most security experts believe that the means of access, not the location of data, is what’s important. In fact, most of the security incidents are caused by defective assets, phishing, and lack of security pertaining to authentication credentials and personal devices. None of this is the responsibility of the cloud service provider. 

Research implies that weak links in cloud security are the fault of the user, and that it is their responsibility, not the service provider, to secure their assets in order to assure trustworthy cloud computing in terms of security. Vulnerability testing and continuous security monitoring are critical in this regard to secure your cloud assets. The cloud is only as safe as you make it. 

 

To be competitive in today’s global economy, your business will undoubtedly have to migrate to the cloud. We know how daunting it can be when thinking about the possible unwelcome surprises that come with dealing with important data. While any provider is sure to have glitches from time to time, with careful study and planning, you can pick one that will minimize downtime and protect you from catastrophe.