Cloud computing combines the versatility of virtualization with a completely scalable pay as you go model. Small and medium sized businesses now have access to enterprise level resources at affordable rates. With cloud computing, much like with a utility company, the provider supplies the hardware and software as a service, you utilize only what you need.
But as simple as the concept is, the ramifications aren’t nearly as clear cut. Short term cost savings need to be evaluated against long term subscription costs. Security issues with applications and corporate data residing on third party infrastructure need to be mitigated. Scalability, redundancy and other architecture issues need to be considered.
While there are clear cost efficiencies, it can still cost more to be in the cloud. Many small companies use cloud services for off-site backups or storage, but it isn’t necessarily the right solution for other infrastructure requirements. The only thing that is for sure, is that there are tremendous possibilities available and the field is growing daily. Whether to use cloud resources, build internally, or a hybrid of both must now be part of every major IT discussion.
Consul-vation has been implementing cloud solutions for our clients since the beginning and have learned our lessons in order to truly advise when and where the cloud makes sense. We use this knowledge to design private, public and hybrid cloud solutions that make business sense.