What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing and cloud technologies, both are popular concepts and generally, it’s accepted that the cloud is a part of peoples’ lives. At Techtorium we recognise that the future of IT lies in cloud computing. We train our students to be professional and proficient with cloud computing and its more popular platforms. Here we look at what cloud computing is, some popular platforms that rely on it and what the benefits of cloud computing are for companies and organisations.

Microsoft Azure and AWS, two of the largest cloud computing platforms used in commerce and industry, give very similar definitions for what cloud computing is. Between them, they boil it down to the on-demand delivery of computing services e.g. servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence using the internet to provide those services. Within this definition, the cloud uses the internet, meaning you can access the resources you’re paying for from anywhere with a suitable connection. While there are some different types of computing that companies may use depending on what they need from it, all fit this definition.

The Benefits of Cloud Computing

Here we’ll list some of the advantages that cloud computing presents and how these can benefit businesses and in most cases individuals too. These advantages include fast and global scalability, cost efficiency, security, ease of access to updates, and more. We understand that different aspects of cloud computing hold greater or lesser value depending on what’s needed so these will be presented in no particular order.

Scalability and security in the form of disaster-proofing are huge advantages provided by the cloud. Having your IT resources offsite in the way that cloud computing allows, these two factors end up being more closely related than you would expect. The same factor that makes expanding and scaling your IT needs easier as your company grows, also means that should something happen to your premises, your systems and records will more likely survive unscathed.

Ease of access is a huge benefit in the sense of accessing your resources. Having your IT resources easily accessible online has played a huge part in the ongoing digital shift in the workplace. Everything from working from home to business trips has been made easier by the shift to cloud computing. Updates are a huge benefit too, Cloud providers stay competitive by providing the most up to date systems running the most up to date software possible. This includes everything from simple system updates to security and encryption. This adds cybersecurity to the physical security of your data.

Finally cost saving is a hugely significant upside to what cloud computing offers, especially in medium to larger companies. You pay for the resources you use, scaling up or down as the need arises or diminishes. For most companies, with cloud services, you will no longer need to supply your own servers and infrastructure, or at least not to the same extent as you might have done previously. Rather, the likelihood is that you have access to much more sophisticated equipment, which is offsite and secure, with much easier access for less.

It’s for these reasons and more, that so much of computing is shifting to a cloud-based infrastructure and why Techtorium trains its graduates to work in this environment. If you would like to read more about IT and the cloud click here. For those with the most interest in programming, this article is a great place to start. If you would like to read more about our courses, please follow this link.

Just how big is cloud computing in New Zealand? In May last year, Microsoft announced plans to build a data centre for it in Auckland. AWS has just announced plans for 3 data centres and a 7.5 billion dollar investment in it! To find out more, click here.

Interested in a career in the Cloud?