Cloud computing is everywhere. It’s in the major corporations, it’s in the commercial environment, the schools and, in more recent times, the homes. Most people are probably familiar with Dropbox. This neat file hosting service was designed by Drew Houston, as a response to forgetting his USB drive before sessions at MIT. Fortunately, his work paid off and now over 175 million users are benefiting from this bit of cloud technology. The simple to use store ‘n’ sync software is effective for that reason: it’s simple. Cloud computing itself may even be considered a great boon for startups, in and out of Shoreditch.
To explain cloud computing in brief one just has to define it as “a collection of interrelated services and infrastructures that are accessible via a network” – specifically an IT network. For example, Dropbox can be considered a cloud network of PCs connected together through an Internet server. All one has to do is drop each file into the Dropbox folder and a notification will alert the other PCs that a file has been added, modified or deleted. With a premium membership, users are given access to larger storage space, further eliminating the need for excessive mobile storage devices or disk space.
Here are 8 reasons on why cloud computing can be a blessing for startups:
1) Secure
A decade earlier, the crucial security aspects of cloud computing were merely afterthoughts. Now, the security is integrated into the application from the very start. A password can be shared among all participants in private.
2) Cheaper
Maintaining an application can be expensive. Cloud computing is far more cost-effective and accessible to users than closed source software. Closed source software is normally licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder, meaning that under certain conditions can a licensee use it. In that case, it is estimated that cloud computing is 5-10% cheaper to develop than closed source software of the last five years. For startups, money can be a bit of an issue and cloud computing is there to put less strain on developers’ wallets.
3) Innovative
Innovation is important. Cloud computing applications can be custom designed for a wide range of customers and uses. For instance, large-scale global corporations look to innovate particular business applications, in order to increase their efficiency. However, it can even boil down to individuals wanting to see the next hit game for their mobile phones.
4) Larger Supplier Ecosystem
Cloud computing offers its own supplier ecosystem: big, dynamic and see-through. SSL Encryption is just a click away, while more than a dozen qualified suppliers who publish their own functionality across the Internet. Provisioning becomes very fast and cost-effective through cloud computing.
5) Time Effective
More work can be done in less time and with less people, a must-have advantage for small startups. The end result is more hours to focus on other work.
6) Less Personnel Training
It takes fewer staff to do more work on a cloud server, with a minimal learning curve on hardware and software. To add further, easy-to-follow tutorials are laid out all across the Internet.
7) Globalization
The workforce of a startup can expand throughout different countries, with members working on separate computers around the world. If a worker was to relocate to another country, it can take a short amount of time to download files and continue working.
8) Hosting Competition
Many companies are competing head-to-head to win entrepreneurs’ hosting businesses. The amount of competition is so great that hosting suppliers are forced to quickly innovate with functionality at a lower cost – something that cloud computing can grant.